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(See  page  il.) 


THE 

UNCIVILIZED 

EACES     OF     MEN 


ALL  COUNTRIES  OF  THE  WORLD ; 


A    COMPREnENSIVE  ACCOUNT  OF   THEIR   MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS, 

AND  OF  THEIR  PHYSICAL,  SOCIAL,  MENTAL,  MORAL  AND 

RELIGIOUS  CHARACTERISTICS. 


J.  (}.  WOOD,  I.A.,r.L.S. 


ADTHOR     OF    "  ILLLSTBATED     NATURAL     HISTORY    OF    ANIMALS,"     "ANECDOTES     OF    ANIMAL     LIFE,"     "  B»  tKS 
WITHOUT   HANDS,"  "  BIBLE  ANIMALS,"  "  COMMON  OBJECTS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  AND  8EASB0BE,"  ETC. 


WITH  NEW  DESIGNS 

BY    ANGAS,    DANBY,    WOLF,    ZWECKER,    Etc..    Etc. 


IN     TWO      VOLTJMiES, 

VOL.    I. 


HAETFOED: 
THE  J.    B.    BURR   PUBLISHING   CO. 

NEW    YORK: 

T.   F.   NEAL  &  COMPANY. 

18T8. 


yr>5. 

PKEFACE. 


Tms  work  is  simply,  as  the  title-page  states,  an  account  of  the  manners  and  cus« 
toms  of  uncivilized  races  of  men  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Many  travellers  have  given  accounts,  scattered  rather  at  random  through  their 
books,  of  the  habits  and  modes  of  life  exhibited  by  the  various  people  among  whom 
they  have  travelled.  These  notices,  however,  are  distributed  through  a  vast  number 
of  books,  many  of  them  very  scarce,  many  very  expensive,  and  most  of  them  ill- 
arranged  ;  and  it  has  therefore  been  my  task  to  gather  together  in  one  work,  and  to 
present  to  the  reader  in  a  toleral)ly  systematic  and  intelligible  form,  the  varieties  of 
character  which  develop  themselves  among  races  which  have  not  as  yet  lost  their 
individuality  by  modern  civilization.  In  this  task  I  have  been  greatly  assisted  by 
many  travellers,  who  have  taken  a  kindly  interest  in  the  work,  and  have  given  me 
the  invaluable  help  of  their  practical  experience. 

The  engravings  with  which  the  work  is  profusely  illustrated  have  been  derived 
from  many  sources.  For  the  most  part  the  countenances  of  the  people  have  been 
di-awn  from  photographs,  and  in  many  instances  whole  groups  taken  by  the  photog- 
rapher have  been  transferred  to  the  wood-block,  the  artist  only  making  a  few  changes 
of  .ittitude,  so  as  to  avoid  the  unpleasaut  stiffness  which  characterizes  photographic 
groups.  Many  of  the  illustrations  are  taken  from  sketches  made  by  travellers,  who 
have  kindly  allowed  me  to  make  use  of  them  ;  and  I  must  here  express  my  thanks  to 
Mr.  T.  Baiues,  the  accomplished  artist  and  traveller,  who  made  many  sketches 
expressly  for  the  work,  and  placed  at  my  disposal  the  whole  of  his  diaries  and  port- 
folios. 1  must  also  express  my  thanks  to  Mr.  J.  B.  Zwecker,  who  undertook  the 
onerous  task  of  interpreting  pictorially  the  various  scenes  of  savage  life  which  are 
described  in  the  work,  and  who  brought  to  that  task  a  hearty  good-will  and  a  wide 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  without  which  the  work  would  have  lost  much  of  its  spirit. 
The  drawings  of  the  weapons,  implements,  and  utensils,  are  all  taken  from  actual 
specimens,  most  of  which  are  in  my  own  collection,  made,  through  a  series  of  several 
j'ears,  for  the  express  purpose  of  illustrating  this  work. 

That  all  uncivilized  tribes  should  be  mentioned,  is  necessarily  impossible,  and  I 
have  been  reluctantly  forced  to  dismiss  with  a  brief  notice,  many  interesting  people, 
to  whom  I  would  gladly  have  given  a  greater  amount  of  space.  Especially  has  this 
been  the  case  with  Africa,  in  consequence  of  the  extraordinary  variety  of  the  native 
customs  which  prevail  in  that  wonderful  land.  We  have,  for  example,  on  one  side 
of  a  river,  a  people  well  clothed,  well  fed,  well  governed,  and  retaining  but  few  of 
the  old  savage  customs.  On  the  other  side,  we  And  people  without  clothes,  govern- 
ment, manners,  or  morality,  and  sunk  as  deeply  as  man  can  be  in  all  the  squalid 
miseries  of  savage  life.  Besides,  the  chief  characteristic  of  uncivilized  Africa  is  the 
continual  change  to  which  it  is  subject.  Some  tribes  are  warlike  and  restless,  alwaj-s 
working  their  way  seaward  from  the  interior,  carrying  their  own  customs  with  them, 
forming  settlements  on  their  way,  and  invariably  adding  to  their  own  habits  and 
superstitious  those  of  the  tribes  among  whom  they  have  settled.  In  process  of  time 
they  become  careless  of  the  military  arts  by  which  they  gained  possession  of  the  coun- 
try, and  are  in  their  turn  ousted  by  others,  who  bring  fresh  habits  and  modes  of  life 
with  them.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  how  full  of  incident  is  life  in  Africa,  the  great 
stronghold  of  barbarism,  and  how  necessary  it  is  to  devote  to  that  one  continent  a 
considerable  ^Jortiou  of  the  work. 


AMERICAN  PUBLISHERS'  PREFACE. 


This  work,  which  has  been  nearly  three  years  going  through  the  press  in  London, 
is  one  of  the  most  vahiable  contriljutious  that  have  been  made  to  the  literature  of 
this  generation.  Rev.  Dr.  Wootl,  who  ranks  among  the  most  popular  and  foremost 
■^Titers  of  Great  Britain,  conceiving  the  idea  of  the  work  many  years  since,  and 
commencing  the  collection  of  sucli  articles,  utensils,  weapons,  portraits,  etc.,  as 
would  illustrate  the  life  and  customs  of  the  uncivilized  races,  was,  undoubtedl3',  the 
best  qualified  of  all  living  writers  for  such  an  undertaking.  The  work  is  so  costly 
by  reason  of  its  hundreds  of  superior  engravings,  that  few  only  will,  or  can  avail 
themselves  of  the  imported  edition.  Yet  it  is  so  replete  with  healthful  information, 
so  fascinating  by  its  variety  of  incident,  portraiture  and  manners,  so  worthy  of  a 
place  in  every  household  library,  that  we  have  reprinted  it  in  order  that  it  may  be 
accessible  to  the  multitude  of  readers  in  this  country. 

TN'itli  the  exception  of  a  few  paragraphs,  not  deemed  essential  by  the  American 
editor,  and  not  making,  in  the  aggregate,  over  four  pages,  the  text"  of  the  two  royal 
octavo  volumes  of  nearly  sixteen  hundred  pages,  is  given  unabridged.  The  errors, 
incident  to  a  first  edition,  have  been  corrected.  By  adopting  a  slightly  smaller,  yet 
very  handsome  and  legible  type,  the  two  volumes  are  included  in  one.  The  beauty 
ami  value  of  the  work  are  also  greatly  enhanced  by  grouping  the  engi-avings  and 
uniting  them,  by  cross  references,  with  the  letter-press  they  illustrate. 

In  one  other  and  very  essential  respect  is  this  superior  to  the  English  edition. 
Dr.  Wood  has  given  too  brief  and  imperfect  an  account  of  the  character,  customs 
and  life  of  the  North  American  Indians,  and  the  savage  tribes  of  the  Arctic  regions. 
As  the  work  was  issued  in  monthly  parts  of  a  stipulated  number,  he  maj'  have  found 
his  space  limited,  and  accordingly  omitted  a  chapter  respecting  the  Indians,  that  he 
had  promised  upon  a  preceding  page.  This  deficiency  has  been  supplied  by  the 
American  editor,  making  the  account  of  the  Red  Men  more  comprehensive,  and 
adding  some  fine  engravings  to  illusti-ate  their  appearance  and  social  life.  Having 
treated  of  the  Ahts  of  Vancouver's  Island,  the  author  crosses  Behring  Strait  and 
altogether  omits  the  interesting  races  of  Siberia,  passing  at  once  from  America  to 
Southern  Asia.  To  supply  this  chasm  and  make  the  work  a  complete  "  Tour  round 
the  World,"  a  thorough  survey  of  the  races  "  in  all  countries"  which  represent  savage 
life,  we  have  added  an  account  of  the  Malemutes,  Ingeletes  and  Co-Yukons  of 
Alaska.  An  interesting  chapter  respecting  the  Tnngusi,  Jakuts,  Ostiaks,  and 
Samoiedes  of  Siberia,  compiled  from  Dr.  Hartwig's  "  Polar  World,"  is  also  given. 
The  usefuhiess  and  value  of  such  a  work  as  this  are  greatly  enhanced  by  a  minute 
and  comprehensive  index.  In  this  respect,  the  English  edition  is  very  deficient,  — 
its  index  occupying  only  a  page.  AVe  have  appended  to  the  work  one  more  than 
ten  times  as  large,  furnishing  to  the  reader  and  student  an  invaluable  help. 
Thus  enlarged  by  letter-press  and  illustrations,  this  work  is  a  complete  and  invalu- 
able resume  of  the  manners,  customs,  and  life  of  the  Uncivilized  Races  of  the 

WOKLD. 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  FRONTISPIECE, 


The  Frontispiece  gives  a  pictorial  representation  of  African  mankind.  Snperstition  reigning 
supreme,  tlie  most  prominent  figure  is  tire  fetish  priest,  with  his  idols  at  his  feet,  and  holding  np  for 
adoration  the  sacred  serpent.  War  is  illustrated  hy  the  Kaffir  chief  in  the  foreground,  the  I5osjesman 
with  his  bow  and  poisoned  arrows,  and  the  Abyssinian  chief  behind  him.  The  gluttony  of  the  Negro 
race  is  exemplified  by  the  sensual  faces  of  the  squatting  men  mth  their  .jars  of  porridge  and  fruit.  The 
ffrace  and  beauty  of  the  young  female  is  shown  by  the  Nubian  girl  and  Shooa  woman  behind  the  Kaffir; 
while  the  hideousness  of  the  old  women  is  exemplified  by  the  Negro  woman  above  with  h<'r  fetish. 
Slavery  is  illustrated  by  the  .slave  caravan  in  the  middle  distance,  and  the  pyramids  speak  of  the  inter* 
est  attached  to  Africa  by  hundreds  of  centuries. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

1.  Pictorial  representation  of  African  races.  45. 

Frontispiece.  46. 

2.  Kaffir  from  cliildliood  to  age 13  47. 

3.  Old  councillor  and  wives 13  48. 

4.  Kaffir  crad.e 18  4U. 

5   Young  Kaffir  armed 21  50. 

6.  Kaffir  postman 21  51. 

7.  Unmarried  Kaffir  girls 25  52. 

8.  Old  Kaffir  women 25  53. 

9.  Kaffir  ornaments  —  necklaces,  belt, etc. ...  33  54. 

10.  Kaffir  needles  and  sheaths 33  55. 

11.  Articles  of  costume 33  5(3. 

12.  Dolls  representing  the  Kaffir  dress 33  57. 

13.  Braeeletsmadeof  thehoof  of  thebluebok..  3!)  .58. 

14.  Apron  of  chief's  wife 39  59. 

15.  Ivory  armlets 39  GO. 

16.  Necklaces  —  beads  and  teeth 39  01. 

17.  Young  Kaffir  in  full  dress 43  02. 

18.  Girl  in  dancing  dress 43  03. 

19.  Kaffir  ornaments 49  64. 

20.  Dress  and  ornaments 49  (!5. 

21.  The  Kaffirs  at  home 57  00. 

22.  Interior  of  a  Kaffir  hut fi3  07. 

23.  AKaffir  kraal 63  08. 

24.  A  Kaffir  milking  bowl 67  09. 

25.  A  Kaffir  beer  bowl 07  70. 

26.  A  Kaffir  beer  strainer 07  71. 

27.  A  Kaffir  water  pijjC 07  72. 

28.  Woman's  basket 67  73. 

29.  Kaffir  cattle  —  training  the  horns 73  74. 

30.  Keturn  of  a  Kaffir  war  party 73  75. 

31.  Procession  of  the  bride 83  70. 

32.  Kaffir  passing  his  mother-in-law 88  77. 

33.  Bridegroom  un  approval 97  78. 

34.  Kaffir  at  his  forge 97  79. 

35.  Spoons  for  eating  porridge 103  80. 

36.  Group  of  assagais 103  81. 

37.  Kaffir  warriors  skirmishing Ill  82, 

38.  Muscular  advocacy Ill  8.3. 

39.  Goza,  the  Kaffir  chief,  in  ordinary  undress.  117  84. 

40.  Goza  in  full  war  dress,  with  his  councillors.  117  8.5. 

41.  Panda's  review 121  86. 

42.  Hunting  scene  in  Kaffirland 121  87. 

43.  Cooking  elephant's  foot 133  88. 

44.  A  Kaffir  dinner  party 145  89. 

(Ui) 


Paob. 

Soldiers  lapping  water 145 

A  Kaffir  harp 155 

Exterior  of  a  Kaffir  hut 155 

Spoon,  ladle,  skimmers 155 

A  Kaffir  water  pipe 155 

A  Kaffir  fowl  house 1 55 

Necklace  made  of  human  finger  bones  ....  167 

A  remarkable  gourd  snuff-box 107 

Poor  man's  pipe 107 

Kaffir  gentlemen  smoking 107 

The  prophet's  school 174 

The  prophet's  return 171 

Old  Kaffir  prophets 177 

The  Kaffir  prophetess  at  work 188 

Unfavorable  prophecy 188 

Preserved  head 203 

Head  of  Mundurucii  chief 203 

Burial  of  King  Tchaka's  mother 203 

Dingan,  the  Kaffir  monarch,  at  home....  209 

Kaffir  women  quarrelling 209 

Hottentot  girl 219 

Hottentot  woman 219 

Hottentot  young  man 223 

Hottentot  in  full  dress 223 

Hottentot  kraal 229 

Card  playing  by  Hottentots 237 

Bosjesman  shooting  cattle 237 

Grapple  plant 247 

Bosjesman  woman  and  child 247 

Hottentots  asleep 247 

Bosjesman  quiver 247 

Frontlet  of  Hottentot  girl 247 

Poison  grub 259 

Portrait  of  Koranna  chief 271 

Namaquas  shooting  at  the  storm 271 

Knife  and  assagai  heads 281 

Bechuana  knives 281 

A  Bechuana  apron 231 

Ornament  made  of  monkeys'  teeth 281 

Bechuana  parliament 287 

Female  architects  among  the  Bechuanas. .  287 

Magic  dice  of  the  Bechuanas 292 

Spartan  practices  among  the  Bechuanas . .  294 
The  girl's  ordeal  among  the  Bechuanas  . . .  294 
Plan  of  Bechuana  house 299 


IV 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

90-  Bechuana  funeral 302 

yi.  Grave  and  monument  of  Damara  chief. . .  302 

92.  Damara  warrior  anil  wife 303 

93.  Damara  girl  resting 308 

94.  Portrait  of  Ovambo  girl 317 

9.">.  Ovambo  women  pounding  corn 317 

Si).  Ovambo  houses 329 

97.  Makololo  house  building 329 

98.  Children's  games  among  the  Makololo 333 

99.  M'  Bopo,  a  Makololo  chief,  at  home 333 

100.  Spearing  the  hippopotamus 343 

101.  The  final  attack 343 

102.  Boating  scene  on  the  Bo-tlet-le  River 351 

103.  Bato'ka  salutation 351 

104.  Batoka  men 357 

105.  Pelele,  or  lip  ring,  of  the  Manganjas. .    ...  357 
100.  Hippopotamus  trap 363 

107.  Axes  of  the  Banyai 363 

108.  The  marimba,  or  African  piano 371 

109.  Singularheaddress  of  the  Balonda  women.  371 

110.  Wagogo  greediness 387 

111.  Architecture  of  the  Weezee 387 

112.  A  hu.sband's  welcome  among  the  "Weezee.  391 

113.  Sultan  TJkuhma  drinking  pomb^ 391 

114.  Harvest  scene  among  the  W.anyamuezi. . .  397 

115.  Salutation  by  the  Watusi 397 

116   Kumanika's  private  band, 404 

117.  Arrest  of  the  queen 412 

118.  Reception  of  a  visitor  by  the  "Waganda. . .  417 

119.  The  magician  of  TJnyoro  at  work 417 

120.  Wanyoro  culprit  in  the  shoe 423 

121.  Group  of  Giini  and  Madi 431 

122.  Removal  of  a  village  by  Madi 431 

123.  Group  of  the  Kytch  tribe 437 

124.  Neam-Nam  fighting 437 

125.  Wooden  chiefs  of  the  Dor 449 

126.  Scalp-locks  of  the  Djibbas 449 

127.  Bracelets  of  the  Djibbas 449 

123.   Ornaments  of  the  Djour 449 

129.  Women's  knives 449 

130.  A  Nuehr  helmet 449 

131.  The  Latooka  victory 457 

132.  Gorilla  hunting  by  the  Fans 457 

133.  A  Bari  homestead 465 

134.  Funeral  dauce  of  the  Latookas 465 

135.  The  ceremony  of  M'paza 478 

136.  Obongo  market 478 

137.  The  giant  dauce  of  the  Aponos 486 

138.  Fishing  scene  among  the  Bakalai 486 

139.  Ashira  farewell 499 

140.  Olenda's  salutation  to  an  Ishogo  chief. . . .  499 

141.  A  Cauiraa  dance 508 

142.  Quengueza's  (chief  of  the  Gamma)  walk. . .  508 

143.  The  Gamma  fetish  man  ejecting  a  demon.  517 
144    Olanga  drinking  mboundou 517 

145.  Fate  of  the  Shekiani  vrizard 526 

146.  The  Mpongw^  coronation 626 

147.  Attack  on  a  Mpongw^  village 537 

148.  Barg.aining  for  a  wife  by  the  Fanti 537 

149.  The  primeval  child  in  Dahome 5.52 

150.  Fetishes,  male  and  female,  of  theKrumen  652 

151.  Dahoman  ivory  trumpets 658 


Psge. 

152.  Dahoman  war  drum 558 

153.  War  knives  of  the  Fanti 558 

154.  Fetish  trumpet  and  drum 558 

155.  Ashanti  caboceer  and  soldiers 564 

156.  Punishment  of  a  snake  killer 664 

157.  "  The  bell  comes  " 569 

158.  Divhoman  amazous 569 

159.  Amazon    review 576 

160.  The  Dahoman  king's  dance 576 

161.  The  basket  sacrifice  in  Dahome 583 

102.  Head  worship  in  Dahome 595 

163.  The  attack  on  Abeokuta 595 

16i.  The  Alake's  (king  of  the  Egbas)  court 605 

165.  Mumbo  Jumbo 605 

166.  A  Bub^  m.arriage 612 

167.  Kanemboo  man  and  woman 612 

168.  Washing  day  in  Abyssinia 617 

169.  A  Congo  coronation 617 

170.  Ju-jii  execution 619 

171.  Shooa  women 631 

172.  Tuaricks  and  Tibboos 631 

173    Begharmi  lancers 638 

174.  Musgu  chief 638 

175.  Dinner  party  in  Abyssinia 643 

176.  Abyssinian  heads 643 

177.  King  Theodore  and  the  lions 652 

178.  Pleaders  in  the  courts 652 

179.  A  battle  between  Abyssinians  and  Gallas.  662 

180.  Interior  of  an  Abyssinian  house 662 

181.  Buffalo  dance  iu  Abyssinia 670 

182.  Bedouin  camp 670 

183.  Hunting  the  hippopotamus 679 

184.  Travellers  and  the  mirage 679 

185.  Travelling  in  Madagascar 692 

186.  Australian  man  and  woman 698 

187.  Women  and  old  man  of  Lower  Murray. . .  698 

188.  Hunter  and  his  day's  provision 707 

189.  The  sea-grass  cloak 707 

190.  Bee  hunting 719 

191.  Australian  cooking  a  snake 718 

192.  Australian   tomahawks 722 

193.  Australian   clubs 722 

194.  Australian  saw 722 

195.  Tattooing  chisels 722 

196.  Man  of  Torres  Strait 722 

197.  Basket  —  South  Australia 722 

198.  Heads  of  Australian  spears 731 

199.  Throw-sticks  of  the  Australians 731 

200.  Boomerangs  of  the  Australians 731 

201.  Spearing  the  kangaroo 739 

202.  Catching  the  cormorant 739 

203.  Australian  shields 742i 

204.  The  kuri  d.ance 749 

205.  Palti  dance,  or  corrobboree 749 

206.  An  Australian  feast 759 

207.  Australian  mothers 75S 

208.  Mintalto,  a  Nauo  man  765 

209.  Young  man  and  boy  of  South  AustralK . .  765 

210.  Hut  for  cure  of  disease 766 

211.  Tombof  skulls 765 

212.  Tree  tomb  of  Australia 779 

213.  Smoking  bodies  of  slain  warriors 77^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

214.  Carved  feather  box 775 

215.  Australian  widows  and  their  caps 781 

216.  Cave  with  native  drawings 781 

217.  Winter  huts  in  Australia 787 

218.  A  summer  encampment 787 

219.  New  Zealander  from  childhood  to  age 794 

220.  Woman  and  boy  of  New  Zealand 803 

221.  A  tattooed  chief  and  his  wife 803 

222.  Maori  women  making  mats 809 

223.  TheTangi 809 

224.  Paratene  Maioha  in  his  state  war  cloak. .  820 

225.  The  chief  3  daughter w..  820 

226.  Hongi-hongi,  chief  of  AVaipa 820 

227.  Maories  preparing  for  a  feast 831 

228.  Maori  chiefs'  storehouses 831 

229.  Cannibal  cookhouse 835 

230.  Maori  pah 835 

231.  Green  jade  ornaments 841 

232.  Slaori  weapons 841 

233.  Wooden  and  bone  merais 841 

234.  Maori  war  dance 847 

235.  Te  Ohu,  a  native  priest 860 

236.  A  tiki  at  Raroera  pah 860 

237.  Tiki  from  Whakapokoko 860 

238.  Mourning  over  a  dead  chief 872 

239.  Tomb  of  E'  Toki 872 

240.  Eangihaeta's  war  house 877 

241.  Interior  of  a  pah  or  village 877 

242.  Maori  paddles 881 

243.  Green  jade  adze  and  chisel 881 

244.  Common  stone  adze 881 

245.  A  Maori  toko-toko 881 

246.  New  Caledonians  defending  their  coast..  893 

247.  Andamaners  cooking  a  pig 893 

248.  A  scene  in  the  Nicobar  Islands 903 

249.  The  Outanatas  and  their  weapons 903 

250   The  monkey  men  of  Dourga  Strait 909 

251.  Canoes  of  New  Guinea 909 

252.  Huts  of  New  Guinea 916 

253.  Dance  by  torchlight  in  New  Guinea 910 

254.  The  ambassador's  message 924 

255.  The  canoe  in  a  breeze 924 

256.  Presentation  of  the  canoe 937 

257.  A  Fijian  feast 943 

258.  The  fate  of  the  boaster 943 

259.  Fijian  idol 949 

260.  The  orator's  flapper 949 

261.  Fijian  spear 949 

262.  Fijian  clubs 949 

263.  A  Fijian  wedding 9,57 

264.  House  thatching  by  Fijians 957 

265.  A  Bur^,  or  temple,  in  Fiji 963 

266.  View  in  Makira  harbor 9C3 

267.  Man  and  woman  of  Yati5 973 

268.  Woman  and  child  of  Vanikoro 973 

269.  Daughter  of  Tongan  chief 973 

270.  Burial  of  a  living  king 980 

271.  Interior  of  a  Tongan  house 980 

272.  The  kava  party  in  Tonga 988 

273.  Tongan  plantation 991 

274.  Ceremony  of  inachi 991 

275.  The  tow-tow 999 


Page. 

276.  Consulting  a  priest.    999 

277.  Tattooing  day  in  Samoa 1012 

278.  Cloth  making  by  Samoan  women 1012 

279.  Samoan  club 1018 

280.  Armor  of  Samoan  warrior 1018 

281.  Beautiful  paddle  of  Hervey  Islanders 1018 

282.  Ornamented  adze  magnified 1018 

283.  Spear  of  Hervey  Islanders 1018 

284.  Shark  tooth  gauntlets 1023 

285.  Samoan  warriors  exchanging  defiance. . .  .1027 

286.  Pigeon  catching  by  Samoan,-) 1027 

287.  Battle  scene  in  Hervey  Islands 1035 

288.  Village  in  Kingsmill  Islands 1039 

289.  Shark  tooth  spear 1041 

290.  Shark's  jaw 1041 

291.  Swords  of  Kingsmill  Islanders 1041 

292.  Tattooed  chiefs  of  Marquesas 1048 

293.  Marquesan  chief's  hand 1046 

294.  Neck  ornament 1048 

295.  Marquesan  chief  in  war  dress 1040 

296.  The  war  dance  of  the  Niuans 1054 

297.  Tahitans  presenting  the  cloth 1054 

298.  Dressing  the  idols  by  Society  Islanders. .  1061 

299.  The  human  sacrifice  by  Tahitans 1077 

300.  Corpse  and  chief  mourner 1077 

301.  Tane,  the  T.ihitan  god,  returning  home. .  1084 

302.  Women  and  pet  pig  of  Sandwich  Islands,  1084 

303.  Kamehameha's  exploit  with  spears 1089 

304.  Masked  rowers 1089 

305.  Surf  swimming  by  Sandwich  Islanders. .  1093 

306.  Helmet  of  Sandwich  Islanders 1097 

307.  Feather  idol  of  Sandwich  Islanders 1097 

308.  Wooden  idol  of  Sandwich  Islanders 1097 

.309.  Eomanzoff  Islanders,  man  and  woman. .  1101 

310.  Dyak  warrior  and  dusum UOl 

311.  Investiture  of  the  rupack 1105 

312.  Warrior's  dance  among  Pelew  Islanders,  1105 

313.  HMnoan  pirate  and  Saghai  Dyak . . . .  1113 

314.  Dyak  women 1113 

315.  Parang-latok  of  the  Dyaks 1122 

316.  Sumpitans  of  the  Dyaks 1122 

317.  Paraug-ihlang  of  the  Dyaks 1122 

318.  The  kris,  or  dagger,  of  the  Dyaks 1129 

319.  Shields  of  Dyak  soldiers 1129 

320.  A  parang  with  charms 1129 

321.  A  Dyak  spear 1129 

322.  Canoe  fight  of  the  Dyaks 1139 

323.  ADyak  wedding 1139 

324.  A  Dyak  feast 1147 

325.  A  Bornean  adze  axe 1153 

326.  ADyak  village 1153 

327.  ADyak  house 1153 

328.  Fuegian  man  and  woman 1163 

329.  Patagonian  man  and  woman 1163 

330.  A  Fuegian  settlement 1169 

331.  Fuegians  shifting  quarters 1169 

332.  Ar.aucani.an  stirrups  and  spur 1175 

333.  Araucauian  lassos 1175 

3.34.  P.atagonian  bolas 1175 

3.35.  Spanish  bit  and  Patagonian  fittings 1175 

336.  Patagonians  hunting  game 1180 

337.  Patagonian  village 1187 


vl 


ILLUSTRA'nOJSS. 


Page. 

338.  Patagonian  burial  ground 1187 

339.  A  Mapuchf;  family 1201 

310.  Araucauian  marriage 1201 

341.  Mapucli^  medicine 1207 

342.  Mapuch^  funeral 1207 

343.  The  macaua  club 1212 

344.  Guianan  arrows  and  tube 1214 

34.5.  Gran  Chaco  Indians  on  the  move 1218 

816.  The  ordeal  of  the  "  gloves  " 1218 

347.  Guianan  blow  guns 1225 

348.  Guianan  blow-gun  arrow 1225 

34<J.  Guianan  winged  arrows 1225 

350.  Guianan  cotton  basket 1225 

351.  Guianan  quiver 1225 

352.  Guianan  arrows  rolled  around  stick 1225 

353.  Guianan  arrows  strung 1225 

354.  Feathered  arrows  of  the  Macoushies 1231 

355.  Cassava  dish  of  the  Macoushies 1231 

35fi.  Guianan  quake 1231 

357.  Arrow  heads  of  the  Macoushies 1231 

358.  Guianan  turtle  arrow 1231 

359.  Guianan  quiver  for  arrow  heads 1231 

360.  Feather  apron  of  the  Munduruciis 1231 

361.  Head-dresses  of  the  Macoushies 1238 

362.  Guianan  clubs 1238 

36.3.  Guianan  cradle 1238 

364.  A  Warau  house 1244 

365.  Lake  dwellers  of  the  Orinoco 1244 

366.  Guianan  tipiti  and  bowl 1249 

367.  Guianan  twin  bottles 1249 

368.  Feather  apron  of  the  Caribs 1249 

369.  Bead  apron  of  the  Guianans 1249 

370.  The  spathe  of  the  Waraus 1249 

371.  The  Maquarri  dance 1260 

372.  Shield  wrestling  of  the  Waraus 1260 

373.  Jaguar  bone  flute  of  the  Caribs 1265 

374.  Rattle  of  the  Guianans 1265 

375.  Mexican  stirrups 1265 

376.  Iron  and  stone  tomahawks 1265 

377.  Indian  shield  and  clubs 1265 

378.  Mandan  chief  Mah-to-toh-pa  and  wife 1277 

379.  A  Crow  cJiief 1284 

380.  American  Indians  scalping 1284 

381.  FUnt-headed  arrow 1290 

382.  Camanchees  riding 1291 

383.  "  Smoking  "  horses 1291 

384.  Snow  shoe 1295 

385.  Bi.son  hunting  scene 1299 

386.  Buffalo  dance 1299 

387.  The  Mandan  ordeal I305 

388.  The  last  race , I305 

389.  The  medicine  man  at  work 1311 

890.  The  ball  play  of  the  Choctaws 1311 


Page 

391.  Indian  pipes 1313 

392.  Ee-e-chin-che-a  in  war  costume 1318 

393.  Grandson  of  a  Blackfoot  chief 1318 

394.  Pshan-shaw,  a  girl  of  the  Iticcarees 1318 

395.  Flat-head  woman  and  child 1319 

396.  Indian  canoe 1322 

397.  Snow  shoe  dance 1322 

398.  Dance  to  the  medicine  of  the  brave 1323 

399.  The  canoe  race 1327 

400.  Esquimaux  dwellings 1327 

401.  Esquimaux  harpoon  head 1337 

402.  Burial  of  Blackbird,  an  Omaha  chief 1341 

403.  Esquimaux  spearing  tlie  walrus 1341 

404.  The  kajak  and  its  management 1347 

405.  Esquimaux  sledge  driving 1317 

406.  Wrist-guard  of  the  Esquimaux 1353 

407.  Esquimaux  fish-hooks 1353 

408.  Feathered  arrows  of  Aht  tribe 1356 

409.  Ingenious  fish-hook  of  the  Alits 1357 

410.  Eemarkable  carved  pipes  of  the  Ahts...  1357 

411.  Bow  of  the  Ahts  of  Vancouver's  Island. .  1357 

412.  Beaver  mask  of  the  Aht  tribe I357 

413.  Singular  head-dress  of  the  Aht  chiefs 1357 

414.  Decorated  paddles  of  the  Ahts 1357 

415.  Canoe  of  the  Ahts  1361 

416.  Aht  dance 1367 

417.  Initiation  of  a  dog  eater 1367 

418.  A  Sowrah  marriage 1387 

419.  A  Meriah  sacrifice 1387 

420.  Bows  and  quiver  of  Hindoos 1394 

421.  Ingenious  ruse  of  Bheel  robbers 1397 

422.  A  Ghoorka  attacked  by  a  tiger 1397 

423.  A  Ghoorka  necklace 1381 

424.  A  kookery  of  the  Ghoorka  tribe 1403 

425.  The  chakra  or  quoit  weapon 1403 

426.  Indian  arms  and  armor 1403 

427.  Suit  of  armor  inlaid  with  gold 1381 

428.  Chinese  repeating  crossbow 1425 

429.  Mutual  assistance 1427 

430.  Cliinese  woman's  foot  and  slioe 1428 

4.31.  Mandarin  and  wife 14.37 

432.  Various  modes  of  torture 1437 

433.  Mouth  organ 1445 

434.  Specimens  of  Cliinese  art 1446 

435.  Decapitation  of  Chinese  criminal 1451 

436.  The  street  ballad-singer 1451 

4.37.  Japanese  lady  in  a  storm 1454 

438.  Japanese  lady  on  horseback 1455 

439.  Capture  of  the  tru.ant  husbands 1464 

440.  Candlestick  and  censers 1463 

441    Suit  of  Japanese  armor 1469 

442.  King  S,  S.  P.  M.  Mongkut  of  Siam 1469 

443.  Portrait  of  celebrated  Siamese  actress. . .  1469 


CONTENTS 


VOLUME  I. 


Chap.  Page. 

KAFFIRS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

I.  Intellectual  Chakactkb 11 

n.  Course  of  Life 17 

m.  Course  of  Life  —  Concluded . .    20 
IV.  Masculine  Dress  and  Orna- 
ments      28 

V.  Masculine  Dress  and  Orna- 
ments —  Concluded 36 

VI.  Feminine    Dress   and    Orna- 
ments      48 

Vll.  Architecture 66 

VIII.  Cattle  Keeping 66 

IX.  Marriage 75 

X.  Marriage — Concluded 82 

XI.  War  —  Offensive  Weapons..    92 
XII.  War  —  Defensive  Weapons..  108 

XIII.  Hunting 126 

XIV.  Agriculture  138 

XV.  Food 143 

XVI.  Social  Characteristics 159 

XVn.  Religion  and  Superstition.  . .  169 
XVCn.  Religion  and  Superstition  — 

Continued 180 

XIX.  Superstition  —  Concluded 192 

XX.  Funeral  Rites 200 

XXI.  Domestic  Life 206 

HOTTENTOTS. 

XXn.  The  Hottentot  Races 217 

XXTTT.  Marriage,  Language,  Amuse- 
ments   232 

THE  BOSJESMAN,  OR  BUSHMAN. 

XXIV.  Appearance  —  Social  Life...  242 

XXV.  Architecture  —  Weapons 251 

XXVI.  Amusements 262 

VARIOUS  AFRICAN  RACES. 

XXVII.   KORANNAS  AND  NamAQUAS 269 

XXVIII.  The  Bechuanas 280 

XXIX.  The  Bechuanas  —  Concluded..  291 

XXX.  The  Damara  Tribe 304 

XXXI.  The  Ovambo,  or  Ovampo 315 

XXXII.  The  Makololo  Tribe 324 

.^XXIII.   The  Bayeve  and  Makoba...   3.37 
XXXIV.  The  Batoka  and  Manganja.  .   348 

XXXV.  The  Banvai  and  Badema 361 

XXXVL  The    Balondo,    or    Balonda, 

and  Angolese 369 


Chap.  Ptg*' 

XXXVII.  Wagogo  and  Wanyamuezi 384 

XXXVLII.  Kakague 399 

XXXIX.  The  Watusi  and  Waganda.  . .  408 

XL.  The  Wanyobo 422 

XLI.  Gani,  Madi,  Obbo,  and  Kytch  429 
XLII.  The    Neam-Nam,    Dor,    and 

DjOUR  TRIBES'. 440 

XLni.  The   Latooka  tribe 453 

XUV.  The      Shir,      Bari,      Djibba, 

NUEHR,     DiNKA,     and      ShIL- 
LOOK    TRIBES 461 

XLV.  The    Ishogo,    Ashango,    and 

Obongo  tribes 475 

XLVT.  The  Apono  and  Apingi 484 

XLVII.  The  Bakalai 491 

XLVIII.  The  Ashira 496 

XLIX.  The  Caivima  or  Commi 504 

L.  The   Shekiani  and  MpoNGwfi  521 

LI.  The  Fans 529 

LII.  The  F ass  — Concluded 535 

LIII.  The  Kkumen  and  Fanti 644 

LIV.  The  Ashanti 554 

LV.  Dahome 561 

LVI.  Dahome  —  Continued 573 

LVII.  Dahome  —  Concluded 581 

LVnL  The  Egbas 590 

LIX.  Bonny 600 

LX.  The  Man-dingoes 607 

LXI.  The  Bubes  and  Congoese  . . .  610 

LXII.  Bornu 620 

LXIII.  The  Shooas,  Tieboos,  Tuaricks, 

Begharmis,  and  Musguese  . .  628 

LXrV.  Abyssinians 641 

LXV.  Abyssinians  —  Corefenued 649 

LXVT.  Abyssinians  —  Concluded 658 

LXVli.  Nubians  and  Hamran  Arabs,  673 
liXVUI.  Bedouins,    Hassaniyehs,   and 

Malagasy 681 

AUSTRALIA. 

LXIX.  Appearance  and    Character 

of   Natives 694 

LXX.  Dress  —  Food 703 

LXXI.  Weapons 719 

LXXII.  Weapons  —  Concluded 727 

LXXIII.  War  —  Amusements 744 

LXXIV.  Domestic  Life 755 

LXXV.  From  Childhood  to  Manhood  761 
LXXVI.  Mkdicine  —  Surgery — Dispo- 
sal of  Dead 789 


CHAPTER   I. 


THB  KAPFIR,  OB  ZTN'GIA?f  TRIBES,  AND  THEIR  PHTSICAL  PECULI^VRITIEa  —  ORIGE^  OF  THB  NAITR  — 
THEORIES  AS  TO  THEIR  PRESENCE  IS  SOUTHEKN  AFRICA  —  THB  CHIEF  TRIBES  AND  TIIEIR  LOCAL- 
rriES — THE  ZULUS  AND  THEIB  APPE^VRANCE  —  THEIR  COIMPLEXION  AND  IDEAS  OP  BEAUTY  — 
POINTS  OF  SLMILITUDE  AND  CONTRAST  BETWEEN  THE  KAFFIR  AND  THB  NEGRO  —  MENTAL  CHAR- 
ACTERISTICS OF  THE  KAFFIR  —  HIS  WANT  OF  C.\RE  FOR  THE  FUTURE,  AND  REASONS  FOR  IT  — 
CONTROVERSIAL  POWERS  OF  THE  KAFFIR  —  THB  SOCRATIC  5I0DH  OP  ARGUMENT  —  THE  HORNS  OP 
A  DILEJIMA — LOVE  OP  A  KAFFIR  FOB  ARGUMENT  —  HIS  MENTAL  TRAINING  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES 
—  PARTHIAN  3I0DE  OP  ARGUING  —  PLACABLE  NATURE  OF  THE  KAFFIR — HIS  SENSE  OF  SELF- 
RESPECT —  FONDNESS  FOR  A  PRACTICAL  JOKE  —  THE  WOMAN  AND  THE  MELON — HOSI'ITALITr  OP 
THE  KAFFIRS  —  THEIB  DOMESTICATED  NATURE  AND  FONDNESS  FOE  CHILDREN — THEIB  HAIRED 
OP  SOLITUDE. 


Over  the  whole  of  the  Southern  portion 
of  the  great  Continent  of  Africa  is  spread  a 
remarkaljle  and  interesting  race  of  mankind. 
Though  divided  into  numerous  tribes,  and 
differing  in  appearance,  manners,  and  cus- 
toms, they  are  evidently  cast  in  the  same 
mould,  and  belong  to  the  same  group  of  the 
human  race.  They  are  dark,  but  not  so 
black  as  the  true  negro  of  the  West.  Their 
hair  is  crisp,  short,  and  curled,  but  not  so 
woolly  as  that  of  the  negro;  their  lips, 
though  large  when  compared  with  those  of 
Europeans,  are  small  when  compared  to 
those  of  the  negro.  The  form  is  finely 
modelled,  the  stature  tall,  the  limlis  straight, 
the  forehead  high,  the  expression  intelli- 
gent; and,  altogether,  this  group  of  mankind 
affords  as  fine  examples  of  the  human  form 
as  can  be  found  anywhere  on  the  earth. 

To  give  a  name  to  this  large  group  is  not 
very  easy.  Popularly,  the  tribes  which 
compose  it  are  known  as  Kaffirs;  but  that 
term  has  now  been  restricted  to  the  tribes 
on  the  south-east  of  the  continent,  between 
the  sea  and  the  range  of  the  Draakensberg 
Mountains.  Moreover,  the  name  Kaffir  is  a 
very  inappropriate  one,  being  simply  the 
term  which  the  Moslem  races  apply  ito  all 
who  do  not  believe  with  themselves,  and  by 
which  they  designate  black  and  white  men 
alike.  Some  ethnologists  have  designated 
them  by  the  general  name  of  Chuanas,  the 
word  being  the  root  of  the  well-known 
Bechuana,  Sechuana,  and  similar  names; 
while  others  have  preferred  the  word  Bantu, 
and  others  Zingian,  which  last  word  is  per- 
haps the  best. 


Whatever  may  be  the  title,  it  is  evident 
that  they  are  not  aborigines,  but  that  they 
have  descended  upon  Southern  Africa  from 
some  other  locality  —  probably  from  more 
northern  parts  of  the  same  continent.  Some 
writers  claim  for  the  Kaffir  or  Zingian  tribes 
an  Asiatic  origin,  and  have  a  theory  that  in 
the  course  of  their  migration  they  mixed 
with  the  negroes,  and  so  became  possessed 
of  the  frizzled  hair,  the  thick  lips,  the  dark 
skin,  and  other  peculiarities  of  the  negro 
race. 

Who  might  have  been  the  true  aborigines 
of  Southern  Africa  cannot  be  definitely 
stated,  inasmuch  as  even  within  very  recent 
times  great  changes  have  taken  place.  At 
the  present  time  South  Africa  is  pracfacally 
European,  the  white  man,  whether  Dutch  or 
English,  having  dispossessed  the  owners  of 
the  soil,  and  either  settled  upon  the  land  or 
reduced  the  dark-skinned  inhabitants  to  the 
rank  of  mere  dependants.  Those  whom 
they  displaced  were  themselves  interlopers, 
having  overcome  and  ejected  the  Hottentot 
trilies,  who  in  their  turn  seem  but  to  have 
suffered  the  same  fate  which  in  the  time  of 
their  greatness  they  had  brought  upon 
others. 

At  the  present  day  tlie  great  Zingian  group 
aftbrds  the  best  type  of  the  inhaliitants  of 
Southern  Africa,  and  we  will  therefore  begin 
with  the  Kaffir  tribes. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  a  map  of  Africa, 
he  will  see  that  upon  the  south-east  coast  a 
long  range  of  mountains  runs  nearly  paral- 
lel vtith  the  sea-line,  and  extends  from  lat. 


cnj 


12 


THE   KAFFIR. 


27"  to  33°.  It  is  the  line  of  the  Draakens- 
berg  Mountains,  and  along  the  strip  of  land 
which  intervenes  between  tliese  mountains 
and  the  sea  are  found  the  genuine  Kaffir 
tribes.  There  are  otlier  tribes  belonging  to 
the  same  group  of  mankind  which  are  found 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Draakensberg, 
and  are  spread  over  the  entire  country,  from 
DelagoaBay  on  the  cast  to  the  Orange  River 
on  the  west.  These  tribes  are  familiar  to  read- 
ers of  African  travel  under  the  names  of 
Bechuanas,  Bayeye,  Namaqua,  Ovampo,  &c. 
But,  by  common  consent,  the  name  of  Kaf- 
lir  is  now  restricted  to  those  tribes  which 
inhabit  the  strip  of  country  above  men- 
tioned. 

Formerly,  a  considerable  number  of  tribes 
inhabited  this  district,  and  were  sufficiently 
distinct  to  be  almost  reckoned  as  difterent 
nations.  Now,  however,  these  tribes  are 
practically  reduced  to  five;  namely,  the  Ama- 
tonga  on  the  north,  followed  southward  by 
the  Amaswazi,  the  Amazulu,  the  Ama- 
ponda,  and  the  Amakosa.  Here  it  must  be 
remarked  that  the  prefix  of  "  Ama,"  at- 
tached to  all  the  words,  is  one  of  the  forms 
by  which  the  plural  of  certain  names  is  des- 
ignated. Thus,  we  might  speak  of  a  single 
Tonga,  Swazi,  Zulu,  or  Ponda  Kaffir;  but 
if  we  wish  to  speak  of  more  than  one,  we 
form  the  pliu'al  by  prefixing  "  Ama  "  to  the 
word. 

The  other  tribes,  although  they  for  the 
most  part  still-  exist  and  retain  the  ancient 
names,  are  practically  merged  into  those 
whose  names  liave  been  mentioned. 

Of  all  the  true  Kaffir  tribes,  the  Zulu  is 
the  chief  type,  and  that  tribe  will  be  first 
described.  Although  spread  over  a  consid- 
erable  range  of  country,  the  Zulu  tribe  has 
its  headquarters  rather  to  the  north  of  Natal, 
and  there  may  be  found  the  best  specimens 
of  this  splendid  race  of  men.  Belonging,  as 
do  the  Zulu  tribes,  to  the  dark-skinned  por- 
tion of  mankind,  their  skin  does  not  possess 
that  dead,  jetty  black  which  is  characteristic 
of  the  Western  negro.  It  is  a  more  trans- 
parent skin,  the  layer  of  coloring  matter 
does  not  seem  to  be  so  thick,  and  the  ruddy 
hue  of  the  blood  is  perceptible  through  the 
black.  It  is  held  by  the  Kaffirs  to  he  the 
perfection  of  human  coloring;  and  a  Zulu,  if 
asked  what  he  considers  to  be  the  finest 
complexion,  will  say  that  it  is,  like  Ms  ovm, 
black,  with  a  little  red. 

Some  dark-skinned  nations  approve  of  a 
fair  complexion,  and  in  some  parts  of  the 
world  the  chiefs  are  so  much  fairer  than 
the  commonalty,  that  they  seem  almost  to 
belong  to  different  races.  The  Kaffir,  how- 
ever, holds  precisely  the  opposite  opinion. 
According  to  his  views  of  human  beauty,  the 
blacker  a  man  is  the  handsomer  he  is  con- 
sidered, provided  that  some  tinge  of  red  be 
perceptible.  They  carry  this  notion  so  far, 
that  in  sounding  the  praises  of  their  king, 
an  act  at  which  they  are  very  expert,  they 


mention,  as  one  of  his  excellences,  that  he 
chooses  to  be  black,  though,  being  so  power- 
ful a  monarch,  he  might  have  been  white  if 
he  had  liked.  Europeans  who  have  resided 
for  any  length  of  time  among  the  Kaffir 
tribes  seem  to  imbibe  similar  ideas  about 
the  superior  beauty  of  the  black  and  red 
complexion.  They  become  used  to  it,  and 
perceive  little  varieties  in  individuals, 
though  to  an  inexperienced  eye  the  color- 
would  appear  exactly  similar  in  every  per- 
son. When  they  return  to  civilized  society 
they  feel  a  great  contempt  for  the  pale,  hfe- 
less-looking  complexion  of  Europeans,  and 
some  time  elapses  before  they  learn  to  view 
a  fair  skin  and  light  hair  with  any  degree  of 
admiration.  Examples  of  albinos  are  occa- 
sionally seen  among  the  Kaffirs,  but  they 
are  not  pleasant-looking  individuals,  and 
are  not  admired  bj'  their  blacker  and  more 
fortunate  fellow-countrymen.  A  dark  olive 
is,  however,  tolerably  common,  but  the 
real  hue  of  the  .skin  is  that  of  rather  blackish 
chocolate.  As  is  the  case  with  the  negro 
race,  the  newly  born  infant  of  a  Kaffir  is 
nearly  as  pale  as  that  of  a  European,  the 
dark  hue  becoming  developed  by  degrees. 

Though  dark  of  hue,  the  Kaffirs  are  as 
fastidious  about  their  dusky  complexion  as 
any  European  belle  could  be  of  her  own 
fairer  skin;  and  the  pride  with  which  a 
Kaffir,  even  though  he  be  a  man  and  a  tried 
warrior,  regards  the  shining,  transparent 
black  of  his  skin,  has  in  it  something  ludi- 
crous to  an  inhabitant  of  Europe. 

The  hair  of  the  Kaffir,  whether  it  belong 
to  male  or  female,  never  becomes  long,  but 
envelopes  the  head  in  a  close  covering  of 
crisp,  woolly  curls,  very  sim-ilar  to  the  liair 
of  the  true  negro.  The  lips  are  always 
large,  the  mouth  wide,  and  the  nose  has 
very  wide  nostrils.  These  peculiarities  the 
Kaffir  has  in  common  with  the  negro,  and 
it  now  and  then  happens  that  an  individual 
has  these  three  features  so  sfrongly  marked 
that  he  might  be  mistaken  for  a  negro  at 
first  sight.  A  more  careful  view,  however, 
would  at  once  detect  the  lofty  and  intellect- 
ual forehead,  the  prominence  of  the  nose, 
and  the  high  cheek-bones,  together  with  a 
nameless  but  decided  cast  of  countenance, 
which  marks  them  out  from  all  other  groups 
of  the  dark-skinned  natives  of  Africa.  The 
high  cheek-hones  form  a  very  prominent 
feature  in  the  countenances  of  the  Hotten- 
tots and  Bosjesmans,  but  the  Kaffir  cannot 
for  a  moment  be  mistaken  for  either  one  or 
the  otlier,  any  more  than  a  lion  could  be 
mistaken  for  a  puma. 

The  expression  of  the  Kaffir  face,  espec- 
ially when  young,  is  rather  pleasing;  and, 
as  a  general  rule,  is  notable  when  in  repose 
for  a  slight  plaintiveness,  this  expression 
being  marked  most  strongly  in  the  young, 
of  both  sexes.  The  dark  eyes  are  lively  and 
full  of  intellect,  and  a  kind  of  cheerful  good 
humor  pervades  the  features.    As  a  people, 


THE   KAFFIR    t  KOM  \  11 1 1  DUOOD  ^1 0   aI^^"  '    /■,  n,u,  )',. 
Married  Man.  old  (  ,  i,n  ilh  , 


'toqutpluc  Pottlntt\ 


Yrmnn  Rn,,  Uniluimid  (till  <•)/,/   IP  ;    in 

ioung  Boy.  ijnvmrne,,  Man  or "  Hoy."  Young  Married  Wonum  and  mild  ' 

(See  page  12.) 

(13) 


WANT  OF   CARE  FOR  THE  FUTUEE. 


15 


they  are  devoid  of  care.  The  three  great 
causes  of  care  iu  more  civiUzeJ  lands  have 
but  little  iufluence  ou  a  Kalfir.  The  clothes 
which  he  absolutely  needs  are  of  the  most 
trilling  description,  and  iu  our  sense  of  the 
word  caunot  be  recognized  as  clothing  at 
all.  The  slight  hut  which  enacts  the  part  of 
a  house  is  constructed  of  materials  that  can 
be  bought  for  about  a  shilling,  and  to  the 
native  cost  nothing  but  the  labor  of  cutting 
and  carrying.  His  food,  which  constitutes 
his  only  real  anxiety,  is  obtained  lar  more 
easily  than  among  civilized  nations,  for 
game-preserving  is  unknown  in  Southern 
Africa,  and  any  bird  or  beast  becomes  the 
property  of  any  one  who  chooses  to  take  the 
trouble  of  capturing  it.  One  of  the  mission- 
ary clergy  was  much  struck  by  this  utter 
want  of  care,  when  he  was  explaining  the 
Scriptures  to  some  dusky  hearers.  Tlie  ad- 
vice "  to  take  no  thouglit  for  the  morrow  " 
had  not  the  least  eftect  on  them.  They 
never  had  taken  any  thought  for  the  mor- 
I'ow,  ajid  never  would  do  so,  and  rather 
wondered  that  any  one  could  have  been 
foolish  enough  to  give  them  such  needless 
advice. 

There  is  another  cause  for  this  heedless 
enjoyment  of  the  present  moment;  namely, 
an  Instinctive  fatalism,  arising  from  the 
peculiar  nature  of  their  government.  The 
power  of  life  and  death  with  which  the 
Kaffir  rulers  are  invested  is  exorcised  in  so 
arbitrai-y  and  reckless  a  manner,  that  no 
KaiHr  feels  the  least  security  for  his  life. 
Ha  knows  perfectly  well  that  the  king  may 
require  his  life  at  any  moment,  and  he 
therefore  never  troubles  himself  about  a  fu- 
ture which  may  have  no  existence  for  him. 

Of  course  these  traits  of  character  belong 
only  to  the  Kaffir  in  their  normal  condition; 
for,  when  these  splendid  savages  have  jjlaced 
themselves  under  the  protection  of  Euro- 
peans, the  newly-felt  security  of  life  produces 
its  natural  results,  and  they  will  display 
forethought  which  would  do  no  discredit  to 
a  white  man.  A  lad,  for  example,  will  give 
faithful  service  for  a  year,  in  order  to  obtain 
a  cow  at  the  end  of  that  time.  Had  he  been 
engaged  while  under  the  rule  of  his  own 
king,  lie  would  have  insisted  on  prepayment, 
and  would  have  honorably  fullilled  his  task 
provided  that  the  king  did  not  have  him 
executed.  Their  fatalism  is,  in  fact,  owing  to 
the  peculiarly  logical  turn  of  a  Kaffir's  mind, 
and  his  determination  to  follow  an  argu- 
ment to  its  conclusion.  He  accepts  the  ac- 
knowledged fact  that  his  life  is  at  the  mercy 
of  the  king's  caprice,  and  draws  therefrom 
the  inevitable  conclusion  that  he  can  calcu- 
late on  nothing  beyond  the  present  moment. 

The  lofty  and  thoughtful  forehead  of  the 
Kaffir  does  not  belie  his  character,  for,  of  all 
savage  races,  the  Kaffir  is  perhaps  the  most 
intellectual.  In  acts  he  is  honorable  and 
straightforward,  and,  with  one  whom  he 
can  trust,  his  words  will  agree  with  his 


actions.  But  he  delights  in  controversy, 
and  has  a  special  faculty  for  the  Socratic 
mode  of  argument;  namely,  by  asking  a 
series  of  apparently  unimportant  questions, 
gradually  hemming  in  his  adversary,  and 
forcing  him  to  pronounce  his  own  sentence 
of  condemnation.  If  he  suspects  another 
of  having  committed  a  crime,  and  examines 
the  supposed  culprit  before  a  council,  he 
will  not  accuse  him  directly  of  the  crime, 
but  will  cross-examine  him  with  a  skill 
worthy  of  any  European  lawyer,  each  ques- 
tion being  only  capable  of  being  answered 
in  one  manner,  and  so  eliciting  successive 
admissions,  each  of  which  forms  a  step  in 
the  argument. 

An  amusing  example  of  this  style  of  ar- 
gument is  given  by  Fleming.  Some  Kaffirs 
had  been  detected  in  eating  an  ox,  and 
the  owner  brought  them  before  a  council, 
demanding  payment  for  the  ox.  Their  de- 
fence was  that  they  had  not  killed  the  ani- 
mal, but  had  found  it  dying  from  a  wound 
"iuHicted  by  another  ox,  and  so  had  consid- 
ered it  as  fair  spoil.  When  their  defence 
had  been  completed,  an  old  Kaffir  began  to 
examine  the  previous  speaker,  and,  as 
usual,  commenced  by  a  question  apparently 
wide  of  the  subject. 

Q.  "  Does  an  ox  tail  grow  up,  down,  or 
sideways  ?  " 

A.  "  Downward." 

Q.  "  Do  its  horns  grow  up,  down,  or  side- 
ways ?  " 

A.  "Up." 

Q.  "  If  an  ox  gores  another,  does  he  not 
lower  his  head  and  gore  upward  ?  " 

A.  "Yes." 

Q.  "  Could  he  gore  downward  ?  " 

A.  "  No." 

The  wily  interrogator  then  forced  the 
unwilling  witness  to  examine  the  wound 
which  he  asserted  to  have  been  made  by  the 
horn  of  another  ox,  and  to  admit  that  the 
slain  beast  had  been  stabbed  and  not  gored. 

Mr.  Grout,  the  missionary,  mentions  an 
instance  of  the  subtle  turn  of  mind  which 
distinguishes  an  intelligent  Kaffir.  One  of 
the  converts  came  to  ask  what  he  was  to  do 
if  he  went  on  a  journey  with  his  people. 
It  must  first  be  understood  that  a  Kaffir 
takes  no  provisions  when  travelling,  know- 
ing that  he  will  receive  hospitality  on  the 
way. 

"  What  shall  I  do,  when  I  am  out  on  a 
journey  among  the  people,  and  they  offer 
such  food  as  they  have,  perhaps  the  flesh  of 
au  animal  which  has  been  slaughtered  in 
honor  of  the  ghosts  of  the  departed?  If  i 
eat  it,  they  will  say,  'See  there!  he  is  a 
believer  in  our  religion  —  he  partakes  with 
us  of  the  meat  offered  to  our  gods.'  And 
if  I  do  not  eat,  they  will  say,  'See  there! 
he  is  a  believer  in  the  existence  and  power 
of  our  gods,  else  why  does  he  hesitate  to 
eat  of  the  meat  wliich  we  have  slaughtered 
to  them? ' " 


u 


THE  KAFFIR 


Argument  is  a  Kaffir's  native  element, 
and  lie  likes  nothing  better  than  a  coinjili- 
<;atecl  debate  where  there  is  plenty  of  hair- 
bplittiug  on  both  sides.  The  above  instan- 
i;es  show  that  a  Katlir  can  appreciate  a 
dilemma  as  well  as  the  most  accomplished 
logicians,  and  he  is  master  of  that  great  key 
of  couti'oversy, —  namely,  throwiuij  the  bur- 
den of  proof  on  the  opponent.  In  all  his 
controversy  he  is  scrupulously  polite,  never 
interrupting  an  opponent,  ami  patientl}' 
awaiting  his  own  turu  to  speak.  And 
when  the  case  has  been  fully  argued,  and 
a  conclusiou  arrived  at,  he  always  bows  to 
the  decision  of  the  presiding  chief,  and 
acquiesces  in  the  judgment,  even  when  a 
penalty  is  inflicted  upon  himself. 

Trained  in  such  a  school,  the  old  and  in- 
fluential chief,  who  has  owed  his  position 
as  much  to  his  intellect  as  to  his  military 
repute,  becomes  a  most  formidable  antago- 
nist in  argument,  especially  when  the  ques- 
tion regards  the  possession  of  land  and  the 
boundaries  to  be  observed.  He  fully  recog- 
nizes the  celebrated  axiom  that  language 
was  given  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  the 
thoughts,  and  has  recourse  to  every  evasive 
subterfuge  and  sophism  that  his  subtle  brain 
can  invent.  He  will  mix  truth  and  false- 
hood with  such  ingenuity  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  separate  them.  He  will  quietly 
"  beg  the  question,"  and  then  proceed  as 
composedly  as  if  his  argument  were  a  per- 
fectly fair  one.  He  will  attack  or  defend,  as 
best  suits  his  own  case,  and  often,  when  he 
seems  to  be  yielding  point  after  point,  he 
makes  a  sudden  onslaught,  becomes  in  his 
turn  the  assailant,  and  marches  to  victorj- 
over  the  ruins  of  his  opponents  arguments. 

0}i  page  13  the  reader  will  find  a  portrait 
of  one  of  the  councillors  attached  to  Goza, 
the  well-known  Kaffir  chief,  of  whom  we 
shall  learn  more  prcseuflj'.  And  see  what 
a  face  the  man  has  —  how  his  broad  fore- 
head is  wrinkled  with  thought,  and  how 
craftily  his  black  eyes  gleam  from  under 
their  deep  brows.  Half-naked  savage  though 
he  be,  the  man  who  will  enter  into  contro- 
versy with  him  will  find  no  mean  antago- 
nist, and,  whether  the  object  be  religion 
or  politics,  he  must  beware  lest  he  find 
himself  suddenly  defeated  exactly  when  he 
felt  most  sure  of  victory.  The'  Maori  of 
New  Zealand  is  no  mean  adept  at  argu- 
ment, and  iu  many  points  bears  a  strong 
resemblance  to  the  KafBr  character.  But, 
in  a  contest  of  wits  between  a  Maori  chief 
and  a  Zulu  councillor,  the  latter  would  be 
nearly  certain  to  come  oft"  the  victor. 

As  a  rule,  the  Kaflir  is  not  of  a  revenge- 
ful character,  nor  is  he  troubled  with  that 
exceeding  techiness  which  characterizes 
some  races  of  mankind.  Not  that  he  is 
without  a  sense  of  dignity.  On  the  con- 
trary, a  Kaffir  can  be  among  the  most  dig- 
nified of  mankind  when  he  wishes,  and 
when  there  is  some  object  iu  being  so.    But 


he  is  so  sure  of  himself  that,  like  a  true 
gentleman,  he  never  troubles  himself  about 
asserting  his  dignity.  He  is  so  sure  that  no 
real  breach  of  respect  can  be  witfuUj  com- 
mitted, that  a  Kaffir  will  seldom  hesitate  to 
play  a  practical  joke  upon  another — a  pro- 
ceeding which  would  be  the  cause  of  inslaut 
bloodshed  among  the  Malays.  And,  pro- 
vided that  the  joke  be  a  clever  one,  no  one 
seems  to  enjoy  it  more  than  the  victim. 

One  resident  in  Kaffirland  mentions  sev- 
eral instances  of  the  tendency  of  the  Kaffirs 
toward  practical  joking.  A" lad  in  his  ser- 
vice gravely  told  his  fellow-countrymen 
that  all  those  who  came  to  call  on  the  Eng- 
glishmen  were  bound  by  etiquette  to  kneel 
down  and  kiss  the  ground  at  a  certain  dis- 
tance from  the  house.  The  natives,  born 
and  Ijred  in  a  system  of  etiquette  equal  to 
that  of  anj-  court  in  Europe,  unhesitatingly 
obeyed,  while  the  lad  stood  by,  suiicriutend- 
ing  the  operation,  and  greatly  enjoying  the 
joke.  Alter  a  while,  the  trick  was  discov- 
ered, and  no  one  ajipreciated  the  boy's  wit 
more  than  those  who  had  fallen  into  the 
snare. 

Another  anecdote,  related  by  the  same 
author,  seems  as  if  it  had  been  transplanted 
from  a  First  of  April  scene  in  England.  A 
woman  was  bringing  home  a  pumpkin,  and, 
according  to  the  usual  mode  of  carr^'ing 
burdens  in  Africa,  was  balancing  it  oii  her 
head.  A  mischievous  boy  ran  hastily  to 
her,  and,  with  a  face  of  horror,  exclaimed, 
"There's  something  on  your  head!"  The 
woman,  startled  at  the  sudden  announce- 
ment, thought  that  at  least  a  snake  had  got 
on  her  head,  and  ran  away  screaming. 
Down  fell  the  pumpkin,  and  the  boy  picked  it 
up,  and  ate  it  before  the  woman  recovered 
from  her  fright. 

The  Kaffir  is  essentially  hospitable.  On 
a  journey,  any  one  may  go  to  the  kraal  of  a 
stranger,  and  will  certainly  be  fed  and 
lodged,  both  according  to  his  rank  and 
position.  White  men  are  received  in  the 
same  hospitable  manner,  and,  in  virtue  of 
their  white  skin  and  their  presumed  knowl- 
edge, they  are  alwajs  ranked  as  chiefs,  and 
treated  accordingly. 

The  Kaffirs  are  singularl}-  domestic  peo- 
ple, and,  semi-nomad  as  they  are,  cling  with 
great  aftection  to  their  simple  huts.  Chiefs 
and  warriors  of  known  repute  may  be  seen 
in  their  kraals,  nursing  and  fondling  their 
children  with  no  less  afl'ection  than  is  exhib- 
ited by  the  mothers.  Altogether,  the  Kaffir 
is  a  social  being.  He  cannot  endure  living 
alone,  eating  alone,  smoking  alone,  snuffing 
alone,  or  even  cooking  alone,  but  always 
contrives  to  form  part  of  some  assemblage 
devoted  to  the  special  purpose.  Day  by 
day,  the  men  assemble  and  cnn\'ersc  with 
each  other,  often  treating  of  i^olitieal  affairs, 
and  training  themselves  in  that  school  of 
forensic  argument  which  has  already  been 
mentioned. 


CHAPTER    II. 


COUKSB  OF  A  KAFFIR'S  LIFE — INFANCY  —  COLOR  OF  THE  NEW-BORN  BABE  —  THH  MEDICINE-MAX  AND 
HIS  DUTIES  —  KAFFIR  VACCINATION  —  SINGULAR  TREATMENT  OF  A  CHILD  —  A  CHILD'S  FIRST 
ORNAMENT  —  CURIOUS  SUPERSTITION  —  MOTHER  AND  CHILD — THE  SKIN-CRADLB  —  DESCRIPTION 
OF  A  CRADLE  BELONGING  TO  A  CHIEF'S  WIFE — KINDNESS  OF  PARENTS  TO  CHILDREN  OP  BOTH 
SEXES  —  THE  FUTURE  OF  A  KjiFFIR  FAMILY,  AND  THE  ABSENCE  OF  ANXIETY  —  INFANTICIDE 
ALMOST  UNKNOWN  —  CEREMONY  ON  PASSING  INTO  BOYHOOD— DIFFERENT  THEORIES  RESPECTING 
ITS  CHARACTER  AND  ORIGIN  —  TCHAKA'S  ATTEMPTED  ABOLITION  OP  THE  KITE  —  CURIOUS  IDEA 
OF  THE  KAFFIRS,  AND  RESUMPTION  OP  THE  CEREJIONY  —  A  KAFFIR'S  DREAD  OF  GRAY  HAIRS 
—  IM5IUNITIE3  AFTER  UNDERGOING  THE  KITE  —  NEW  RECRUITS  FOR  REGIMENTS,  AND  THEIR 
VALUH  TO  THE  KING — THE  CEREMONY  INCUMBENT  ON  BOTH  SEXES. 


Having  glanced  rapidly  over  the  principal 
traits  of  Kaffir  character,  we  will  proceed  to 
trace  his  life  with  somewhat  more  detail. 

When  an  infant  is  born,  it  is,  as  has  been 
already  mentioned,  of  a  light  hue,  and  does 
not  gain  the  red-black  of  its  parents  until 
after  some  little  time  has  elapsed.  The  same 
phenomenon  takes  place  with  the  negro  of 
Western  Africa.  Almost  as  soon  as  the 
Kaffir  is  born  the  "  modicine-mau  "  is  called, 
and  dischai'ges  his  functions  in  a  manner 
very  different  from  "medical  men"  in  our 
own  country.  He  does  not  trouble  himself 
in  the  least  about  the  mother,  but  devotes 
his  whole  care  to  the  child,  on  whom  he  per- 
forms an  operation  something  like  that  of 
vaccination,  though  not  for  the  same  object. 
He  makes  small  incisions  on  various  parts 
of  the  body,  rubs  medicine  into  them,  and 
goes  his  way.  Next  day  he  returns,  takes 
the  unhappy  infant,  deepens  the  cuts,  and 
puts  more  medicine  into  them.  The  much- 
suffering  child  is  then  washed,  and  is  dried 
by  being  moved  about  in  the  smoke  of  a 
wood  fire.  Surviving  this  treatment  by 
some  singular  tenacity  of  life,  the  little  crea- 
ture is  then  plentifully  bedaubed  with  red 
paint,  and  the  proud  mother  takes  her  share 
of  the  adornment.  This  paint  is  I'enewed  as 
fast  as  it  wears  off,  and  is  not  discontinued 
until  after  a  lapse  of  several  months. 

"Once,"  writes  Mr.  Shooter,  "when  I  saw 
this  paint  put  on,  the  mother  had  carefully 
washed  a  chubby  boy,  and  made  him  clean 
and  bright.  She  then  took  up  the  fragment 
of  an  earthenware  pot,  which  contained  a 
red  fluid,  and,  dijjping  her  fingers  into  it,  pro- 
ceeded to  daub  her  son  until  he  became  the 


(17) 


most  grotesque-looking  object  it  was  ever 
my  fortune  to  behold.  What  remained, 
being  too  precious  to  waste,  was  transferred 
to  her  own  face."  Not  until  all  these  ab- 
surd preliminaries  are  completed,  is  the 
child  allowed  to  take  its  natural  food;  and  it 
sometimes  happens  that  when  the  "  medi- 
cine-man" has  delayed  his  coining,  the 
consequences  to  the  poor  little  creature  have 
been  extremely  disastrous.  After  the  lapse 
of  a  few  days,  the  mother  goes  about  her 
work  as  usual,  carrying  the  child  strapped 
on  her  back,  and,  in  spite  of  the  load,  she 
makes  little,  if  any,  dift'erence  in  the  amount 
of  her  daily  tasks.  And,  considering  that 
all  the  severe  work  falls  upon  the  women,  it 
is  wonderful  that  they  should  contrive  to  do 
any  work  at  all  under  the  circumstances. 
Tlie  two  principal  tasks  of  the  women  are, 
breaking  up  the  ground  with  a  heavy  and 
clumsy  tool,  something  between  a  pickaxe 
and  a  mattock,  and  grinding  the  daily  sup- 
ply of  corn  between  two  stones,  and  either 
of  these  tasks  would  prove  quite  enou;#  for 
any  ordinary  laborer,  though  the  poor 
woman  has  to  perform  both,  and  plenty  of 
minor  tasks  besides.  That  they  should  have 
to  do  all  this  work,  while  laboring  under  the 
incumbi-ance  of  a  heavy  and  growing  child 
hung  on  the  back,  does  really  seem  very 
hard  upon  the  women.  But  they,  having 
never  known  any  other  state  of  things,  a^'- 
cept  their  laborious  married  life  as  a  matter 
of  course. 

When  the  mother  carries  her  infant  to 
the  field,  she  mostly  slings  it  to  her  back  by 
means  of  a  wide  strip  of  some  soft  skin, 
which  she  passes  round  her  waist  so  as  to 


18 


THE   KAFFIR. 


leave  a  sort  of  pocket  behind  in  which  the 
cliild  may  lie.  In  this  primitive  cradle  the 
little  creature  reposes  in  perfect  content, 
and  not  even  the  aljrujjt  movements  to 
which  it  is  necessarily  subjected  will  dis- 
turb its  slumbers. 

The  wife  of  a  chief  or  wealthy  man  will 
not,  however,  rest  satisfied  with  the  mere 
strip  of  skin  by  way  of  a  cradle,  but  has 
one  of  an  elaborate  and  ornamental  charac- 
ter. Tlie  illustration  represents  a  remark- 
ably fine  example  of  the  South  African 
cradle,  and  is  drawn  from  a  si^ecimeu  in 
my  collection. 


CEADLE, 


It  is  nearly  two  feet  in  length  by  one  in 
width,  and  is  made  of  antelope  skin,  with 
the  hair  still  remaining.  The  first  cai'e  of 
the  maker  has  been  to  construct  a  bag,  nar- 


row toward  the  bottom,  gradually  widen- 
ing until  within  a  few  inches  of  the  o])en- 
ing,  when  it  again  contracts.  This  form 
very  efi'ectually  prevents  an  active  or  rest- 
less child  from  falling  out  of  its  cradle.  The 
hairy  side  of  the  skin  is  turned  inward,  so 
that  the  little  one  has  a  soft  and  pleasant 
cradle  in  which  to  repose.  In  order  to 
give  it  this  shape,  two  "gores"  have  been 
let  into  the  back  of  the  cradle,  and  are 
sewed  witli  that  marvellous  neatness  which 
characterizes  the  workmanship  of  the  Kaffir 
tribes.  Four  long  strips  of  the  same  skin 
are  attached  to  tlie  opening  of  the  cra- 
dle, and  by  means  of  them  the  mother  can 
bind  her  little  one  securely  on  her  back. 

As  far  as  usefulness  goes,  the  cradle  is  now 
complete,  but  the  woman  is  not  satisfied  un- 
less ornament  be  added.  Though  her  rank 
—  the  wife  of  a  chief — does  not  exonerate 
her  from  labor,  she  can  still  have  the  satis- 
faction of  showing  her  position  by  her  dress, 
and  exciting  envy  among  her  less  fortunate 
companions  in  the  field.  The  entire  front 
of  the  cradle  is  covered  with  beads,  arranged 
in  regular  rows.  In  this  specimen,  two  col- 
ors only  are  used;  namely,  black  and  white. 
The  black  beads  are  polished  glass,  while 
the  otliers  are  of  the  color  which  are  known 
as  '■  chalk-white,"  and  which  is  in  great 
favor  with  the  Kaffirs,  on  account  of  the 
contrast  which  it  affords  to  their  dusky  .skin. 
The  two  central  rows  arc  black.  The  cradle 
weiglis  rather  more  than  two  pounds,  half 
of  which  is  certainly  due  to  the  profusion  ot 
beads  with   which   it  is   covered. 

Except  under  peculiar  circumstances,  the 
Kaltir  mother  is  a  kind,  and  even  indulgent 
parent  to  her  children.  There  are,  however, 
exceptional  instances,  but,  in  these  cases, 
superstition  is  generally  the  mo\ing  power. 
As  with  many  nations  in  difl'erent  jiarts  of 
the  earth,  although  abundance  of  children 
is  desired,  twins  are  not  in  favor;  and  when 
they  make  their  appearance  one  of  tliem  is 
sacrificed,  in  consequence  of  a  superstitious 
notion  that,  if  both  twins  are  allowed  to  live, 
sometliing  unlucky  would  happen  to  the 
parents. 

As  the  children  grow,  a  certain  difference 
in  their  treatment  is  percejitible.  In  most 
savage  nations,  the  female  children  are  com- 
paratively neglected,  and  very  ill  treatment 
falls  on  t'lieni^  while  the  males  are  consid- 
ered as  privileged  to  do  pretty  well  what 
they  like  without  rebuke.  This,  however, 
is  not  the  case  with  the  Kaffirs.  The  pa- 
rents have  plenty  of  respect  for  their  sons 
as  the  warriors  ot  the  next  generation,  but 
they  have  also  respect  for  their  daughters 
as  a  source  of  wealth.  Every  father  is 
therefore  glad  to  see  a  new-born  child,  and 
welcomes  it  whatever  may  be  its  sex  —  the 
boys  to  increase  the  power  of  his  house,  the 
girls  to  increase  the  number  of  his  cattle. 
He  knows  perfectly  well  tliat,  when  his  lit- 
tle girl  is  grown  up,  he  can  obtain  at  least 


CEREMONY  IXCUMBEXT  OX  BOTH  SEXES. 


19 


eight  cows  for  her.  and  that,  if  she  liappens 
to  take  tlie  fancy  of  a  rieli  or  powerful  man, 
he  may  he  fortunate  enoiigli  to  procure 
twice  the  number.  And,  as  Uie  price  which 
is  paid  to  tlie  fatlier  of  a  girl  depends  very 
much  on  her  looks  and  condition,  she  is  not 
allowed  to  be  deteriorated  by  hard  work  or 
ill-treatment.  These  generally  come  after 
marriage,  and,  as  the  wife  does  not  expect 
anytliing  but  such  treatment,  she  does  not 
dream  of  complaining. 

The  Kaffir  is  free  from  the  chief  anxieties 
that  attend  a  large  family  in  civilized  coun- 
tries. He  knows  nothing  of  the  thousand 
artiticial  wants  which  cluster  round  a  civil- 
ized life,  and  need  not  fear  lest  his  oftspriug 
should  not  be  able  to  find  a  subsistence. 
Xoilher  is  he  troubled  lest  they  should  sink 
below  that  rank  in  which  they  were  born.  Xot 
that  there  are  no  distinctions  of  rank  in 
Kaffirland.  On  the  contrary,  there  are  few 
Ijarts  of  the  world  where  the  distinctions  of 
rank  are  better  appreciated,  or  more  clearly 
defined.  But,  any  one  may  attain  the  rank 
of  chief,  provided  that  lie  possesses  the  men- 
tal or  physical  characteristics  that  can  raise 
him  aljove  the  level  of  those  who  surround 
him,  and,  as  is  well  known,  some  of  the  most 
powerful  monarchs  who  have  exercised  des- 
potic sway  in  Southern  Africa  have  earned 
a  rank  which  they  could  not  liave  inherited, 
and  have  created  monarchies  where  the 
country  had  formerly  been  ruled  b}-  a  num- 
ber of  independent  chieftains.  These  points 
may  have  some  inlhience  upon  the  Kaffir's 
conduct  as  a  parent,  but,  whatever  may  be 
the  motives,  the  fact  remains,  that  among 
tliis  tine  race  of  savages  there  is  no  trace  of 
the  wholesale  infanticide  which  is  so  terri- 
bly prevalent  among  other  nations,  and 
which  is  accepted  as  a  social  institution 
among  some  that  consider  themselves 
among  the  most  highly  civilized  of  mankind. 

As  is  the  case  in  many  parts  of  the  world, 
the  natives  of  South  Africa  undergo  a  cere- 
mony of  some  sort,  which  marks  their  tran- 
sition from  childhood  to  a  more  mature  age. 
There  has  Ijeen  rather  a  sharp  controversy 
respecting  the  peculiar  ceremony  which  the 
Kaffirs  enjoin,  some  saying  that  it  is  identi- 
cal with  the  rite  of  circumcision  as  prac- 
tised by  the  Jews,  and  others  that  such  a 
custom  does  not  exist.  The  fact  is,  that  it 
used  to  be  universal  throughout  Soutlieru 


Africa,  until  that  strange  despot,  Tchaka, 
chose  arbitrarily  to  forljid  it  among  the 
many  tribes  over  which  he  ruled.  Since  liis 
death,  however,  the  custom  has  been  gradu- 
ally re-introduced,  as  the  men  of  the  tribes 
believed  that  those  who  had  not  undergone 
the  rite  were  weaker  than  would  otherwise 
have  been  the  case,  and  were  more  liable  to 
gray  hairs.  Xowwith  a  Kaffir  a  hoary  head 
is  by  no  means  a  crown  of  glory,  Isut  is 
looked  upon  as  a  sign  of  debility.  A  chief 
dreads  nothing  so  much  as  the  approach  of 
gray  liairs,  knowing  that  the  various  sub- 
chiefs,  and  other  ambitious  men  who  are 
rising  about  him,  are  only  too  ready  to 
detect  any  sign  of  weakness,  and  to  eject 
him  from  his  post.  Europeans  who  visit 
elderly  chiefs  are  almost  invariably  asked  if 
they  have  any  preparation  that  will  dye 
their  gra}'  liairs  black.  So,  the  dread  of  such 
a  calamity  occurring  at  an  early  age  would 
be  quite  sufficient  to  make  a  Kaffir  resort  to 
any  ciistom  which  he  fancied  might  pre- 
vent it. 

After  the  ceremony,  which  is  practised  in 
secret,  and  its  details  concealed  with  invio- 
lable fidelity,  the  youths  are  permitted  three 
months  of  unlimited  indulgence;  doing  no 
work,  and  eating,  sleeping,  singing,  and 
dancing,  just  as  they  like.  They  are  then 
permitted  to  bear  arms,  and,  although  still 
called  "boys,"  are  trained  as  soldiers  and 
drafted  into  different  regiments.  Indeed, 
it  is  mostly  from  these  regiments  that  the 
chief  selects  the  warriors  whom  he  sends  on 
the  most  daring  expeditions.  They  have 
nothing  to  lose  and  everything  to  gain,  and, 
if  they  distinguish  themselves,  may  be  al- 
lowed to  assume  the  "  head-ring,"  the  proud 
badge  of  manhood,  and  to  marry  as  many 
wives  as  they  can  manage  to  pay  for.  A 
"boy"  —  no  matter  what  his  age  might  be  — 
would  not  dare  to  assume  the  head-ring 
without  the  permission  of  his  chief,  and 
there  is  no  surer  mode  of  gaining  permis- 
sion than  by  distinguished  conduct  in  the 
field,  whether  in  open  fight,  or  in  stealing 
cattle  from  the  enemy. 

The  necessity  for  undergoing  some  rite 
when  emerging  from  childhood  is  not  re- 
stricted to  the  men,  but  is  incumbent  on 
the  girls,  who  are  carried  off  into  seclusion 
by  their  initiators,  and  within  a  year  from 
their  initiation  are  allowed  to  marry. 


CHAPTER  III. 


A  KAFFIRS    LIFE,  CONTrNTED  —  ADOLESCEXCE  —  EEAUTY    OP    FORM    Hi    THE    KAFFIES,   AXD    KBASONS 
FOK  IT  —  LmsG    STATUES  —  BENJAMIN  WEST  AND  THE    APOLLO  —  SHOULDERS  OF  THE   KAFFIRS 

—  SPEED  OF  FOOT  CONSIDERED  IlONuEAELE  —  A  KAFFIB  MESSENGER  AND  HIS  SIODE  OF  CARRT- 
ING  A  LETTER  —  HIS  EQUIP5IENT  FOB  THE  JOURNEY  —  LIGHT  MARCHING-ORDER  —  HOW  THE 
ADDRESS  IS  GIVEN  TO  HIM — CELERITY  OF  HIS  TASK,  ANT)  SMALLNESS  OF  HIS  PAY  —  HIS  FEET 
AND  THEIR  NATURE  —  THICKNESS  OP  THE  SOLE,  AND  ITS  SUPERIORITY  OVER  THE  SHOE  — 
ANECDOTE  OP  A  SICK  BOY  AND  HIS  PHYSICLVN  —  FORM  OF  THE  FOOT  —  HEALTHY  STATE  OP  A 
KAFFIR'S  BODY  —  ^VNECDOTE  OP  WOUNDED  GIRL — RAPIDITY  WITH  WHICH  INJURIES  ARE  HEALED 

—  Y"OUNG  WOMEN,  AND  THEIR  EEAUTY  OF  FORM  —  PHOTOGRAPHIC  PORTRAITS  —  DIFFICULTY  OF 
PHOTOGR-VPHLNQ  A  KAFFIR  —  THE  LOCALITY,  GREASE,  NERVOUSNESS  —  SHORT  TENURE  OP 
EEAUTY  —  FEATURES  OF  KAFFIB  GIRLS — OLD  KAFFIB  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  LOOKS. 


When  the  youths  and  maidens  are  in  the 
full  lilooni  of  youth,  they  ati'ord  as  fine  spec- 
imens of  humanity  as  can  be  seen  any- 
where. Their  limbs  have  never  been  sub- 
ject to  the  distorting  iuHuenees  of  clothin<;, 
nor  their  forms  to  the  absurd  compression 
which  was,  until  recently,  destructive  of  all 
real  beauty  in  this  and  neighboring  coun- 
ti'ies.  Each  muscle  and  sinew  has  had  fair 
play,  the  lungs  have  breathed  fresh  aii-,  and 
the  active  habits  have  given  to  the  form 
that  rounded  perfection  which  i.s  never  seen 
except  in  those  who  have  enjoyed  similar 
advantages.  We  all  admire  the  almost 
superhuman  majesty  of  the  human  form  as 
seen  in  ancient  sculpture,  and  we  need  only 
to  travel  to  Southern  Africa  to  see  similar 
forms,  yet  breathing  and  moving,  not  mo- 
tionless images  of  marl)k*,  liut  living  statues 
of  bronze.  This  classic  beauty  of  form  is  not 
peculiar  to  Southern  Africa,  but  is  found  in 
many  parts  of  the  \vorld  where  the  inhabit- 
ants lead  a  free,  active,  and  temjierate  life. 

My  reader.s  will  probably  remember  the 
well-known  anecdote  of  West  the  painter 
surprising  the  critical  Italians  with  his  re- 
marks. Bred  in  a  Quaker  fixmily,  he  had  no 
acquaintance  with  ancient  art;  and  ^vhen  he 
first  visited  Rome,  lie  was  taken  by  a  large 
assembly  of  art-critics  to  see  the  Apollo  Bel- 
vedere. As  soon  a.s  the  doors  were  thrown 
open,  he  exclaimed  that  the  st.afue  repre- 
sented a  young  ]Mohawk  warrior,  much  to 
the  indignation  of  the  critics,  who  foolishly 
took  his  exclamation  as  derogatory  to  the 
statue,  rather  than  the  highest  and  most 
genuine  praise.     The    fact  Was,  that    the 


(20) 


models  from  whom  the  sculptor  had  com- 
posed his  statue,  and  the  young  Mohawk 
warriors  so  familiar  to  West,  had  received  a 
similar  physical  education,  and  had  attained 
a  similar  physical  beauty.  "  I  have  seen 
them  often,"  said  West,  "standing  in  the 
very  attitude  of  this  Apollo,  and  pursuing 
with  an  intent  eye  the  arrow  which  they 
had  just  discharged  from  the  bow." 

There  is,  indeed,  but  one  fault  that  the 
most  captious  critic  can  find  with  the  form 
of  the  Kaffir,  and  that  is,  a  slight  deficiency 
in  the  fall  of  the  shoulder.  As  a  race,  the 
Kaffirs  are  slightly  high-shouldered,  though 
there  are  many  instances  where  the  slope 
from  the  neck  to  the  arm  is  exactly  in 
accordance  with  the  canons  of  classic  art. 

These  young  fellows  are  marvellously 
swift  of  foot,  speed  reckoning  as  one  of  the 
chief  characteristics  of  a  distinguished  .sol- 
dier. They  are  also  po.ssessed  of  enormous 
endurance.  You  may  send  a  Kaffir  for  sixty 
or  seventy  miles  with  a  letter,  and  he  will 
prepare  for  the  start  as  quietly  as  if  he  had  , 
only  a  journey  of  some  three  or  four  miles 
to  perform.  First,  he  cuts  a  stick  some  three 
feet  in  length,  splits  the  end,  and  fixes  the 
letter  in  the  cleft,  so  that  he  may  carry  the 
missive  without  damaging  it  by  the  grease 
with  which  his  whole  person  is  liberally 
anointed.  He  then  looks  to  his  supply  of 
snulV,  and,  should  he  hapjien  to  run  short  of 
that  n(>edful  luxury,  it  will  add  wings  to  his 
feet  if  a  little  tobacco  be  presented  to  him, 
which  he  can  make  into  snuff  at  his  first  halt. 

Taking  an  assagai  or  two  with  him,  and 
perhaps  a  short  stick  with  a  knob  at  the 


o 

G 
tit, 


^     I 


(21) 


A  KAFFIR  MESSENGER. 


23 


end,  called  a  "  kerry,"  he  will  start  off  at  a 
slinging  sort  of  mixture  between  a  run  and 
a  trot,  ami  will  hold  this  pace  almost  with- 
out cessation.  As  to  provision  for  the 
journey,  he  need  not  trouble  himself  about 
it,  for  "he  is  sute  to  fall  in  with  some  hut, 
or  pw-haps  a  village,  and  is  equally  sure  of 
obtaining  both  food  and  shelter.  He  steers 
his  course  almost  as  if  by  intuition,  regard- 
less of  beaten  tracks,  and  arrives  at  his 
destination  with  the  same  mysterious  cer- 
tainty that  characterizes  the  migration  of 
the  swallow. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  address  a  letter  in 
Africa  as  in  Engla'ud,  and  it  is  equally  diffi- 
cult to  give  directions  for  tinding  any  par- 
ticular iiouse  or  village.  If  a  chief  should 
be  on  a  visit,  and  ask  his  host  to  return 
the  call,  he  simpl}'  tells  him  to  go  so  many 
days  in  such  a  direction,  and  then  turn  for 
half  a  day  in  another  direction,  and  so  on. 
However,  the  Kaffir  is  quite  satisfied  with 
such  indications,  and  is  sure  to  attain  his 
point. 

When  the  messenger  has  delivered  his 
letter,  he  will  scjuat  down  on  the  ground, 
take  snutr,  or  smoke  —  probably  both  —  and 
wait  patiently  for  the  answer.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  course,  refreshments  will  be  supplied 
to  him,  and,  when  the  answer  is  handed  to 
him,  he  will  return  at  the  same  pace.  Euro- 
peans are  always  surprised  when  they  first 
see  a  young  Kaffir  undertake  the  delivery 
of  a  letter  at  so  great  a  distance,  and  still 
more  at  the  wonderfully  short  time  in 
which  he  will  perform  the  journey.  Nor 
are  they  less  surprised  when  they  find 
that  he  thinks  himself  very  well  paid  with 
a  shilling  for  his  trouble.  In  point  of  fact, 
the  journey  is  scarcely  troublesome  at  all. 
He  has  everything  his  own  way.  There 
is  plenty  of  snutf  in  his  box,  tobacco  where- 
with to  make  more,  the  prospect  of  seeing 
a  number  of  fellow-countrymen  on  the  way, 
and  enjoying  a  conversation  with  them,  the 
dignity  of  being  a  messenger  from  one  white 
chief  to  another,  and  the  certainty  of  ob- 
taining a  sum  of  money  which  will  enable 
him  to  adorn  himself  with  a  splendid  set  of 
beads  at  the  next  dance. 

Barefoot  though  he  be,  he  seldom  com- 
plains of  any  hurt.  From  constant  usage 
the  soles  of  his  feet  are  defended  by  a 
thickened  skin  as  insensible  as  the  sole  of 
any  boot,  and  combining  equal  toughness 
with  perfect  elasticity.  He  will  walk  with 
unconcern  over  sharp  stones  and  thorns 
wliich  would  lame  a  European  in  the  first 
step,  and  has  the  great  advantage  of  pos- 
sessing a  pair  of  soles  which  never  wear 
out,  but  actually  become  stronger  by  use. 
Mr.  Baines,  the  African  hunter,  narrates  a 
rather  ludicrous  instance  of  the  insensi- 
bility of  the  Kaffir's  foot.  Passing  by  some 
Kaffir  houses,  he  heard  doleful  outcries,  and 
found  that  a  young  boy  was  undergoing  a 
medical   or  surgical    operation,  whichever 


may  be  the  proper  name.  The  boy  was 
suffering  from  some  ailment  for  which  the 
medicine-man  prescribed  a  thorough  knead- 
ing with  a  hot  substance.  The  plan  by 
which  the  process  was  carried  out  was  sim- 
ple and  ingenious.  A  Kaffir  man  held  his 
own  foot  over  the  fire  until  the  sole  became 
quite  hot.  The  boy  was  then  held  firmly 
on  the  ground,  while  the  man  trampled  on 
him  with  the  heated  foot,  and  kneaded  him 
well  with  this  curious  implement  of  medi- 
cine. When  that  foot  was  cold,  he  heated 
the  other,  and  so  proceeded  till  the  opera- 
tion was  concluded.  The  heat  of  his  sole  was 
so  great  that  the  poor  boy  could  scarcely  en- 
dure the  pain,  and  struggled  hard  to  get 
free,  but  the  operator  felt  no  inconvenience 
whatever  from  subjecting  his  foot  to  such 
an  ordeal.  The  dreaded  "stick"  of  the 
Orientals  would  lose  its  terrors  to  a  Kaffir, 
who  would  endure  the  bastinado  with  com- 
parative impunity. 

Among  tliesc  people,  the  foot  assumes  its 
proper  form  and  dimensions.  The  toes  are 
not  pinched  together  by  shoes  or  boots, 
and  reduced  to  the  helpless  state  too  com- 
mon in  this  country.  The  foot  is,  like  that 
of  an  ancient  statue,  wide  and  full  across 
the  toes,  each  of  which  has  its  separate 
function  just  as  have  the  fingers  of  the 
hand,  and  each  of  which  is  equally  capable 
of  performing  that  function.  Therefore 
the  gait  of  a  Kaffir  is  perfection  itself. 
He  has  not  had  his  foot  lifted  behind  and 
depressed  in  front  by  high-heeled  boots, 
nor  the  \)\ay  of  the  instep  checked  by  leath- 
ern bonds.  The  wonderful  arch  of  the  foot 
—  one  of  the  most  astonishing  pieces  of 
mechanism  that  the  world  atlbrds  —  can 
perform  its  office  vinrestrained,  and  every 
httle  bone,  muscle  and  tendon  plays  its 
own  part,  and  none  other. 

The  constant  activity  of  the  Kaffirs,  con- 
joined to  their  temperate  mode  of  life,  keeps 
them  in  perfect  health,  and  guards  them 
against  many  evils  which  befall  the  civilized 
man.  They  are  free  from  many  of  the  mi- 
nor ailments  incident  to  high  civilization, 
and  wliich,  trifling  as  they  may  be  singly, 
detract  greatly  in  the  aggregate  from  the 
happiness  of  life.  Moreover,  their  state  of 
health  enables  them  to  survive  injuries 
which  would  be  almost  instantly  fatal  to  any 
ordinary  civilized  European.  That  this 
comparative  immunity  is  owing  to  the  mode 
of  life  and  not  to  the  color  of  the  skin  is  a  well- 
known  fact,  Europeans  being,  when  in  thor- 
ough good  health,  even  more  enduring  than 
their  dark-skinned  companions.  A  remark- 
able instance  of  this  fact  occurred  during 
the  bloody  struggle  between  the  Dutch  col- 
onists and  Dingan's  forces  in  1837.  The  Kaf- 
firs treacherously  assaulted  the  unsuspecting 
Dutchmen,  and  then  invaded  their  villages, 
spearing  all  the  inhabitants  and  destroying 
the  habitations.  Near  the  Blue  Krantz 
River  was  a  heap  of  dead,  among  whom  wero 


21 


THE  KxVFFIR. 


found  two  young  girls,  who  still  showed  signs 
of  life.  One  had  received  nineteen  stabs 
with  the  assagai,  anil  the  other  tW(!uty-one. 
They  were  removed  from  the  corpses,  and 
survived  their  dreadful  wouuds,  reaching 
^vonianhood,  though  both  crippled  for  life. 

On  one  occasion,  while  I  was  conversing 
with  Captain  Burton,  and  alluding  to  the 
numerous  wounds  which  he  had  received, 
and  the  little  eti'ect  which  tliey  had  upon 
him,  he  said  that  when  the  human  frame 
was  brought,  by  constant  exercise  and  sim- 
ple diet,  into  a'state  of  perfect  health,  mere 
Hesh  wounds  were  scarcely  noticed,  the  cut 
closing  almost  as  easily  as  if  it  had  been  made 
in  India-rubl)er.  It  may  also  be  familiar  to 
my  readers,  that  when  in  this  country  men 
are  carefully  trained  for  any  i)hysical  exer- 
tion, whether  it  be  pedestrianism,  gymnas- 
tics, rowing,  or  the  prize-ring,  they  receive 
with  iuditt'ereuce  injuries  which  would  have 
prostrated  them  a  fevv  mouths  previously, 
and  recover  from  them  with  wonderful 
rapidity. 

The  young  Kaffir  women  are  quite  as  re- 
markable for  the  beauty  of  their  form  as  are 
the  men,  and  the  very  trilling  dress  which  they 
wear  serves  to  show  olf  their  figures  to  the 
best  advantage.  Some  of  the  young  Kaffir 
girls  are,  in  point  of  form,  so"  perfect  that 
they  would  have  satisfied  even  the  fastidious 
taste  of  the  classical  sculptor.  There  is, 
however,  in  them  the  same  tendency  to  high 
shoulders  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned, and  in  some  cases  the  shoulders  are 
set  almost  squarely  across  the  body.  In 
most  instances,  however,  the  shoulders  have 
the  proper  droop,  while  the  whole  of  the 
bust  is  an  absolute  model  of  perfection  — 
rounded,  firm,  and  yet  lithe  as  the  body  of  a 
panther. 

There  is  now  before  me  a  large  collection 
of  photographs,  representing  Kalfir  girls  of 
various  ages,  and,  in  spite  of  the  invariable 
stiffness  of  photographic  portraits,  they  ex- 
hiljit  forms  whicli  might  serve  as  models  for 
any  sculptor.  If  they  could  only  have  been 
lihotographed  while  engaged  in  their  ordi- 
nary pursuits,  the  result  would  have  been 
most  artistic,  but  the  very  knowledge  that 
they  were  not  to  move  hand  or  foot  has 
occasioned  them  to  assume  attitudes  quite 
at  variance  with  the  graceful  unconscious- 
ness of  their  ordinary  gestures. 

Besides  the  stiffness  which  has  already 
been  mentioned,  there  are  several  points 
which  make  a  really  good  photographic 
jiortrait  almost  an  impossibility.  In  the 
fii-.st  place,  the  sunlight  is  so  brilliant  that 
the  shadows  become  developed  into  black 
]>atches,  and  the  high  lights  into  splashes  of 
white  without  the  least"  secondary  shading. 
The  photographer  of  Kaffir  life  cannot  put 
his  models  into  a  glass  room  cunninsjly 
furnished  with  curtains  and  tinted  glass. 
He  must  take  the  camera  into  the  villages, 
photograph  the  inhabitants  as  they  stand 


or  sit  in  the  open  air,  and  make  a  darkened 
hut  act  as  a  developiug-tent. 

Taking  the  portrait  properly  is  a  mat- 
ter of  extreme  difficulty.  The  Kaffirs  trill 
rub  themselves  with  grease,  and  the  more 
they  shine  the  better  they  are  dressed. 
Now,  as  every  photographer  knows,  noth- 
ing is  more  perplexing  than  a  rounded 
and  polished  surface  in  "the  full  rays  of  the 
sunbeams;  and  if  it  were  only  possible  to  rub 
the  grease  from  the  dark  bodies,  and  deprive 
them  of  their  gloss,  the  photographer  would 
have  a  better  chance  of  success.  But  the  Kaf- 
fir ladies,  old  and  young  alike,  think  it  a  point 
of  honor  to  be  dressed  in  their  very  best 
when  their  portraits  are  taken,  and  will  in- 
sist upon  bedizening  themselves  exactly  in 
the  way  which  is  most  destructive  to  ])ho- 
tograpliy.  They  take  fresh  grease,  and  rub 
their  bodies  until  they  shine  like  a  well-pol- 
ished boot;  they  indue  every  necklace,  girdle, 
bracelet,  or  other  ornament  that  they  can 
muster,  and  not  until  they  are  satisfied  with 
their  personal  appearance  will  they  present 
themselves  to  the  artist.  Even  when  they 
have  done  so,  they  are  restless,  inipusifive, 
and  rather  nervous, and  inallprobaliility  will 
move  their  heads  just  as  the  cap  of  the  lens 
is  removed,  or  will  take  fright  and  run  away 
altogether.  In  the  case  of  the  two  girls  rep- 
resented in  the  illustration,  on  page  25,  the 
photographer  has  been  singularly  fortunate. 
Both  the  girls  belonged  to  the  tribe  com- 
manded bjf  the  well-known  chief  Goza, 
whose  portrait  will  be  given  on  a  subsequent 
page.  The  girls  are  clad  in  their  ordinary  cos- 
tume of  every-day  life,  and  in  fact,  when  their 
portraits  were  taken,  were  acting  as  house- 
maids in  the  house  of  an  European  settler. 

Unfortunately,  this  singular  beauty  of 
form  is  very  transient;  and  when  a  girl  has 
attained  to  the  age  at  which  an  English  girl 
is  in  her  full  perfection,  the  Kaffir  girl  has 
begun  to  age,  and  her  firm,  lithe,  and  grace- 
ful form  has  become  flabby  and  shapeless. 
In  the  series  of  portraits  which  has  been 
mentioned,  this  gradual  deterioration  of  form 
is  curiously  evident ;  and  in  one  example, 
which  represents  a  row  of  girls  sitting  un- 
der the  shade  of  a  hut,  young  girls  just  twenty 
years  of  ago  look  like  women  of  forty. 

The  chief  drawback  to  a  Kaffir  girl's  beauty 
lies  in  her  face,  which  is  never  a  beauti- 
ful one,  according  to  European  ideas  on 
this  subject.  It  is  mostly  a  pleasant,  good- 
humored  face,  but  the  cheek-bones  are  too 
high,  the  nose  too  wide,  and  the  lips  very 
much  too  large.  The  two  which  have  been 
already  represented  are  by  far  the  most  fa- 
vorable specimens  of  the  collection,  and  no 
one  can  say  that  their  faces  are  in  any  way 
equal  to  tlieir  forms.  It  may  be  that  their 
short,  erisji,  harsh,  woolly  hair,  so  different 
from  the  silken  tresses  of  European  women, 
pi'oduces  some  feeling  of  dislike  ;  but,  even 
if  they  were  furnished  with  the  finest  and 
most  massive  head  of  hair,  they  could  never 


{■>  )    OLD  KAFFIR   WOMEN.    (See  page  27.) 
(25) 


OLD   KAFFIR  WOMEN. 


27 


be  calted  handsome.  People  certainly  do 
get  used  to  their  peculiar  style,  aud  some- 
times prefer  tlie  wild  beauty  of  a  Katiir 
girl  to  the  more  refiued,  thoujjh  more  in- 
sipid, style  of  the  European.  Still,  few  Eng- 
lishmen would  think  themselves  flattered 
if  their  faces  were  thought  to  resemble  the 
features  of  a  Kaffir  of  the  same  age,  and  the 
same  rule  will  apply  to  the  women  as  well 
as  to  the  men. 

Unfortunately,  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  Kafhr  women  deteriorate  renders  them 
very  unsightly  objects  at  an  age  in  which 
an  European  woman  is  in  her  prime. 
Among  civilized  nations,  age  often  carries 


with  it  a  charming  mixture  of  majesty  and 
simplicity,  which  equally  command  our  rev- 
erence and  our  love.  Among  this  people, 
however,  we  find  nothing  in  their  old  age 
to  compensate  for  the  lost  beauty  of  youth. 
They  do  not  possess  that  indefinable  charm 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  the  old  age  of 
civilized  woman,  nor  is  there  any  vestige  of 
that  spiritual  beauty  which  seems  to  under- 
lie the  outward  form,  and  to  be  even  more 
youthful  than  youth  itself.  Perhaps  one 
reason  for  this  distinction  may  be  tlie  un- 
cultivated state  of  the  mind;  but,  whatever 
may  be  the  cause,  in  youth  the  Kaffir 
woman  is  a  sylph,  in  old  age  a  hag. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


DRESS  AND  0RKA5IENTS  —  DRESS  OF  THE  JIEN"  —  DRESS  DEPENDENT  ON  COtrNTRY  FOR  MATERIAL  —  SKIN 
THE  CHIEF  jlKTICLE  OF  DRESS  IN  SOUTHERN  AFRICA  —  FUR-PKODUCEStG  ANIMALS  —  A  KAROSS 
OR  CLOAK  OF  MEERKAT  SKIN — ANOTHER  OF  JACKAL  SKINS  —  NATIVE  TASTE  IN  DRESS  —  PRO- 
FESSIONAL KAROSS  MAKERS  —  NEEDLE  USED  BY  THE  KAFFIRS  —  ITS  CLOTISY  SHAPE  AND  DIMEN- 
SIONS—  ITS  LEATHER  SHEATH  —  A  FASHIONABLE  NEEDLE  AND  ITS  BELT  OF  BEADS  —  TASTEFUL 
ARRANGEMENT  OF  COLOR  —  THREAD  USED  BY  KAFFIRS  —  SINGULAR  MATERIAL  AND  MODE  OF 
PREPARING  IT  —  HOW  A  KAFFIR  SEWS  —  A  MAn's  ORDINARY  DRESS  —  THE  APRON  OR  "  TAILS  "  — 
SPECIMEN  IN  MY  COLLECTION  —  BRASS  BUTTONS  —  THE  "  ISINENE  "  AND  "  UMUCHA  " — PORTRAIT 
OF  GOZA  —  OBESITY  OF  THE  CHIEFS — FULL  DRESS  AND  UNDRESS  —  A  KAFFIR  AIDE-DB-CAMP. 


Having  now  described  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  Kaffirs  from  chilhood  to  age, 
we  will  proceed  to  the  costunic  whicli  they 
wear,  and  the  ornaments  with  which  they 
decorate  their  dark  persons.  The  material 
of  which  dress  is  made  depends  much  on 
the  characteristics  of  the  country.  In  some 
parts  of  tlie  world  linen  is  used,  in  another 
silk,  and  in  another  cotton.  In  Southei-n 
Africa,  however,  and  indeed  throughout  a 
very  large  portion  of  the  continent,  the 
dress,  whether  of  men  or  women,  is  com- 
posed of  tlie  skins  and  furs  of  animals. 
The  country  abounds  in  game,  especially  of 
the  antelope  trilie  ;  and  the  antelopes,  tlie 
zebras  and  their  kin,  tlie  beasts  of  prey,  the 
monkey  tribes  and  the  oxen,  afford  a  vast 
store  from  which  the  Kafhr  can  take  his 
clothing,  and  vary  it  almost  without 
bounds. 

The  Kaffir  is  an  admirable  dresser  of  furs. 
He  bestows  very  great  pains  on  the  process, 
and  arrives  at  a  result  which  cannot  be  sur- 
passed by  the  best  of  European  furriers, 
with  all  his  means  and  appliances.  Kaffir 
furs,  even  those  made  from  the  stiff  and  stub- 
born hide  of  the  ox,  are  as  soft  and  pliable  as 
silk;  and  if  they  be  wetted,  they  will  dry 
without  becoming  harsh  and  stiff.  For 
large  and  thick  skins  a  peculiar  process  is 
required.  The  skin  of  the  cow,  for  example, 
will  become  as  hard  as  a  board  when  dry, 
and  even  that  of  the  lion  is  apt  to  be  very 
stiff  indeed  when  dried.  The  process  of 
preparing  such  skins  is  almost  absurdly 
simple  and  expeditious,  while  its  efficacy  is 
such  that  our  best  fur-dressers  cannot  pro- 
duce such  articles  as  the  Kaffirs  do. 

Supposing  that  a  cow-skiu  is  to  be  made 


into  a  robe,  the  Kaffir  will  ask  two  or  three 
of  his  comrades  to  help  him.  They  all  sit 
round  the  skin,  and  scrape  it  very  carefully, 
until  they  have  removed  every  particle  of 
fat,  and  have  also  reduced  the  thickness. 
They  then  stretch  it  in  every  direction, 
pulling  against  each  other  witli  all  their 
might,  working  it  over  their  knees,  and 
taking  care  that  not  an  inch  of  it  shall 
escape  without  thorough  manipulation.  Of 
course  they  talk,  and  sing,  and  smoke,  and 
take  snuff  while  performing  the  task,  which 
is  to  them  a  labor  of  love.  If,  indeed,  it 
were  not,  they  would  not  perform  it,  but 
hand  it  over  to  their  wives.  When  they 
have  kneaded  it  as  much  as  they  think 
necessary,  they  proceed  to  another  operation. 
Tliey  take  eight  or  ten  of  their  skewer-like 
needles,  and  tie  them  together  in  a  bundle, 
each  man  being  furnished  with  one  of  these 
bundles.  The  points  are  then  placed  per- 
pendicularly upon  the  skin,  and  the  bundle 
made  to  revolve  backward  and  forward  be- 
tween the  hands.  This  process  tears  up 
the  fibres  of  the  skin,  and  adds  to  its  pliancy, 
besides  raising  a  sort  of  nap,  which  in  some 
of  their  dresses  is  so  thick  and  fine  as  to 
resemble  plush. 

Sometimes,  when  needles  are  scarce,  the 
long  straight  thorns  of  the  acacia  are  tied 
together,  and  used  in  a  similar  manner. 
Although  not  so  strong,  their  natural  points 
are  quite  as  sliarp  as  the  artificial  points 
made  of  iron,  and  do  their  work  as  effectu- 
ally.  Some  of  my  readers  may  remomber 
that  the  nap  on  cloth  is  raised  by  a  method 
exactly  similar  in  principle,  the  thorny  seed- 
vessels  of  the  teasle  thistle  being  fastened 
on  cylinders  and  made  to  revolve  quickly 


(26) 


THE  KAEOSS. 


29 


over  the  surface  of  the  cloth,  so  as  to  raise 
a  "  nap  "  which  conceals  tlie  course  of  the 
threads.  These  acacia  thorns  are  used  for 
a  wonderful  variety  of  purposes,  and  are 
even  pressed  into  the  service  of  personal 
vanity,  being  used  as  decorations  for  the 
hair  on  festive  occasions. 

The  skin  is  now  ready  for  the  ingredient 
that  f  )rnis  a  succedaneuni  for  the  tanjjit, 
and  that  does  its  work  in  a  very  short  time. 
As  the  reader  is  perhaps  aware,  the  acacia 
is  one  of  the  commonest  trees  in  Southern 
Africa.  The  sap  of  the  tree  is  of  a  very  as- 
tringent character,  and  communicates  its 
properties  to  the  bark  through  wliich  it  per- 
colates. In  consequence,  the  while  inliabi- 
tants  of  Southern  Africa  are  in  the  habit  of 
using  the  bark  of  the  acacia  just  as  in  Eng- 
laud  we  use  the  bark  of  the  oak,  and  tind 
that  it  produces  a  similar  etfect  upon  skins 
that  are  soaked  in  a  strong  solution  of 
acacia  bark  in  water.  The  native,  however, 
does  not  use  the  bark  for  this  purpose, 
neither  does  he  practise  the  long  and  tedious 
process  of  tanning  which  is  in  use  among 
ourselves.  The  acacia  tree  supplies  for  him 
a  material  which  answers  all  the  purposes  of 
a  tanpit,  and  does  not  require  above  a  frac- 
tion of  the  time  that  is  employed  in  ordinary 
tanning. 

The  acacia  trees  are  constantly  felled  for 
all  sorts  of  purposes.  The  hard  wood  is 
used  in  native  architecture,  in  making  the 
fence  round  a  kraal,  in  making  wagon  poles, 
and  in  many  similar  modes.  The  root 
and  stump  arc  left  to  rot  in  the  ground,  and, 
thanks  to  the  peculiar  climate  and  the  at- 
tacks of  insects,  they  soon  rot  away,  and  can 
be  crumljled  with  the  fingers  into  a  reddish 
yellow  powder.  This  powder  is  highly 
astringent,  and  is  used  by  the  Kaffirs  for 
dressing  their  furs,  and  is  applied  by  assid- 
uous rubbing  in  with  the  hand.  Afterward, 
a  little  grease  is  added,  but  not  much,  and 
this  is  also  rubbed  in  very  carefully  with 
the  hand. 

A  large  kaross  is  always  worn  with  the 
furry  side  inward,  and  there  is  a  mode  of 
putting  it  on  which  is  considered  highly 
fashionable.  If  the  robe  is  composed  of 
several  skins,  —  say,  for  example,  those  of 
the  jackal  or  leopard,  — the  heads  are  placed 
in  a  row  along  the  upper  margin.  When 
the  Kaffir  indues  his  kaross,  he  folds  this 
edge  over  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  cape,  and 
puts  it  ou  in  sucli  a  way  that  the  fur-clad 
heals  fall  in  a  row  over  his  shoulders. 

The  rapidity  with  which  a  Kaffir  will  pre- 
pare a  small  skin  is  really  surprising.  One 
of  my  friends  was  travelling  in  Southern 
Africa,  and  saw  a  jackal  cantering  along, 
looking  out  for  food.  Presently,  he  came 
across  the  scent  of  some  steaks  that  were 
being  cooked,  and  came  straight  toward  the 
wagon,  thinking  only  of  food,  and  heedless 
of  danger.  One  of  the  Kaffirs  in  attendance 
on  the  wagon  saw  the  animal,  picked  wp  a 


large  stone,  and  awaited  his  coming.  As  he 
was  nearing  the  tire,  the  Kaffir  thing  the 
stone  witli  such  a  good  aim  that  the  animal 
was  knocked  over  and  stunned.  Tlie-  wagon 
started  in  an  hour  and  a  half  from  that  time, 
and  the  Kaffir  who  killed  the  jackal  was 
seen  wearing  the  animal's  dressed  skin. 
The  skin  of  this  creature  is  very  much  prized 
for  robes  and  similar  purposes,  as  it  is  thick 
and  soft,  and  the  rich  black  mottlings  along 
the  back  give  to  the  robe  a  very  handsome 
appearance. 

I  have  before  me  a  beautiful  examjile  of  a 
kaross  or  cloak,  made  from  the  skins  of  the 
meerkat,  one  of  the  South  African  ichneu- 
mons. It  is  a  pretty  creature,  the  coat 
being  soft  and  full,  and  the  general  color  a 
reddish  tawnj',  variegated  in  some  speci- 
mens by  dark  mottlings  along  the  Ijack,  and 
fading  otf  into  gray  along  the  flanks.  The 
kaross  consists  of  thirty-six  skins,  which  are 
sewed  together  as  neatly  as  any  furrier 
could  sew  them.  The  meerkat,  being  very 
tenacious  of  life,  does  not  succumlj  easily, 
and  accordingly  there  is  scarcely  a  skiu 
which  has  not  been  pierced  in  one  or  more 
places  by  the  spear,  in  some  instances  leav- 
ing holes  through  which  a  man's  finger 
could  easily  be  passed.  In  one  skin  there 
are  five  holes,  two  of  them  of  considerable 
size.  Yet,  when  the  kaross  is  viewed  upon 
the  hairy  side,  not  a  sign  of  a  hole  is  visible. 
With  singular  skill,  the  Kaffir  fur-dresser 
has  "let  in"  circular  pieces  of  skin  cut  from 
another  animal,  and  done  it  so  well  that  no 
one  would  suspect  that  there  had  been  any 
injury  to  the  skin.  The  care  taken  in 
choosing  the  color  is  very  remarkable,  be- 
cause the  fur  of  the  meerkat  is  extremely 
variable  in  color,  and  it  must  have  been 
necessary  to  compare  a  considerable  number 
of  skins,  in  order  to  find  one  that  was  of 
exactly  the  right  shade. 

The  mantle  in  question  is  wonderfully 
light,  so  light,  indeed,  that  no  one  would 
think  it  capable  of  imparting  much  warmth 
until  he  has  tried  it.  I  always  use  it  in 
journeys  in  cold  weather,  finding  that  it  can 
be  packed  in  mucli  less  space  than  an  ordi- 
nary railway  rug,  that  it  is  lighter  to  carry, 
and  is  warmer  and  more  comfortable. 

Although  every  Kaffir  has  some  knowl- 
edge of  skin-dressing  and  tailoring,  there 
are  some  who  greatly  surpass  their  compan- 
ions, and  are  popularly  known  as  "  kaross 
makers."  It  is  easy  to  tell  at  a  glance 
whether  a  garment  is  the  work  of  an  ordi- 
nary Kaffir,  or  of  a  regular  kaross  maker. 
The  kaross  which  has  been  noticed  affords 
a  good  example  of  both  styles,  which  can 
be  distinguished  as  easily  by  the  touch  as  by 
the  sight. 

When  a  kaross  maker  sets  to  work,  he 
takes  the  two  pieces  of  the  fur  wliich  he  has 
to  join, -and  places  them  together  with  the 
hairy  side  inward,  and  the  edges  exactly 
matching  each  other.    He  then  repeatedly 


30 


THE  KAFFIR. 


passes  his  long  needle  between  the  two 
pieces,  so  as  to  press  the  hair  downward, 
and  prevent  it  from  being  canglit  in  the 
thread.  He  tlien  bores  a  tew  liules  in  a  line 
with  each  other,  and  passes  the  sinew  libre 
througli  them,  casting  a  single  hitch  over 
each  hole,  but  leaving  the  tliread  loose. 
AVhen  he  has  made  two  or  three  such  holes, 
and  passed  the  thread  through  them,  he 
draws  them  tiglit  iu  regular  succession,  so 
that  he  produces  a  sort  of  lock-stiteh,  and  his 
work  will  not  become  loose,  even  tliough  it 
maj-  be  cut  repeatedly-  Finally,  he  rubs  down 
the  seam,  and,  when  properly  done,  the  two 
edges  lie  as  flat  as  if  they  were  one  single 
piece  of  skin. 

In  the  kaross  before  mentioned,  the  orig- 
inal maker  was  not  one  of  the  professed 
tailors,  but  thought  that  he  could  do  all  the 
plain  sewing  himself.  Accordingly,  the 
seams  which  connect  the  various  skins  are 
rather  rudely  done,  being  merely  sewed  over 
and  over,  and  are  in  consequence  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  skins.  But  the  vari- 
ous patches  that  were  required  in  order  to 
complete  the  garment  in  its  integrity  needed 
much  more  careful  work,  and  this  portion 
of  the  work  has  been  therefore  intrusted  to 
one  of  the  professed  kaross  makers.  The 
ditierence  of  the  seams  is  at  once  apparent, 
those  made  by  the  unskilled  workman  being 
raised,  harsh,  and  stift';  wliile  those  made  by 
the  professional  are  quite  flat,  and  look  ex- 
actly like  the  well-known  lock-stitch  of  our 
sewing  machines. 

A  singularly  handsome  specimen  of  a 
kaross  is  now  before  me.  It  is  made  of  the 
skins  of  the  gray  jackal,  and,  although  not  so 
attractive  to  European  eyes  as  if  it  had  been 
made  from  the  skin  of  the  black-backed 
jackal,  is,  in  a  Kaftir's  estimation,  a  far  more 
valuable  article,  inasmuch  as  the  gray 
species  is  much  rarer  than  the  black- 
backed. 

The  man  who  designed  this  kaross  may 
fairly  be  entitled  to  the  name  of  artist.  It 
is  live  feet  three  inclies  iu  depth,  and  very 
nearly  six  feet  in  width,  and  therefore  a 
considerable  number  of  skins  have  been  used 
in  making  it.  But  the  skins  have  not 
merely  been  squared  and  tlien  sewed  to- 
getlier,  tlie  manufacturer  having  in  his  mind 
a  very  bold  design.  Most  persons  are  aware, 
that  in  the  ma,jority  of  animals,  the  jackal 
included,  the  skin  is  darkest  along  the  back, 
a  very  dark  stripe  runs  along  the  spine,  and 
that  the  fur  fades  into  whitish  gray  upon 
the  flanks  and  under  the  belly.  The  kaross 
maker  has  started  with  tlie  idea  of  forming 
the  cloak  on  the  same  principle,  and  making 
it  look  as  if  it  were  composed  of  one  large 
skin.  Accordingly,  he  has  selected  the 
darkest  skins  for  the  centre  of  the  kaross,  and 
arranged  them  so  that  they  fade  away  into 
gray  at  the  edges.  This  is  done,  not  by 
merely  putting  the  darker  skins  in  the 
middle,  and  the  lighter  toward  the  edges. 


but  by  cutting  the  skins  into  oblong  pieces 
of  nearly  the  same  size,  and  sewing  them 
together  so  neatly  that  the  lines  of  junction 
are  quite  invisible.  All  the  heads  are  set  in 
a  row  along  the  upper  edges,  and,  being 
worked  very  flat,  can  be  turned  over,  and 
form  a  kind  of  cape,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned.  The  lower  edge  of  the'  kaross 
has  a  very  handsome  appearance,  the  gray 
color  of  the  fur  rapidly  deepening  into  black, 
which  makes  a  broad  stripe  some  four  inclies 
in  depth.  This  is  obtained  by  taking  the 
skin  of  the  paws,  which  are  very  lilack,  and 
sewing  them  to  the  cape  of  the  mantle. 

Of  course,  a  KatHr  has  no  knowledge  of 
gloves,  but  there  are  seasons  when  he  really 
wants  some  covering  for  his  hands.  A  crea- 
ture of  the  sun,  he  cannot  endure  cold;  and 
in  weather  when  the  white  men  are  walking 
in  their  lightest  clothing  and  exulting  in 
the  unaccustomed  coolness,  the  Kattir  is 
wrapped  in  his  thickest  kaross,  cowering 
over  the  fire,  and  absolutely  paralyzed,  both 
bodily  and  mentally,  with  the  cold.  He 
therefore  makes  certain  additions  to  his 
kaross,  and  so  forms  a  kind  of  shelter  for  the 
hands.  About  two  feet  from  the  top  of  the 
karo.ss,  and  on  the  outer  edges,  are  a  pair  of 
small  wings  or  projections,  about  a  loot  in 
length,  and  eight  inches  in  width.  When 
the  Kaffir  puts  on  the  kaross,  he  doubles  the  • 
upi)er  part  to  form  the  cape,  tiu'us  the  furry 
side  within,  gra.sps  one  of  these  winglets 
with  each  hand,  and  then  wraps  it  round 
his  shoulders.  The  hands  are  thus  pro- 
tected from  the  cold,  and  the  upper  jiart  of 
the  body  is  completely  covered.  The  kaross 
descends  as  far  as  the  knees  in  front,  and  is 
about  a  foot  longer  at  the  sides  and  at  the 
back.  The  whole  edge  of  the  kaross  is 
bound  on  the  inside  with  a  narrow  band  of 
thin,  but  very  strong  membrane,  and  is  thus 
rendered  less  liable  to  be  torn.  Tlie  mem- 
brane is  obtained  as  follows.  A  skin  of 
some  animal,  usually  one  of  the  antelopes,  is 
rolled  u\)  and  liuried  in  the  ground  until  a 
certain  amount  of  putrefaction  takes  place. 
It  is  then  removed,  and  the  Kaflir  splits  it 
by  inti'oducing  his  knife,  and  then,  with  a 
quick  jerk,  strips  oft'  the  membranous  .skin. 
If  it  does  not  separate  easily,  the  skin  is  re- 
pl.iced  in  the  ground,  and  left  for  a  day  or 
two  longer. 

This  "fine  specimen  was  brought  from 
Southern  Africa  by  Mr.  Christie,  wlio  has  had 
it  in  constant  use  as  a  railway  rug  and  for  sim- 
ilar purposes  for  some  fourteen  years,  and  it  is 
still  as  serviceable  as  ever.  Io"ught  to  men- 
tion that  both  this  and  my  own  kaross  were 
made  by  Bechuanas,  and  not  by  Zulus,  the 
latter  tribe  always  using  for  their  kaross  a 
single  hide  of  "an  ox  "dressed  soft.  The 
peculiar  mode  of  manipulating  a  hide  when 
dressing  it  is  called  "  braying,"  perhaps  be- 
cause it  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
"br.aying"or  rubbing  of  a  substance  in  a 
mortar,  as  distinguished  from  pounding  it 


NEEDLES  AND   SHEATHS, 


31 


A  haniLful  of  the  liide  is  taken  in  each  liand 
and  gathered  up,  so  as  to  form  two  or  tliree 
wrinkles  on  the  flesliy  side.  The  wrinkles 
arc  then  rubbed  on  each  other,  with  a  pecu- 
liar twisting  movement,  which  is  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the  gizzard  in  grain- 
eating  birds. 

Of  similar  skins  the  Katiir  makes  a  kind 
of  bag  in  which  he  puts  his  pipe,  tobacco, 
and  various  other  little  comforts.  This  bag, 
which  is  popularly  called  a  knajjsack,  de- 
serves more  rightly  the  nanw  of  haversack, 
as  it  is  not  carried  on  the  back,  but  slung  to 
the  side.  It  is  made  of  the  skin  of  some 
small  animal,  such  as  a  hare  or  a  hyrax,  and 
is  formed  in  a  very  simple  manner.  Wiien 
the  Kaffir  has  killed  the  auimal,  he  strips  olf 
the  skin  by  making  a  cut,  not  along  the 
belly,  as  is  the  usual  fashion,  but  from  one 
hind  leg  to  the  other.  By  dint  of  pushing 
and  pulling,  he  contrives  to  strip  otf  the 
skin,  and  of  course  turns  it  inside  out  in  so 
doing,  mucli  as  is  the  case  when  a  taxider- 
mist skins  a  snake  or  frog.  The  skin  is  then 
"brayed"  in  the  ordinary  fa.shion,  while  the 
furry  side  is  inward;  and  when  this  opera- 
tion is  completed,  the  mouth,  ears  and  eye- 
lids are  sewed  up,  and  it  is  then  reversed  so 
as  to  briug  the  fur  outward.  Straps  are 
attached  to  the  two  hind  legs,  so  that  the 
wearer  can  sling  the  bag  over  his  shoulder. 
The  natives  put  these  bags  to  all  kinds  of 
uses,  soms  of  them  being  rather  odd  accord- 
ing to  our  ideas.  It  has  been  mentioned  that 
the  pipe,  tobacco,  and  other  little  articles 
which  a  Kaffir  has,  are  kept  in  the  bag.  If,  per- 
chance, the  wearer  should  discover  a  t>ees' 
nest,  he  empties  his  "  knapsack,"  turns  it  in- 
side out,  shakos  it  well  in  order  to  get  rid  of 
the  scraps  of  tobacco  and  other  debris  of  a 
Kaffir's  pouch,  and  then  proceeds  to  attack 
the  bees.  When  he  has  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  honeycombs,  he  removes  them 
from  the  nest,  puts  them  into  the  bag,  and 
goes  otf  with  his  prize,  regardless  of  the  state 
in  which  the  interior  of  the  bag  will  be  left. 

The  skill  of  the  Kaffir  in  sewing  fur  is  the 
more  notable  when  we  take  into  considera- 
tion the  peculiar  needle  and  thread  which 
he  uses.  The  needle  is  not  in  the  least  like 
the  delicate,  slender  articles  employed  by 
European  seamstresses.  In  the  first  place, 
it  has  no  ej'e;  and  in  the  second,  it  is  more 
like  a  skewer  than  a  needle.  If  any  of  my 
classical  readers  will  recall  to  their  minds 
the  "  stylus  "  which  the  ancients  used  instead 
of  a  pen,  he  will  have  a  very  good  idea  of  a 
Kaffir's  needle. 

As  the  Kaffir  likes  to  carry  his  needle 
about  with  him,  he  makes  a  sheath  or  case 
of  leather.  There  is  great  variety  in  these 
cases.  The  simplest  are  merely  made  of 
strips  of  hide  rolled  round  the  needle,  and 
sewed  together  at  the  edges. 

The  most  ornamental  needle  that  I  have 
seen  was  brought  to  England  by  the  late 
H.  Jackson,  Esq.,  who  kindly  placed  it  and 


the  rest  of  his  valuable  collection  at  my  dis- 
posal. This  needle  is  represented  at  tig.  1, 
in  the  illustration  "  Kaffir  needles,"  page  33. 
It  is  of  the  ordinary  shape,  though  much 
larger  than  most  that  are  used;  but  it  is 
upon  the  sheath  and  its  oruamenls  that  the 
proud  owner  has  lavished  his  powers.  The 
sheath  is  made  of  leather,  but  is  modelled 
into  a  curious  pattern,  which  may  be  easily 
imitated.  Koll  up  a  tube  of  paper,  about 
the  third  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  At  an 
inch  from  the  end,  pinch  it  tightly  between 
the  right  thumb  and  finger,  until  it  is 
squeezed  flat.  Still  retaining  the  grasp, 
pinch  it  with  the  left  hand  just  below  the 
finger  and  thumb  of  the  right,  and  at  right 
angles  to  them.  Proceed  in  this  manner 
until  the  whole  of  it  has  been  pinched. 
Then,  if  we  suppose  that  the  tube  is  made  of 
raw  hide  thoroughly  wetted,  that  a  well  oiled 
needle  is  placed  in  it,  and  that  the  leather  is 
worked  carefully  upon  the  needle  so  as  to 
make  a  sheath,  ornamented  with  flattened 
jn-ojections  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  we 
shall  see  how  the  sheath  is  made. 

The  string  of  beads  by  which  it  is  hung 
around  the  neck  is  put  together  ^vith  great 
taste.  The  pale-tinted  beads  are  white  with 
rings  of  scarlet,  and  the  others  are  blue  with 
large  spots  of  white,  the  whole  forming  a  very 
artistic  contrast  with  the  skin  of  the  wearer. 
The  best  point  of  this  needle  case  is,  how- 
ever, the  ornament  which  hangs  to  it  just 
by  the  head  of  the  needle.  This  is  a  piece 
of  rhiuocuros  horn,  cut  into  the  shape  of  a 
buflalo  head  and  part  of  the  neck  —  very 
much,  indeed,  as  if  it  had  been  intended  for 
the  handle  of  a  seal.  The  skill  with  which 
the  artist  —  for  he  really  deserves  the  name 
— •  has  manipulated  this  stubborn  substance 
is  really  admii-able.  The  sweep  of  the  ani- 
mal's horns  is  hit  olf  with  a  boldness  of  line 
and  a  freedom  of  execution  that  would 
scarcely  be  expected  from  a  savage.  That 
he  should  make  an  accurate  representation 
of  the  animal  was  likely  enough,  considei'- 
ing  his  familiarity  with  the  sul3ject,  but  that 
he  shou'.  1  be  able  to  carve  with  his  assagai- 
blade  so  artistic  a  design  could  hardly  have 
been  expected  from  him. 

By  the  side  of  this  needle  hangs  another, 
which  I  have  introduced  because  the  sheath, 
instead  of  being  made  of  leather,  is  a  wooden 
tube,  closed  at  one  end,  and  guarded  at 
both  ends  by  a  th  >;ig  of  raw  hide  rolled 
round  it. 

As  the  Kaffirs  employ  needles  of  this 
description,  it  is  evident  that  they  cannot 
use  the  same  kind  of  thread  as  ourselves, 
since  a  cotton  thread  would  not  make  its 
way  through  the  leather,  and  therefore  the 
Kaffir  has  recourse  to  the  animal  king- 
dom for  his  thread  as  well  as  for  his  gar- 
ments. The  thread  is  made  of  the  sinews 
of  various  animals,  the  best  being  made  of 
the  sinews  taken  from  the  neck  of  a  giraffe. 
One  of  these  bundles  of  thread  is  now  be~ 


S2 


THE  KAFFIR. 


fore  me,  and  a  curious  article  it  is — stiff, 
angular,  elastic,  and  with  an  iuviucible  ten- 
dency to  Ijecome  cntanj^led  among  the  other 
objects  of  the  collection.  Few  jjersous  to 
whom  it  is  shown  for  tlie  tirst  time  will 
believe  that  it  is  thread,  and  mostly  fancy 
that  I  am  trying  to  take  advantage  of  their 
ignorance. 

When  this  strange  thread  is  wanted  for 
use,  it  is  steeped  in  hot  water  until  it  is 
quite  soft,  and  is  then  beaten  between  two 
smooth  stones.  This  process  causes  it  to 
separate  into  lilaments,  which  cau  bo  ob- 
tained of  almost  any  degree  of  strength  or 
fineness.  The  sinew  thus  furnishes  a  thread 
of  astonishing  strength  when  compared  with 
its  diameter,  surpassing  even  the  silk  grass 
of  Guiana  in  that  respect. 

When  a  Kaffir  wishes  to  sew,  he  prepares 
some  of  this  thread,  squats  on  the  ground, 
takes  his  needle,  and  bores  two  little  holes 
in  the  edges  of  the  garment  on  which  he  is 
working.  He  then  pushes  the  thread  through 
the  holes  thus  made,  and  makes  two  more 
holes  opposite  each  other.  Ho  continues 
to  draw  the  stitches  tight  as  he  proceeds, 
and  thus  gets  on  with  his  work  at  a  rate 
which  would  certainly  not  pay  a  seamstress 
in  this  country,  but  winch  is  very  well  suited 
to  Africa,  where  time  is  not  of  the  least  value. 
As  he  works  with  wet  sinew  upon  wet  hide, 
it  naturally  follows  that,  in  the  process  of 
di-ying,  the  seams  become  enormously 
strengthened,  the  stitches  being  drawn 
tightly  bj'  the  contraction  of  sinew,  and  the 
contraction  of  the  hide  forcing  the  stitches 
deeply  into  its  own  substance,  and  almost 
blending  them  together.  So,  although  the 
work  is  done  very  slowly,  one  of  our  sewing 
macliinos  being  equal  to  a  hundred  Kaffirs, 
or  thereabouts,  in  point  of  speed,  it  is  done 
with  a  degree  of  efficacy  that  no  machine 
can  ever  approach.  I  have  in  my  collection 
very  many  examples  of  Kafiir  sewing,  and 
in  every  instance  the  firmness  and  solidity 
of  the  workmanshiiJ  are  admirable.  Their 
fur-sewing  is  really  wonderful,  for  they  use 
very  close  stitches,  very  fine  thread,  and 
join  the  pieces  so  perfectly  that  the  set  of 
the  hairs  is  not  disturbed,  and  a  number  of 
pieces  will  look  and  feel  exactly  as  if  they 
were  one  single  skin. 

We  will  begin  an  account  of  Kaffir  dress 
with  the  ordinary  costume  of  a  man.  Until 
he  approaches  manhood,  the  Kaffir  does  not 
ti'ouble  himself  about  so  superfluous  a  lux- 
ury as  dress.  He  may  wear  beads  and  orna- 
ments, but  he  is  not  troubled  with  dress  in 
our  acceptation  of  the  word.  When  he 
becomes  a  man,  however,  he  assumes  the 
peculiar  apron  which  may  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  any  of  the  illustrations  of  Kaffir 
men.  This  garment  is  intended  to  represent 
the  tails  of  animals,  and  by  Europeans  is 
generally  called  by  that  name.  Thus,  instead 
of  saying  that  a  man  has  put  on  his  dress  or 
his  apron,  he  is  said  to  have  put  on  his 


"tails."  It  is  notable,  by  the  way,  that  this 
form  of  dress  extends  over  a  considerable 
part  of  Africa,  and  is  common  to  both  sexes, 
though  the  details  are  carried  out  in  a  dif- 
ferent manner.  The  principal  is  a  belt 
round  the  waist,  with  a  number  of  thongs 
depending  from  it,  and  we  find  this  charac- 
teristic dress  as  far  uorthward  as  Egypt. 
Indeed,  strings  or  thongs  form  a  considera- 
ble portion,  not  only  of  a  Kaffir's  dress,  but 
of  his  ornaments,  as  will  be  seen  presently. 

The  apron  of  the  men  is  called  "isinene," 
and  is  conventionally  supposed  to  be  made 
of  the  tails  of  slain  leopards,  lions,  or  buffii- 
loes,  and  to  be  a  trophj'  of  the  wearer's  cour- 
age as  well  as  a  mark  of  his  taste  in  dress. 
Such  a  costume  is  sometimes,  though  very 
rarely,  seen;  there  being  but  few"  Kaffirs 
who  have  killed  enough  of  these  ferocious 
beasts  to  make  the"isinene"  of  their  tails. 
I  have  one  which  was  presented  to  me 
by  Captain  Drayson,  R.A.,  who  bought  it, 
together  with  manj^  other  objects,  alter  the 
late  Kaffir  war.  It  is  represented  by  fig.  1  in 
the  illustration  of  "  Costume  "  on  page  33.  It 
is  made  of  strips  of  monkey  skin,  each  aljout 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  width.  These  strips 
h.ave  been  snipped  half  through  on  either 
side  alternately,  and  then  twisted  so  as  to 
make  furry  cylinders,  having  the  hair  on  the 
outside,  and  being  fixed  in  that  position  until 
dry  and  tolerably  stiff.  There  are  fourteen 
of  these  strips,  each  being  about  fourteen 
inches  long,  but  those  in  the  middle  exceed- 
ing the  others  by  an  inch  or  two. 

The  strips  or  "  tails  "  are  gathered  together 
above,  and  sowed  firmly  to  a  broad  belt  of 
the  same  material,  which  is  so  covered  with 
rod  and  white  beads  that  the  leather  cannot 
be  seen.  Across  the  belt  are  two  rows  of 
conical  brass  buttons,  exactlj'  identical  with 
those  that  decorate  the  jacket  of  the  modern 
"  page."  These  brass  buttons  seem  to  charm 
a  Kaffir's  heart.  He  cannot  have  too  many 
of  them,  and  it  is  his  delight  and  pride  to 
keep  them  burnished  to  the  highest  amount 
of  polish  which  brass  will  take.  I  have 
various  specimens  of  dress  or  ornament 
formerly  belonging  to  Kaffirs  of  both  "sexes, 
and,  in  almost  every  instance  where  the  ar- 
ticle has  been  very  carefully  made,  at  least 
one  brass  button  is  attached  to  it. 

As  long  as  the  Kaffir  stands  or  sits,  the 
"isinene"  hangs  rather  gracefully,  and  re- 
minds the  spectator  of  the  sporran  or  skin 
pouch,  which  forms  part  of  the  Highlander's 
tlress.  But  when  he  runs,  especially  when 
he  is  rushing  at  full  speed,  the  tails  fly 
about  in  all  directions,  and  have  a  most 
ludicrous  effect,  almost  as  if  a  bundle  of 
living  eels  or  snakes  had  been  tied  round 
the  man's  waist.  If  a  Kaffir  should  be  too 
lazy  to  take  the  trouble  of  making  so  elabo- 
rate a  set  of  "  tails,"  he  merely  culs  his  "  isi- 
nene "  out  of  a  piece  of  skin.  An  example  of 
this  kind  of  apron  is  seen  in  the  illustration, 
''  Dolls,"  33d  paro,  which  represents  a  pair 


o 

s 

2! 


■^ 

•^ 


a 

X 


GOZA,  THE  ZULU  CHIEF. 


65 


of  figures,  a  Kaffir  and  his  wife,  made  l)y  the 
natives  out  of  leather.  Here  tlie  male  fig- 
ure, on  the  right,  is  shown  as  wearing  the 
isiuene,  and  having  besides  a  short  kaross, 
or  cloak,  over  his  shoulders.  These  figures 
are  in  my  own  collection,  and  will  be  more 
particularly  described  when  we  come  to  the 
dress  of  Kaffir  females. 

Most  of  the  men  wear  a  similar  duplicate 
of  this  apron,  which  falls  behind,  and  cor- 
responds with  the  isinene;  this  second  apron 
is  called  the  "  umucha,"  and  is  mostly  made 
of  one  piece  of  skin.  Its  use  is  not,  how- 
ever, universal,  and  indeed,  when  in  his 
own  kraal  or  village,  the  Kaffir  does  not 
trouble  himself  about  either  isiuene  or 
umucha,  and  considers  himself  quite  suffi- 
ciently clothed  with  a  necklace  and  a  suuft' 
box. 

An  illustration  on  page  117,  gives  a  good 
idea  of  the  appearance  presented  by  a  Kaffir 
of  rank  in  his  ordinary  dress.  It  is  a  por- 
trait of  Goza,  the  well-known  Zulu  chief, 
whose  name  came  prominently  forward 
during  the  visit  of  Prince  Albert  to  the 
Cape.  He  is  one  of  the  most  powerful 
chiefs  of  the  Zulu  tribe,  and  can  at  any 
moment  summon  into  the  field  his  five  or 
six  thousand  trained  and  armed  warriors. 
Yet  in  ordinary  life  he  is  not  to  be  distin- 
guished from  the  meanest  of  his  subjects 
by  any  distinction  of  dress.  An  experi- 
enced eye  would,  however,  detect  his  rank 
at  a  single  glance,  even  though  he  were  not 
even  clad  in  his  "  tails.''  He  is  fat,  and 
none  but  chiefs  are  fat  in  Kaffirlaud.  In 
fact,  none  but  chiefs  have  the  opportunity, 
because  the  inferior  men  are  forced  to  such 
constantly  active  employment,  and  live  on 
such  irregular  nourishment,  that  they  have 
no  opportunity  of  accumulating  fat. 

But  a  chief  has  nothing  whatever  to  do. 


except  to  give  his  orders,  and  if  those  orders 
are  within  human  capacity  they  will  be 
executed.  Tchaka  once  ordered  his  war- 
riors to  catch  a  lion  with  their  unarmed 
hands,  and  they  did  it,  losing,  of  course, 
many  of  their  number  in  the  exploit.  The 
chief  can  eat  beef  and  porridge  all  day  long 
if  he  likes,  and  he  mostly  does  like.  Also, 
he  can  drink  as  much  beer  as  he  chooses, 
and  always  has  a  large  vessel  at  hand  full 
of  that  beverage.  Panda,  the  king  of  the 
Zulu  tribes,  was  notable  for  being  so  fat 
that  he  could  hardly  waddle  ;  but,  as  the 
reader  will  soon  be  presented  with  a  por- 
trait of  this  doubly  great  monarch,  nothing 
more  need  be  said  about  him. 

As  to  Goza,  he  is  a  wealthy  man,  pos- 
sessing vast  herds  of  cattle,  besides  a  great 
number  of  wives,  who,  as  far  as  can  be 
judged  by  their  portraits,  are  not  beautiful 
according  to  European  ideas  of  beauty,  but 
are  each  representatives  of  a  considerable 
number  of  cows.  He  wields  undisputed 
sway  over  many  thousands  of  sulijects,  and 
takes  tribute  from  them.  Yet  he  dresses 
on  ordinary  occasions  like  one  of  his  own 
subjects,  and  his  house  is  just  one  of  the 
ordinary  huts  of  which  a  village  is  com- 
posed. When  he  wishes  to  appear  offi- 
cially, he  alters  his  style  of  dress,  and 
makes  really  a  splendid  appearance  in  all 
the  pomp  of  barbaric  magnificence.  Also, 
when  he  mixes  with  civilization,  he  likes 
to  be  civilized  in  dress,  and  makes  his 
appearance  dressed  as  an  Englishman,  in  a 
silk  hat,  a  scarlet  coat,  and  jackboots,  and 
attended  in  his  rides  by  an  aide-de-camp, 
dressed  in  a  white-plumed  cocked  hat,  and 
nothing  else. 

A  portrait  of  Goza  in  his  full  war-dress  is 
given  in  the  chapter  that  treats  of  Kaffir 
warfare. 


CHAPTER  V. 


0RKAMENT8  WORN  BY  KAFPIK  MEN  —  EE.U)8,  BUTTONS,  AND  STRINGS  —  PASHIONAELE  COLORS  OP  BEADS 

—  GOOD  TASTE  OF  THE  ICU'TIKS  —  CAPRICES  OF  FASHION  —  GOZA'S  YOITNG  WARRIORS  —  CURIOUS 
BEAD  ORNAMENT  —  A  SE»n-NECKLACE  —  A  BEAD  BRACELET,  AND  MODE  OF  CONSTRUCTION  —  A 
CHEiVP    NECKLACE  —  TWO    EEM.\RIC\BLE    NECKLACES  —  ORNAJIENTS    JIADE    OF  LEATHERN  THONGS 

—  OX-TAILS  USED  AS  OEN.\MENTS,  AND  INDICATIONS  OP  THE  WEALTH  OF  THEIR  OWNER  —  THE 
SKULL  USED  FOB  A  Sir.UL.\R  PURPOSE  —  A  YOUNG  KAFFIR  IN  FULL  DRESS  —  CURIOUS  DECORA- 
TIONS OF  THE  HEAD  —  THE  ISSIKOKO,  OR  HEAD-RING  —  ICAFFIR  CHIVALRY  —  PICTUREStJLTE  ASPECT 
OF  THE  K.\FFIR  —  THE  EYE  AND  THE  NOSTRIL — ^THE  IvAFFIR  PERFUME,  AND  ITS  TENACITY —■ 
CLEANLY  HABITS  OF  THE  liLAFFIR — CONDITIONS  ALTER  CUSCUMSTANCES  —  ANOTHER  METHOD  OP 
DRESSING  SKINS  —  THE  ELiVNKET  AND  THE  KAROSS  —  ARMLETS,  .iNKLETS,  AND  BRACELETS  —  A 
SIMPLE  GRASS  BRACELET  —  lA'ORY  .\RMLETS,  AND  METHOD  OF  CONSTRUCTION  —  BEAD  ARMLETS  — 
METALLIC    jiRJILETS  —  AN  ANCIENT    ROYAL    ARMLET  OF   BRASS  —  IRON  ARMLETS  —  A  NEW  METAL 

—  ITS  ADOPTION  BY  THE   CHIEFS  —  SINGULAR    SUPERSTITION,    .AND  ABANDONMENT  OF    THE  METAL 

—  DEATH  OF  THE  DISCOVERER. 


As  to  the  ornaments  which  a  Kaffir  man 
■wears,  thoy  may  be  summed  up  in  tliree 
words  —  beads,  buttons,  and  strings,  all  three 
being  often  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
one  ornament.  All  the  beads  come  from 
Europe,  and  there  is  as  much  fashion  in 
them  as  in  jewelry  among  civilized  nations. 
The  Kaflirs  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
beads  that  do  not  form  a  good  contrast  with 
the  dark  skin  of  the  wearer,  so  that  beads 
which  would  be  thought  valuable,  even  in 
England,  would  be  utterly  contemned  by 
the  poorest  Kaffir.  Dark  blue,  for  example, 
are  extremely  unfashionable,  while  light 
azure  blue  are  in  great  favor.  Those 
beads  which  contain  white  and  red  are  the 
most  valued;  and  if  it  were  possible  to 
make  beads  which  would  have  the  dazzling 
whiteness  of  snow,  or  the  fiery  hue  of  the 
scarlet  verbena,  almost  any  price  might  be 
obtained  for  them  in  Kafflrland. 

The  eapriciousness  of  fashion  is  quite  as 
great  among  the  Kaffirs  as  among  Euro- 
peans, and  the  head  trade  is,  therefore,  very 
precarious,  beads  which  ^vould  have  been 
purchased  at  a  very  high  ]iriee  one  year 
being  scarcely  worth  their  freight  in"  the 
next.  Still,  there  is  one  rule  which  may 
always  guide  those  who  take  beads  as  "a 
medium  of  barter  among  sav.aojes.  The 
beads  should  always  contrast  boldly  with  the 
color  of  the  skin. '  Kow,  the  average  color 
of  a  Kaffir  is  a  very  dark  chocolate;  and  if 
the   intended    trader    among    these    tribes 


(36) 


wishes  to  make  a  successful  speculation,  he 
cannot  do  better  than  liave  a  lay  figure 
painted  of  a  Kaffir's  color,  and  try  the  efl'cct 
of  the  lieads  upon  the  image.  Beads  cannot 
be  too  brilliant  for  a  savage,  and  almost  any 
small  articles  -which  will  take  a  high  ])olish 
and  flash  well  in  the  sunshine  will  find  a 
market. 

Having  procured  his  beads,  either  by  ex- 
change of  goods  or  by  labor,  the  Kaffir  pro- 
ceeds to  adorn  himself  with  them.  In  a 
photograph  before  me,  representing  a  group 
of  young  warriors  belonging  to  Goza's 
army,  three  of  the  men  have  round  their 
necks  strings  of  beads  which  must  weigh 
several  pounds,  while  another  has  a  broad 
belt  of  beads  passing  over  the  shoulder  just 
like  the  sash  of  a  light  infantry  officer. 
The  ordinary  mode  of  wearing  them  is  in 
strings  round  the  neck,  but  a  Kaffir  of  inge- 
nuity devises  various  other  fashions.  If  he 
has  some  very  large  and  very  v.-hife  beads, 
he  will  fie  fliem  "round  his  forehead,  just 
over  his  eyebrows,  allowing  some  of  them  to 
dangle  over  his  nose,  and  others  on  either 
side'of  the  eyes.  In  "  Kaffir  ornaments "  on 
page  3.3,  fig.  1,  is  shown  a  sash  somewhat 
similar  to  that  which  has  just  been  men- 
tioned, though  it  is  not  made  wholly  of 
laeads.  Its  groundwork  is  a  vast  number  of 
small  strings  laid  side  by  side,  and  bound  at 
intervals  by  Ijands  of  different  colored  beads, 
those  toward  the  ends  being  white,  and  the 
others  scarlet,  pink,  or  green.     Its  length  is 


NECKLACES. 


37 


about  eight  feet.  A  small  portion  is  given  on 
an  enlarged  scale,  to  show  the  mode  of  struc- 
ture. The  other  articles  belong  to  female 
costume,  and  will  be  described  presently. 

The  group  of  ornaments  illustrated  upon 
page  33  is  very  interesting,  and  is  taken 
from  specimens  kindly  lent  me  by  the 
late  H.  Jackson,  Esq.  The  round  article 
with  dark  centre  (tig.  3)  is  the  first  which 
we  will  notice.  In  form  it  resembles  a  hol- 
low cone,  or  rather  a  Malay's  hat,  and  is 
made  of  leather,  ingeniously  moulded  and 
sewed  while  wet,  and  then  kept  in  its  shape 
until  dry.  The  whole  of  the  interior  is  so 
thickly  covered  with  be.ads  that  the  leather 
is  quite  concealed.  The  beads  in  the  centre 
are  red,  and  the  others  are  white.  This 
ornament  is  worn  on  the  breast,  and  to  all 
appearance  must  be  a  very  awkward  article 
of  decoration.  If  the  outside  had  been  cov- 
ered with  beads,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
that  it  ^vould  have  rested  very  comfortably 
on  the  breast  with  its  bead-covered  apex 
projecting  like  a  huge  sugar-loaf  button. 
But,  as  the  peak  has  to  rest  on  the  breast, 
the  ornament  must  sway  about  in  a  most 
uncomfortaljle  manner. 

The  ornament  at  the  bottom  of  the  illus- 
tration is  a  semi-necklace,  much  in  request 
among  the  Kaffirs.  A  string  is  fastened  to 
each  upper  corner  and  then  tied  behind  the 
neck,  so  that  none  of  the  beads  are  wasted 
upon  a  back  view  of  the  person.  The 
groundwork  of  this  semi-necklace  is  white, 
and  the  marks  upon  it  are  ditfereutly  col- 
ored. Some  of  them  are  red  in  the  interior 
and  edged  with  yellow,  while  in  others  these 
colors  are  reversed.  A  narrow  line  of  scar- 
let beads  runs  along  the  lower  edge.  The 
necklace  is  formed  of  a  sort  of  network,  of 
which  the  meshes  are  beads,  so  that  as  it  is 
moved  by  the  action  of  the  body,  the  light 
shines  through  the  interstices,  and  has  a  very 
pretty  eftect. 

A  bracelet,  also  made  of  beads,  is  shown 
in  the  same  illustration  at  fig.  2.  The  beads 
are  strung  on  threads,  and  then  twisted  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  a  loose  rope,  very  sim- 
ilar in  constiiiction  to  the  rope  ring  used 
so  much  by  sailors,  and  known  technically 
as  a  "  grummet."  The  strings  of  beads  are 
variously  colored,  and  are  "arranged  with 
considerable  taste,  so  that  when  they  are 
twisted  together  the  general  eftect  is  very 
good. 

There  is  a  more  common  kind  of  beads 
which  are  called  "  chalk-white."  Their  only 
value  is  that  they  contrast  well  with  the 
dark  skin  of  the  wearer.  Still,  there  are 
many  young  men  who  would  be  only  too 
glad  to  have  even  so  simple  a  set  of  beads, 
for  beads  are  money  in  Kaffirland,  and  are 
not  to  be  obtained  without  labor.  How- 
ever, ornament  of  some  kind  the  young 
men  will  have,  and  if  they  cannot  obtain 
beads  they  will  wear  some  other  ornament 
as  a  succedaueum  for  them. 


One  of  these  very  simple  necklaces  is  in 
my  collection.  It  consists  merely  of  nuts, 
which  the  wearer  could  have  for  the  pick- 
ing. A  hole  is  bored  through  each  nut,  just 
above  the  smaller  end,  so  that  they  tit  closely 
together,  and  stand  boldly  out,  without 
showing  the  string  on  which  they  are 
threaded.  So  closely  do  they  lie  that,  al- 
though the  necklace  is  only  just  large  enough 
to  be  passed  over  the  head,  it  contains  more 
than  a  hundred  nuts.  The  two  necklaces 
which  are  represented  at  the  foot  of  the 
3!Jth  page,  have  been  selected  because  they 
show  how  the  native  artist  has  tirst  made  a 
necklace  of  beads  and  teeth,  and  has  then 
imitated  it  in  metal.  No.  1  represents  a 
bracelet  that  is  entirely  made  of  beads  and 
teeth.  First,  the  maker  has  prepared  six  or 
seven  very  fine  leathern  thongs,  and  has 
strung  upon  them  black  glass  beads  of  rather 
a  small  size.  When  he  has  formed  rows  of 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length,  he  has 
placed  in  each  string  a  single  bead  of  a  much 
largei'  size,  and  being  white  in  color,  spotted 
with  bright  blue.  Another  inch  and  a  half  of 
black  beads  follow,  and  then  come  the  teeth. 
These  are  the  canine  teeth  of  the  leopard 
and  other  felidre,  and  are  arranged  in  groups 
vai-ying  from  three  to  five  in  number.  A 
tolerably  large  hole  is  bored  through  the 
base  of  each,  and  all  the  strings  are  passed 
through  them.  The  maker  then  goes  on 
with  the  black  beads,  then  with  the  white, 
then  with  the  teeth,  and  so  on,  until  his  ma- 
terials are  exhausted,  and  the  necklace 
finished. 

The  necklace  No.  2  is  of  a  far  more  ambi- 
tious character,  and,  whether  or  not  it  has 
been  made  by  the  same  artificer,  it  shows 
that  the  same  principle  has  been  carried  out. 
The  former  ornament  belonged  to  a  man 
who  had  been  skilful  as  a  hunter,  and  who 
wore  the  teeth  of  the  slaughtered  leopards 
as  trophies  of  his  valor  and  success.  He 
would  also  wear  the  skins,  and  lose  no 
.opportunity  of  showing  what  he  had  done. 
But  we  will  suppose  that  a  Kaffir,  who  has 
some  notion  of  working  in  metal,  saw  the 
bracelet,  and  that  he  was  fired  with  a  desire 
to  possess  one  of  a  similar  character.  Leop- 
ards' teeth  he  could  not,  of  course,  possess 
without  killing  the  animal  for  himself,  be- 
cause no  one  who  has  achieved  such  a  feat 
would  sell  to  another  the  trophies  of  his 
own  prowess.  So  he  has  tried  to  imitate 
the  coveted  ornament  as  well  as  he  could; 
and  though  he  might  not  possess  either  the 
skill  or  the  courage  of  the  hunter,  he  could, 
at  .all  events,  make  a  necklace  which  would 
resemble  in  shape  that  of  his  comitanion, 
be  vei'y  much  more  showy,  and  possess  a 
consider.able  intrinsic  value. 

So  he  set  up  his  forge,  and,  in  a  manner 
which  will  be  descrilsed  in  a  future  page, 
made  his  own  bronze,  brass,  or  bell-metal, 
anil  cast  a  number  of  little  cylinders. 
These  he  beat  into  shape  with  his  primitive 


38 


THE  KAFFIE. 


hammer,  and  formed  them  into  very  tolera- 
ble imitations  of  leopards'  teeth.  Being 
now  furnished  with  the  material  for  his 
necklaee,  he  began  to  put  it  together.  First, 
lie  strung  rows  of  chalk-white  beads,  and 
then  a  brass  tooth.  Next  to  the  tooth 
comes  a  large  transparent  glass  bead,  of 
ruby-red,  decorated  with  white  spots.  Then 
comes  a  tooth,  then  more  beads,  and  so  on, 
until  the  ornament  has  been  completed.  In 
order  to  give  the  necklace  an  air  of  reality, 
he  cut  a  piece  of  bone  so  as  to  look  like  a 
very  large  tooth,  and  strung  it  in  the  centre 
of  the  ornament,  so  as  to  fall  on  his  chest. 

This  is  really  a  handsome  piece  of  work- 
maushi]),  and  when  in  use  must  have  a  very 
excellent  cli'ect.  The  colors  are  selected 
with  remarkalile  taste,  as  nothing  can  look 
better  on  a  dark  skin  than  white  and  ruby. 
Moreover,  the  metal  teeth  are  burnished  so 
as  to  glisten  brilliantly  in  the  sun,  and  will 
dazzle  the  eye  at  the  distance  of  some 
feet.  Both  these  necklaces  are  drawn  from 
specimens  in  the  collection  of  Colonel  Lane 
Fox. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  good  taste  in 
color,  if  not  in  material,  seems  to  be  inher- 
ent in  the  race,  despite  the  very  small 
amount  of  clothes  which  either  sex  wears. 
When  they  become  partially  civilized, 
especially  if  they  owe  any  allegiance  to  mis- 
•sionaries,  they  assnme  some  portion  of  ordi- 
nary Eiu'opean  costume.  The  men,  whose 
wardrobe  is  generally  limited  to  a  shirt  and 
trousers,  have  little  scope  for  taste  in  dress; 
but  the  women  always  contrive  to  develop 
this  faculty.  Whether  in  the  gay  colors  of 
the  gowns  which  they  wear,  or  whether  in 
the  more  sober  hue  of  the  handkerchief 
which  they  invariably  tie  round  their  heads, 
they  always  manage  to  hit  upon  a  comliina- 
tion  of  cohn-s  which  harmonize  with  their 
complexions. 

Perhaps  it  is  fortunate  that  such  should 
be  the  case,  for  the  assumption  of  European 
costume  is,  artistically  speaking,  anything 
but  an  improvement  in  the  ajiiicarance  of  a 
Kaflir,  or,  indeed,  of  any  wearer  of  a  dark 
skin  ;  and  it  is  a  curiou.s"  fact,  that  the  bet- 
ter the  clothes,  the  worse  do  tlu'y  look.  A 
young  Katfir,  wearing  nothing  Init  his  few 
tufts  of  fur,  moves  with  a  free  and  upright 
gait,  and  looks  like  one  of  nature's  noble- 
men. But  the  moment  that  he  puts  on  the 
costume  adopted  in  civilized  Europe,  he 
'.OSes  every  vestige  of  dignity,  and  even  his 
('cry  gait  is  altered  for  the  w'orse. 

The  metropolitan  reader  can  easily  wit- 
ness such  a  metamor])hosis  by  visiting  the 
Hammam,  or  any  similar  establishment, 
Where  dark-skinned  attendants  are  em- 
ployed. While  engaged  in  their  ordinary 
vocation,  clad  with  nothing  but  a  cloth 
round  their  loins,  they  look  just  like  ancient 
statues  endued  with  life,  and  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  avoid  admiring  the  graceful  dignity 
of  their  gestures,  as   they  move    silently 


about  the  room.  But  when  any  of  them 
leave  the  room,  and  put  on  the  ordinary 
dress,  the  change  is  complete  and  disap- 
pointing, and  it  is  hardly  possible  to  believe 
the  identity  of  such  apparently  dill'erent 
iudividuals.  In  the  time  long  passed  away, 
when  Scotland  was  still  contesting  with 
England,  the  statesmen  of  the  latter  coun- 
try showed  no  small  knowledge  of  human 
nature  when  they  forbade  the  use  of  the 
Highland  ckess,  and  forced  the  Highlanders 
to  abandon  the  ])icturesque  costume  which 
seems  to  harmonize  so  well  with  the  wild 
hills  of  their  native  land.  A  Highlander 
iu  his  kilt  and  tartan  was  not  the  same  man 
when  in  the  costume  of  the  Lowlander,  and 
it  was  imiiossible  for  him  to  feel  the  same 
in-ide  in  himself  as  when  he  wore  the  garb 
of  the  mountaineer  and  the  colors  ol"  liis 
clan. 

Many  of  the  young  men  who  cannot  af- 
ford beads  make  Ijracelets,  necklaces,  arm- 
lets, and  anklets  from  the  skins  of  animals. 
After  cutting  the  skin  into  strips,  they  twist 
the  strips  spirally,  so  as  to  convert  them 
into  hollow  ropes,  having  all  the  hair  on  the 
outside.  When  made  of  prettily  colored 
skins,  these  curious  ornaments  have  a  very 
good,  though  barbaric  eflect.  (See  page  49.) 
By  cutting  the  strips  spirally,  almost  any 
length  can  be  obtained ;  and  the  conse- 
quence is,  that  the  young  men  sometimes 
appear  with  their  bodies,  legs,  and  arms 
covered  with  these  furry  ropes. 

Another  kind  of  ornament  of  which  the 
Kaffir  is  very  fond  is  the  tufted  tail  of  an 
ox.  A  man  of  consequence  will  sometimes 
wear  a  considerable  number  of  these  tails. 
Some  he  will  form  into  an  apron,  and  others 
will  be  disposed  about  his  person  in  the 
quaintest  possible  style.  He  will  tie  one 
under  each  knee,  so  as  to  hiring  it  on  the 
shin  bone.  Others  he  will  fix  to  leathern 
loops,  and  hang  them  loosely  on  his  arms, 
like  the  curious  bracelet  worn  by  Jung 
Bahadoor  when  in  England.  Some  he  wiU 
divide  into  a  multitude  of  strips,  and  sew 
them  together  so  as  to  make  fringed  belts, 
which  he  will  tie  round  his  waist,  or  with 
which  he  will  encircle  the  iqiper  arms. 
Others,  again,  will  be  attached  to  his  ankles, 
and  a  man  thus  decorated  is  contemplated 
enviously  by  those  not  so  fortunate. 

The  very  fact  of  possessing  such  orna- 
ments shows  that  the  wearer  nuist  be  a  rich 
man,  and  have  slaughtered  his  own  cattle. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  obtain  cow  tails  in 
any  other  method  ;  for  the  owner  of  a  slain 
cow  is  sure  to  keej)  the  tail  for  himself,  and 
will  not  give  so  valuable  an  ornament  to 
another.  For  the  same  reason,  when  the 
cow  has  been  eaten  up,  its  owner  fastens 
the  skull  on  the  outside  of  his  hut.  Every 
one  who  passes  within  sight  can  then  see 
that  a  rich  man  lives  in  that  dwelling. 
Even  when  the  tails  are  sold  to  Europeans, 
an  absurdly  high  price  is  asked  for  them. 


BRACELETS.    (See  page  52.) 


NECKLACES  — BEADS   AND  TEETH.    (Seepage  37.) 
(39) 


DECOKATIOXS  OF   THE  HEAD. 


41 


One  of  these  arm-tufts  is  now  before  me. 
The  skin  has  been  stripped  from  tlie  tail, 
leaving  a  thong  of  eighteen  inches  in  length 
aljovethe  tuft  of  hair.  This  thong  has 
then  been  cut  into  three  strips  of  half  an 
inch  iu  width,  and  the  strips  have  been 
rolled  up  spirall}',  as  already  described.  As 
the  slit  is  carried  to  the  very  end  of  the 
tail,  the  tuft  is  spread  open,  and  therefore 
looks  twice  as  large  as  would  have  been  the 
case  had  it  been  left  untouched.  Each  of 
these  tufts  representing  a  cow,  it  is  evident 
that  the  possession  of  them  shows  that  the 
owner  must  be  wealthy  enough,  not  only  to 
possess  cows,  but  to  have  so  many  that  he 
could  afford  to  slaughter  them. 

An  illustration  on  page  43  represents  a 
Kaffir  who  is  both  young  and  rich,  and  who 
has  put  on  his  dress  of  ceremony  for  the 
purpose  of  paying  a  visit.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, a'Kaliir  will  exercise  the  great- 
est care  in  selecting  ornaments,  and  occupy 
hours  in  putting  them  on  to  the  best  advan- 
tage. Among  the  furs  used  by  the  Kaffir 
for  this  purpose  is  that  of  the  Angora  goat, 
its  long  soft  hair  working  up  admiral  )ly  into 
fringes  and  similar  ornaments.  Feathers 
of  ditferent  birds  are  worked  into  the  head 
dress,  and  the  rarer  the  bird  and  the  more 
brilliant  the  color  the  better  is  the  wearer 
pleased.  One  decoration  which  is  some- 
times worn  on  the  head  is  a  globular  tuft, 
several  inches  in  diameter,  formed  from  the 
feathers  of  a  species  of  roller.  The  lovely 
plumage  of  the  bird,  with  its  changeful 
hues  of  green  and  blue,  is  exactly  adapted 
for  the  purpose  :  and  in  some  cases  two  of 
these  tufts  will  be  worn,  one  on  the  fore- 
head and  the  other  on  the  back  of  the  head. 
Eagles'  feathers  are  much  used  among  the 
Kaffirs,  as,  in  spite  of  their  comparatively 
plain  coloring,  their  firm  and  graceful  shape 
enables  the  wearer  to  form  them  into  very 
elegant  head  dresses.  Ostrich  feathers 
ire  also  used  for  the  purpose,  as  are  the 
richly  colored  plumes  of  the  lory  ;  but  the 
great  ambition  of  a  Kaffir  beau  is  to  pro- 
cure some  feathers  of  the  peacock,  of  which 
he  is  amazingly  vain. 

On  such  occasions  the  Kaffir  will  wear 
much  more  dress  than  usual  ;  and,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  quantity  of  beads  which  ho  con- 
trives to  dispose  upon  his  person,  he  ties 
so  many  tufts  and  tails  round  his  waist  that 
he  may  almost  be  said  to  wear  a  kilt.  He 
will  carry  his  shield  and  bundle  of  spears 
with  him,  but  will  not  take  the  latter  weap- 
ons into  the  host's  house,  either  exchanging 
them  for  imitative  spears  of  wood,  or  taking 
a  simple  knobbed  stick.  Some  sort  of  a 
weapon  he  must  have  in  his  hand,  or  he 
would  feel  himself  quite  out  of  his  element. 

When  the  "  boy  "  h.as  at  last  obtained  the 
chiefs  permission  to  enter  the  honored 
class  of  "  men,"  he  prepares  himself  with 
much  ceremony  for  the  change  of  costume 
which  indicates  his  rank.    The  change  does 


not  consist  so  much  in  addition  as  in  sub- 
traction, and  is  confined  to  the  head.  All 
unmarried  men  wear  the  whole  of  their 
hair,  and  sometimes  indulge  their  vanity  in 
dressing  it  iu  various  modes  ;  such  as  draw- 
ing it  out  to  its  fullest  extent,  and  stitt'ening 
it  with  grease  and  shining  powders,  so  that 
it  looks  something  like  the  wigs  which  bish- 
ops used  to  wear,  but  which  have  been  judi- 
ciously abandoned.  If  particular  pains  are 
taken  with  the  hair,  and  it  happens  to  be 
rather  longer  than  usual,  the  eft'ect  is  very 
remarkable.  I  have  a  photographic  por- 
trait of  a  young  Zulu  warrior,  whose  hair  is 
so  bushy  and  frizzled  that  it  might  be  taken 
for  that  of  a  Figian  ;  and  as  in  his  endeav- 
ors to  preserve  himself  in  a  perfectly  mo- 
tionless attitude,  he  has  clenched  his  teeth 
tightly  and  opened  his  eyes  very  wide,  he 
looks  exactly  as  if  all  his  hair  were  stand- 
ing on  end  with  astonishment. 

Proud,  however,  as  he  may  be,  as  a  "  bo.y," 
of  his  liair,  he  is  still  prouder  when  he  has 
the  permission  of  his  chief  to  cut  it  oil"  and 
at  once  repairs  to  a  friend  who  will  act  as 
hairdresser.  The  friend  in  question  takes 
Ills  best  assagai,  puts  a  fine  edge  upon  it, 
furnishes  himself  with  a  supply  of  gum, 
sinews,  charcoal  powder,  and  oil,  and 
addresses  himself  to  his  task.  His  first  care 
is  to  make  an  oval  ring  of  the  sinews,  about 
half  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  then  to  fit  it 
on  the  head.  The  hair  is  then  firmly  woven 
into  it,  and  fixed  with  the  gum  and  charcoal, 
until  the  hair  and  ring  seem  as  if  they  were 
one  substance.  Oil  or  grease  is  next  liber- 
ally applied,  until  the  circlet  shines  like  a 
patent  leather  boot,  and  the  ring  is  then 
complete.  The  officiating  frieud  next  takes 
his  assagai,  and  shaves  the  whole  of  the 
head,  outside  and  inside  the  ring,  so  as  to 
leave  it  the  sole  decoration  of  his  bald  head. 

The  ring,  or  "  issikoko,"'  is  useful  for  sev- 
eral purposes.  It  answers  admirably  to  hold 
feathers  firmly,  when  the  courtier  decorates 
his  head  for  ceremony,  or  the  soldier  for 
war.  It  serves  also  more  peaceful  uses, 
being  the  usual  place  where  the  snulf  spoon 
is  worn.  This  mode  of  dressing  the  hair 
has  its  inconvenience,  for  the  ring  continu- 
ally needs  to  be  repaired  and  kept  in  order. 
As  to  the  "  issikoko"  itself,  it  is  too  hard  to 
be  easily  damaged;  but  as  the  hair  grows 
it  is  raised  above  the  head,  and,  when  neg- 
lected for  some  time,  will  rise  to  a  height  of 
two  inches  or  so.  Moreover,  the  shaven 
parts  of  the  head  soon  regain  their  covering, 
and  need  again  to  be  submitted  to  the  prim- 
itive razor.  No  man  would  venture  to 
appear  before  his  chief  with  the  head  un- 
shaven, or  with  the  ring  standing  aliove  it ; 
for  if  he  did  so,  his  life  would  probably 
answer  for  his  want  of  respect. 

The  reverence  with  which  a  Kaffir  regards 
the  '•  issikoko"  is  equal  to  that  which  an  Ori- 
ental entertains  for  his  beard.  Mr.  Moffatt 
mentions  a  curious  illustration  of  this  fact. 


42 


THE  KAPFIR. 


A  warrior  of  rank,  an  "  Induna,"  or  petty 
chief,  was  brought  before  the  king,  the 
dreaded  ilosL-ifkate.  charged  witli  au  oli'eiiee 
tile  puuishuient  of  which  was  death.  He  was 
coutkicteil  to  thc^  king,  tleprived  of  liis  spear 
and  sliield.  '■  He  bowed  liis  ihie  elastic 
figure,  and  kueeled  before  the  judge.  The 
case  was  investigated  sileutl}-,  which  gave 
soleniuity  to  the  scene.  Xot  a  whisper  was 
heard  among  the  listening  audience,  aud  the 
voices  of  the  council  were  only  audible  to 
each  other  and  to  the  nearest  spectators. 
The  prisoner,  though  on  his  knees,  had 
something  diguitied  aud  noble  in  his  mien. 
Not  a  muscle  of  his  countenance  moved, 
but  a  bright  black  eye  indicated  a  feeling 
of  intense  interest,  which  the  swerving  l)al- 
ance  between  life  and  death  only  could  pro- 
duce. The  case  required  little  investigation; 
the  charges  were  clearly  substantiated,  and 
the  culprit  pleaded  guilty.  But,  alas!  he 
knew  that  it  was  at  a  Ijar  where  none  ever 
heard  the  heart  reviving  sound  of  jxirdon, 
even  for  otfences  small  compared  with  his. 
A  pause  ensued,  during  which  the  silence  of 
death  pervaded  the  asseml)ly. 

"  At  length  the  monarch  spoke,  and,  ad- 
dressing the  prisoner,  said :  ■  You  are  a  dead 
man;  but  I  shall  do  to-day  what  I  never  did 
before.  I  spare  your  life,  for  the  sake  of  my 
friend  aud  father,'  pointing  to  where  I  stood. 
'  I  know  that  his  heart  weeps  at  the  shed- 
ding of  blood;  for  his  sake  I  spare  your  life. 
He  has  travelled  from  a  far  country  to  see 
mo,  and  he  has  made  ny  heart  white;  but  he 
tells  me  that  to  take  away  life  is  an  awful 
thing,  and  never  can  bo  undone  again.  He 
lias  pleaded  with  nie  not  to  go  to  war,  nor  to 
destroy  life.  I  wish  him,  when  he  relurns  to 
his  own  home  again,  to  return  with  a  heart  as 
white  as  lie  has  made  mine.  I  spare  you  for 
his  sake ;  for  I  love  him  and  he  has  saved  the 
lives  of  my  people.  But,'  continued  the 
king,  'you 'must  be  degraded  for  life;  j-ou 
must  110  more  associate  with  the  nobles  of 
the  laud,  nor  enter  the  towns  of  the  princes 
of  the  people,  nor  over  again  mingle  in  the 
dance  of  the  mighty.  Go  to  the  poor  of  the 
field,  and  let  your  companions  be  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  desert.' 

'•The  sentence  passed,  the  pardoned  man 
was  exjiected  to  bow  in  grateful  adm-ation 
to  him  whom  he  was  wont  to  look  upon  and 
exalt  in  songs  ajiplicable  only  to  One,  to 
whom  belongs  universal  sway  and  the  des- 
tinies of  man.  But  no!  Holding  his  hands 
clasped  on  his  bosom,  ho  replied:  ' O  king, 
aftlict  not  my  heart!  I  have  incited  thy  dis- 
pleasure: let  me  be  slain  like  the  warrior. 
I  cannot  live  with  the  poor.'  And.  raising 
his  hand  to  the  ring  he  wore  on  his  brow, 
he  continued:  '  How  can  I  live  among  the 
dogs  of  the  khig.  and  disgrace  these  badges 
of  honor  which  I  won  among  the  spears  and 
.shields  of  the  mighty?  No;  I  cannot  live! 
Let  me  die.  O  Pezoolu!  '  His  request  was 
granted,  and  his  hands  tied  erect  over  his 


head.  Now  my  exertions  to  save  his  life 
were  vain.  He  disdained  the  boon  on  the 
conditions  ottered,  preferring  to  die  with  the 
honors  he  had  won  at  the  point  of  the  spear 
— honors  which  even  the  act  which  con- 
demned him  did  not  tarnish  —  to  exile  and 
poverty  among  the  children  of  the  desert. 
He  was  led  Ibrfh,  a  man  walking  on  each  side. 
My  eje  followed  him  until  he  reached  the 
top  of  a  high  precipice,  over  which  he  was 
precipitated  into  the  deep  part  of  the  river 
beneath,  where  the  crocodiles,  accustomed 
to  such  meals,  were  yawning  to  devour  him 
ere  he  could  reach  the  bottom." 

The  word  "  issikoko,"  by  which  the  Kaffir 
denominates  the  head-ring,  is  scarcely  to  be 
pronounced,  not  bj'  European  lips,  ijut  by 
European  palates;  for  each  letter  A.- is  pre- 
ceded, or  rather  accomijanied.  by  a  curious 
clucking  sound,  producetl  by  the  back  of  the 
tongue  and  the  roof  of  the  mouth.  There 
are  three  of  these  "  clicks,"  as  the}'  are 
called,  and  thej'  will  be  more  particularly 
described  when  we  come  to  the  subject  of 
Kaffir  language. 

Under  uearlj'  all  circumstances  a  Kaffir 
presents  a  singularly  picturesque  figure  — 
except,  perhaps,  when  squatting  on  the 
ground  with  his  knees  up  to  his  chin  —  and 
nothing  can  be  more  grateful  to  an  artistic 
eye  than  the  aspect  of  a  number  of  these  sjden- 
did  s.xvages  in  the  full  panoply  of  all  their 
barbaric  magnificence.  Their  pnoud  and 
noble  port,  their  dusky  bodies  set  olf  with 
beads  and  other  brilliant  ornaments,  and  the 
uncommon  grace  and  agility  that  they  dis- 
play when  giiing  through  the  fierce  mimicry 
of  a  fight  which  constitutes  their  war  dances, 
are  a  delight  to  the  eye  of  an  artist.  I'ufor- 
tuuatel}-,  his  nose  is  affected  in  a  different 
manner.  The  Kaffirs  of  all  ages  and  bt)th 
sexes  will  persist  in  copiously  anointiug 
themselves  with  grease.  Almost  any  sort 
of  grease  would  soon  become  rancid  in  that 
country;  but,  as  the  Kaffirs  are  not  at  all 
particular  about  the  sort  of  grease  which 
they  use,  provided  that  it  is  grease,  they 
exhale  a  very  powerful  and  very  disagreea- 
ble odor.  Kaffirs  are  charming  savages, 
but  it  is  always  as  well  to  keep  to  the  wind- 
ward of  them,  at  all  events  until  the  nostrils 
have  become  accustomed  to  their  odor. 
This  peculiar  scent  is  as  adhesive  as  it  is 
powerful,  and,  even  after  a  Kaffir  has  laid 
aside  his  dress,  any  article  of  it  will  be 
nearly  as  strongly  scented  as  the  owner. 
Some  time  ago,  while  I  was  looking  over 
a  very  fine  collection  of  savage  implements 
and  dress,  some  articles  of  apparel  weie 
exhibited  labelled  with  tickets  that  could 
not  possibly  have  belonged  to  them.  The 
owner  said  that  he  su.spected  them  to  be 
African,  and  asked  my  opinion,  which  was 
unhesitatingly  given,  the  odor  having  be- 
trayed their  real  country  as  soon  as  they 
were   brought  within  range   of  scent. 

A  few  years  ago,  I  assisted  in  opening  a 


o    % 


o 
o 


(43) 


THE   IvAFFIE  PEKFUME. 


45 


series  of  boxes  and  barrels  full  of  objects 
from  Kaffirlaud.  We  took  the  precautiou 
of  opeuiug  the  cases  iu  the  garden,  and,  even 
in  the  open  air,  the  task  of  emptying  them 
was  almost  too  much  for  our  unaccustomed 
senses.  All  the  objects  were  genuine  speci- 
mens, not  merely  made  for  sale,  as  is  so 
often  the  case,  but  purchased  from  the 
wearers,  and  carefully  put  away.  The 
owner  of  the  collection  was  rather  humor- 
ous on  the  subject,  congratulating  us  on  our 
preparation  for  a  visit  to  Kathrland,  and 
telling  us  that,  if  either  of  us  wished  to 
form  a  good  idea  of  the  atmosphere  which 
prevailed  iu  a  Kaffir  hut  with  plenty  of  com- 
pany, all  we  had  to  do  was  to  get  into  the 
empty  cask,  sit  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  juit 
the  lid  on.  Several  of  the  articles  of  cloth- 
ing were  transferred  to  my  collection,  but 
for  some  time  they  could  not  be  introduced 
into  the  room.  Even  after  repeated  wash- 
ings, and  hanging  out  in  the  garden,  and 
drenching  with  deodorizing  fluid,  they  re- 
tained so  much  of  their  peculiar  scent  that 
they  were  subjected  to  another  course, 
which  proved  more  successful,  —  namely,  a 
thorough  washing,  then  drying,  then  expo- 
sure to  a  strong  heat,  and  then  drying  in 
the  open  air. 

This  extremely  powerful  odor  is  a  consid- 
erable drawback  to  an  European  hunter 
when  accompanied  by  KafHr  assistants. 
They  are  invaluable  as  trackers;  their  eyes 
seem  to  possess  telescopic  powers;  their  ears 
are  open  to  sounds  which  their  white  com- 
panion is  quite  incapable  of  perceiving,  and 
their  olfactory  nerves  are  sensitive  to  any 
odor  except  that  which  tliomselves  so  power- 
fully exhale.  But  the  wild  animals  are  even 
more  sensitive  to  odors  than  their  dusky 
pursuers,  and  it  is  popularly  said  that  an 
elephant  to  leeward  can  smell  a  Kaffir  at  the 
distance  of  a  mile.  All  are  alike  in  this  respect, 
the  king  and  his  meanest  subject  being  im- 
brued with  the  same  unctuous  suljstance; 
and  the  only  dilference  is,  that  the  king  can 
aflbrd  more  grease,  and  is  therefore  likely  to 
be  more  odoriferous,  than  his  subject. 

Yet  the  Kaffir  is  by  no  means  an  un- 
cleanly person,  and  in  many  points  is  so 
particularly  clean  that  he  looks  down  with 
contempt  upon  an  European  as  an  ill-bred 
man.  The  very  liberal  anointing  of  the  per- 
son with  grease  is  a  custom  which  would  be 
simply  abominalile  in  our  climate,  and  with 
our  mode  of  dress,  but  which  is  almost  a 
necessity  in  a  climate  like  that  of  Southern 
Africa,  where  the  natives  expose  nearly  the 
whole  of  their  bodies  to  the  burning' sun- 
beams. Even  in  the  more  northern  jiarts 
of  Africa  the  custom  jjrevails,  and  Eng- 
lishmen who  have  resided  there  for  a  series 
of  years  have  found  their  health  much 
improved  by  following  the  example  of  the 
natives.  In  England,  for  example,  nothing 
could  be  more  absurd  than  to  complete  the 
morning's  toilet  by  jjutting  on  the  head  a 


large  lump  of  butter,  but  in  Abyssinia  no 
native  of  fashion  thinks  himself  fully  dressed 
until  he  has  thus  put  the  tinisliing  toueli  to 
his  costume.  Setting  aside  the  difl'ereut 
efi'ects  of  the  sun  upon  a  black  skin  and  a 
white  one,  as  long  as  European  residents  in 
Southern  Africa  are  able  to  wear  their  cool 
and  light  garments,  so  long  can  tliey  dis- 
pense with  grease.  But,  if  they  were  sud- 
denly deprived  of  their  linen  or  cotton  gar- 
ments, and  obliged  to  clothe  themselves 
after  the  fashion  of  the  Kaffirs,  it  is  likely 
that,  before  many  weeks  had  elapsed,  they 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  resort  to  a  custom 
which  has  been  taught  to  the  natives  by  the 
experience  of  centuries.  Had  not  the  prac- 
tice of  greasing  the  body  been  productive  of 
good,  their  strong  common  sense  would  long 
ago  have  induced  the  Kaffirs  to  dispense 
with  it. 

In  this,  as  in  all  other  matters,  we  must 
not  judge  others  by  supposing  tliem  to  be 
under  similar  conditions  with  ourselves. 
Our  only  hope  of  arriving  at  a  true  and 
unl)iassed  judgment  is  by  mentally  placing 
ourselves  in  the  same  conditions  as  those  of 
whom  we  are  treating,  and  forming  our 
conclusions  accordingly.  The  knowledge  of 
this  simple  principle  is  the  key  to  the  singu- 
lar success  enjoyed  by  some  schoolmasters, 
while  others,  who  may  far  surpass  them  iu 
mere  scholarship,  have  failed  to  earn  for 
themselves  either  the  respect  or  the  love  of 
their  pupils. 

Men,  as  well  as  women,  generally  possess 
cloaks  made  of  the  skins  of  animals,  and 
called  karosses.  Almost  any  animal  will 
serve  for  the  purpose  of  the  kaross  maker, 
who  has  a  method  of  rendering  perfectly 
supple  the  most  stiff  and  stubborn  of  hides. 
The  process  of  preparing  the  hide  is  very 
simple.  The  skin  is  fastened  to  the  ground 
by  a  vast  numlier  of  ])egs  around  its  edges, 
so  as  to  prevent  it  from  shrinking  unequally, 
the  hairy  side  being  next  to  the  ground.  A 
leopard  skin  thus  pegged  to  the  ground  may 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  illustration  of  "a 
Kaffirhut,  on  page  1.35,  The  artist,  however, 
has  committed  a  slight  error  in  the  sketch, 
having  drawn  the  skin  as  if  the  hairy  side 
were  upward.  The  KalHr  always  jiegs  a 
skin  with  the  hairy  side  downward,  jiartly 
because  the  still  wet  hide  would  adhere  to 
the  ground,  and  partly  because  be  wishes 
to  be  able  to  manipulate  the  skin  before  it 
is  dry.  This  plan  of  pegging  down  the 
skin  is  spread  over  the  whole  world;  and, 
whether  in  Europe,  Africa,  Asia,  America, 
or  Australia,  the  first  process  of  hide  dress- 
ing is  almost  exactly  the  same.  The  subse- 
quent processes  vary  greatly  in  different 
quarters  of  the  globe,  and  even  in  difi'erent 
parts  of  the  same  country,  as  we  shall  see 
in  subsequent  pages. 

The  frontier  Kaffirs,  and  indeed  all  those 
who  can  have  communication  with  Euro- 
peans, have  learned  the  value  of   blankets. 


46 


THE  KAFFIR. 


aiid  will  mostly  wear  a  good  lilanket  in  pref- 
erence to  the  best  kaross.  But  to  the  older 
warriors,  or  in  those  places  to  which  Euro- 
pean traders  do  not  penetrate,  the  skin  kaross 
still  retains  its  value.  The  ox  is  the  animal 
that  most  generally  supplies  the  kaross 
maker  with  skin,  because  it  is  so  large  that 
the  native  need  not  take  much  trouble  in 
sewing.  Still,  even  the  smaller  animals  are 
in  great  request  for  the  purpose,  and  the 
karosses  ma(le  from  them  are,  to  European 
eyes,  tar  handsomer  than  those  made  from 
single  skins.  Of  course,  the  most  valued  by 
the  natives  are  those  which  are  made  from 
the  skins  of  the  predaceous  animals,  a  kaross 
made  of  lion-skin  being  scarcely  ever  seen 
except  on  the  person  of  sable  royalty.  The 
leopard  skin  is  highly  valued,  and  the  fortu- 
nate and  valiant  slayer  of  several  leopards  is 
sure  to  make  their  skins  into  a  kaross  and 
their  tails  into  an  apron,  both  garments  being 
too  precious  to  be  worn  except  on  occasions 
of  ceremony. 

As  to  the  various  adornments  of  feathers, 
strange  head  dresses,  and  other  decorations 
with  which  the  Kaffir  soldier  loves  to  bedeck 
himself,  we  shall  find  them  described  in  the 
chapter  relating  to  Kaffir  warfare.  There 
is,  however,  one  class  of  ornaments  that 
must  be  briefly  mentioned;  namely,  the 
rings  of  ditt'erent  material  which  the  Kaffirs 
place  on  their  wrists,  arms,  and  ankles. 
These  are  sometimes  made  of  ivory,  often  of 
metal,  sometimes  of  hide,  sometimes  of 
beads,  and  sometimes  of  grass.  This  last 
mentioned  bracelet  is  perhaps  the  simplest 
of  them  all. 

Men  who  have  been  fortunate  enough  to 
kill  an  elephant,  and  rich  enough  to  be  able 
to  use  part  of  the  tusks  for  their  own  pur- 
poses, generally  cut  ofl"  a  foot  or  so  from  the 
base  of  each  tusk  for  the  purpose  of  making 
armlets,  at  once  trophies  of  their  valor  and 
proofs  of  their  wealth.  The  reader  is  per- 
haps aware  that  the  tusk  of  an  elephant, 
thougli  hard  and  solid  at  the  point,  is  soft  at 
the  base,  and  has  only  a  mere  shell  of  hard 
ivory,  the  interior  being  filled  with  the  soft 
vascular  substance  by  which  the  tusk  is  con- 
tinually lengthened  and  enlarged.  Indeed, 
the  true  ivory  is  only  found  in  that  portion 
of  the  tusk  which  projects  from  the  head; 
the  remainder,  which  is  deeply  imbedded  in 
the  skull,  being  made  of  soft  substance  in- 
closed in  a  shell  of  ivory. 

It  is  easy  enough,  therefore,  for  the  Kaffir 
hunter  to  cut  oft  a  portion  of  the  base  of 
the  tusk,  and  to  remove  the  soft  vascular 
substance  which  fills  it,  leaving  a  tube  of 
ivory,  very  thin  and  irregular  at  the  extreme 
base,  and  becoming  thicker  toward  the 
point.  His  next  business  is,  to  cut  this  tube 
into  several  pieces,  so  as  to  make  rings  of 
ivory,  some  two  or  three  inches  in  width, 
and  differing  much  in  the  thickness  of  ma- 
terial. Those  which  are  made  from  the  base 
of   the    tusk,  and  which  have  therefore  a 


large  diameter  and  no  great  thickness,  are 
carefully  polished,  and  placed  on  the  arm 
above  the  elbow,  while  those  of  smaller  di- 
ameter and  thicker  substance  are  merely 
slipped  over  the  baud  and  worn  as  bracelets. 
There  is  now  before  me  a  photographic  por- 
trait of  a  son  of  the  celebrated  chief  Maco- 
mo,  who  is  wearing  two  of  these  ivor}' rings, 
one  on  the  left  arm  and  the  other  on  the 
wrist.  A  necklace,  composed  of  leopard's 
teeth  and  claws,  aids  in  attesting  his  skill  as 
a  hunter,  and  for  the  rest  of  his  apparel  the 
less  said  the  better. 

A  pair  of  these  armlets  is  shown  in  the 
illustration  on  page  39.  They  are  sketched 
from  specimens  in  the  collection  of  Colonel 
Lane  Fox.  The  first  of  them  is  very  simple. 
It  consists  merely  of  a  piece,  some  two 
inches  in  width,  cut  from  the  base  of  an 
elephant's  tusk,  and  moderately  polished. 
There  is  no  attempt  at  ornament  about  it. 

The  second  specimen  is  an  example  of 
much  more  elaborate  construction.  It  is 
cut  from  the  more  solid  portion  of  the  tusk, 
and  weighs  very  much  more  than  its  com^ 
panion  armlet.  Instead  of  being  of  uniform 
thickness  throughout,  it  is  shaped  something 
like  a  quoit,  or  rather  like  a  pair  of  quoits, 
with  their  flat  sides  placed  together.  The 
hole  through  which  the  arm  passes  is  nicely 
rounded,  and  very  smoothly  jjolished,  the 
latter  circumstance  being  probably  due  to 
the  friction  of  the  wearer's  arm.  It  is  orna- 
mented by  a  double  row  of  holes  made 
around  the  aperture.  The  ivory  is  polished 
by  means  of  a  wet  cord  held  at  l.ioth  ends, 
and  drawn  briskly  backward  aud  forward. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  page  33,  he 
will  see  that  by  the  side  of  the  conical 
breast  ornament  which  has  already  lieen 
described  there  is  a  bracelet  of  beads.  This 
is  made  of  several  strings  of  beads,  white 
predominating,  and  red  taking  the  next 
place.  The  Iiead  strings  are  first  laid  side 
by  side,  and  then  twisted  spirally  into  a 
loose  kind  of  rope,  a  plan  which  brings 
out  their  colors  very  eti'ectivel)'.  Metal  is 
sometimes  used  for  the  same  purpose,  but 
not  so  frequently  as  the  materials  which 
have  been  mentioned.  Mr.  Grout  mentions 
a  curious  specimen  of  one  of  these  orna- 
ments, which  was  made  of  brass.  "  I  have 
a  rare  antiqiu;  of  this  kind  before  me,  a  royal 
armlet  of  early  days,  of  the  Zulu  country. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  made  in  the  time  of 
Senzangakona,  and  to  have  descended  from 
him  to  Tchaka,  thence  to  Dingan,  thence  to 
Umpande  (Panda),  who  gave  it  to  one  of 
his  chief  captains,  who,  obliged  to  leave 
Zululand  by  Kechwayo's  uprising,  brought 
it  with  him  and  sold  it  to  me.  It  is  made  of 
brass,  weighs  about  two  pounds,  and  bears 
a  good  many  marks  of  the  smith's  attempt  at 
the  curious  and  the  clever." 

Brass  and  iron  wire  is  frequently  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  armlets,  and  tolerably 
heavy  ornaments  are  sometimes  found  of 


SINGULAR  SUPERSTITION. 


47 


the  latter  metal.  Some  years  ago,  a  curious 
circumstance  occurred  with  regard  to  these 
metallic  armlets.  A  shining  metallic  pow- 
der was  one  day  discovered,  and  was  found 
capable  of  being  smelted  like  iron,  and 
made  into  ornaments.  The  chiefs  were  so 
jileased  with  this  metal,  which  was  more 
glittering  than  iron,  that  they  reserved  it 
for  themselves,  and  gave  away  their  iron 
ornaments  to  their  followers.  Some  little 
time  afterward,  a  contagious  disease  spread 
through  the  country,  and  several  chiefs 
died.  Of  course  the  calamity  was  attri- 
buted to  witchcralt,  as  is  every  death  or 
illness  among  tUn  Kaffir  chiefs,  and    the 


business  of  discovering  the  offender  was 
intrusted,  as  usual,  to  the  witch  doctors,  a 
strange  class  of  men,  who  will  be  fully 
described  in  a  future  page.  After  making 
a  number  of  ineflectual  guesses,  they  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
ease lay  in  the  new-fangled  metal,  which 
had  superseded  the  good  old  iron  of  the 
past.  In  consequence  of  this  verdict,  the 
unfortunate  man  who  discovered  the  metal 
was  put  to  death  as  an  accessory,  the  chiefs 
resumed  their  iron  ornaments,  and  the  king 
issued  an  edict  forbidding  the  use  of  the 
metal  which  had  done  so  much  harm. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


FEMIOTNE  DRESS  AJ^B  ORNAMENTS. 


WHEN  DRESS  IS  FIRST  WORN  —  PADfT  AND  OIL  —  THE  FIRST  GARMENT,  AND  ITS  IirPOET  —  APRONS  OP 
KAFFIR  GIRLS  —  VARIOUS  MATERIALS  OF  WHICH  THE  APRONS  ARE  MADE  —  BEADS  AND  LEATHER 
—  CHANGE  OF  DRESS  ON  BETROTHAL  —  DRESS  OF  A  MARRIED  WOMAN  —  THE  RED  TOP-KNOT,  AND 
ESTIMATION  IN  WHICH  IT  IS  HELD  —  JEALOUSY  AND  ITS  RESULTS  —  AN  ELABORATE  DRESS  — 
ORDINARY  APRON  OF  A  MARRIED  WOMAN  —  BEAD  APRON  OF  A  CHIEF'S  'WIFE  —  CURIOUS  BRACE- 
LETS OF  METAL  —  THEIR  APPARENT  INCONVENIENCE  —  BRACELETS  SLVDE  OF  ANTELOPE'S  HOOF  — 
COSTUMES  USED  IN  DANCES  —  QUANTITY  OF  BEADS  USED  IN  THE  DRESS  —  A  STRANGE  HEAD 
DRESS  —  BELTS  AND  SEjn-EELTS  OF  KjVFFIR  WOMEN  —  NECKLACES  —  GOOD  INTEREST  AND  BAD 
SECURITY  —  EVUTATION  OF  EITROPEAN  FASHION  —  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  HANDKERCHIEFS  —  ANECDOTE 
OF  A  WEDDING  DANCE  —  KAFFIR  GALLANTRY  —  A  SINGULAR  DECORATION  —  KAFFIR  CASTANETS  — 
EARRINGS  OF  VARIOUS  KINDS. 


As  in  the  last  chapter  the  dress  and  orna- 
ments of  the  Kaffir  men  were  described, 
the  subject  of  this  chapter  will  be  the  cos- 
tume and  decoration  of  the  women. 

Both  in  material  and  general  shape,  there 
is  considerable  resemblance  between  the 
garments  of  the  two  sexes,  but  those  of  the 
females  have  a  certain  character  about  them 
which  cannot  be  misunderstood.  We  will 
begin  with  the  dress,  and  then  proceed  to 
the  ornaments. 

As  is  the  case  with  the  hoys,  the  Kaffir 
girls  do  not  trouble  themselves  about  any 
clothes  at  all  during  the  first  few  years  of 
their  life,  but  run  about  without  any  gar- 
ments except  a  coat  of  oil,  a  patch  of  paint, 
and  jjerhaps  a  necklace,  if  the  parents  be 
rich  enough  to  atford  such  a  luxury.  Even 
the  paint  is  beyond  the  means  of  many 
parents,  but  the  oil  is  a  necessity,  and  a 
child  of  either  sex  is  considered  to  be  re- 
spectably dressed  and  to  do  credit  to  its 
parents  when  its  body  shines  with  a  polish 
like  that  of  patent  leather. 

When  a  girl  is  approaching  the  age  when 
she  is  expected  to  be  exchangeable  for  cows, 
she  'indues  her  first  and  only  garment, 
which  she  retains  in  its  primitive  shape 
and  nearly  its  primitive  dimensions  until 
ehe  has  found  a  suitor  who  can  pay  the 
price  required  by  her  parents.  This  gar- 
ment is  an  apron,  and  is  made  of  various 
materials,  according  to  the  means  of  the 
wearer. 


The  simplest  and  most  common  type  of 
apron  is  a  fringe  of  narrow  leathern  strips, 
each  strip  being  about  the  sixth  of  an  inch 
wide,  and  five  or  six  inches  in  length.  A 
great  number  of  these  strips  are  fastened  to 
a  leathern  thong,  so  that  they  form  a  kind 
of  flexible  apron,  some  ten  or  twelve  inches 
in  width.  Generally,  eight  or  ten  of  the 
strips  at  each  side  are  double  the  length  of 
the  others.  Examples  of  these  aprons  may 
be  seen  by  referring  to  the  figures  of  the 
two  Kaffir  girls  on  page  25,  and,  as  their 
general  make  is  sufficiently  indicated,  noth- 
ing more  need  be  said  about  them.  I  have, 
however,  several  specimens  of  aprons  which 
were  worn  by  the  daughters  of  wealthy 
men,  and  others  were  lent  to  me  by  Mr.  H. 
Jackson.  From  them  I  have  made  a  selec- 
tion, which  will  illustrate  well  the  modes  of 
forming  this  dress  which  were  in  fashion 
some  few  years  ago. 

The  apron  represented  by  fig.  4  in  the 
illustration  of  "  dress  and  ornaments,"  page 
49,  is  that  which  is  most  generally  used.  It 
is  made  of  very  delicate  thongs  twisted  to- 
gether in  rope  fashion,  and  having  the  ends 
unravelled  so  as  to  make  a  thick  fringe,  and, 
as  has  already  been  observed,  the  thongs  at 
each  end  are  twice  as  long  as  those  which 
occupy  the  centre.  A  broad  belt  of  beads  is 
placed  along  the  upper  edge  of  the  apron, 
and  festoons  of  beads  hang  below  the  belt. 
The  colors  are  rather  brilliant,  being  red, 
yellow,  and  white,  and  nearly  all  the  thongs 


(48) 


(49) 


CHANGE   OF  DKESS   OX  BETKOTHAL. 


51 


have  one  larj^e  white  bead  just  above  the 
knob,  which  prevents  tliem  from  uuravel- 
liag  too  much.  The  baud  by  which  it  is  sus- 
pended is  also  covered  with  beads,  and  it  is 
fastened  by  means  of  a  loop  at  oue  end, 
and  a  large  brass  button  at  the  otlier. 
These  aprons  are  tixed  in  their  position  by 
two  strings,  oue  of  which  passes  round  the 
waist,  and  the  other  below  the  hips. 

Another  apron  is  seen  at  the  side  of  the 
illustration  entitled" Dress  and  ornaments," 
on  page  49,  fig.  1.  This  is  a  very  elaborate 
aflair,  and  is  made  on  a  totally  dilfereut 
principle.  It  is  wholly  made  of  beads,  the 
threads  which  hold  them  together  Ijeiug 
scarcely  visible.  In  order  to  show  the  in- 
genious manner  in  which  the  beads  are 
strung  together,  a  portion  of  the  apron  is 
given  separately.  The  colors  of  these  beads 
are  black  and  white,  iu  alternate  stripes,  and 
the  two  ends  are  a  tritle  larger  than  the 
middle  of  the  dress.  The  belt  by  which  it  is 
suspended  is  made  from  large  round  lieads, 
arranged  in  rows  of  white,  blue,  and  red, 
and  tiie  two  ends  are  fastened  to  the  apron 
by  the  inevitable  brass  button  which  has 
been  so  frequently  mentioned. 

In  the  same  collection  is  a  still  smaller 
apron,  intended  for  a  younger  girl.  This  is 
made  after  the  same  principle,  but  the  beads 
are  arranged  in  a  bold  zigza,^  pattern  of 
black,  scarlet,  and  white,  relieved  by  the 
glitter  of  highly  polished  brass  buttons. 
This  apron  is  illustrated  in  hg.  4  of  "  ICafflr 
ornaments,"  page  49,  and  a  small  portion 
of  it  is  given  on  an  enlarged  scale,  so  as  to 
show  the  arrangement  of  the  beads. 

When  the  Kaffir  girl  is  formally  betrothed 
she  alters  her  dress,  and,  besides  the  small 
apron,  indues  a  piece  of  soft  hide,  which 
reaches  to  her  knees,  or  a  little  below  them, 
and  this  she  wears  until  she  is  married, 
when  she  assumes  the  singularly  ungraceful 
attire  of  the  matron.  Among  the  Zulu 
tribes,  she  shaves  nearly  the  whole  of  her 
head  on  the  crown,  leaving  only  a  little  tuft 
of  hair.  This  is  gathered  together  with 
grease,  red  paint,  and  similar  substances, 
and  stands  erect  from  the  crown  of  her  head. 
The  young  wife  is  then  quite  in  the  fashion. 
It  is  evidently  the  feminine  substitute  for 
the  "  issikoko  "  worn  by  the  men.  So  fond 
are  the  married  women  of  this  rather  absurd 
decoration,  that  it  formed  the  subject  of  a 
curious  trial  that  took  place  some  years  ago. 
Noie,  the  youngest  wife  of  a  native  named 
Nongue,  became  suddenly  disfigured;  and, 
among  other  misfortunes,  lost  the  little  tuff 
of  reddened  hair.  Poison  was  immediately 
suspected,  and  one  of  the  elder  wives  was 
suspected  as  the  culprit.  She  was  accord- 
ingly brought  up  before  the  council,  and  a 
fair  trial  of  five  hours'  duration  was  accorded 
to  her.  The  investigation  clearly  proved 
that  she  had  in  her  possession  certain  poi- 
sons, and  that  she  had  administered  some 
deleterious  substance  to  the  young  wife,  of 


whom  she  had  become  jealous.  The  force 
of  evidence  was  so  great  that  she  confessed 
her  crime,  and  stated  that  she  intended  to 
make  Noie's  hair  tuft  lidl  off  iu  order  that 
the  husband  might  be  disgusted  with  the 
appearance  of  his  new  wife,  and  return  to 
his  old  allegiance  to  herself.  She  was  con- 
demned to  death,  that  Iseing  the  punishment 
for  all  poisoners,  and  was  led  away  to  instant 
execution  —  a  fate  for  which  she  seemed 
perfectly  prepared,  and  which  she  met  with 
remarkable  unconcern,  bidding  farewell  to 
the  spectators  as  she  passed  them. 

Tlie  curious  respect  paid  by  the  natives 
to  this  ornament  is  the  more  remarkable, 
because  its  size  is  so  very  small.  Even  be- 
fore shaving  the  head,  the  short,  crisp  hair 
forms  a  very  scanty  covering;  and  when  it 
is  all  removed  except  this  little  tuft,  the 
remainder  would  hardly  cover  the  head  of 
a  child's  sixpenny  doll. 

Among  the  illustrations  given  on  p.  39,  is 
shown  a  remarkablj'  elaborate  ajjron  belong 
iug  to  a  chief's  wife,  drawn  from  a  specimen 
in  Mr.  Jackson's  collection.  It  is  made  of 
leather,  dressed  and  softened  in  the  usual 
manner,  but  is  furnished  with  a  pocket  and 
a  needle.  In  order  to  show  this  pocket,  I 
have  brought  it  round  to  the  front  of  the 
apron,  though  in  actual  wear  it  falls  behind 
it.  In  the  pocket  were  still  a  few  beads  and 
a  brass  button.  Thread  is  also  kept  in  it. 
On  the  inside  of  the  apron  is  suspended  one 
of  the  skewer-like  needles  which  has  been 
already  described,  so  that  the  wearer  is 
furnished  with  all  appliances  needful  for  a 
Kaffir  seamstress. 

But  the  chief  glory  of  the  apron  is  its 
ornament  of  beads,  which  has  a  very  bold 
effect  against  the  dark  mahogany  hair  of 
the  apron  itself.  This  ornament  is  made  in 
the  form  of  a  triangular  flap,  quite  distinct 
from  the  apron  itself,  and  fastened  to  it  only 
by  the  lower  edge  and  the  pointed  tip.  The 
beads  are  arranged  in  a  series  of  diamond 
jiatterns,  the  outer  edge  of  each  diamond 
being  made  of  white  beads,  and  the  others 
of  different  colors,  red  predominating. 

Figs.  2  and  3  in  the  "articles  of  costume," 
p.  33,  and  next  to  the  men's  "  tails,"  already 
described,  present  two  good  examples  of 
the  women's  aprons,  both  drawn  from  speci- 
mens in  my  collection.  Fig.  3  is  the  thong 
apron  of  the  women.  It  is  made  of  an 
infinity  of  leather  thongs,  fastened  to- 
gether in  a  way  rather  diiUcreut  from  that 
which  has  been  mentioned.  Instead  of 
liaving  the  upper  ends  fixed  along  the  belt 
so  as  to  form  a  fringe,  they  are  woven  to- 
gether into  a  tolerably  thick  bmich,  some 
four  inches  in  width,  and  wider  below  than 
above.  In  many  cases  these  thongs  are 
ornamented  by  little  scraps  of  iron,  brass, 
tin,  or  other  metal,  wi-apped  round  them  ; 
and  in  some  instances  beads  are  threaded 
on  the  thongs.  This  apron  would  not 
belong  to  a  woman  of  any  high  rank,  for  it 


52 


THE  KATFIR. 


has  no  ornament  of  any  kind  (except  a 
thorough  saturation  witli  highly  perfumed 
grease),  and  is  made  of  materials  within 
the  reach  of  every  one.  Any  odd  sli]).s  of 
liide  thrown  away  in  the  process  of  Kaffir 
tailoring  can  be  cut  into  the  narrow  thongs 
used  for  the  inirpose,  and  no  very  great  skill 
is  needed  in  its  construction  ;  for,  though 
strongly  made,  it  is  the  work  of  a  rather 
clumsy'haud. 

Such  is  not  the  case  with  the  remarkable 
apron  shown  at  tig.  2  of  the  same  illustra- 
tion. This  specimen  is  made  in  a  rather 
unusual  manner.  The  basis  of  the  apron  is 
a  piece  of  the  same  leather  which  is  usually 
employed  for  such  purjjoses;  but,  instead  of 
beiug  soft  and  llexible,  it  is  quite  hard  and 
stiff,  and  cannot  be  bent  without  danger  of 
cracking.  The  beads  are  sewed  lirmly  on 
the  leather,  and  are  arranged  in  parallel 
lines,  alternately  white  and  lilac,  a  few 
black  beads  being  pressed  into  the  service 
by  the  maker,  apparently  for  want  of  those 
of  a  proper  color.  Even  the  belt  by  which 
it  is  supported  is  covered  profusely  with 
beads  ;  so  that,  altogether,  this  is  a  remark- 
ably good  .specimen  of  the  apron  belonging 
to  a  Kaffir  woman  of  rank. 

The  object  represented  at  fig.  4  is  a  head- 
dress, which  will  be  described  when  we 
come  to  Kaffir  warfare. 

A  general  idea  of  a  Kaffir  woman's  dress 
may  be  gained  by  reference  to  the  illustra- 
tion "Dolls,"  page  33,  representing  a  Kaffir 
and  his  wife.  He  is  shown  as  wearing  the 
apron  and  a  short  kaross  ;  while  she  wears 
a  larger  mantle,  and  the  thong-apron  which 
has  just  been  described.  She  is  also  carry- 
ing the  sleeping  mat ;  he,  of  course,  not 
condescending  to  carry  anything.  Her 
ankles  are  bound  with  the  skin  ropes  which 
have  been  already  described  ;  and  a  chain 
or  two  of  beads  completes  her  costume. 

Young  wives  have  usually  another  orna- 
ment on  which  they  pride  themselves.  This 
is  a  piece  of  skin,  generally  that  of  an  ante- 
lope, about  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  a  yard 
or  even  more  in  length.  This  is  tied  across 
the  upper  part  of  the  chest,  so  as  to  allow 
the  end  to  fall  as  low  as  the  knees,  and  is 
often  very  gaily  decorated.  Down  the  cen- 
tre of  this  skin  a  strip  about  six  inches  in 
width  is  deprived  of  hair,  and  on  this 
denuded  portion  the  wearer  fastens  all  the 
beads  and  buttons  that  can  be  spared  from 
other  parts  of  her  own  costume.  In  one 
costume  of  a  young  Zulu  wife,  the  bottom 
of  this  strip  is  covered  with  several  rows  of 
brass  buttons,  polished  very  highly,  and 
glittering  in  the  sunbeams.  This  article  of 
dress,  however,  is  disappearing  among  the 
frontier  Kaffirs,  who  substitute  European 
stuffs  for  the  skin  garments  which  they  for- 
merly wore,  and  which  are  certainly  more 
becoming  to  them.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  many  other  articles  of  clothing,  which, 
as  well  as  the  manners  and  customs,  have 


undergone  so  complete  a  modification  by 
intercourse  with  Europeans,  that  the  Kaffir 
of  the  present  day  is  scared}'  to  be  recog- 
nized as  the  same  being  as  the  Kaffir  of  fifty 
years  ago.  An  to  the  Hottentots,  of  whom 
we  shall  soon  treat,  they  are  now  a  differ- 
ent iieople  from  the  race  described  by  Le 
Yaillaut  and  earlier  travellers. 

Married  women  are  also  fond  of  wearing 
bracelets,  or  rather  gauntlets,  of  polished 
metal  ;  sometimes  made  of  a  single  piece, 
sometimes  of  successive  rings,  and  some- 
times of  metal  wound  spirally  from  the 
wrist  U]nvard.  Some  of  these  ornaments 
are  so  heavy  and  cumbrous,  that  they  must 
greatly  interfere  with  the  movements  of  the 
wrist ;  but  in  this  country,  as  in  others, 
j)ersonal  inconvenience  is  little  regarded 
when  decorations  are  in  the  case. 

In  the  illustration  at  the  head  of  .39th  p. 
are  shown  some  bracelets  of  a  very  peculiar 
fashion,  drawn  from  spei-imens  in  my  own 
collection.  They  belonged  to  one  of  the 
wives  of  Goza,  and  were  taken  from  her 
wrists  by  the  purchaser.  The_y  are  made  in 
a  very  ingenious  manner  from  the  hoofs  of 
the  tiny  African  antelope,  the  Bluebok,  and 
are  formed  in  the  following  manner  :  —  The 
leg  of  the  antelope  having  been  cut  ofi',  the 
skin  was  cut  longitudinally  on  either  side  as 
far  as  the  hoof,  which  was  then  separated 
from  the  bone,  leaving  the  sharp,  horny 
hoofs  adhering  to  the  skin.  As  tlie  skiu 
was  cut  so  as  to  leave  a  flat  thong  attached 
to  each  side  of  the  hoof,  it  was  ea.sy  enough 
to  form  the  bracelet  into  the  shape  which  is 
seen  in  the  illustration. 

One  remarkable  point  about  these  brace- 
lets is  their  very  small  size,  which  shows 
the  diminutivencss  of  the  Kaffir  hand  ; 
although  the  owner  of  these  bracelets  was 
a  married  woman,  and  therefore  accus- 
tomed to  tasks  which  would  not  be  very 
light  even  for  an  English  laborer.  Both 
the  bracelets  arc  shown,  and  liy  the  side  of 
them  is  another  made  from  ordinary  string, 
such  as  is  used  for  tying  parcels  in  England. 
What  could  have  induced  a  wife  of  so  pow- 
erful a  chief  as  Goza  to  wear  so  paltry  an 
ornament  I  cannot  conceive,  except  that 
perhaps  she  may  have  purchased  it  from 
one  of  the  witch  doctors,  who  has  per- 
formed some  ceremony  over  it,  and  sold  it 
as  a  charm.  Kaffirs  have  the  most  pro- 
found i:iith  in  charms,  and  will  wear  any- 
thing, no  matter  how  commonplace  it  may 
be,  if  they  even  fancy  that  it  may  possess 
magic  powers. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  "  Kaffir  orna- 
ments "  on  page  33,  fig.  1,  he  will  see  a  cir- 
cular one,  made  of  beads.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  cherished  decorations  of  a  Kaffir 
girl,  and  it  is  such  as  cannot  be  aftbrded  by 
any  person  who  is  not  in  affluent  circum- 
stances. It  is  made  in  a  very  ingenious 
manner,  so  as  to  preserve  its  shape,  al- 
though it  has  to  be  worn  round  the  waist. 


COSTUMES  USED   IN  DANCES. 


53 


and  consequently  to  be  forced  over  the 
shoulders.  The  centre  of  this  handsome 
belt  is  made  of  leather,  sewed  iirnily  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  a  cylindrical  circle, 
and  plentifully  imbrued  with  grease  to  ren- 
der it  elastic.  Upon  this  structure  the 
beads  are  fastened,  in  regular  spiral  rows, 
so  that  the  belt  may  be  pulled  about  and 
altered  in  shape  without  disturbing  the 
arrangement  of  the  beads.  The  projector 
of  this  belt  has  contrived  to  arrange  the 
beads  in  such  a  manner  as  to  present  alter- 
nate zigzags  of  blue  and  yellow,  the  effect  of 
which  on  the  dark  chocolate  skin  would  be 
very  telling. 

This  belt  may  be  seen  round  the  waist  of 
the  young  girl,  whose  likeness  is  given  on 
page  43.  The  damsel  in  question  is  sup- 
posed to  be  arrayed  for  a  dance,  and,  in 
such  a  case,  she  would  put  on  every  article  of 
finery  that  she  possessed.  Her  woolly  hair 
is  ornamented  by  a  quantity  of  porcupine 
quills,  the  alternate  black  and  white  of  which 
have  a  very  good  eftect.  Porcupine  quills 
are,  however,  not  very  easily  obtained. 
Hunting  the  porcupine  is  a  task  "that  belongs 
to  the  other  sex,  and  is  quite  out  of  the  way 
of  tlie  women. 

The  animal  is  not  a  pleasant  antagonist; 
and  if  his  burrow  be  stopped,  and  he  be 
finally  driven  to  bay,  he  gives  his  pursuer 
no  small  trouble,  having  a  nasty  habit  of 
erecting  all  his  quills,  and  then  suddenly 
backing  in  the  direction  where  he  is  least 
expected.  A  Kaffir's  naked  legs  have  no 
chance  against  the  porcupine's  quills,  and 
when  several  porcupines  are  simultaneously 
attacked  by  a  group  of  Kaffirs,  the  scene  is 
exceedingly  ludicrous,  the  Kaffirs  leaping 
about  as  if  bewitched,  but,  in  reality,  spring- 
ing into  the  air  to  avoid  the  sudden  rushes 
of  the  porcupines.  Unless,  therefore,  the 
parent  or  admirer  of  a  3'oung  woman  should 
happen  to  present  her  with  quills,  she  is 
forced  to  put  up  with  some  other  ornament. 
One rathercommondecoration  is bj-flistening 
into  the  hair  a  number  of  the  long,  straight 
thorns  of  the  mimosa,  and  so  defending  her 
head  from  imaginary  assaults  as  effectually 
as  her  more  fortunate  sister.  The  energy 
which  these  girls  display  in  the  dance  "is 
extraordinary,  and  it  need  be  so,  when  some 
of  them  ^vill  wear  nearly  fifty  pounds'  weight 
of  beads,  bracelets,  anklets,  belts,  and  other 
ornaments.  However,  the  knowledge  of 
their  magnificence  is  sufficient  to  sustain 
them,  and  they  will  go  through  the  most 
violent  exertions  when  displaying  their  ac- 
tivity in  the  dance. 

^  As  to  the  belt  which  has  just  been  men- 
tioned, I  was  anxious  to  know  whether  it 
could  be  worn  by  our  own  countrywomen. 
So,  after  taking  the  precaution  of  washing  it 
very  thoroughly  with  a  hard  brush,  soap, 
and  soda,  I  tried  it  on  a  3'oung  lady,  and  was 
surprised  to  find  that  it  passed  into  its  place 
without  much  trouble,  though  its  progress 


was,  of  course,  impeded  by  dress,  whereas 
the  naked  and  well-oiled  body  of  the  Kaffir 
girl  allows  the  belt  to  slip  over  the  arms  and 
shoulders  at  once. 

There  is  another  remarkable  ornament  of 
the  young  Kaffir  women,  which  I  call  the 
semi-belt.  It  is  flat,  generally  made  of 
strings  and  thongs,  and  ornamented  at  in- 
tervals with  beads  arranged  in  cross-bands. 
At  each  end  is  a  loop,  through  which  a  string 
is  passed,  so  that  the  wearer  can  fasten  it 
round  her  body.  Now,  the  belt  is  only  long 
enough  to  go  half  round  the  body,  aiid  the 
mode  of  wearing  it  is  rather  remarkable. 
Instead  of  placing  the  whole  of  the  belt  in 
front,  as  naturally  might  be  supposed,  the 
wearer  passes  it  round  one  side  of  the 
body,  so  that  one  end  is  in  front,  and  the 
other  behind.  Strange  as  is  this  mode  of 
wearing  it,  the  custom  is  universal,  and  in 
every  group  of  girls  or  young  women  sev- 
eral are  sure  to  be  wearing  a  semi-belt 
round  the  body.  Another  of^these  belts  is 
shown  in  the  illustration  of  "Kaffir  orna- 
ments" on  page  49,  fig.  .3.  This  is  not  so 
elaborate  an  article,  and  lias  only  a  few 
bands  of  beads,  instead  of  being  nearly  cov- 
ered with  them. 

As  for  the  necklaces  worn  by  the  Kaffir 
women,  they  are  generally  nothing  more 
than  strings  of  beads,  and  require  no  jjar- 
ticular  notice.  There  is  one,  however, 
which  is  so  diffin-ent  from  the  ordinary  neck- 
laces, that  I  have  had  it  engraved.  It  may 
be  seen  in  the  illustration  at  page  49,  fig.  3, 
next  to  the  handsome  bead  apron  which' has 
already  been  described.  As  may  be  seen 
by  reference  to  the  illustration,  it  is  formed 
entirely  of  beads,  and  is  ornamented  with  six 
triangular  appendages,  also  made  of  beads. 
The  general  color  of  the  beads  is  white,  but 
the  interior  of  the  triangular  appendages  is 
cobalt  blue;  while  the  larger  beads  that  are 
placed  singly  upon  the  necklace  are  of  ruby 
glass.  When  this  remarkable  necklace  is 
placed  round  the  neck,  the  triangular  flaps 
fall  regularly  (;n  the  breast  and  shoulders, 
and,  when  contrasted  with  the  dark  skin  of 
the  wearer,  have  an  admirable  effect. 

Lately,  two  articles  of  dress,  or  rather  of 
ornament,  have  been  imported  from  Europe 
into  Africa,  and  have  met  with  great  suc- 
cess among  the  chocolate-colored  belles  of 
Kafflrland.  Enterprising  traders  in  South- 
ern Africa  do  not  set  up  permanent  shops 
as  we  do  in  Englanl,  but  stock  a  wagon 
with  all  sorts  of  miscellaneous  goods,  and 
undertake  journeys  into  the  interior,  where 
they  barter  their  stock  for  elephants'  tusks 
and  teeth,  horns,  skins,  ostrich  feathers, 
and  similar  commodities.  They  have  a  most 
miscellaneous  assortment  of  goods,  and  act 
very  much  in  the  same  manner  as  those 
wandering  traders  among  ourselves  who  are 
popularly  called  "  cheap  Johns,"  the  chief 
distinction  being  that  their  stock  is  by  no 
means  cheap,  but  is  sold  at  about  1,000  per 


54 


THE  KAFFIR, 


cent,  profit  on  the  original  outlay.  This 
seems  rather  an  excessive  percentage ;  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  old  adage  of 
high  interest  and  bad  security  holds  good  in 
this  as  in  other  speculations.  War  may 
break  out,  the  trader  be  speared,  his  wagou 
robbed,  and  his  oxen  couflscated.  The 
dreaded  murrain  may  carry  oil'  his  cattle,  or 
they  may  be  starved  for  want  of  food,  slowly 
killed  by  thirst,  or  drowned  by  a  sudden 
rush  of  "water,  which  may  almost  instanta- 
neously convert  a  dry  gully  into  a  raging 
torrent  that  sweeps  everj'thing  before  it. 
Fashions  may  change,  and  his  whole  stock 
be  valueless;  or  some  "prophet"  may  take  it 
into  his  head  to  proclaim  that  the  sound 
of  his  wagon  wheels  prevents  the  rain 
from  falling.  Moreover,  he  is  unmercifully 
fleeced  by  the  different  chiefs  tlirough 
whose  territories  he  passes,  and  who  exact 
an  extortionate  toll  before  they  will  allow 
him  to  pass  to  tlie  next  chief,  who  will 
serve  him  in  much  the  same  manner.  Al- 
together, if  the  journey  be  a  successful  one, 
the  trader  will  make  about  fifty  or  sixty 
per  cent,  clear  profit;  but,  as  the  journey  is 
often  an  utter  failure,  this  is  really  no  very 
exorbitant  rate  of  interest  on  his  outlay. 

The  trader  will,  above  all  things,  take 
plenty  of  tobacco — this  being  the  key  to  the 
heart  of  a  Kaffir,  old  or  young,  man  or 
woman.  He  will  take  guns  and  ammunition 
for  the  men;  also  spirits  of  the  roughest 
and  coarsest  kind,  a  better  and  purer  article 
being  quite  wasted  on  his  sable  customers. 
Beads,  of  course,  he  carries,  as  well  as  but- 
tons, blankets,  and  other  luxuries;  also  he 
will  have  the  great  iron  hoe  blades  with 
Which  the  women  till  the  ground,  that  he 
can  sell  for  one-sixth  of  the  price  and  which 
are  twice  the  quality  of  the  native-made 
hoe.  One  of  these  bold  wagon-owners 
bethought  himself  of  buying  a  few  gross  of 
brass  curtain  rings  of  the  largest  size,  and 
was  gratified  by  finding  that  they  were 
eagerly  bought  up  wherever  he  went.  The 
natives  saw  at  once  that  the  brass  rings  were 
better  bracelets  than  could  be  made  by 
themselves,  and  they  accordingly  lavished 
their  savage  treasures  in  order  to  buy  them. 

One  of  the  oddest  examples  of  the  vicissi- 
tude of  African  trade  occurred  some  few 
years  ago.  An  English  vessel  arrived  at 
the  port,  a  large  part  of  her  cargo  consisting 
of  stout  iron  wire,  nearly  the  whole  of  which 
was  bought  by  the  natives,  and  straightway 
vanished,  no  one  knowing  what  had  become 
of  it.  The  mystery  was  soon  solved.  Sud- 
denly the  Kaffir  belles  appeared  in  new  and 
fashionable  costume.  Some  of  them  had 
been  to  the  towns  inhabited  by  Europeans, 
and  had  seen  certain  "  cages  "  "hung  outside 
the  drapers'  shops.  They  inquired  the  use 
of  these  singular  objects,'and  were  told  that 
they  were  the  fiishionable  attire  of  European 
ladies.  They  straightway  burned  to  possess 
similar    costumes,    and    when    the    vessel 


arrived  with  its  cargo  of  wire  they  bought 
it  u]),  and  took  it  home  for  the  purpose  of 
imitating  the  white  ladies.  Of  course  they 
had  not  the  least  idea  that  any  other  article 
of  ajiparel  was  necessarj-,  and  so  they  wore 
none,  but  walked  about  the  streets  quite 
proud  of  their  fashionaljle  appearance. 

As  the  dancers  are  encumbered  with  such 
an  amount  of  decoration,  and  as  they  exert 
themselves  most  violently,  a  very  'natural 
result  follows.  The  climate  is  very  hot,  and 
the  exercise  makes  the  dancer  hotter,  so 
that  the  abundant  grease  trickles  over  the 
face  and  body,  and  inconveniences  the  per- 
former, who  is  certainly  not  fastidious  in  her 
notions.  As  to  handkerchiefs,  or  anything 
approaching  to  tlie  idea  of  such  articles,  she 
is  in  perfect  ignorance,  her  whole  outfit  con- 
sisting of  the  little  apron  above  mentioned, 
and  an  unlimited  supjily  of  beads.  But  she 
is  not  unprovided  for  emergencies,  and  car- 
ries with  her  an  instrument  very  like  the 
"  strigil "  of  the  ancients,  and  usecl  for  much 
the  same  purpose.  Sometimes  it  is  made  of 
bone,  sometimes  of  wood,  sometimes  of  ivory, 
and  sometimes  of  metal.  It  varies  much  in 
shape,  but  is  generally  hollowed  slightly, 
like  a  carpenter's  gouge,  and  has  its  edges 
made  about  as  sharp  as  those  of  an  ordi- 
nary paper  knife.  In  fact,  it  very  much 
resembles  a  magnified  marrow  spoon. 

A  specimen  of  the  commoner  sort  is  given 
at  fig.  6,  in  "  Kaffir  ornaments,"  on  page  49. 
The  material  of  this  strigil  is  iron,  and  it  is 
attached  to  a  plain  leather  strap. 

Sometimes  a  rather  unexpected  article  is 
substituted  for  the  strigil,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  anecdote  related  by  Mr. 
G.  H.  Mason.  He  went  to  see  the  wedding 
of  a  Kaffir  chief,  who  was  about  to  marry  his 
fourteenth  wife,  and  found  the  bridegroom 
seated  in  the  midst  of  the  village,  encircled 
by  a  row  of  armed  warriors,  and  beyond 
them  by  a  row  of  women  with  children.    ' 

"  Scarcely  had  we  taken  our  station  near 
the  Umdodie  (husband),  when  a  low  shrill 
chant  came  floating  on  the  breeze  from  the 
bottom  of  a  lovely  vale  hard  by,  where  I 
descried  a  long  "train  of  damsels  slowly 
wending  their  way  among  bright  green 
patches  of  Indian  corn  and  masses  of  flow- 
ering shrubs,  studded  with  giant  cactus,  and 
the  huge  flowering  aloe.  As  the  procession 
neared"  the  huts,  they  quickened  their  pace 
and  raised  their  voices  to  the  highest  pitch, 
until  they  arrived  at  the  said  cattle-kraal, 
where  they  stood  motionless  and  silent. 

"A  messenger  from  the  Umdodie  then 
bade  them  enter  the  kraal,  an  order  that 
they  instantly  obeyed,  by  twos. the  youngest 
leading  the  way,  closely  followed  by  the  rest, 
and  ternnnated  by  a  host  of  marriageable 
young  ladies  (Intombies),  clustering  thick 
around  tlie  bride  — a  fat,  good-natured  girl, 
wrapped  round  and  round  with  black  glazed 
calico,  and  decked  from  head  to  foot  with 
flowers,  beads,  and  feathers.      Once  within 


DANCING. 


55 


the  kraal,  the  ladies  formed  two  lines,  with 
the  bride  iu  the  centre,  and  struck  up  a 
lively  air;  whereupon  the  whole  body  of 
armed  Kaffirs  rushed  from  all  parts  of  the 
kraal,  beating  their  shields,  and  uttering 
demon  yells  as  they  charged  lieadlong  at  the 
smiling'  girls,  who  joined  with  the  stalwart 
warrio'rs  in  cutting  capers  and  singing  lus- 
tily, until  the  whole  kraal  was  one  confused 
mass  of  demons,  roaring  out  hoarse  war- 
songs  and  shrill  love-ditties.  After  an  hour, 
dancing  ceased,  and  joila  (Kaffir  beer)  was 
served'round,  while  the  lovely  bride  stood 
iu  the  midst  of  the  ring  alone,  stared  at  by 
all,  and  staring  iu  turn  at  all,  until  she 
brought  her  eyes  to  bear  on  her  admiring 
lord.  Then,  advancing  leisurely,  she  danced 
before  him,  amid  shouts  of  the  bystanders, 
singing  at  the  top  of  her  voice,  and  liran- 
dishing  a  huge  carving-Jcmfe,  with  which  she 
scraped  big  drops  of  perspiration  from  her 
heated  head,  produced  by  the  unusually  vio- 
lent exercise  she  was  performing."' 

It  appears,  from  the  same  oljservant  writer, 
that  whatevai-  the  amount  of  finery  may  be 
which  a  Kaffir  girl  wears,  it  is  considered 
only  consistent  with  ordinary  gallantry  that 
ii  should  be  admired.  While  he  was  build- 
ing a  house,  assisted  by  a  number  of  Kattirs, 
he  found  that  his  men  never  allowed  the 
dusky  maidens  to  pass  within  sight  without 
saluting  them,  or  standing  quite  motionless, 
full  in  their  path,  so  that  each  might  mutu- 
ally inspect  the  other. 

"  Thus  it  frequently  happened  that  troops 
of  girls  came  iu  from  the  Kaffir  kraals  with 
maize,  thatch,  milk,  eggs,  wild  fruit,  sugar- 
cane, potatoes,  &c.,  &c.,  for  sale;  and  no 
sooner  did  their  shrill  song  reach  the  ears 
of  our  servants,  than  they  rushed  from  their 
work,  just  as  they  were,  some  besmeared 
with  niud,  others  spattered  with  whitewash, 
and  the  rest  armed  with  spades,  pickaxes, 
buckets,  brick-moulds,  or  whatever  else 
chanced  to  be  in  their  hands  at  the  mo- 
ment." 

There  is  a  curious  kind  of  ornament  much 
in  vogue  among  the  Kaffir  women,  namely,  a 
series  of  raised  scars  upon  the  wrists,  and  ex- 
tendingpartiallyup  the  arms.  These  .scarsare 
made  in  childhood,  and  the  wounds  are  filled 
with  some  substance  that  causes  them  to 
be  raised  above  the  level  of  the  skin.  They 
fancy  that  these  sears  are  useful  as  well  as 
ornamental,  and  consider  them  in  the  light 
of  amulets.  Other  portions  of  the  limbs  are 
sometimes  decorated  with  these  scars;  and 
in  one  or  two  cases,  not  only  the  limbs,  but 
the  whole  body,  has  been  nearly  covered 


with  them.  The  material  with  which  the 
wounds  are  filled  is  supposed  to  be  the  ashes 
of  a  snake. 

During  their  dances,  the  Kaffirs  of  both 
sexes  hke  to  make  as  much  noise  as  possi' 
ble,  and  aid  their  voices  by  certain  mechani- 
cal contrivances.  One  of  the  most  simple 
is  made  of  a  number  of  dry  seeds.  In  shape 
these  seeds  are  angular,  and  much  resemble 
the  common  Brazil  nut  in  form.  The  shell 
of  the  seed  is  very  thin  and  hard,  and  the 
kernel  shrinks  within  it  so  as  to  rattle 
about  with  every  movement.  In  some  cases 
the  kernel  is  removed,  and  the  rattling 
sound  is  produced  entirely  by  the  hard  shells 
striking  against  each  other.  When  a  num- 
ber of  these  seeds  are  strung  together,  and 
upon  the  legs  or  arms,  they  make  quite  a 
loud  rattling  sound,  in  accordance  with  the 
movements  of  the  dancers,  and  are,  in  fact, 
the  Kaffir  substitutes  for  castanets.  In  some 
parts  of  Central  Africa,  a  curious  imitation 
of  these  natui-al  castanets  is  made.  It  con- 
sists of  a  thin  shell  of  iron,  exactly  resem- 
bling in  form  that  of  the  nut,  and  having  a 
little  iron  ball  within,  which  takes  the  place 
of  the  shrivelled  kernel. 

Earrings  are  worn  in  Kafflrland  a.s  well  as 
in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  are  equally 
fashionable  in  both  sexes.  The  ears  are 
pierced  at  a  very  early  age,  and  the  aperture 
enlarged  by  having  a  graduated  series  of  bits 
of  wood  thrust  through  them,  until  they  are 
large  enough  to  hold  a  snufl'  box,  an  ivory 
knob,  or  similar  ornament. 

One  of  these  earring  snuflF  boxes  may  be 
seen  in  the  illustration  "  Dress  "  p.  49,  fig.  C. 
[t  is  made  of  a  piece  of  reed,  three  inches 
in  length,  closed  at  one  end;  and  having  a 
stopper  thrust  into  the  other.  The  original 
color  of  the  reed  is  bright  yellow,  with  a 
high  natural  polish,  but  the  Kaffir  is  not  sat- 
isfied with  having  it  in  its  natural  state,  and 
ornaments  it  with  various  patterns  in  black. 
These  are  produced  by  charring  the  wood 
with  a  hot  iron,  and  the  neatness  and  truth 
of  the  work  is  very  astonishing,  when  the 
rudeness  of  the  tools  is  taken  into  consider- 
ation. In  the  present  specimen,  the  pattern 
is  alternate  diamonds  of  black  and  yellow. 
This  mode  of  decorating  their  ornaments 
and  utensils  is  very  common  among  the 
Kaflirs,  and  we  shall  see  more  of  it  as  we 
proceed.  Snuff  boxes  are  not,  however,  the 
only  ornaments  which  a  Kaffir  will  wear  iu 
the  ears,  for  there  is  scarcely  anything  which 
is  tolerably  showy  and  which  can  be 
fastened  to  the  ear  that  v/ill  not  be  worn 
there. 


CHAPTER   Vn 


AUCHITECTUEE. 


CHIEF  CHAKACTERISTICS  OF  KAFFTR  AKCHITECTURB  —  PREVALENCE  OP  THE  CIRCULAK  FORM  —  mX- 
ELLITY  OF  THE  KAFFIR  TO  DRAW  A  STRAIGHT  LINE  —  GENERAL  FORM  OF  THE  KAFFIR'S  HUT  — 
THE  INCREDULITY  OF  IGNORANCE  —  METHOD  OF  HOUSE-EUILDING  —  PRECAUTION  AGAINST  INUN- 
DATION —  FEMALE  ARCHITECTS  —  MODE  OF  PLANNING  A  HUT  —  KAFFIR  OSTENTATION  —  FRAGILITY 
OF  THE  HUT  —  AN'ECDOTE  OF  W^VRFARE  —  THE  ENRAGED  ELEPHANT,  AND  A  DOMESTIC  TRAGEDY 
—  HOW  THE  ROOF  IS  SUPPORTED  —  SMOKE  AND  SOOT  ^  THE  HURDLE  DOOR  —  HOW  IT  IS  JIABE  — 
SCREENS  FOR  KEEPING  OFF  THE  WIND  —  DECORATIONS  OF  DINGAN'S  HOUSE  —  AVERAGE  FURNI- 
TURE OF  THE  KAFFIR  HUT  —  THE  KRAAL,  ITS  PLAN  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  CONSTRUCTION — KNOWL- 
EDGE OF  FORTIFICATION  —  CHIEF  OBJECT  OF  THE  KRAAL  —  TWO  MODES  OF  5L\KING  THE  FENCE  — 
THE  AEATTIS  AND  THE  CHE VAUX  DE  FRISE  —  SIZE  OF  THE  KRAAL  —  THE  KING'S  MILITARY  KRAAL 
OR  GARRISON  TOWN  —  VISIT  TO  ONE  OF  PANBA'S  KRAALS — THE  HAREM,  ITS  INJIATES  AND  ITS 
GUARDIANS. 


The  architecture  of  these  trihcs  is  very 
simple,  and,  altliough  sUghtly  variable  iu 
dilfereut  localities,  is  marked  throughout  by 
similar  characteristics.  On  looking  at  any 
specimen  of  KatHr  architecture,  the  specta- 
tor is  at  once  struck  with  one  peculiarity, 
namely,  that  all  his  buildings  arc  circular. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  Kaffir  does 
not  seem  to  be  cajiable  of  marking  out  a 
straight  line,  and  whether  he  builds  a  hut, 
or  erects  a  fence,  he  takes  the  circle  as  his 
guide.  A  Kaffir's  attempts  to  erect  a  square 
enclosure,  or  even  to  build  a  fence  in  a 
straight  line,  are  ludicrous  failures.  With 
Europeans  the  case  is  different.  A  settler 
who  desires  to  build  a  fence  wherein  to  en- 
close his  garden,  or  a  stockade  within  which 
his  house  and  property  can  remain  in  safety, 
invariably  builds  on  the  rectilinear  princi- 
ple, and  makes  the  fence  in  the  form  of  a 
square.  He  would  feel  himself  cjuite  fettered 
if  he  were  forced  to  build  a  circular  enclos- 
ure, whereas  the  Kaffir  would  be  as  much  at 
a  loss  if  he  were  obliged  to  build  a  square 
edifice.  Indeed,  though  the  European  could, 
at  the  cost  of  some  trouble,  build  a  circular 
house,  and  would  make  his  circle  ti'ue,  the 
K.affir  would  utterly  fiil  in  attempting  to 
make  a  building  of  a  square  or  an  oblong 
form. 

One  of  my  friends,  who  has  travelled  much 
among  the  Kaffir  tribes,  and  gone  among 
villages  whose  inhabitants  had  never  seen 
an  European  building,  told  me  that  it  was 
hardly  possible  to  make  the  natives  compre- 
hend the  structure  of  an  European  house. 


The  very  shape  of  it  puzzled  them,  and  the 
gable  ends  and  the  ridged  roof  seemed  so 
strange  to  them  as  to  be  scarcely  credible. 
As  to  the  various  stories  in  a  house,  several 
rooms  on  a  stor}',  and  staircases  which  lead 
from  one  to  the  other,  thej*  fiatly  declined 
to  believe  that  anything  of  the  kind  could 
exist,  and  thought  that  their  guest  was  try- 
ing to  amuse  himself  at  the  expense  of  their 
credulity.  They  did  believe  in  the  possibil- 
ity of  St.  Paul's  cathedral,  on  account  of  its 
domed  roof,  but  they  could  not  be  induced 
to  believe  in  its  size.  They  defended  their 
position  by  argument,  not  merel_y  content- 
ing themselves  with  assertions.  Their  chief 
argument  was  derived  from  the  impossibil- 
ity of  such  a  building  sustaining  its  own 
weight.  The  only  building  materials  of 
which  they  had  any  exjjerience  were  the 
posts  and  sticks  of  which  their  own  houses 
were  made,  and  the  reeds  wherewith  they 
were  thatched.  Sometimes  a  very  luxuri- 
ous house-owner  would  plaster  the  interior 
with  mud,  producing  that  peculiar  style 
of  architecture  which  is  jiopularly  called 
"  wattle-and-daub."  They  could  not  com- 
prehend in  the  least  that  stone  could  be  used 
in  building  dwelling-houses;  and  the  whole 
system  of  cutting  "stone  into  rectangular 
pieces,  and  the  use  of  bricks,  was  equally 
beyond  their  comprehension.  Jlortar  also 
was  an  inexplicable  mystery,  so  that  on 
the  whole  they  decided  on  discrediting  the 
tales  told  them  by  the  white  man. 
A  Kaffir  house  (see  page  155)  locks  just 

It  is  of  pre- 


(36) 


KAFFIRS    AT    HOME. 
(See  page  70.) 


(57) 


KATFIR  HUTS. 


59 


cisely  the  same  shape,  is  made  of  nearly  the 
same  materials,  and  has  a  little  arched  door, 
just  like  the  entrance  of  a  beehive,  through 
which  a  man  can  barely  creep  on  his  hands 
and  knees.  The  structure  of  these  huts  is 
very  simple.  A  circle  is  drawn  of  some  four- 
teen feet  in  diameter,  and  around  it  are  stuck 
a  number  of  long,  flexible  sticks.  These 
sticks  are  then  bent  over  at  the  top  and  tied 
together,  so  as  to  form  a  framework  very  like 
a  common  wire  mousetrap.  A  reed  thatch- 
ing is  then  laid  over  the  sticks,  and  secured 
in  its  place  by  parallel  lashings.  These 
lashings  are  made  of  "  monkey-rojjes,"  or 
the  creepers  that  extend  their  interminable 
length  from  tree  to  tree,  and  are  found  of 
every  size,  from  a  cable  to  a  packthread. 
They  twist  themselves  into  so  rope-like  a 
shape,  that  many  persons  have  refused  to 
believe  that  they  have  not  been  artificially 
made.  The  rows  of  lashing  are  about  eigh- 
teen inches  apart.  In  shape,  the  hut  is  ex- 
actly like  the  well-known  snow  house  of  the 
Esquimaux. 

As,  during  the  wet  season,  the  rain  pours 
down  in  torrents,  the  huts  would  be 
swamped  for  several  months  but  for  the  pre- 
caution which  the  natives  take  of  digging 
round  each  hut  a  trench  of  some  eighteen 
inches  or  two  feet  in  depth,  and  the  same  in 
breadth.  This  trench  is  about  six  inches 
from  the  wall  of  the  hut,  and  serves  to  keep 
the  floor  dry.  The  reader  may  remember 
that  all  European  soldiers  are  taught  to  dig 
a  trench  round  each  liut  while  they  are 
under  canvas,  the  neglect  of  this  precaution 
being  sure  to  cause  both  great  inconven- 
ience and  unhealthiness. 

The  woman  generally  marks  the  outline 
of  her  hut  in  a  very  simple  manner.  She 
takes  a  numljer  of  flexible  sticks,  and  ties 
them  together  firmly  with  leathern  thongs, 
or  the  rough  and  ready  string  which  the 
Kaffirs  make  from  rushes  by  tearing  them 
into  strips  and  rolling  them  on  the  leg  with 
the  palm  of  the  hand.  Three  or  even  four 
sticks  are  usually  joined  together,  in  order 
to  attain  sufiicient  length.  She  then  pushes 
one  end  deeply  into  the  ground,  bends  the 
other  end  over  so  as  to  make  an  arch,  and 
pushes  that  into  the  ground  also.  This  arch 
becomes  the  key  to  the  whole  Ijuilding,  set- 
tling its  height  and  width.  Another  arch 
is  set  in  the  ground  at  right  angles  to  the 
former,  and  the  two  are  lashed  together  at 
the  top  where  they  cross,  so  that  a  rough 
kind  of  skeleton  of  the  hut  is  made  in  a  very 
short  time. 

On  the  roof  of  the  hut  may  sometimes  be 
seen  the  skulls  of  oxen.  This  ornament  is 
highly  characteristic  of  the  Kaffir.  The 
high  value  which  he  sets  on  his  cows  is  not 
surpassed  by  the  love  of  the  most  confirmed 
miser  for  his  gold.  But  there  is  another 
trait  of  the  Kaffir  mind,  which  is  even 
stronger  than  avarice,  and  that  is  ostenta- 
tion, to  which  his  cattle  become  of  secondary 


consideration.  Unwilling  as  he  is  to  kill 
any  of  the  cattle  which  constitute  his  wealth, 
and  which  he  values  scarcely  less  than  his 
own  life,  he  will,  on  certain  occasions, 
slaughter  one,  and  give  a  feast  to  his  neigh- 
bors, who  are  sure  to  praise  him  in  terms 
suitable  to  the  magnificence  —  i.e.  the  quan- 
tity—  of  the  banquet.  He  is  nearly  certain 
to  be  addressed  as  Father,  and  perhaps  some 
of  the  more  enthusiastic,  when  excited  by 
beef,  beer,  and  snuff,  may  actually  hail  him 
as  Chief.  The  slaughter  of  an  ox  is  there- 
fore a  great  event  in  the  life  of  a  Kaffir,  and 
is  sure  to  act  as  a  step  toward  higher  rank. 
Lest  the  memory  of  such  an  event  should 
fade  away  as  soon  as  the  banquet  has  been 
ended,  the  proud  donor  takes  the  skull  of 
the  slaughtered  ox  and  places  it  on  the  roof 
of  his  hut,  where  it  remains  as  a  sign  that 
the  owner  of  the  dwelling  is  a  man  of  prop- 
erty, and  has  been  able  to  spare  one  of  his 
oxen  to  serve  as  a  feast  for  his  friends. 

The  building  being  now  finished,  the 
opening  which  serves  as  a  door  is  cut  on 
one  side,  its  edges  guarded  with  plaited 
twigs,  and  the  Kaffir  desires  no  better 
house.  Though  it  has  no  window,  no 
chimney,  and  no  door  that  deserves  the 
name,  ho  would  not  exchange  it  for  a 
palace,  and  many  instances  have  been 
known  where  Kaffirs  who  have  been  taken 
to  European  cities,  have  travelled  much, 
and  been  tolerably  educated,  have  flung 
off  their  civilized  garments,  re-assumed 
the  skin-dress  of  their  nation,  and  gone 
off  to  live  in  huts  instead  of  houses.  The 
whole  structure  is  necessarily  very  fragile, 
and  the  walls  cannot  endure  much  violence. 
A  curious  example  of  their  fragility  oc- 
curred some  time  ago,  when  one  chief 
made  a  raid  upon  the  village  of  another. 
A  number  of  men  liad  taken  refuge  in  a 
hut,  from  which  it  was  not  easy  to  drive 
them.  Assagais  were  hurled  through  the 
sides  of  the  hut,  and  did  much  damage  to  the 
ihmates.  The  survivors  tried  to  save  them- 
selves by  climliing  up  the  framework  of  the 
hut  and  clinging  to  the  roof,  but  the  slight 
structure  could  not  support  their  bodies, 
and  by  yielding  to  their  weight  betrayed 
them  to  the  watchful  enemies  without. 

The  upper  illustration  on  page  C3  repre- 
sents the  interior  of  an  exceptionally  large 
hut,  being,  in  fact,  the  principal  residence  of 
a  chief.  Very  few  huts  have  more  than 
four  supporting  posts.  On  the  left  may  be 
seen  two  of  the  large  store  baskets,  in  which 
milk  is  kept  and  made  into  "  aniasi,"  while 
just  beyond  the  first  basket  is  a  sleeping 
mat  rolled  up  and  resting  against  the  wall. 
Some  large  earthenware  pots,  such  as  are 
used  in  cookery,  are  seen  at  the  farther  end  of 
the  hut,  and  a  calabash  rests  against  one  of 
the  posts.  To  the  roof  are  hung  bunches 
of  maize,  according  to  the  curious  Kaffir  cus- 
tom, which  seems  to  ignore  the  fact  that 
every  thing  on  the  roof  of  a  hut  is  soon 


60 


THE   KAFFIR. 


blackened  with  soot,  owing  to  the  smoke 
from  the  fire.  Whether  hirge  or  small, 
all  the  houses  are  made  on  exactly  the  same 
principle,  and  except  for  their  superior 
size,  and  the  ox  skulls  which  decorate 
them,  the  houses  occupied  hy  chiefs  have 
nothing  to  distinguish  them  from  those 
which  are  inhabited  by  their  dependants. 

Against  brute  foes  the  hut  is  sometimes 
but  a  frail  protection.  On  one  occasion  an 
elephant  was  attracted  by  a  quantity  of  millet, 
which  was  stored  within  a  fence.  lie  pushed 
his  way  through  tlie  useless  barrier,  and 
began  "feeding  on  the  millet.  There  was  a 
fire  in  one  of  the  huts,  and  the  elephant,  in- 
stead of  being  scared  by  it,  became  angry, 
knocked  the  house  to  pieces,  and  walked 
over  the  ruins,  trampling  to  death  a  woman 
who  was  lying  asleep.  Her  husband  nearly 
shared  the  same  fate,  but  managed  to  roll 
out  of  the  way,  and  then  to  escape  by 
creeping  between  the  legs  of  the  angry 
elephant. 

The  roof  of  the  hut  is  not  wholly  de- 
pendent for  support  on  the  flexible  sticks 
which  form  its  walls,  but  is  held  up  by  a 
post  or  two,  on  the  top  of  which  is  laid  a 
cross-beam.  Tliis  arrangement  also  per- 
mits the  owner  of  the  hut  to  hang  to  the 
beam  and  posts  sundry  articles  which  he 
does  not  wish  to  be  injured  by  being 
thrown  on  the  ground,  such  as  gourds, 
baskets,  assagai-shafts,  spoons,  and  other 
implements. 

Banged  carelessly  round  the  hut  are  the 
rude  earthenware  pots,  iu  which  the  KatHr 
keeps  his  beer.  Ids  milk,  and  present  stores 
of  grain.  The  floor  of  the  hut  is  always 
kept  scrupulously  clean,  and  is  generally 
as  hard  as  stone,  being  made  of  well- 
kneaded  clay  laid  very  smoothly,  and 
beaten  until  it  is  quite  hard.  The  best 
clay  for  this  purpose  is  obtained  from  the 
nests  of  the  white  ant,  which  are  beaten 
to  pieces,  then  pounded,  and  then  mixed 
very  carefully  with  water.  In  a  well-regu- 
lated hut,  the  women  are  very  careful  of 
their  floor,  and  rub  it  daily  with  flat  stones, 
until  it  is  not  only  smooth,  but  even  pol- 
ished. 

Just  within  the  entrance  is  the  primitive 
fireplace.  This,  like  almost  everything 
which  the  Kaffir  makes,  is  circular  in 
form,  and  is  made  usually  of  mud;  its 
only  object  is  to  confine  the  embers  within 
a  limited  space. 

Cooking  is  not  always  carried  on  in  the 
ordinary  house,  nor  is  the  fire  kept  con- 
stantly. In  a  permanent  kraal  there  are 
cooking  huts  erected  for  that  one  special 
purpose,  and  not  used  for  any  other.  They 
may  be  called  demi-huts,  as  their  only  ob- 
ject is  to  guard  the  fire  from  the  etfect  of 
wind.  They  are  circular,  like  all  ordinary 
huts,  but  Iheir  walls  are  only  four  feet  or 
so  in  height,  and  are  carefully  daubed  with 
a  mixture  of  clay  and  cowdung,  so  as  to 


form  a  most  efficient  protection  against  the 
wind.  The  smoke  from  the  fire  is  allowed 
to  escape  as  It  can.  Some  of  it  contrives 
to  force  its  way  between  the  interstices 
of  the  thatch,  as  may  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  tlie  illustration  on  page  — .  Some 
of  it  circles  around  the  walls  and  pours 
through  the  door-way,  but  the  greater 
part  of  it  settles,  in  the  form  of  soot, 
upon  the  interior  of  tlie  hut,  blackening 
everything  within  it.  When  the  Kal- 
firs  wish  to  season  the  wood  of  their 
assagai-shafts  or  knobkerries,  they  stick 
it  into  the  roof  of  the  house,  just  above 
the  fireplace,  exactlj^  as  bacon  is  cured  in 
the  smoke. 

A  curious  reference  to  this  custom  is 
made  iu  a  song  composed  in  honor  of 
Panda,  King  of  the  Zulu  tribes.  When 
Diiigan  murdered  his  predecessor  Tchaka, 
he  killed  other  chiefs  at  the  same  time,  but 
was  persuaded  to  leave  Panda  alive  — 

"Of  tlio  stock  of  Ndaliitza,  ramrod  of  brass, 
SiirN'ivor  iilonc  of  all  otlit-r  rods; 
OtluTs  tlicy  broke,  but  left  this  in  the  soot, 
Tliiidiiug  to  bum  it  some  rainy  cold  day." 

Reference  is  here  made  to  the  custom  of 
leaving  sticks  and  shafts  in  the  sootj'  roof. 

At  night,  the  entrance  of  the  hut  is  closed 
by  a  simple  door  made  of  wicker  work,  and 
looking  much  like  the  closely-woven  sheep 
hurdles  which  are  used  in  some  parts  of 
England.  With  the  exception  that  the 
Kaffir  always  sits  down  at  his  work,  the 
mode  of  making  these  doors  is  almost  iden- 
tical with  that  which  is  employed  by  the 
shepherds  in  this  country. 

The  Kaffir  begins  by  choosing  some 
straight  and  tolerably  stout  sticks,  and  driv- 
ing them  into  the  ground  at  regular  distan- 
ces from  each  other.  These  are  intended 
as  the  supports  or  framework  of  the  door. 
He  then  takes  a  quantity  of  pliant  sticks, 
like  the  osiers  of  our  basket  makers,  and 
weaves  them  in  and  out  of  the  upright 
stakes,  beating  them  down  continually  to 
make  them  lie  closely  together.  When  the 
door  is  completed,  the  upright  sticks  are  cut 
ofl'  to  the  proper  length,  and  it  can  then  be 
fitted  to  the  hut.  If  the  reader  has  any 
acquaintance  with  military  aftairs,  he  may 
remember  that  gabions  are  made  in  precisely 
the  same  ■manner,  except  that  the  upright 
stakes  are  placed  in  a  circle,  and  not  in  a 
straight  line.  In  order  to  keep  the  wind 
from  blowing  too  freely  into  their  huts,  the 
Kaffirs  make  screens,  which  are  placed  so  as 
to  shelter  the  entrance.  These  screens  are 
made  of  sticks  and  rushes  such  as  the  door 
is  made  of,  only  of  lighter  materials,  and 
their  position  can  be  shifted  with  every 
change  of  wind. 

Some  of  the  permanent  houses  are  built 
with  a  great  amount  of  care,  and  occupy  at 
least  a  month  in  their  construction.  In  most 
of  them  the  interior  view  is  much  the  same, 


KKAAI.. 


61 


namely,  the  domed  roof,  supported  by  four 
posts  "placed  in  the  form  of  a  square,  with 
the  fireplace  exactly  in  the  centre.  The 
natives  will  often  expend  much  time  and 
trouble  iu  decorating;  their  permanent  man- 
sions, and  Mr.  Christie  tells  me  that  he 
has  seen  the  very  posts  thickly  encrusted 
with  lieads.  Of  course  they  soon  become 
blackened  by  the  smoke,  hilt  a  quick  rub  of 
the  palm  of'the  hand  brings  out  the  colors 
anew.  One  of  Dingan's  huts,  which  was 
visited  by  Reticf,  tlie  Dutch  colonist,  was 
most  beautifully  built,  and  supported  by 
twenty-two  pillars,  each  of  which  was  en- 
tirely covered  with  beads. 

The  huts  are,  from  the  nature  of  the  ma- 
terial of  which  they  are  made,  exceedingly 
inflammable,  and  it  sometimes  happens  that 
if  one  of  the  houses  of  a  village  take  fire,  the 
whole  of  them  are  consumed  in  a  very  short 
tim;_'.  Fortunately,  they  are  so  easily  built 
that  the  inconvenience  is  nut  nearly  so  great 
as  .is  the  ease  when  European  houses  are 
burned.  Moreover,  the  furniture  which 
they  contain  is  so  limited  in  quantity  and  so 
simple  in  material,  that  it  can  be  replaced 
witliout  much  difficulty.  A  mat  or  two,  a 
few  baskets,  a  pillow,  a  milking  pail,  one  or 
two  rude  earthenware  pots,  and  a  bundle  of 
assagais,  constitute  an  amount  of  property 
which  is  not  to  be  found  in  every  hut. 

The  huts  of  the  Kaffirs  are  generally  gath- 
ered together  into  little  groups,  which  are 
popularly  called  "  kraals."  This  is  not  a 
Zulu  or  a  Hottentot  word,  and  is  probably  a 
corruption  of  the  word  "  corral."  There 
are  t^YO  modes  of  forming  a  kraal,  and  the 
particular  mode  is  determined  by  the  local- 
ity. The  Kaffir  tribes  generally  like  to 
place  their  kraal  on  the  side  of  a  hill  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  bush,  in  order  that  they  may 
obtain"  plenty  of  building  material.  They 
are,  however,  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
the  principles  of  fortification  to  clear  a  large 
space  around  their  dwellings,  so  that,  in 
case  they  should  be  attacked,  the  enemy 
cannot  conceal  his  movements  from  the 
defenders. 

The  first  care  of  a  Kaffir  is  to  protect  his 
beloved  cows,  and  for  that  purpose  a  circu- 
lar space  is  enclosed  with  a  high  fence, 
made  very  strongly.  The  fence  is  about 
six  or  seven  feet  in  height,  and  is  made  in  a 
simple  and  very  effective  manner.  The 
fence  which  surrounds  the  cattle  and  the 
huts  is  mostly  made  iu  one  of  two  modes  — 
at  all  eventsj  iu  the  more  southern  part  of 
the  country,  where  timber  is  exceedingly 
plentiful.  The  tribes  on  the  north  of  Kaffir- 
land,  who  live  where  timber  is  comparatively 
scarce,  build  their  walls  of  large  stones 
piled  on  one  another,  without  any  mortar, 
or  even  mud,  to  fill  up  the  interstices.  The 
southern  tribes  use  nothing  but  wood,  and 
form  the  walls  by  two  dift'erent  methods. 
That  which  is  commonly  employed  is  very 
simple.     A  number  of  trees  are  felled,  and 


their  trunks  severed  a  few  feet  below  the 
spot  whence  the  branches  spring.  A  great 
number  of  these  tree  tops  are  then  arranged 
in  a  circle,  the  severed  ends  of  the  stems 
being  iuward,  and  the  branches  pointing 
outward.  In  fact,  the  fence  is  exactly  that 
species  of  rapid  and  effective  fortitication 
called,  in  military  language,  an  "  abattis." 
If  the  branches  of  a  tree  are  very  large,  they 
can  be  laid  singly  on  the  ground,  just  as  if 
they  were  the  entire  heads  of  trees. 

In  some  cases,  where  the  kraal  is  more 
carefully  built,  the  fence  is  formed  of  stout 
poles,  which  are  driven  into  the  ground,  in 
a  double  row,  some  three  feet  apart,  and  are 
then  lashed  together  in  such  a  way  that 
their  tops  cross  each  other.  In  consequence 
of  this  arrangement,  the  fence  stands  very 
firmly  on  its  broad  basis,  while  the  crossing 
and  projecting  tops  of  the  poles  form  a  che- 
vaux  defrise  as  effectual  as  any  that  is  made 
by  the  Eurojiean  soldier.  If  the  enemy  try 
to  climb  the  fence,  they  can  be  ■(vounded  by 
spears  thrust  at  them  from  the  interior;  and 
if  they  succeed  in  reaching  the  top,  the 
sharp  tips  of  the  poles  are  ready  to  embarrass 
them. 

The  entrance  to  this  enclosure  is  just  wide 
enough  to  allow  a  cow  to  pass ;  and  in  some 
places,  where  the  neighborhood  is  insecure, 
it  is  so  narrow  that  there  hardly  seems  to  be 
space  enough  for  the  cattle  to  pass  in  and 
out.  Each  night  it  is  carefully  closed  with 
poles  and  sticks,  which  are  kept  just  within 
the  entrance,  so  as  to  be  ready  to  hand  when 
wanted.  Opposite  to  the  entrance,  and  at 
the  further  extremity,  a  small  enclosure, 
also  with  circular  walls,  is  built.  In  this 
pen  the  larger  calves  are  kept,  the  younger 
being  inmates  of  the  huts,  together  with  the 
human  inhabitants.  By  the  side  of  this  en- 
closure a  little  gap  is  left  in  the  fence,  just 
large  enough  for  a  man  to  squeeze  himself 
through,  aud  not  large  enough  to  allow  even 
a  calf  to  pass.  This  little  aperture  is  the 
chiefs  private  door,  and  intended  for  the 
purpose  of  saving  time,  as  otherwise,  if  the 
chief  were  inspecting  his  cattle,  aud  wished 
to  go  to  his  own  hut,  he  would  be  obliged  to 
walk  all  round  the  fence.  The  Zulu  name 
for  the  space  within  this  fence  is  "  isi-baya." 

Around  the  isi-baya  are  set  the  huts 
which  constitute  the  kraal.  Their  number 
is  exceedingly  variable,  but  the  general  av- 
erage is  from  ten  to  fourteen.  Those  which 
are  placed  at  either  side  of  the  entrance  to 
the  isi-baya  are  devoted  to  the  servants, 
while  that  which  is  exactly  opposite  to  it  is 
the  habitation  of  the  chief  man.  There  are 
mostly  agreat  many  kraals  belonging  to  one 
tribe,  and  it  often  happens  that  several 
neighljoring  kraals  are  all  tenanted  I')y  the 
members  of  one  family  and  their  depend- 
ants. For  example,  when  the  son  of  a  chief 
attains  sufficient  consequence  to  possess  sev- 
eral wives  and  a  herd  of  cattle,  he  finds  that 
the  paternal  kraal  is  not  large  enough  to 


62 


THE   KAFFIB. 


afl'ord  to  each  wife  the  separate  hut  to  wliich 
she  is  entitled;  so  lie  migrates  witli  his  fam- 
ily to  a  short  distance,  and  there  builds  a 
kraal  for  himself,  sometimes  so  close  to  that 
of  his  father  that  he  connects  them  b}'  means 
of  a  short  fenced  passage.  The  chief  liut 
may  easily  be  known,  not  only  by  its  posi- 
tion, but  by  its  larger  dimensions.  Some  of 
the  other  huts  are  occupied  by  married  men, 
some  by  his  wives,  some  by  his  servants: 
while  at  leastone  hut  is  reserved  for  the  use 
of  tlie  unmarried  men,  or  "  boys,"  as  they  are 
called. 

This  is  all  that  is  needed  to  complete  a 
kraal, ;.  e.  the  circular  isi-baya,  and  the  huts 
round  it.  But,  in  situations  where  plenty 
of  wood  can  be  found,  the  KafHr  archi- 
tect erects  a  second  fence,  which  encloses 
all  the  huts,  as  well  as  the  isi-baya,  and  has 
its  entrance  in  exactly  the  same  position, 
»'.  e.  opijosite  to  the  chiet"s  hut.  The  dis- 
tant view  of  one  of  these  doubly-fenced 
kraals,  when  it  happens  to  be  situated  on 
the  slope  of  a  hill,  is  extremely  curious, 
and  would  scarcely  give  a  stranger  an  idea 
of  a  village. 

It  will  be  seen  in  an  engraving  oppo- 
site, that  the  central  portion  of  the  kraal  is 
given  to  the  isa-baya,  and  that  the  Kaffirs 
devote  all  their  energies  toward  preserv- 
ing their  cows,  while  they  seem  to  look 
with  comparative  indifference  on  the  risk 
of  exposing  themselves  or  their  fragile  huts 
to  the  inroads  of  the  enemy.  As  has  al- 
ready been  stated,  the  size  of  the  kraal 
varies  with  the  wealth  and  rank  of  its  chief 
man,  and,  owing  to  its  mode  of  construc- 
tion, can  be  gradually  enlarged  as  he  rises 
to  higher  dignities  and  the  possession  of 
more'cattle.  In  shape,  however,  and  the 
princi])le  of  construction,  kraals  are  alike, 
that  of  the  king  himself  and  the  newly- 
made  kraal  of  a  younger  son  being  exactly 
the  same  in  these  respects. 

The  king's  kraals,  however,  are  of  enor- 
mous dimensions,  and  are  several  in  num- 
ber. Panda,  for  example,  has  one  kraal, 
the  central  enclosure  of  which  is  nearly 
a  mile  in  diameter.  This  enclosure  is  sup- 
posed to  be  filled  with  the  monarch's  cows, 
and  is  consequently  called  by  the  name  of 
isi-baya.  Practically,  however,  the  cattle  are 
kept  in  smaller  enclosures,  arranged  along 
the  sides  of  the  isi-baya,  where  they  can 
be  watched  by  those  who  have  the  charge 
of  them,  and  whose  huts  are  placed  conven- 
iently for  that  purpose.  The  vast  central 
enclosure  is  used  almost  exclusivelj'  as  a  pa- 
rade ground,  where  the  king  can  review  his 
ti'oops,  and  where  they  are  taught  to  go 
through  the  simple  man(jeuvres  of  Kaffir 
warfare.  Here,  akso,  he  may  be  seen  in 
council,  the  isi-baya  being  able  to  accom- 
modate an  unlimited  number  of  suitors. 

Around  the  isi-baya  are  arranged  the 
huts  of  the  warriors  and  their  families, 
and  are  placed  in  four   or  even  five-fold 


ranks;  so  that  the  kraal  almost  rises  to  the 
dignity  of  a  town,  having  several  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  presenting  a  singularly 
imposing  appearance  when  viewed  at  a  dis- 
tance. At  the  upper  portion  of  the  kraal, 
and  at  the  further  end  from  the  principal 
entrance,  are  the  huts  specially  erected  for 
the  king,  surrounded  by  the"  other  huts 
containing  his  harem.  The  whole  of  this 
part  of  the  kraal  is  separated  from  the  re- 
mainder by  lofty  and  strong  fences,  and  its 
doors  are  kept  by  sentinels  especially  set 
aside  for  this  purpose.  In  some  cases,  the 
warriors  to  whom  this  important  duty  is 
confided  are  not  permitted  to  wear  clothes 
of  any  kind,  and  are  compelled  to  jjass  the 
whole  of  the  time,  day  and  niglit,  when 
on  guard,  without  even  a  kaross  to  cover 
them.  This  rule  lies  rather  heavily  ujion 
them  in  the  winter  nights,  when  the"  cold  is 
often  severe,  and  the  wind  sweeps  ehillily 
around  the  fence  of  the  isi-baj'a. 

However,  the  J'oung  ladies  will  some- 
times contrive  to  evade  the  vigilance  of 
the  sentries,  when  their  attention  is  other- 
wise engaged,  as  is  amusingly  shown  in 
a  few  remarks  by  Mr.  Angas.  He  had 
gone  by  Panda's  invitation  to  see  him  at 
one  of  his  great  kraals:  —  "Last  night  we 
slept  at  the  new  military  kraal,  or  garrison 
town,  of  Indabakaumbi,  whither  the  king 
had  sent  word  by  message  that  he  would 
be  waiting  to  receive  us.  The  lukosikasi, 
or  queen,  of  the  kraal  sent  us  a  small 
quantity  of  thick  milk  and  a  jar  of  millet, 
and  soon  afterward  made  her  appearance, 
holding  two  of  the  king's  children  by  the 
hand,  for  whom  she  requested  a  present 
of  beads.  The  children  were  remarkably 
pretty,  nicely  oiled,  and  tastefully  decorated 
with  girdles  of  blue  and  scarlet  beads.  The 
old  ladj',  on  the  contrary,  was  so  alarmingly 
stout,  that  it  seemed  almost  impossible 
for  lier  to  walk;  and  that  it  required  some 
considerable  time  for  her  to  regain  the 
harem  at  the  upper  end  of  the  kraal  was 
made  manifest  by  some  fifty  of  the  king's 
girls  ett'ecting  their  escape  from  the  rear 
of  the  seraglio,  and  sallying  down  the  slope 
to  stare  at  us  as  we  rode  away  fi-om  the 
kraal.  The  agilit}'  of  the  young  ladies, 
as  they  sprang  from  rock  to  rock,  convinced 
us  that  thej'  would  be  all  quietly  sitting 
in  the  harem,  as  though  nothing  had  hap- 
pened, long  before  the  Inkosikasi  gained 
her  dwelling." 

At  that  time  Panda  had  thirteen  of  these 
great  military  kraals,  each  serving  as  the 
military  capital  of  a  district,  and  he  had 
just  completed  a  fourteenth.  He  takes  up 
ids  residence  in  these  kraals  successively, 
and  finds  in  each  everything  that  he  can 
possibly  want  —  each  being,  indeed,  almost 
identical  in  every  respect  with  all  the 
others.  As  a  general  rule,  each  of  these 
military  kraals  forms  the  residence  of  a 
single  regiment;  while  the  king  has  many 


(2)  KAFIIR  KKAVL     (Sec  pnjL  0.  ) 
(63) 


HAREM  AND   ITS  GUAEDIAJSTS. 


65 


others,  which  are  devoted  to  more  peaceful 
objects. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
women  live  in  a  portion  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  Itraal,  and  it  may  almost  be  said 
that  they  reside  in  a  small  supplementary 
ki-aal,  which  communicates  by  gates  with 
the  chief  edifice.  As  the  gates  ai-e  strongly 
barred  at  night,  it  is  necessary  that  the  sen- 
tinel should  enter  the  sacred  precincts  of 
the  harem,  for  the  purpose  of  closing  them 
at  niglit,  and  opening  them  in  the  morning. 
For  this  purpose,  certain  individuals  of  the 
sentinels  are  told  off,  and  to  them  alone 
is  the  delicate  duty  confided.  The  Kaffir 
despot  does  not  employ  for  this  purpose 
the  unfortunate  individuals  who  guard  the 
harems   in    Turkey,  Persia,  and    even  in 


Western  Africa.  But  the  king  takes  care 
to  select  men  who  are  particularly  ill-fa- 
vored; and  if  any  of  them  should  happen 
to  be  deformed,  he  is  sure  to  be  chosen  as  a 
janitor.  Mr.  Shooter's  servant,  when  talk- 
ing with  his  master  on  the  subject,  men- 
tioned several  individuals  who  would  make 
excellent  janitors.  One  of  them  had  a 
club-foot,  another  had  a  very  protuberant 
chest,  while  a  third  had  bad  eyes,  and  was 
altogether  so  ugly  that  he  would  never  suc- 
ceed in  procuring  a  wife.  The  matrimonial 
adventures  of  this  man  will  be  narrated  in 
a  future  page.  His  uniform  failures  in  pro- 
curing a  legitimate  wife  were  exceedingly 
ludicrous  and  mortifying,  and  quite  justified 
the  opinion  expressed  by  his  companion. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CATTLE  KEEPrSTG. 


THE  ISI-BATA  AND  ITS  PRrVTLEGES  —  MILKING  COWS  —  THE  CURIOUS  MILK  PAH,  —  MODE  OF  MAKENO  IT 
—  A  MTLKING  SCENE,  AND  THE  VAEIOUS  PERSONAGES  EJIPLOYED  IN  IT  —  PKECAUTIONS  TAKEN 
WITH  A  RESTIVE  COW  —  KAFFIR  COW  WHISTLES  —  CHIEFS  AND  THEIK  CATTLE  —  MANAGEMENT 
OF  THE  HERDS,  AND  CATTLE  "LIFTING" — A  COW  THE  UNIT  OF  KAFFIR  CURRENCY  —  A  KAFFTR'S 
WEALTH,  AND  THE  USES  TO  WHICH  IT  IS  PUT  —  A  KAFFIR  ROB  ROY  —  ADVENTURES  OF  DUTULU, 
HIS  EXPLOITS,  HIS  ESCAPES,  AND  HIS  DEATH  —  ODD  METHOD  OF  ORNAMENTING  COWS  —  LE  VAIL- 
LANT's  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  METHODS  EMPLOYED  IN  DECORATING  THE  CATTLE  —  HOW  OBSTINATE 
COWS  ARE  FORCED  TO  GIVE  THEIR  MILK — A  KAFFIR  HOMESTEAD  —  VARIOUS  USES  OF  CATTLE  — 
HOW  MILK  IS  PREPARED — "aMASI,"  OR  THICKENED  UHLK  —  OTHER  USES  FOB  CATTLE  —  THE  SAD- 
DLE AND  PACK  OXEN  —  HOW  THEY  ARE  LADEN  AND  GIRTHED. 


The  isi-baj^a  is  quite  a  sacred  spot  to  a 
Kaffir,  and  in  many  tribes  the  women  are  so 
strictly  prohibited  from  entering  it,  that  if 
even  the  favorite  wife  were  discovered  witliin 
its  precincts  she  would  have  but  a  very  poor 
chance  of  her  life. 

During  the  day-time  the  herd  are  out  at 
pasture,  watched  by  "  boys  "  appointed  to  this 
important  office,  but  when  night  approaches, 
or  if  there  is  any  indication  of  danger  from 
enemies,  the  cows  are  driven  into  the  isi- 
baya,  and  tlie  entrances  firmly  barred.  It  is 
mostly  in  this  enclosure  that  the  cattle  are 
milked,  this  operation  being  always  intrusted 
to  the  men.  Indeed,  as  is  well  observed  by 
Mr.  Shooter,  milking  his  cows  is  the  only 
work  that  a  Kaffir  really  likes.  About  ten 
in  the  morning  the  cattle  are  taken  into  the 
isi-baya,  and  ^he  Kaffir  proceeds  to  milk 
them.  He  takes  with  him  his  milk  pail, 
an  article  very  unlike  that  which  is  in 
use  in  Europe.  It  is  carved  out  of  a  solid 
piece  of  wood,  and  has  a  comparatively  small 
opening.  The  specimen  from  which  the 
figure  on  page  67  is  drawn  was  brought  to 
England  by  Mr.  Shooter,  and  is  now  before 
me.  It  is  rather  more  than  seventeen 
inches  in  length,  and  is  four  inches  wide  at 
the  top,  and  six  inches  near  the  bottom.  In 
interior  measurement  it  is  only  fourteen 
inches  deep,  so  that  three  inches  of  solid 
wood  are  left  at  the  bottom.  Its  capacity 
is  not  very  great,  as  the  Kaffir  cow  does  not 

five  nearly  as  much  milk  as  the  cows  of  an 
Inglish  farmyard.  Toward  the  top  are  two 
projecting  ears,  which  enable  the  milker  to 
hold  it  firmly  between  the  knees. 


(66) 


In  hollowing  out  the  interior  of  the  pail, 
the  Kaffir  employs  a  rather  ingenious  de- 
vice. Instead  of  holding  it  between  his 
knees,  as  he  does  when  shaping  and  orna- 
menting the  exterior,  he  digs  a  hole  in  the 
ground,  and  buries  the  pail  as  far  as  the  two 
projecting  ears.  He  then  has  both  his 
hands  at  liberty,  and  can  use  more  force  than 
if  he  were  oliliged  to  trust  to  the  compara- 
tively slight  hold  afforded  by  the  knees.  Of 
course  he  sits  down  while  at  work,  for  a  Kaffir, 
like  all  other  savages,  has  the  very  strongest 
objection  to  needless  labor,  and  will  never 
stand  when  he  has  any  opportunity  of  sit- 
ting. It  will  be  seen  that  the  pail  is  not 
capable  of  holding  much  more  than  the 
quantity  which  a  good  cow  ought  to  yield, 
and  when  the  Kaffir  has  done  with  one  cow, 
he  pours  the  milk  into  a  large  receptacle,  and 
then  goes  oft'  with  his  empty  pail  to  another 
cow  for  a  fresh  supply. 

The  scene  that  presents  itself  in  the  isi- 
baya  is  a  very  singular  one,  and  strikes 
oddly  upon  European  ears,  as  well  as  ej-es. 
In  the  first  place,  the  figure  of  the  milker 
is  calculated  to  present  an  aspect  equally 
strange  and  ludicrous.  Perfectly  naked,  with 
the  exception  of  the  smallest  imaginable 
apology  for  a  garment,  adorned  with  strings 
of  beads  that  contrast  boldly  with  his  red- 
black  skin,  and  with  his  head  devoid  of  hair, 
except  the  oval  ring  which  denotes  his  ]iosi- 
tion  as  a  married  "  man,"  the  Kaffir  sits  on 
the  ground,  his  knees  on  a  level  with  his 
chin,  and  the  queer-looking  milk  pail  grasped 
between  them. 

Then  we  have  the  spectacle  of  the  calf  try- 


A  MILKING   SCENE. 


67 


ing  to  eject  the  milker,  and  being  contin- 
ually kept  away  from  her  mother  by  a  young 
boy  armed  with  a  stick.  And,  in  cases 
where  the  cow  is  vicious,  a  third  individual 
is  employed,  who  holds  the  cow  by  her  horns 
with  one  hand,  and  grasps  her  nostrils  (irmly 
with  the  other.  As  soon  as  the  supply  of 
milk  ceases,  the  calf  is  allowed  to  apiiroach 
its  mother  and  suck  for  a  short  time,  after 
which  it  is  driven  away,  and  the  man  re- 
sumes his  place.  Cattle  are  milked  twice  in 
the  day,  the  second  time  being  at  sunset, 
when  they  are  brought  home  for  the  night. 
Generally,  however,  a  cow  will  stand  still  to 


of  universal  cow  language,  in  which  every 
dairy-maid  and  farmyar(l  laliorer  is  versed, 
and  which  is  not  easily  learned  by  an  unin- 
itiate.  But  the  Kaffir,  who  is  naturally  an 
adept  at  shouting  and  yelling,  encourages 
the  cow  by  all  the  varied'screams  at  his  com- 
mand, mixed  with  loud  whistles  and  tender 
words  of  admiration.  One  consequence  of 
this  curious  proceeding  is,  tliat  the  cows 
have  always  been  so  accustomed  to  associate 
these  sounds  with  the  process  of  being 
milked,  that  when  an  Englishman  buys 
cows  he  is  obliged  to  have  a  Katttr  to  milk 
them,  no  white  "man  being  able  to  produeu 


i§: rm 


1.  milki^nG  pail. 


BEER-BOWL.    3.  BEER-STRAINBR.    4.  WATER-PIPE. 
5.  WOMAN'S  BASKET. 


be  milked,  as  is  the  case  with  our  own  cat- 
tle, and  in  that  case  no  precaution  is  needed, 
except  that  of  putting  through  the  nose  a 
stick  of  some  eighteen  inches  in  length. 
The  cattle  know  by  experience  that  if 
this  is  grasped  and  twisted  it  gives  great 
pain,  and  so  they  prefer  to  remain  quiet. 
The  hole  in  the  nose  is  made  at  a  very  early 
age- 
So  much  for  the  strangeness  of  the  sight, 
which  is  very  unlike  a  corresponding  scene 
in  an  English  farmyard.  The  Kaffir  is 
never  silent  while  milking  his  cows,  but 
thinks  it  necessary  to  utter  a  series  of  the 
oddest  sounds  that  ever  greeted  mortal  ears. 
Even  in  England  there  seems  to  be  a  kind 


those  cries,  screams,  and  whistles  to  which 
they  have  always  been  accustomed. 

In  driving  the  cattle,  and  in  calling  them 
from  a  distance,  the  Kaffir  makes  great  use 
of  whistling,  an  art  in  which  he  excels. 
With  his  lips  alone  he  can  produce  the  most 
extraordinary  sounds,  and  by  the  aid  of  his 
fingers  he  can  whistle  so  loudly  as  to  half 
deafen  any  one  who  may  be  near.  Some- 
times, however,  he  has  recourse  to  art,  and 
makes  whistles  of  great  efficacy,  though  of 
simple  construction.  They  are  made  of  lione, 
or  ivory,  and  are  used  by  being  held  to  the 
lower  lip,  and  sounded  exactly  as  we  blow  a 
key  when  we  wish  to  ascertain  whether  it  is 
clear. 


68 


THE  KAFFIB. 


The  chiefs  who  possess  many  oxen  are 
very  fastidious  about  tiiem,  and  liave  an  odd 
fancy  of  asscml)ling  them  in  herds,  iu  wliicli 
every  animal  is  of  tlie  same  color.  Tiie 
oxen  also  undergo  a  sort  of  training,  as  was 
remarked  by  Relief,  who  was  killed  in  battle 
with  Dingan,  the  Zulu  king.  He  paid  a 
visit  to  that  treacherous  despot,  and  was  en- 
tertained by  dances  in  which  the  cattle  had 
been  trained  to  assist.  ''  In  one  dance,"'  he 
says,  "  the  people  were  intermixed  with  one 
hundred  and  seventy-six  oxen,  all  without 
liorns,  and  of  one  color.  They  have  long 
strips  of  skin  hanging  pendent  from  the 
forehead,  cheeks,  shoulders,  and  under  the 
throat;  these  strips  being  cut  from  the  hide 
when  the  animals  are  calves.  These  oxen 
are  divided  into  two  and  three  among  the 
whole  army,  which  then  dance  in  companies, 
each  with  its  attendant  oxen.  In  this  way 
they  all  in  turn  approach  the  king,  the  oxen 
turning  off  into  a  kraal,  and  then  manteu- 
vring  in  a  line  from  the  king.  It  is  surprising 
that  the  oxen  should  be  so  well  trained;  for, 
notwithstanding  all  the  startling  and  yelling 
which  accompany  the  dance,  they  never 
move  faster  than  a  slow  walking  pace. 
Dingan  showed  me,  as  he  said,  his  smallest 
herd  of  oxen,  all  alike,  and  with  white  backs. 
He  allowedtwoof  my  people  to  count  them, 
and  the  enumeration  amounted  to  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  twenty-four.  I  am 
informed  that  his  herds  of  red  and  black 
oxen  consist  of  three  to  four  thousand  each." 
I  may  here  mention  casually,  that  the  same 
fashion  of  keeping  animals  of  similar  colors 
in  separate  herds  is  in  force  in  South  Amer- 
ica, among  the  owners  of  the  vast  herds 
of  horses  which  thrive  so  well  in  that 
country. 

The  Kaffirs  manage  their  cattle  with  won- 
derful skill,  and  the  animals  perfectly  un- 
derstand the  meaning  of  the  cries  with 
which  they  are  assailed.  Consequently,  it 
is  almost  as  difficult  for  an  Englishman  to 
drive  his  cows  as  to  milk  them,  and  assist- 
ance has  to  be  sought  from  the  natives. 
This  noisy  method  of  cattle  driving  is  the 
source  of  much  difficulty  to  the  soldiers, 
when  they  have  been  sent  to  recover  cattle 
stolen  by  those  inveterate  thieves,  the  Kaffir 
tribes,  who  look  upon  the  cattle  of  the  white 
man  as  their  legitimate  prize,  and  are  con- 
stantly on  the  look-out  for  them.  Indeed, 
they  enact  at  the  present  day  that  extinct 
phase  of  Scottish  life  when  the  inhabitants 
(if  the  Highlands  stole  the  cattle  of  the  Low- 
landers,  and  euphemistically  described  the 
operation  as  "  lifting;"  themselves  not  being 
by  any  means  thieves,  but  "  gentleman 
drovers,"  very  punctilious  in  point  of  honor, 
and  thinking  themselves  as  good  gentlemen 
as  any  in  the  land. 

The  cow  constitutes  now,  in  fact,  the 
wealth  of  the  Kaffir,  just  as  was  the  case  in 
the  early  patriarchal  days.  Among  those 
tribes  which  are  not  brought  into  connection 


with  the  white  man,  money  is  of  no  value, 
and  all  wealth  is  measured  by  cows.  One  of 
the  great  inland  chiefs,  when  asking  about 
the  Queen  of  England,  was  naturally  desir- 
ous of  hearing  how  many  cattle  slie  pos- 
sessed, and  on  hearing  that  many  of  her  sub- 
jects had  more  cows  than  herself,  conceived 
a  very  mean  o]:iinion  of  her  power.  He 
counted  his  cattle  by  the  thousand,  and  if 
any  inferior  chief  had  dared  to  rival  him  in 
his  wealth,  that  chief  would  very  soon  be  in- 
capacitated from  possessing  anything  at  all, 
while  his  cattle  would  swell  the  number  of 
the  royal  herds.  His  idea  was,  that  even  if 
her  jiredecessor  had  bequeathed  so  poor  a 
throne  to  her,  she  ought  to  assert  her  dig. 
nity  by  seizing  that  wealth  which  she  had 
not  been  fortunate  enough  to  inherit. 

The  cow  is  the  unit  of  money.  The 
cost  of  anything  that  is  peculiarly  valuable 
is  reckoned  by  the  number  of  cows  that  it 
would  fetch  if  sold,  and  even  the  women 
are  reckoned  by  this  standard,  eight  cows 
equalling  one  woman,  just  as  twelve  penes 
equal  one  shilling.  Most  of  the  wars  which 
devastate'  Southern  Africa  are  caused  en- 
tirely by  the  desire  of  one  man  to  seize  the 
herds  that  belong  to  another,  and  when  the 
white  man  is  engaged  in  African  warfare, 
he  is  perforce  obliged  to  wage  it  on  the 
same  principle.  During  the  late  Kaffir  war, 
the  reports  of  the  uewsjjapers  had  a  singu- 
larly unimposing  appearance.  The  burden 
of  their  song  was  invariably  cows.  General 
Blank  had  advanced  so  far  into  the  enemy's 
country,  and  driven  oft'  live  thousand  head 
of  cattle.  Or  perhaps  the  case  was  re- 
versed; the  position  of  the  European  troops 
had  been  suddenly  surprised,  and  several 
thousand  cattle  stolen.  In  fact,  it  seemed 
to  be  a  war  solely  about  cattle,  and,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  that  was  necessarily  the  case. 
The  cattle  formed  not  only  the  wealth  of 
the  enemy,  but  his  resources,  so  that  there 
was  no  better  way  of  bringing  him  to  terms 
than  by  cutting  off  his  commissariat,  and 
preventing  the  rebellious  chiefs  from  main- 
taining their  armed  forces.  "We  had  no 
wish  to  kill  the  Kaffirs  themselves,  but 
merely  that  they  should  be  taught  not  to 
meddle  with  us,  and  there  was  no  better 
way  of  doing  so  than  by  touching  them  on 
their  tenderest  point. 

The  greatest  ambition  of  a  Kaffir  is  to 
possess  cattle,  inasmuch  as  their  owner  can 
command  every  luxury  which  a  savage  mil- 
lionnaire  desires.  He  can  eat  beef  and 
drink  sour  milk  every  day;  he  can  buy  as 
many  wives  as  he  likes,  at  the  current  price 
of  eight  to  fourteen  cows  each,  according  to 
the  tiuctuation  of  the  market;  he  can  make 
all  kinds  of  useful  articles  out  of  the  hides; 
he  can  lubricate  himself  with  fot  to  his 
heart's  content,  and  he  can  decorate  his 
sable  person  with  the  flowing  tails.  With 
plenty  of  cattle,  he  can  set  himself  up  as  a 
great  man;  and,  the  more  cattle  he  has,  the 


A  KAFFIR  ROB  ROY. 


69 


greater  man  he  becomes.  Instead  of  being 
a  mere  "  boy,"  Imng  with  a  number  of 
other  "  boys"  in  one  hut,  he  becomes  a 
'•  man,"  shaves  his  head,  assumes  the  proud 
bad'^e  of  manhood,  and  lias  a  hut  to  him- 
self."" As  his  cattle  increase,  he  adds  more 
wives  to  his  stock,  builds  separate  huts  for 
them,  has  a  kraal  of  his  own,  becomes  the 
"umnumzana,"  or  great  man  — a  term 
fibout  equivalent  to  the  familiar  "  Burra 
Sahib  "  of  Indian  life  — and  may  expect  to 
be  addressed  by  strange  boys  as  "  inkosi," 
or  chief  Should  his  cattle  prosper,  he  gath- 
ers round  him  the  young  men  who  are  .still 
poor,  and  who  are  "attracted  by  his  wealth, 
and  the  hope  of  eating  beef  at  his  cost. 
lie  assigns  huts  to  them  within  his  kraal, 
and  thus  possesses  an  armed  guard  who  will 
take  care  of  his  cherished  cattle.  Indeed, 
Kuch  a  precaution  is  absolutely  necessary. 
In  Africa,  as  well  as  in  Europe,  wealth 
creates  envy,  and  a  man  who  has  succeeded 
in  gathering  it  knows  full  well  that  there 
are  plenty  who  will  do  their  best  to  take  it 
away.  Sometimes  a  more  powerful  man 
will  openly  assault  his  kraal,  but  stratagem 
is  more  frequently  emploved  than  open  vio- 
lence, and  there  are  in  ever}-  tribe  certain 
old  and  crafty  cattle-stealers,  who  have  sur- 
vived the  varied  dangers  of  such  a  life,  and 
who  know  every  ruse  that  can  be  em- 
ployed. 

There  is  a  story  of  one  of  these  men, 
named  Dutulu,  who  seems  to  have  been  a 
kind  of  Kaffir  Rob  Roy.  He  always  em- 
ployed a  mixture  of  artifice  and  force.  He 
used  to  set  off  for  the  kraal  which  he  in- 
tended to  rob,  and,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
conti'ived  to  place  some  of  his  assistants  by 
the  entrance  of  the  huts.  Another  assistant 
then  quietly  removed  the  cattle  from  the 
isi-bava,  while  he  directed  the  operations. 
Dutuiu  then  caused  an  alarm  to  be  made, 
and  as  the  inmates  crept  out  to  see  what 
was  thf  matter,  they  were  speared  by  the 
sentinels  at  the  entrance.  "N"ot  one  was 
spared.  The  men  were  killed  lest  they 
should  resist,  and  the  women  lest  they 
should  give  the  alarm.  Even  when  he  had 
carried  off  the  cattle,  his  anxieties  were  not 
at  an  end,  for  cattle  cannot  be  moved  very 
fast,  and  they  are  not  easily  conceiUsd.  But 
Dutulu  was  a  man  not  to  be  baffled,  and  he 
almost  invariably  succeeded  in  reaching 
home  with  his  spoil.  He  never,  in  the  first 
instance,  .allowed  the  cattle  to  be  driven  in 
the  direction  wliichhe  intended  to  take.  He 
used  to  have  them  driven  repeatedly  over 
the  same  spot,  so  as  to  mix  the  tracks  and 
bewilder  the  men  who  were  sure  to  follow*'. 
More  than  once  he  baffled  pursuit  by  taking 
his  stolen  herd  back  again,  and  keeping  il 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  des- 
olated kraal,  calculating  rightly  that  the 
pursuers  would  follow  him  in  the  direction 
of  his  own  home. 

The  man's  cunning  and  audacity  were 


boundless.  On  one  occasion,  his  own  kraal 
was  attacked,  but  Dutulu  was  far  too  clever 
to  fall  into  the  trap  which  he  had  so  often 
set  for  others.  Instead  of  crawling  out  of 
his  hut  and  getting  himself  speared,  he 
rolled  up  his  leather  mantle,  and  pushed  it 
through  the  door.  As  he  had  anticipated, 
it  was  mistaken  in  the  semi-darkness  for  a 
man,  and  was  instantly  pierced  with  a  spear. 
While  the  weapon  was  still  entangled  in  the 
kaross,  Dutulu  darted  from  his  hut,  sprang 
to  the  entrance  of  his  isi-baya  fully  armeil, 
and  drove  off  the  outwitted  assailants. 
Even  in  his  old  age  his  audacity  did  not 
desert  him,  and  he  actually  determined  on 
stealing  a  herd  of  cattle  in  the  day-time. 
Ko  one  daredto  join  him,  but  he  determined 
on  carrying  out  his  desperate  intention  sin- 
gle-hauded.  He  succeeded  in  driving  the 
herd  to  some  distance,  but  was  discovered, 
pursued,  and  surrounded  by  the  enemy. 
Although  one  against  many,  he  fought  his 
foes  bravely,  and,  although  severely  wounded, 
succeeded  in  escaping  into  the  bush,  where 
they  dared  not  follow  him. 

Undeterred  by  this  adventure,  he  had  no 
sooner  recovered  than  he  planned  another 
cattle-stealing  expedition.  His  chief  dissua- 
ded him  from  the  undertaking,  urging  that 
he  had  quite  enough  cattle,  that  he  had  been 
seriously  wounded,  and  that  he  was  becom- 
ing too  old.  The  ruling  passion  was,  how- 
ever, too  strong  to  be  resisted,  and  Dutulu 
attacked  a  kraal  on  his  old  plan,  letting  the 
cattle  be  driven  in  one  direction,  killing  as 
many  enemies  as  he  could,  and  then  running 
off  on  the  opposite  side  to  that  which  had 
been  taken  by  the  cattle,  so  as  to  decoy  his 
pursuers  in  a  wrong  direction.  However, 
his  advanced  years,  and  perhaps  his  recent 
wounds,  had  impaired  his  speed,  and  as 
there  was  no  bush  at  hand,  he  dashed  info 
a  morass,  and  crouched  beneath  the  wafer. 
His  enemies  dared  not  follow  him,  but  sur- 
rounded the  spot,  and  hurled  their  assagais 
at  him.  They  did  him  no  harm,  because  he 
protected  his  head  with  his  shield,  but  he 
could  not  endure  the  long  immersion.  So, 
finding  that  his  strength  was  failing,  he  sud- 
denly left  the  morass,  and  dashed  at  liis  ene- 
mies, hoping  that  he  might  force  his  way 
through  them.  He  did  succeed  in  killing 
several  of  them,  and  in  passing  their  line, 
but  he  could  not  run  fast  enough  to  escape, 
and  was  overtaken  and  killed.. 

So,  knowing  that  men  of  a  similar  charac- 
ter are  hankering  after  his  herd,  their  dusky 
owner  is  only  too  glad  to  have  a  number  of 
young  men  who  will  guard  his  cattle  from 
such  cunning  enemies. 

The  love  that  a  Kaffir  has  for  his  cattle 
induces  him  to  ornament  them  in  various 
ways,  some  of  which  must  entail  no  little 
suffering  ujion  them.  To  this,  however,  he 
is  quite  indifferent,  often  causing  frightful 
tortures  to  the  animals  which  he  loves,  not 
from  the  least  desire  of  hurting  them,  bui 


70 


THE  KATFIR. 


from  the  utter  unconcern  as  to  inflicting 
pain  which  is  characteristic  of  tlie  savage, 
in  whatever  part  of  the  eartli  he  may  Ije. 
He  trims  the  ears  of  tlie  cows  into  all  kinds 
of  odd  shapes,  one  of  the  favorite  patterns 
being  that  of  a  leaf  with  deeply  serrated 
edges.  He  gatliers  up  bunches  of  the  skin, 
generally  upon  the  head,  ties  string  tightly 
round  them,  and  so  forms  a  series  of  pro- 
jecting knots  of  various  sizes  and  shapes. 
He  cuts  strips  of  hide  from  various  parts  ot 
the  body,  especially  the  head  and  face,  and 
lets  them  hang  down  as  lappets.  He  cuts 
the  dewlap  and  makes  fringes  of  it,  and  all 
without  the  least  notion  that  he  is  causing 
the  poor  animal  to  suffer  tortures. 

But,  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  he  lav- 
ishes his  powers  on  the  horns.  Among  us 
the  horn  does  not  seem  capable  of  much 
modification,  but  a  Kaffir,  skilful  in  his  art, 
can  never  lie  content  to  leave  the  horus  as 
they  are.  He  will  cause  one  liorn  to  pro- 
ject forward  and  another  backward,  and  he 
will  train  one  to  grow  upright,  and  the 
other  pointing  to  the  ground.  Sometimes 
he  observes  a  kind  of  .symmetry,  and  has 
both  horus  bent  with  their  points  nearlj' 
touching  the  shoulders,  or  trains  them  so 
that  their  tips  meet  above,  and  they  form 
an  arch  over  their  head.  Now  and  then  an 
ox  is  seen  in  which  a  most  singular  effect 
has  been  produced.  As  the  horns  of  the 
young  ox  sprout  they  are  trained  over  the 
forehead  until  the  points  meet.  They  are 
then  manipulated  so  as  to  make  them  coa- 
lesce, and  so  shoot  upward  from  the  middle 
of  the  forehead,  like  the  horn  of  the  fabled 
unicorn. 

Le  Vaillant  mentions  this  curious  mode 
of  decorating  the  cattle,  and  carefully  de- 
scribes the  process  by  which  it  is  performed. 
"  I  had  not  yet  taken  a  near  view  of  the 
horned  cattle  which  they  brought  with  them, 
because  at  break  of  day  they  strayed  to  the 
thickets  and  pastures,  and  were  not  lirought 
back  by  their  keepers  until  the  evening. 
One  day,  however,  having  rejiaired  to  their 
kraal  very  early,  I  was  much  surprised  when 
I  first  beheld  one  of  these  animals.  I 
scarcely  knew  them  to  be  oxen  and  cows, 
not  only  on  account  of  their  being  much 
smaller  than  ours,  since  I  observed  in  them 
the  same  form  and  the  "same  fundamental 
character,  in  which  I  could  not  be  deceived, 
but  on  account  of  the  multiplicity  of  their 
horns,  and  the  variety  of  their  different 
twistings.  They  had  a  great  resemblance 
to  those  marine  productions  known  by  nat- 
uralists under  the  name  of  stag's  horns. 
Being  at  this  time  persuaded  that  these  con- 
cretions, of  which  I  had  no  idea,  were  a 
peculiar  present  of  nature,  I  considered  the 
Kaffir  oxen  as  a  variety  of  the  species,  but 
I  was  undeceived  by  my  guide,  who  informed 
me  that  this  singularity  was  only  the  efl'ect 
of  their  invention  and  taste;  and  that,  by 
means  of  a  process  with  which  they  were 


well  acquainted,  they  could  not  only  multi- 
ply these  horns,  but  also  give  them  any 
form  that  their  imaginations  might  suggest. 
Having  offered  to  exhibit  their  skill  in  my 
presence,  if  I  had  any  desire  of  learning 
their  method,  it  appeared  to  me  so  new  and 
uncommon,  that  I  was  willing  to  secure  an 
opportunity,  and  for  several  days  I  attended 
a  regular  course  of  lessons  on  this  subject. 

"  They  take  the  animal  at  as  tender  an 
age  as  possible,  and  when  the  horns  begin 
to  appear  the}'  make  a  small  vertical  incision 
in  them  with  a  saw,  or  any  other  instrument 
that  may  be  substituted  for  it,  and  divide 
them  into  two  parts.  This  division  makes 
the  horns,  yet  tender,  separate  of  them- 
selves, so  that  in  time  tbe  animal  has  four 
very  distinct  ones.  If  they  wish  to  have 
six,  or  even  more,  similar  notches  made  with 
the  saw  produce  as  many  as  may  be  re- 
quired. But  if  they  are  desirous  of  forcing 
one  of  these  divisions  in  the  whole  horn  to 
form,  for  example,  a  complete  circle,  they 
cut  away  from  the  point,  which  must  not  he 
hurt,  a  small  part  of  its  thickness,  and  this 
amputation,  often  renewed,  and  with  nuich 
patience,  makes  the  horn  bend  in  a  con- 
trary direction,  and,  the  point  meeting  the 
root,  it  exhibits  the  appearance  of  a  perfect 
circle.  As  it  is  certain  that  incision  always 
causes  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  bending, 
it  may  be  readily  conceived  that  every  vari- 
ationthat  caprice  can  imagine  may  be  pro- 
duced by  this  simple  method.  In  short,  one 
must  be  born  a  Kaffir,  and  have  his  taste 
and  patience,  to  sulimit  to  that  minute  care 
and  unwearied  attention  required  for  this 
operation,  which  in  Kaflirland  can  only  be 
useless,  but  in  other  climates  would  be  hurt- 
ful. For  the  horn,  thus  disfigured,  would 
become  weak,  whereas,  when  preserved 
strong  and  entire,  it  keeps  at  a  distance  the 
famished  bears  and  wolves  of  Europe." 
The  reader  must  remember  that  the  words 
refer  to  France,  and  that  the  date  of  Le 
Vaillant's  travels  was  1780-85. 

The  same  traveller  mentions  an  Ingenious 
method  emploved  bv  the  Kaffirs  when  a  cow 
is  bad-tempered,  and  will  not  give  her  milk 
freely.  A  rope  is  tied  to  one  of  the  hind 
feet,  and  a  man  hauls  the  foot  off  the  ground 
by  means  of  the  rope.  The  cow  cannot  run 
away  on  account  of  the  man  who  is  holding 
her  nose,  and  the  pain  caused  by  the  violent 
dragging  of  her  foot  backward,  together 
with  the  constrained  attitude  of  standing 
on  three  legs,  soon  subdues  the  most  refrac- 
tory animal. 

Before  proceeding  to  another  chapter,  it 
will  be  well  to  explain  the  illustration  on 
page  57,  called  "  The  Kaffirs  at  Home." 

The  spectator  is  supposed  to  be  just  inside 
the  outer  enclosure,  and  nearly  opposite  to 
the  isi-bava,  in  which  some  cattle  are  seen. 
In  the  centre  of  the  plate  a  milking  scene 
is  shown.  The  cow,  being  a  restive  one,  is 
being  held  by  the  "  man,"  by  means  of  a 


KIDIXG  OXEH. 


71 


stick  passed  through  its  nostrils,  and  by 
means  of  the  contrast  between  the  man 
and  tlie  animal  the  small  size  of  the  latter 
is  well  shown.  A  Kaffir  ox  averages  only 
four  hundred  pounds  in  weight.  13eneath 
the  cow  is  seen  the  milker,  holding  between 
his  knees  the  curiously  shaped  milkpail. 
On  the  right  hand  is  seen  another  Kaffir 
emptying  a  pailful  of  milk  into  one  of  the 
baskets  which  are  used  as  stores  for  this 
article.  The  reader  will  notice  that  the  ori- 
fice of  the  basket  is  very  small,  and  so  would 
cause  a  considerable  amount  of  milk  to  be 
spilt,  if  it  were  poured  from  the  wide  mouth 
of  the  pail.  The  Kaffir  has  no  funnel,  so  he 
extemporizes  one  by  holding  his  hands  over 
the  mouth  of  the  pail,  and  placing  _  his 
thumlis  so  as  to  cause  the  milk  to  flow  in  a 
narrow  stream  between  them. 

A  woman  is  seen  in  the  foreground,  going 
out  to  labor  in  the  fields,  with  her  child  .slung 
at  her  back,  and  her  heavy  hoe  on  her  shoul- 
der. In  order  to  show  the  ordinary  size  of 
the  huts  a  young  Kaffir  is  shown  standing 
near  one  of  them,  while  a  "man"  is  seated 
against  it,  and  engaged  alternately  in  his 
pipe  and  conversation.  Three  shield  sticks 
are  seen  in  the  fence  of  the  isi-baya,  and  the 
strip  of  skin  suspended  to  the  pole  shows 
that  the  chief  man  of  the  kraal  is  in  res- 
idence. In  front  are  several  of  the  odd- 
shaped  Cape  sheep,  with  their  long  legs 
and  thick  tails,  in  which  the  wdiole  fat  of 
the  body  seems  to  concentrate  itself.  Two 
of  the  characteristic  trees  of  the  country 
are  shown,  namely,  an  euphorbia  standing 
within  the  fence,  and  an  acacia  in  the  back- 
ground. This  last  mentioned  tree  is  some- 
times called  Kameel-dorn,  or  Camel-thorn, 
because  the  girafte,  which  the  Dutch  colo- 
nists icill  call  a  camel,  feeds  upon  its  leaves. 
In  the  distance  are  two  of  those  table- 
topped  mountains  which  are  so  character- 
istic of  Southern  Africa. 

The  Kaffir  uses  his  cattle  for  various  pur- 
poses. Whenever  he  can  aftbrd  such  a  lux- 
ury, which  is  very  seldom,  he  feasts  ujion  its 
flesh,  and  contrives  to  consume  a  quantity 
that  seems  almost  too  much  for  human 
digestion  to  undertake.  But  the  chief  diet 
is  "the  milk  of  the  cows,  generally  mixed 
with  meal,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  porridge. 
The  milk  is  never  eaten  in  its  fresh  state,  the 
Kaffirs  thinking  it  to  be  very  indigestible. 
Indeed,  they  look  upon  fresh  milk  much  as 
a  beer-drinker  looks  upon  sweet-wort,  and 
have  an  equal  objection  to  drinking  the 
liquid  in  its  crude  state.  AVhen  a  cow  has 
been  milked,  the  KaflHr  empties  the  pail  into 
a  large  store  basket,  such  as  is  seen  on  the 
right-hand  of  the  engraving  "Kaffirs  at 
Home,"  page  .57.  This  basket  already  con- 
tains milk  in  the  second  stage,  and  is  never 
completely  emptied.  Soon  after  the  milk 
has  Iseen  placed  in  the  basket,  a  sort  of  fer- 
mentation takes  place,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  whole  of  the  liquid  is  converted  into  a 


semi-solid  mass,  and  a  watery  fluid  some- 
thing like  whey.  The  latter  is  drawn  ott', 
and  used  as  a  drink,  or  given  to  tlie  chil- 
dren; and  the  remainder  is  a  thick,  clotted 
substance,  about  the  consistency  of  Devon- 
shire cream. 

This  is  called  "amasi,"  and  is  the  staff  of 
life  to  a  Kaffir.  Europeans  who  have  lived 
in  Kaffirland  generally  dislike  amasi  exceed- 
ingly at  first,  but  soon  come  to  prefer  it  to 
milk  in  any  other  form.  Some  persons  have 
compared  the  amasi  to  curds  after  the  whey 
has  been  drawn  ofl';  but  this  is  not  a  fair 
comparison.  The  amasi  is  not  in  lumps  or 
in  curd,  but  a  thick,  creamy  mass,  more  like 
our  clotted  cream  than  any  other  substance. 
It  has  a  slightly  acid  flavor.  Children, 
whether  black  or  white,  are  always  very  foiKl 
of  amasi,  and  there  can  be  no  better  food  for 
them.  Should  the  Kaffir  be  obliged  fo  use 
a  new  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  making  this 
clotted  milk,  he  always  takes  some  amasi 
ready  prepared,  and  places  it  in  the  vessel 
together  with  the  fresh  milk,  where  it  acts 
like  yeast  in  liquid  fermentation,  and  soon 
reduces  the  entire  mass  to  its  own  consist- 
ency. 

The  oxen  are  also  used  for  riding  ]iur- 
poses,  and  as  beasts  of  burden.  Europeans 
employ  them  largely  as  draught  oxen,  and 
use  a  great  number  "to  draw  a  single  wagon; 
but  tiie  wagon  is  an  European  invention, 
and  therefore,  without  the  scope  of  the  pres- 
ent work.  The  native  contrives  to  ride  the 
oxen  without  the  use  of  a  saddle,  balancing 
himself  ingeniously  on'  the  sharply  ridgeil 
back,  and  guiding  his  horned  steed  by  means 
of  a  stick  through  its  nostrils,  with  a  cord 
tied  to  each  end  of  it.  He  is  not  at  all  a 
graceful  rider,  but  jogs  along  with  his  arms 
extended,  and  his  elbows  jerking  uji  and 
down  with  every  movement  of  the  beast. 
Still,  the  ox  answers  his  iiurpose ;  and,  as  it 
never  goes  beyond  a  walking  pace,  no  great 
harm  is  done  by  a  fall. 

Since  the  introduction  of  horses,  the  Kaf- 
firs have  taken  a  great  liking  to  them,  and 
have  proved  themselves  capable  of  lieing 
good  horsemen,  after  their  fashion.  This 
fashion  is,  always  to  ride  at  full  gallop;  for 
they  can  see  no  object  in  mounting  a  swift 
aniinal  if  its  speed  is  not  to  be  brought  into 
operation.  It  is  a  very  picturesque  sight  when 
a  party  of  mounted  Kaffirs  come  dashing 
along,  their  horses  at  full  speed,  their  shield-s 
and  "spears  in  their  hands,  and  their  ka- 
rosses  flying  behind  them  as  they  ride. 
When  tliey  have  occasion  to  stop,  they  pull 
up  suddenly,  and  are  oft"  their  horses  in  a 
moment. 

However  the  Kaffir  may  be  satisfied  with 
the  bare  back  of  the  ox,  tlie  European  can- 
not manage  to  retain  his  seat.  In  the  first 
]dace,  the  sharp  spine  of  the  ox  does  not 
form  a  very  pleasant  seat;  and  in  the  next 
place,  its  skin  is  so  loose  that  it  is  impos.si- 
ble  for  the  rider  to  retain  his  place  by  any 


72 


THE  KAFFIR. 


grasp  of  the  legs.  A  few  cloths  or  hides  are 
therefore  placed  on  the  auimars  back,  and 
a  long  "  reim,"  or  leathern  rope,  is  passed 
several  times  round  its  body,  being  drawn 
tightly  by  a  couple  of  men,  one  at  each  side. 
By  this  operation  the  skin  is  braced  up 
tight,  and  a  saddle  can  be  fixed  nearly  as 
firmly  as  on  a  horse.  Even  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  movements  of  the  ox  are 
very  unpleasant  to  an  European  equestrian, 
and,  although  not  so  fatiguing  as  those  of  a 
camel,  require  a  tolerable  course  of  practice 
before  they  become  agreeable. 

This  custom  of  tightly  girthing  is  not  con- 
fined to  those  animals  which  are  used  for 
the  saddle,  but  is  also  practised  on  those 
that  are  used  as  pack-oxen;  the  loose  skin 
rendering  the  packages  liable  to  slip  off  the 
animal's  back.  The  whole  process  of  girtli- 
ing  the  ox  is  a  very  curious  one.  A  sturdy 
Kaffir  stands  at  each  side,  while  another 
holds  the  ox  firmly  by  a  stick  passed  through 
its  nostrils.  The  skins  or  cloths  are  then 
laid  on  the  back  of  the  ox,  and  the  long  rope 
thrown  over  them.  One  man  retains  his 
hold  of  one  end,  while  the  other  passes  the 
rope  round  the  animal's  body.  Each  man 
takes  firm  hold  of  the  rope,  puts  one  foot 
against  the  ox's  side,  by  way  of  a  fulcrum, 
and  then  hauls  away  with  the  full  force  of 
his  body.  Holding  his  own  part  of  the  rope 
tightly  with  one  hand,  the  second  Kaffir  dex- 
terously throws  the  end  under  the  animal  to 
his  comrade,  who  catches  it,  and  passes  it 
over  the  back,  when  it  is  seized  as  before. 


Another  liauling-match  now  takes  place, 
and  the  process  goes  on  until  the  cord  is 
exhausted,  and  the  diameter  of  the  ox  notably 
diminished.  In  spite  of  the  enormous  pres- 
sure to  which  it  is  subject,  the  beast  seems  to 
care  little  about  it,  and  walks  away  as  if  un- 
concerned. If  the  journey  is  a  long  one,  the 
ropes  are  generally  tightened  once  or  twice, 
the  native  drivers  seeming  to  take  a  strange 
pleasure  in  the  operation. 

Tlie  illustration  No.  1,  on  page  73,  shows 
the  manner  in  which  the  Kaffir  employs  the 
ox  for  riding  and  pack  purposes.  A  chief  is 
returning  with  his  triumphant  soldiers  from 
a  successful  expedition  against  an  enemy's 
kraal,  which  they  have  "  eaten  up,"  as  their 
saying  is.  In  the  foreground  is  seen  the 
chief,  fat  and  pursy,  dressed  in  the  full  para- 
phernalia of  war,  and  seated  on  an  ox.  A 
hornless  ox  is  generally  chosen  for  the  sad- 
dle, in  order  to  avoid  the  danger  of  the  rider 
falling  forward  and  wounding  himself;  but 
sometimes  the  KalHr  qualifies  an  ox  for  sad- 
dle purposes  by  forcing  the  horns  to  grow 
downward,  and  in  many  instances  contrives 
to  make  the  horns  flap  about  quite  loosely, 
as  if  they  were  only  suspended  by  thongs 
from  the' animal's  head.  The  soldiers  are 
seen  in  charge  of  other  oxen,  laden  with  the 
spoils  of  the  captured  kraal,  to  which  they 
have  set  fire;  and  in  the  middle  distance,  a 
couple  of  men  are  reloading  a  refractory  ox, 
and  drawing  flie  rope  tightly  round  it,  to 
prevent  it  from  shaking  oil"  its  load  a  second 
time. 


(1.)    KAFFIR  CATTLE -TRAINING  THE  HORNS. 

(See  pnge  70.) 


(2.)    RETURN   OF  A    WAR   TARTY. 

(See  page  72.) 


(73) 


CHAPTER  IX. 


MAEKIAGE. 


POLYGAMY  PRACTISED  AMONG  THE  KAFFIRS — OOZA  AND  HIS  'WTVES  —  NTTMBER  OF  A  KINO's  HAREM— 
TCHAKA,  THE  BACHELOR  KING  —  THE  KING  AND  HIS  SUCCESSORS  —  A  BARBAROUS  CUSTOM  — 
CAUSES  AND  EFFECTS  OF  POLYGAMY  AMONG  THE  KAFFIRS  —  DOMESTIC  LIFE  AND  ITS  CUSTOMS  — 
THE  VARIED  DUTIES  OF  A  WirE  —  ANECDOTE  OF  A  KAFFIR  HUSBAND  —  JEALOUSY  AND  IT3 
EFFECTS  —  A  FAVORITE  WIFE  MURDERED  BY  HER  COMPANIONS  —  MINOR  QUARRELS,  AND  SUM- 
MARY JUSTICE  —  THE  FIRST  WIFE  AND  HER  PRIVILEGES  —  MINUTE  CODE  OF  LAWS — THE  LAW 
OF  INHERITANCE  AND  PROIOGENITURE  —  THE  MASTERSHIP  OF  THE  KRAAX.  —  PROTECTION  TO  THE 
ORPHAN — GUARDIANS,  THEIR  DUTIES  AND  PRIVILEGES — TRELTBIINARIES  TO  MARRIAGE  —  KAFFIR 
COURTSHIP  —  THE  BRIDEGROOM  ON  APPROVAL  —  AN  UNWILLING  CELIBATE  —  A  KAFFIR  LOVE 
TALE  —  UZINTO  AND  HER  ADVENTURES  —  REWARD  OF  PERSEVERANCE,  j 


Contrary  to  general  opinion,  marriage 
is  quite  as  important  a  matter  among  the 
Kaffirs  as  witli  ourselves,  and  even  tliougli 
the  men  wlio  can  atlbrd  it  do  not  content 
tliemselves  witli  one  wife,  tliere  is  as  much 
ceremony  in  the  last  marriage  as  in  the 
first.  As  to  the  numlier  of  wives,  no  law 
on  that  subject  is  found  in  the  minute, 
though  necessarily  traditional,  code  of 
laws,  by  which  the  Kaffirs  regulate  their 
domestic  polity.  A  man  may  take  just 
as  many  wives  as  he  can  aftbrd,  and  the 
richer  a  man  is,  the  more  wives  he  has 
as  a  general  rule.  An  ordinary  man  has 
generally  to  be  content  with  one,  while 
those  of  higher  rank  have  the  number  of 
wives  dependent  on  their  wealth  and  posi- 
tion. Goza,  for  example,  whose  portrait 
is  given  on  page  117  and  who  is  a  powerful 
chief,  has  a  dozen  or  two  of  wives.  There 
is  now  before  me  a  photograph  represent- 
ing a  whole  row  of  his  wives,  all  sitting  on 
their  heels,  in  the  attitude  adopted  by  Kaffir 
women,  and  all  looking  rather  surprised 
at  the  photographer's  operations.  In  our 
sense  of  the  word,  none  of  them  have  the 
least  pretence  to  beauty,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  case  when  they  were  young 
girls,  but  it  is  evident  that  their  joint  hus- 
band was  satisfied  with  their  charms,  or 
they  would  not  retain  a  position  in  his 
household. 

As  to  the  king,  the  number  of  his  wives 
is  illimitable.    Parents  come  humbly  before 


(75) 


him,  and  offer  their  daughters  to  him,  only 
too  proud  if  he  will  accept  them,  and  ask- 
ing no  payment  for  them.  The  reverence 
for  authority  must  be  very  strong  in  a 
Kaffir's  breast,  if  it  can  induce  him  to 
forego  any  kind  of  payment  whatever,  es- 
pecially as  that  payment  is  in  cattle.  The 
king  has  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  large 
ki-aals  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  in  each  of  them  he  has  a  considerable 
number  of  wives,  so  that  he  is  always  at 
home  whenever  he  changes  his  residence 
from  one  kraal  to  another.  In  fact,  he 
never  knows,  within  fifty  or  so,  how  many 
wives  he  has,  nor  would  he  know  all  his 
wives  by  sight,  and  in  consequence  he  is 
obliged  to  keep  a  most  jealous  watch  over 
his  household,  lest  a  neglected  wife  should 
escape  and  take  a  husband,  who,  although 
a  plebeian,  would  be  ner  own  choice.  In 
consequence  of  this  feeling,  none  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  royal  harem  ever  leave 
their  house  without  a  strong  guard  at 
hand,  besides  a  number  of  spies,  who 
conceal  themselves  in  unsuspected  places, 
and  who  would  report  to  the  king  the 
slightest  indiscretion  on  the  part  of  any 
of  his  wives.  It  is  not  even  safe  for  a 
Kaffir  to  speak  to  one  of  these  closely 
guarded  beauties,  for,  even  if  no  guards  are 
openly  in  sight,  a  spy  is  sure  to  be  con- 
cealed at  no  great  distance,  and  the  conse- 
quence of  such  an  indiscretion  would  be, 
that  the  woman  would  certainly  lose  her 


THE   KAFFIR. 


life,  and  the  man  probabl}'  be  a  fello^v  suf- 
ferer. 

That  able  and  sanguinary  chief  Tchaka 
formed  an  exception  to  the  ordinary  rule. 
He  would  accept  as  many  dark  maidens  as 
might  be  offered  to  him,  but  he  would  not 
raise  one  of  them  to  the  rank  of  wife.  The 
reason  for  this  line  of  conduct  was  his  hor- 
ror of  seeing  a  successor  to  his  throne.  A 
Kaffir  of  rank  always  seems  to  think  that 
he  himself  is  exempt  from  the  ordinary  lot 
of  humanity,  and  will  never  speak  of  the 
possibility  of  his  own  death,  nor  allow  any 
one  else  to  do  so.  In  a  dependent,  such  "a 
piece  of  bad  breeding  would  be  looked  upon 
as  an  overt  act  of  treachery,  and  the  thought- 
less delinquent  would  instantly  lose  "the 
power  of  repeating  the  offence  by  forfeiting 
his  life.  Even  in  an  European,  the  offence 
would  be  a  very  grave  one,  and  would  jar 
gratingly  on  the  feelings  of  all  who  heard 
the  ill-omened  words.  This  disinclination 
to  speak  of  death  sometimes  shows  itself  very 
curiously.  On  one  occasion,  an  Englishman 
went  to  pay  a  visit  to  Panda,  after  the  contra- 
diction of  a  report  of  that  monarch's  death. 
After  the  preliminary  greetings,  he  expressed 
his  pleasure  at  seeing  the  chief  so  well,  es- 
pecially after  the  report  of  his  death.  The 
word  "  death  "  seemed  to  strike  the  king  and 
all  the  court  like  an  electric  shock,  and  an 
ominous  silence  reigned  around.  At  last 
Panda  recovered  himself,  and,  with  a  voice 
that  betrayed  his  emotion,  said  that  such 
subjects  were  never  spoken  of,  and  then 
adroitly  changed  the  conversation. 

Now,  the  idea  of  a  successor  implies  the 
death  ot  the  present  occupant  of  the  throne, 
and  tlierefore  Tchaka  refused  to  marry  any 
wives,  from  whom  his  successor  might  be 
born.  M(jre  than  that,  if  any  of  the  inmates 
of  his  harem  showed  signs  that  (he  popula- 
tion was  likely  to  be  increased,  they  were 
sure  to  be  arrested  on  some  trivial  pretence, 
dragged  out  of  their  homes,  and  summarily 
executed.  We  may  feel  disposed  to  wonder 
that  such  a  heartless  monster  could  by  any 
means  have  found  any  inmates  of  his 
harem.  But  we  must  remember  that  of  all 
men  a  Kaffir  chief  is  the  most  despotic, 
having  absolute  power  over  any  of  his  sub- 
jects, and  his  orders  being  obeyed  with  an 
Instantaneous  obedience,  no  matter  how 
revolting  they  miglit  be.  Parents  would 
kill  their  children  and  children  their  pa- 
rents at  his  command;  and  so  strange  a 
hold  has  obedience  to  the  king  upon  the 
mind  of  a  Kaffir,  that  men  have  been 
known  to  thank  him  and  Titter  his  praises 
wliile  being  beaten  to  death  by  his  order.s. 

Therefore  the  parents  of  these  ill-fated 
girls  had  no  option  in  the  matter.  If  he 
wanted  them  he  would  take  them,  jirobaljly 
murdering  their  parents,  and  adding  their 
cattle  to  his  own  vast  herds.  By  volun- 
tarily offering  them  they  might  jiossibly 
gain  his  good  graces,  and  there  might  be  a 


chance  that  thej-  would  escape  the  fate  that 
had  befallen  so  many  of  tlieir  predecessors 
in  the  royal  favor.  These  strange  effects 
of  despotism  are  by  no  means  confined  to 
Southern  Africa,  but  are  found  among  more 
civilized  people  than  the  Kaffirs.  We  all 
remember  the  opening  storj'  of  the  "Ara- 
bian Nights,"  which  furnishes  the  thread  on 
which  all  the  stories  are  strung.  How  a 
king  found  that  his  wife  was  unworthy  of 
her  position,  and  how  he  immediately 
rushed  to  the  conclusion  that  such  unwor- 
thiness  was  not  the  fault  of  an  individual, 
but  a  quality  inherent  in  the  sex.  How  he 
reduced  his  principle  to  practice  by  marry- 
ing a  new  wife  every  evening,  and  cutting 
off  her  head  next  morning,  until  his  pur- 
pose was  arrested  by  the  ingenious  narrator 
of  the  tales,  who  originated  the  practice 
now  prevalent  in  periodicals,  nameh^,  al- 
ways leaving  off  unexpectedly  in  an  inter- 
esting part  of  the  story. 

This  extraordinary  jn-oceeding  on  the  part 
of  an  Oriental  monarch  is  told  with  a  per- 
fect absence  of  comment,  and  neither  the 
narrator  nor  the  hearer  displays  anj'  signs 
that  such  a  line  of  conduct  was  strange, 
or  even  culpable.  The  subjects  who  were 
called  upon  to  .supply  such  a  succession 
of  wives  certainly  grumbled,  but  they  con- 
tinued to  supjily  them,  and  evidently  had 
no  idea  that  their  monarch's  orders  could 
be  disobeyed. 

The  effect  of  polygamy  among  the  wives 
themselves  is  rather  curious.  In  the  first 
place,  they  are  accustomed  to  the  idea,  and 
have  never  been  led  to  expect  that  they 
would  bear  sole  rule  in  the  house.  Indeed, 
none  of  them  would  entertain  such  an  idea, 
because  the  very  fact  that  a  man  possessed 
only  one  wife  would  derogate  from  his 
dignity,  and  consequently  from  her  own. 
There"  is  another  reason  for  the  institution 
of  poh'gamy,  namely,  the  division  of  labor. 
Like  all  savages,  the  Kaffir  man  never  con- 
descends to  perform  manual  labor,  all  real 
work  falling  to  the  lot  of  the  women.  As 
to  any  work  that  requires  bodily  exertion, 
the  Kaffn-  never  dreams  of  undertaking  it 
He  would  not  even  lift  a  basket  of  rice  on 
the  head  of  his  favorite  wife,  but  would 
sit  on  the  ground  and  allow  some  woman 
to  do  it.  One  of  my  friends,  when  rather 
new  to  Kaffirland,  happened  to  look  into 
a  hut,  and  there  saw  a  stalwart  Kaffir  sit- 
ting and  smoking  his  pipe,  while  the  women 
were  hard  at  work  in  the  sun,  building 
huts,  carrying  timber,  and  performing  all 
kinds  of  severe  labor.  Struck  with  a  natural 
indignation  at  such  behavior,  he  told  the 
smoker  to  get  up  and  work  like  a  man. 
This  idea  was  too  much  even  for  the  native 
politeness  of  the  Kaffir,  who  burst  into  a 
laugh  at  so  absurd  a  notion.  "  Women 
work,"  said  he,  "  men  sit  in  the  house  and 
smoke." 

The  whole  cares  of  domestic  life  fall  upon 


JIIALOUSY  AMONG  WIVES. 


77 


the  married  woman.  Beside  doing  all  the 
ordinary  work  of  the  house,  including  the 
building  of  it,  she  has  to  prepare  all  the 
food  and  keep  the  Iningry  men  supplied. 
Slie  cannot  go  to  a  sliop  and  Ijuy  bread. 
She  has  to  till  the  ground,  to  sow  the  grain, 
to  watch  it,  to  reap  it,  to  thrash  it,  to  grind 
it,  and  to  bake  it.  Her  husband  may  per- 
haps condescend  to  bring  home  game  that 
he'  has  killed,  though  he  will  not  burden 
himself  longer  than  he  can  help.  But  the 
cooking  falls  to  the  woman's  share,  and  she 
has  not  only  to  stew  the  meat,  but  to  make 
the  pots  in  '\rhich  it  is  prepared.  After  a 
hard  day's  labor  out  of  doors,  she  cannot  go 
home  and  rest,  but  is  obliged  to  grind  the 
maize  or  millet,  a  work  of  very  great  labor, 
on  account  of  the  primitive  machinery 
which  is  employed — -simply  one  stone  upon 
anotlier,  the  upper  stone  being  rocked  back- 
ward and  forward  with  a  motion  like  that 
of  a  chemist's  pestle.  Tlie  Kaffirs  never 
keep  Ilour  ready  ground,  so  that  tiiis  heavy 
task  has  to  be  performed  regularly  every 
da3'.  When  she  has  ground  the  corn  she 
has  either  to  bake  it  into  cakes,  or  boil  it 
into  porridge,  and  then  has  the  gratification 
of  seeing  the  men  eat  it.  She  also  has  to 
make  the  beer  which  is  so  popular  among 
the  Kaffirs,  but  has  very  little  chance  of 
drinking  the  product  of  her  own  industry. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  work 
of  a  Kaffir  wife  is  about  twice  as  hard  as 
that  of  an  English  farm  laborer,  and  tliat 
therefore  she  is  rather  glad  than  otherwise 
when  her  husband  takes  another  wife,  who 
may  divide  her  labors.  Moreover,  the  first 
wife  has  always  a  sort  of  preeminence  over 
the  others,  and  retains  it  unless  she  forfeits 
the  favor  of  her  huslsand  by  some  pecul- 
iarly flagrant  act,  in  which  case  she  is  de- 
posed, and  another  wife  raised  to  the  vacant 
honor.  When  such  an  event  takes  place, 
the  husband  selects  any  of  his  wives  that  he 
happens  to  like  best,  without  an}'  regai'd  for 
seniority,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  the 
youngest  has  the  best  chance  of  becoming 
the  chief  wife,  thus  causing  much  jealousy 
among  them.  Did  all  the  wives  live  in  the 
sama  house  with  their  husband,  the  bicker- 
ings would  be  constant ;  but,  according  to 
Kaffir  law,  each  wife  has  her  own  hut,  that 
belonging  to  the  principal  wife  being  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  chiefs  house. 

Sometimes,  however,  jealousy  will  prevail, 
in  spits  of  these  preventives,  and  has  been 
known  to  lead  to  fatal  results.  One  case 
of  poisoning  has  already  been  mentioned 
(page  .51),  and  others  occur  more  frequently 
than  is  known.  One  such  case  was  a  rather 
remarkable  one.  There  had  been  two 
wives,  and  a  third  was  afterward  added. 
The  other  two  wives  felt  themselves  injured 
by  her  presence,  and  for  a  year  subjected 
her  to  continual  persecution.  One  day, 
when  the  husband  returned  to  his  house,  he 
found    her    absent,   and     asked    from    the 


others  where  she  was.  They  replied  tliat 
tliey  did  not  know,  and  that  wlieu'tliey  went 
to  fetcli  firewood,  according  to  daily  custom, 
tlicy  had  left  her  in  the  kraal.  Dissatisfied 
with  the  answer,  he  pressed  tliem  more 
closely,  and  was  then  told  that  she  had  gone 
oft'  to  her  fatlier's  house.  At  the  first  dawn 
he  set  oft'  to  tlie  fiitlicr's  kraal,  and  found 
that  nothing  had  been  heard  of  her.  His 
next  step  was  to  go  to  one  of  the  witch 
doctors,  or  jn-ophets,  and  ask  him  what  had 
become  of  his  favorite  wife.  The  man  an- 
swered that  the  two  elder  wives  had  mur- 
dered her.  He  set  otf  homeward,  but  before 
he  readied  his  kraal,  the  dead  body  of  the 
murdered  wife  had  been  discovered  by  a 
herd  boy.  The  fact  was,  that  she  had  gone 
out  with  the  other  two  wives  in  the  morn- 
ing to  fetch  firewood,  a  quarrel  had  arisen, 
and  they  had  hanged  her  to  a  tree  with  the 
bush-rope  used  in  tying  up  the  bundles  of 
wood. 

As  to  minor  assaults  on  a  favoi'ite  wife, 
they  are  common  enough.  She  will  be 
beaten,  or  have  her  face  scratched  so  as  to 
siioil  her  beauty,  or  the  holes  in  her  ears 
will  be  torn  violently  ojsen.  The  assailants 
are  sure  to  suft'er  in  their  own  turn  for  their 
conduct,  their  husband  beating  them  most 
cruelly  with  the  first  weapon  that  happens 
to  come  to  hand.  But,  in  the  mean  time, 
the  work  which  they  have  done  has  been 
efi'ected,  and  they  have  at  all  events  enjoyed 
some  nroments  of  savage  vengeance.  Fights 
often  take  place  among  the  wives,  but  if  the 
husband  hears  the  noise  of  the  scuffle  he 
soon  puts  a  stop  to  it,  by  seizing  a  stick, 
and  impartially  belaboring  each  comlsatant. 
The  position  of  a  first  wife  is  really  one 
of  some  consequence.  Although  she  has 
been  bought  and  paid  for  by  her  husband, 
she  is  not  looked  upon  as  so  utter  an  article 
of  merchandise  as  her  successors.  "  When 
a  man  takes  his  first  wife,"  says  Mr. 
Shooter,  "  all  the  cows  he  possesses  are 
regarded  as  her  property.  She  uses  the 
milk  for  the  support  of  her  family,  and, 
after  the  birth  of  her  first  son,  they  are 
called  his  cattle.  Theoretically,  the  hus- 
band can  neither  sell  nor  dispose  of  them 
without  his  wife's  consent.  If  he  wish  to 
take  a  second  wife,  and  require  any  of  these 
cattle  for  the  purpose,  he  must  obtain  her 
concurrence. 

''  When  I  asked  a  native  how  this  was  to 
be  procured,  lie  said  liy  flattery  and  coaxing, 
or  if  that  did  not  succeed,  by  bothering  her 
until  she  yielded,  and  told  him  not  to  do  so 
to-morrow,  i.  e.  for  the  future.  Sometimes 
she  becomes  angry,  and  tells  him  to  take  all, 
for  they  are  not  hers,  but  his.  If  she  comply 
with  her  husband's  polygamous  desires,  and 
furnish  cattle  to  purchase  and  indue  a  new 
wife,  she  will  be  entitled  to  her  services,  and 
will  call  her  my  wife.  She  will  also  be  en- 
titled to  the  cattle  received  for  a  new  wife's 
eldest  daughter.    The  cattle  assigned  to  the 


78 


THE   K^iFFIR. 


*econd  wife  are  subject  to  the  same  rules, 
and  so  on,  while  fresli  wives  are  taken.  An^' 
wife  may  furnish  the  cattle  necessary  to  add 
a  new  member  to  the  harem,  and  with  the 
same  consequences  as  resulted  to  the  first 
wife;  but  it  seems  that  the  queen,  as  the  first 
is  called,  can  claim  the  right  of  refusal."'  It 
will  be  seen  from  this  account  of  the  rela- 
tive stations  of  the  different  wives,  that  the 
position  of  chief  wife  is  one  that  would  be 
much  prized,  and  we  can  therefore  under- 
stand that  the  elevation  of  a  new  comer  to 
that  rank  would  necessarily  create  a  strong 
feeling  of  jealousy  in  the  hearts  of  the 
others. 

In  consequence  of  the  plurality  of  wives, 
the  law  of  inheritance  is  most  complicated. 
Some  persons  may  wonder  that  a  law  which 
seems  to  belong  especially  to  civilization 
•should  be  found  among  savage  tribes  like 
the  Kaffirs.  But  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  Kaffir  is  essentially  a  man  living 
under  authority,  and  that  his  logical  turn  of 
intellect  has  caused  him  to  frame  a  legal 
code  which  is  singularly  minute  in  all  its 
details,  and  which  enters  not  only  into  the 
aflfairs  of  the  nation,  but  into  those  of  ])rivate 
life.  The  law  respecting  the  i-ank  held  by 
the  wives,  and  the  control  which  they  exer- 
cise over  property,  is  snfficienlly  minute  to 
give  promise  that'there  would  also  be  a  law 
which  regulated  the  share  held  in  the  prop- 
erty of  their  respective  children. 

In  order  to  understand  the  working  of  this 
law,  the  reader  must  remember  two  facts 
which  have  been  mentioned:  the  one,  that 
the  wives  do  not  live  in  common,  but  that 
each  has  her  own  house ;  and  moreover,  that 
to  each  house  a  certain  amount  of  cattle  is 
attached,  in  theory,  if  not  in  practice. 
When  the  headman  of  a  kraal  dies,  his  prop- 
erty is  divided  among  his  children  by  vir- 
tue of  a  law,  which,  though  unwritten,  is 
well  known,  and  is  as  precise  as  any  similar 
law  in  England.  If  there  should  be  an 
eldest  son,"born  in  the  house  of  the  chief 
wife,  he  succeeds  at  once  to  his  father's 
property,  and  inherits  his  rank.  There  is  a 
very  common  Kaffir  song,  which,  though  not 
at  all  filial,  is  characteristic.  It  begins  by 
saying,  "  My  father  has  died,  and  I  have  all 
his  cattle," "and  then  proceeds  to  expatiate 
on  the  joys  of  wealth.  He  does  not  neces- 
sarily inherit  all  the  cattle  m  the  kraal,  be- 
cause there  may  be  sons  belonging  to  other 
houses;  in  .such  cases,  the  eldest  son  of  each 
house  would  be  entitled  to  the  cattle  which 
are  recognized  as  the  property  of  that  house. 
Still,  he  exercises  a  sort  of  paternal  author- 
ity over  the  whole,  and  will  often  succeed  in 
keeping  all  the  family  together  instead  of 
giving  to  each  son  his  share  of  the  cattle, 
and  letting  them  separate  in  different  direc- 
tions. Such  a  course  of  proceeding  is  the 
best  for  all  parties,  as  they  possess  a  strength 
when  united,  which  they  could  not  hope  to 
attain  when  separated. 


It  sometimes  happens  that  the  owner  of 
the  kraal  has  no  son,  and   in  that  case,  the 
property  is  claimed  by  his  father,  brother,  or 
nearest  living  relative,  —  always,  if  possible, 
by  a  memljcr  of  the  same  house  as  himself. 
It  sometimes  happens  that  no  male  relation 
can  be  found,  and  when  such  a  failure  takes 
place,  the  property  goes  to  the  chief,  as  the 
acknowledged  father  of  the  tribe.     As*  to  the 
women,  they  very  seldom   inherit  anj  thing, 
but  go  with  the  cattle  to  the  different  heirs, 
and  form  part  of   their  property.     To  this 
general  rule  there  are  exceptional  cases,  but 
they  are  very  rare.     It  will  be  seen,  there- 
fore, that  every  woman  has  some  one  who 
acts  as  her  father,  whether  her  father  be  liv- 
ing or  not,  and  although  the  compulsory  de- 
pendent state  of  women  is  not  conducive  to 
their  dignity,  it  certainly  protects  them  from 
many  evils.     If,  for  example,  a  girl  were  left 
a.u  orphan,  an  event  which  is  of  very  fre- 
quent  occurrence  in  countries  where  little 
value  is  placed  on  human  life,  she  would  be 
placed   in  a  very   unpleasant    position,  for 
either  she  would  find  no  husband  at  all,  or 
she  would  be  fought  over  by  poor  and  tur- 
bulent  men  who   wanted  to  obtain  a  wife 
without   paying  for  her.     Kaffir   law,  how- 
ever, provides  for  this  difficulty  by  making 
the  male  relations  heirs  of  the  property,  and, 
consequently,  protectors  of  the  -vvcjmen;  so 
that  as  long  as  there  is  a  single  male  relation 
living,  an  orphan  girl  has  a  guardian.     The 
law  even   goes  further,  and  contemplates  a 
case  which   sometimes  exists,  namely,  that 
all  the  male  relatives  are  dead,  (U'  that  they 
cannot  be  identified.     Such  a  case  as  this 
may  well  occur  in  the  course  of  a  war,  for 
the  enemy  will  sometimes  swoop  down  on  a 
kraal,  and  if  their  plans  be  well  laid,  will  kill 
every  male  inhabitant.     Even  if  all  are  not 
killed,  the  survivors  may  be  obliged  to  flee 
for  their  lives,  and  thus  it  may  often  happen 
that  a  young  girl  finds  herself  comparatively 
alone    in    the  world.     In    such  a  ease,  she 
would  go  to  another  chief  of  her  tribe,  or 
even  to  the  king  himself,  and  ask   permis- 
sion to  become  one  of  his  dependants,  and 
many   instances   have   been   known   where 
.such  refugees  have  been  received  into  tribes 
not  their  own. 

When  a  girl  is  received  as  a  dependant, 
she  is  treated  as  a  daughter,  and  if  she 
should  happen  to  fall  ill,  her  guardinn  would 
otier  sacrifices  for  her  exactly  as  if  she  were 
one  of  his  own  daughters.  Should  a  suitor 
present  himself,  he  will  have  to  treat  with 
the  guardian  exactly  as  if  he  were  the  father, 
and  to  him  will  be  "paid  the  cattle  that  are 
demanded  at  the  wedding.  Mr.  Fynu  men- 
tions that  the  women  are  very  tenacious 
about  their  relatives,  and  that  in  many  cases 
when  they  could  not  identity  tlieir  real  rela- 
tions, they  have  made  arrangements  with 
strangers  to  declare  relationship  with  them. 
It  is  possible  that  this  feeling  arises  from  the 
notion   that  a  husband  would   have   more 


BEIDEGROOM  OX  APPROVAL. 


79 


respect  for  a  wife  who  had  relations  than  for 
cue  who  had  none. 

As  an  example  of  the  curious  minuteness 
with  which  the  Kaffir  law  goes  into  the  de- 
tails of  domestic  polity,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  if  a  female  dependant  be  married,  and 
should  afterward  be  fortunate  enough  to 
discover  her  real  relatives,  they  may  claim 
the  cattle  paid  for  her  by  the  husliand.  But 
they  must  give  one  of  the  cows  to  her  pro- 
tector as  payment  for  her  maintenance,  and 
the  trouble  taken  in  marrying  her.  _  More- 
OVM-,  if  any  cattle  have  been  sacrihced  on 
her  behalf,  these  must  be  restored,  together 
with  any  others  that  may  have  been  slaugh- 
tered at  the  marriage-feast.  The  fact  that 
she  is  paid  for  by  her  husband  conveys  no 
idea  of  degradation  to  a  Kaffir  woman.  On 
the  contrary,  she  looks  upon  the  fact  as  a 
proof  of  her  own  worth,  and  the  more  cattle 
are  paid  for  her,  the  prouder  she  becomes. 
Neither  would  the  husband  like  to  take  a 
wife  without  paying  the  proper  sum  for  her, 
because  in  the  first  place  it  would  be  a  tacit 
assertion  tliat  the  wife  was  worthless,  and 
in  the  second,  it  would  be  an  admission 
thut  he  could  not  afford  to  pay  the  usual 
price.  Moreover,  the  delivery  of  the  cattle. 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  delivery  of  the 
girl  on  the  other,  are  considered  as  con- 
stituting the  validity  of  the  marriage  con- 
tract, aud  are  loooked  upon  in  much  the 
same  light  as  the  givhig  of  a  ring  by 
the  husband  and  the  giving  away  of  the  bride 
by  her  father  in  our  own  marriage  cere- 
monies. 

What  that  price  may  be  is  exceedingly 
variable,  and  depends  much  on  the  beauty 
and  qualifications  of  the  Isride,  and  the  rank 
of  her  father.  The  ordinary  price  of  an 
unmarried  girl  is  eight  or  ten  cows,  while 
twelve  or  flifteen  are  not  unfrequently  paid, 
and  in  some  cases  the  husband  has  been 
obliged  to  give  as  many  as  fifty  before  the 
father  would  part  with  his  daughter.  Pay- 
ment ought  to  be  made  be'brehand  by 
rights,  and  the  man  cannot  demand  liis  wife 
until  the  cattle  have  been  transferred.  This 
rule  is,  however,  frequently  relaxed,  and  the 
marriage  is  allowed  when  a  certain  instal- 
ment has  been  paid,  together  with  a  guaran- 
tee that  the  remainder  shall  be  forthcoming 
within  a  reasonable  time.  All  preliminaries 
having  been  settled,  the  next  business  is  for 
the  intending  bridegroom  to  present  himself 
to  his  future  wife.  Then,  although  a  cer- 
tain sum  is  demanded  for  a  girl,  and  must 
be  paid  before  she  becomes  a  wife,  it  does 
not  follow  that  she  exercises  no  choice  what- 
ever in  accepting  or  rejecting  a  suitor,  as 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  passages 
taken  from  Mr.  Shooter's  valuable  work  on 
Kaffirland :  — 

'•  ^Vlien  a  husband  has  been  selected  for  a 
girl,  she  may  be  delivered  to  him  without 
any  previous  notice,  and  Mr.  Fynu  acknowl- 
edges that  in  some  cases  this  is  done.    But 


usually,  he  says,  she  is  informed  of  her 
parent's  intention  a  mouth  or  some  longer 
time  beforehand,  in  order,  I  imagine,  that 
she  may,  if  possible,  be  persuaded  to  think 
favorably  of  the  man.  Barbarians  as  they 
are,  the  Kaffirs  are  aware  that  it  is  better  to 
reason  with  a  woman  than  to  beat  her;  and 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  moral  means  are 
usually  employed  to  induce  a  girl  to  adopt 
her  parent's  "choice,  before  physical  argu- 
ments are  resorted  to.  Sometimes  very 
elaborate  eflbrts  are  made,  as  1  have  been 
told,  to  produce  this  result.  The  first  step 
is  to  speak  well  of  the  man  in  her  presence; 
the  kraal  conspire  to  praise  him  —  her  sis- 
ters praise  him  —  all  the  admirers  of  his 
cattle  praise  him  —  he  was  never  so  praised 
before.  Unless  she  is  very  resolute,  the  girl 
may  now  perhaps  be  prevailed  on  to  see 
him,  and  a  messenger  is  despatched  to 
communicate  the  hopeful  fact,  aud  sum- 
mon him  to  the  kraal.  'Without  loss  of 
time  he  prepares  to  show  himself  to  the 
best  advantage ;  he  goes  down  to  the  river, 
and  having  carefully  washed  his  dark  per- 
son, comes  up  again  dripping  and  shining 
like  a  dusky  Triton;  but  the  sun  soon  dries 
his  skin,  and  now  he  shines  again  with 
grease. 

"  His  dancing  attire  is  put  on,  a  vessel  of 
water  serving  for  a  mirror;  and  thus  clothed 
in  his  best,  and  carrying  shield  and  assagai, 
he  sets  forth,  with  "beating  heart  and  gal- 
lant step,  to  do  battle  with  the  scornful  belle. 
Having  reached  the  kraal  he  is  received 
with  a  hearty  welcome,  and  squatting  down 
in  the  family  '  circle '  (which  is  here  some- 
thing more  "than  a  figure  of  speech),  he 
awaits  the  lady's  appearance.  Presently 
she  comes,  and  sitting  down  near  the  door 
stares  at  him  in  silence.  Then  h.aving  sur- 
veyed him  sufficiently  in  his  present  attitude, 
she  desires  him  through  her  brother  (f(jr  she 
will  not  speak  to  him)  to  stand  up  and  ex- 
hibit his  proportions.  The  modest  man  is 
embarrassed;  but  the  mother  encourages 
him,  and  while  the  young  ones  laugh  aud 
jeer,  he  vis^s  before  "the  damsel.  She  now 
scrutinizes  him  in  this  jiosition,  and  having 
balanced  the  merits  and  defects  of  a  front 
view,  desires  him  (through  the  same  medium 
as  before)  to  turn  round  and  favor  her  with 
a  different  aspect.  (See  page  97.)  At  length 
he  receives  permission  to  squat  again, 
when  she  retires  as  mute  as  she  came. 
The  fimily  troop  rush  after  her  impatient 
to  learn  her  decision;  but  she  declines  to 
be  hasty  —  she  has  not  seen  him  walk,  and 
perhaps  he  limps.  So,  next  morning,  the 
unfortunate  man  appears  in  the  cattle  fold, 
to  exhibit  his  paces  before  a  larger  assembly. 
A  volley  of  praises  is  showered  upon  him 
by  the  interested  spectators;  and  perhaps 
the  girl  has  come  to  think  as  they  think, 
and  signifies  her  approval.  In  this  case, 
arrnngements  are  made  for  the  betrothal." 
This  amusing  ceremony  has  two  mean- 


80 


THE   KAFFIE. 


ings  —  the  first,  that  the  contract  of  mar- 
riage is  a  vohmtary  act  ou  both  sides;  and 
the  second,  that  the  intending  bridegroom 
has  as  yet  no  authority  over  her.  Tliis  last 
point  seems  to  be  tliought  of  some  imjior- 
tance,  as  it  is  again  brought  forward  vvlien 
the  marriage  ceremony  talkCS  place.  Tliat 
the  girl  has  no  choice  in  a  husband  is  evi- 
dently not  true.  There  are,  of  course,  in- 
stances in  Kaffirland,  as  well  as  in  more 
civilized  countries,  where  the  parents  have 
set  their  liearts  on  a  particular  alliance,  and 
have  disregarded  the  aversion  of  their 
daughters,  Ibrcing  her  by  hard  words  and 
other  cruelties  to  consent  to  the  match. 
But,  as  a  general  rule,  although  a  girl  must 
be  bought  with  a  certain  number  of  cows,  it 
docs  not  at  all  follow  that  every  one  with  the 
requisite  means  may  buy  her. 

A  rather  amusing  proof  to  the  contrary  is 
relateil  by  one  of  our  clergy  w'ho  resided  for 
a  long  time  among  the  Kaffir  tribes.  There 
was  one  '•  boj^,"  long  past  the  prime  of  life, 
Vfho  had  distinguished  himself  in  war,  and 
procured  a  fair  number  of  cows,  and  yet 
could  not  be  ranked  as  a  "  man,"  because  he 
was  not  married.  The  fact  was,  he  was  so 
very  ugly  that  he  could  not  find  any  of  the 
dusky  beauties  who  would  accept  him,  and 
so  he  had  to  remain  a  bachelor  in  sjiite  of 
himself.  At  last  the  king  took  compassion 
on  him,  and  authorized  him  to  assume  the 
head-ring,  and  take  brevet  rank  among  the 
men,  or  "  ama-doda,"  just  as  among  our- 
selves an  elderly  maiden  lady  is  addressed 
by  courtesy  as  if  she  had  been  married. 
Sometimes  a  suitor's  heart  mi.sgives  him, 
and  he  fears  that,  in  spite  of  his  wealth  and 
the  costly  ornaments  with  which  he  adorns 
his  dark  person,  the  lady  may  not  be  pro- 
pitious. In  this  case  he  generally  goes  to  a 
witch  doctor  and  purchases  a  charm,  which 
he  hopes  will  cause  her  to  relent.  The 
charm  is  sometimes  a  root,  or  a  piece  of 
wood,  bone,  metal,  or  horn,  worn  about  the 
person,  but  it  most  usually  takes  the  form  of 
a  powder.  This  magic  powder  is  given  to 
some  trusty  friend,  who  mixes  it  surrepti- 
tiously in  the  girl's  food,  sprinkles  it  on  her 
dress,  or  deposits  it  in  her  snuff  box,  and 
shakes  it  up  with  the  legitimate  contents. 

Not  nnfrequently,  when  a  suitor  is  very 
much  disliked,  and  has  not  the  good  sense 
to  withdraw  his  claims,  the  girl  takes  the 
matter  into  her  own  hands  by  running 
away,  often  to  another  tribe.  There  is 
always  a  great  excitement  in  these  cases, 
and  the  truant  is  hunted  by  all  her  relations. 
One  of  these  llights  took  place  when  a  girl 
had  been  promised  to  the  ill-favored  bach- 
elor who  has  just  been  mentioned.  He 
offered  a  chief  a  considerable  number  of 
cattle  for  one  of  his  wards,  and  paid  the 
sum  in  advance,  hoping  so  to  clench  the 
bargain.  But  when  the  damsel  found  who 
her  husband  was  to  be,  she  flatlj'  refused  to 
marry  so  ugly  a  man.    Neither  cajolements, 


threats,  nor  actual  violence  had  any  effect, 
and  at  last  she  was  tied  up  with  ropes  and 
handed  over  to  her  purchaser.  He  took  her 
to  his  home,  but  in  a  few  hours  she  con- 
trived to  make  her  escape,  and  fled  for  ref- 
uge to  the  kraal  of  a  neighboring  chief, 
where  it  is  to  be  hoped  she  found  a  husband 
more  to  her  taste.  Her  former  possessor 
declined  to  demand  her  liack  again,  inas- 
much as  she  had  been  paid  for  and  delivered 
honorably,  and  on  the  same  grounds  he  de- 
clined to  return  the  price  paid  for  her.  So 
the  unfortunate  suitor  lost  not  only  his 
cattle  but  his  wife. 

This  man  was  heartily  ashamed  of  his 
bachelor  condition,  and  always  concealed  it 
as  much  as  he  could.  One  day,  an  English- 
man who  did  not  know  his  history  asked 
him  how  many  wives  he  had;  and,  although 
he  knew  that  the  falsehood  of  his  answer 
must  soon  be  detected,  he  had  not  moral 
courage  to  say  that  he  was  a  bachelor,  and 
named  a  considerable  number  of  imaginary 
wives. 

Now  that  the  English  have  established 
themselves  in  Southern  Africa,  it  is  not  at 
all  an  unusual  circumstance  for  a  persecu- 
ted girl  to  take  refuge  among  them,  though 
in  niany  instances  she  has  to  l3e  given  up  to 
her  relations  when  they  come  to  search  for 
her. 

Sometimes  the  young  damsel  not  only 
exercises  the  right  of  refusal,  but  contrives 
to  choose  a  husband  for  herself.  In  one 
such  instance  a  man  had  fallen  into  pov- 
erty, and  been  forced  to  become  a  depend- 
ant. He  had  two  uumai-ried  daughters, 
and  his  chief  proposed  to  buy  them.  The 
sum  which  he  offered  was  so  small  that  the 
father  would  not  accept  it,  and  there  was  in 
consequence  a  violent  quarrel  between  the 
chief  and  himself.  Moreover,  the  girls 
themselves  had  not  the  least  inclination  to 
become  wives  of  the  chief,  who  already  had 
plenty,  and  they  refused  to  be  purchased, 
just  as  their  fiither  refused  to  accept  so  nig- 
gardly a  sum  for  them.  The  chief  was  very 
angry,  went  oft'  to  Panda,  and  contrived  to 
extort  an  order  from  the  king  that  the  girls 
should  become  the  property  of  the  chief  at 
the  price  which  he  had  fixed.  The  girls 
were  therefore  taken  to  the  kraal,  but  they 
would  not  go  into  any  of  the  huts,  and  sat 
on  the  ground,  much  to  the  annoyance  of 
their  new  owner,  who  at  last  had  them  car- 
ried into  a  hut  by  main  force.  One  of  the 
girls,  named  Uzmto,  contrived  ingeniously 
to  slip  unperceived  from  the  hut  at  dead  of 
niijht,  and  escaped  from  the  kraal  by  creep- 
ing through  the  fence,  lest  the  dogs  should 
be"  alarmed  if  she  tried  to  open  the  door. 
In  spite  of  the  dangers  of  night-travelling, 
she  jnished  on  toward  Natal  as  fast  as  she 
could,  having  nothing  with  her  but  the 
.sleeping  matVhich  a  Kaffir  uses  instead  of 
a  bed,  and  which  can  be  rolled  up  into  a  C3I- 
inder  and  slung  over  the  shoulders.    On  her 


UZINTO  AND   HER  ADVEKTIJEES. 


81 


•wa.y  she  met  with  two  adventures,  both  of 
which  nearly  frusti'atod  lier  plan.  At  the 
dawn  of  the  daj'  on  whieli  slie  escaped,  slie 
met  a  party  of  men,  wlxo  saw  tears  in  lier 
faee,  and  taxed  lier  with  being  a  fugitive. 
However,  she  was  so  ready  with  the  answer 
that  she  had  been  taking  snulf  (the  Kaffir 
snuff  always  makes  the  eyes  water  pro- 
fusely), that  they  allowed  her  to  proceed  on 
her  Journey. 

The  next  was  a  more  serious  adventure. 
Having  come  to  the  territories  of  the  Ama- 
koba  tribe,  she  went  into  a  kraal  for  shelter 
at  night,  and  the  inhabitants,  who  knew 
the  quarrel  Isetween  her  father  and  the 
chief,  first  fed  her  hospitably,  and  then  tied 
her  hand  and  foot,  and  sent  off  a  messenger 
to  the  chief  from  whom  she  had  escaped. 
She  contrived,  however,  to  get  out  of  the 
kraal,  but  was  captured  again  by  the  wo- 
men. She  was  so  violent  with  them,  and 
her  conduct  altogether  so  strange,  that  they 
were  afraid  of  her,  and  let  her  go  her  own 
way.  From  that  time  she  avoided  all  dwell- 
ings, and  only  travelled  through  the  busli, 
succeeding  in  fording  the  Tugela  river  at 
the  end  ot"  the  fourth  day,  thus  being  out  of 
Panda's  power.  Her  reason  for  undertak- 
ing this  long  and  perilous  journey  was  two- 
fold ;  first,  "that  she  might  escape  from  a 
husband  whom  she  did  not  like,  and  sec- 
ondly, that  she  might  obtain  a  husljand 
whom  she  did.  For  in  the  Natal  district 
was  living  a  young  man  with  whom  she  had 
carried  on  some  love-passages,  and  who, 
like  herself,  was  a  fugitive  from  his  own 
land.  After  some  difficulty,  she  was  re- 
ceived as  a  dependant  of  a  chief,  and  was 
straightway  asked  in  marriage  by  two  young 
men.  She  would  have  nothing  to  say  to 
them,  but  contrived  to  find  out  her  former 
lover.  Then  followed  an  absurd  series  of 
scenes,  too  long  to  be  narrated  in  detail. 

First  the  young  man  was  rather  cool 
toward  her,  alid  so  she  went  off  in  a  huff, 
and  would  not  speak  to  him.  Then  he  went 
after  her,  but  was  only  rejiulsed  for  his 
pains.  Then  they  met  while  the  chief's 
corn  was  being  planted,  and  made  up  the 
quarrel,  but  were  espied  by  tlie  chief,  and 
both  soundly  beaten  for  idling  instead  of 
working.  Then  he  fell  ill,  and  .she  went  to 
see  him,  but'would  not  speak  a  word.  Then 
he  got  well,  and  they  had  another  quarrel, 
which  was  unexpectedly  terminated  by 
Uzinto  insisting  on  being  married.  The 
young  man  objected  that  he  did  not  know 


how  many  cows  tlie  chief  would  want  for 
her,  and  that  he  had  not  enough  to  pay  for 
a  wife.  She  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  how- 
ever, fixed  her  own  value  at  ten  cows,  and 
ordered  him  to  work  hard  until  he  had 
earned  them.  Meanwhile  her  protector 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  take  her  for  his 
own  wife,  thinking  it  a  good  opportunity  to 
gain  another  wife  without  paying  tor  "her. 
Uziuto,  however,  had  not  gone  through  so 
much  to  lose  the  husband  on  whom  she  had 
set  her  heart,  and  she  went  to  the  young 
man's  kraal,  appeared  before  the  headman, 
and  demanded  to  be  instantly  betrothed. 
He  naturally  feared  the  anger  of  the  chief, 
and  sent  her  back  again  to  his  kraal,  where, 
with  tears,  sulking  fits,  anger  fits,  and 
threats  of  suicide,  she  worried  all  the 
inmates  so  completely,  that  they  yielded  the 
point  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  quietness, 
accepted  four  cows  from  the  lover  as  an 
instalment  of  the  required  ten,  and  so  mar- 
ried her  to  him  at  last. 

There  is  another  instance,  where  a  girl 
fell  ardently  in  love  with  a  young  Kaffir 
chief,  as  he  was  displaying  his  agility  in  a 
dance.  He  did  not  even  know  her,  and  was 
rather  surprised  when  she  presented  her- 
self at  his  kraal,  and  avowed  the  state  of 
her  affections.  He,  however,  did  not  return 
them,  and  as  the  girl  refused  to  leave  his 
kraal,  he  was  obliged  to  send  for  her 
brother,  who  removed  her  by  force.  She 
soon  made  her  way  back  again,  and^  this 
time  wfis  severely  beaten  for  her  pertinac- 
ity. The  stripes  had  no  effect  upon  her ; 
and  in  less  than  a  week  she  again  presented 
herself.  Finding  that  his  sister  was  so  de- 
termined, the  bl-ofher  suggested  that  the 
too-fascinating  chief  had  better  marry  the 
girl,  and  so  end  the  dispute  ;  and  the  result 
was  that  at  last  the  lady  gained  her  point, 
the  needful  cows  were  duly  paid  to  the 
brother,  and  the  marriage  took  place. 

Even  after  marriage,  there  are  many 
instances  where  the  wife  has  happened  to 
possess  an  intellect  far  sujierior  to  that  of 
her  husband,  and  where  she  has  gained  a 
thcn-ough  ascendancy  over  him,  guiding 
him  in  all  his  transactions,  whetlier  of 
peace  or  war.  And  it  is  only  just  to  say 
that  in  these  rare  instances  of  feminine 
supremacy,  the  husband  has  submitted  to 
his  wife's  guidance  through  a  conviction 
that  it  was"  exercised  judiciously,  and  not 
through  any  weakness  of  character  on  his 
own  part,  or  ill-temper  on  hers. 


CHAPTER  X. 


MARRIAGE  —  Concluded. 


TTEDDrSG  CEREMONIES  —  PROCESSION  OF  THE  ERIDE  —  THE  WEDDING  DRESS — THE  OXEN  —  THE  WED- 
DING DANCE  —  MUTCAX.  DEPRECIATION  AND  ENCOURAGEMENT  —  ADVICE  TO  THE  BRIDEGROOM  — 
MUTUAL  RELATIONS  OF  HUSBANDS  AND  WIVES  —  A  KAFFIR  PETRUCHIO  —  THE  OX  OF  THE  GIRL  — 
UZLNTO  AGAIN  —  THE  OX  OF  THE  SURPLUS  —  ITS  IMPORT  —  VARIETIES  OF  MARRIAGE  CEREMONIES 
—  POWER  OF  DIVORCE  —  COMPARISON  OF  THE  KAFFIR  AND  MOSAIC  LAWS  —  IRRESPONSIBLE 
AUTHORITY  OF  THE  HUSBAND  —  CURIOUS  CODE  OF  ETIQUETTE  —  KAFFIR  NAMES,  AND  MODES  OP 
CHOOSING  THEM  —  THE  BIRTH-NA5IE  AND  THE  SURNAMES  —  SUPERSTITIONS  RESPECTING  THE 
BIRTH-NAME  —  AN  AMUSING  STRATAGEM — THE  SURNAMES,  OR  PRAISE-NAMES  —  HOW  E^VRNED 
AND  CONFERRED  —  VARIOUS  PRAISE-NAMES  OF  PANDA  —  A  KAFFIR  BOASTER  —  SONG  IN  PRAISE  OF 
PANDA  —  THE  ALLUSIONS  EXPLAINED  —  A  STRANGE  RESTRICTION,  AND  MODE  OF  EVADING  IT  — 
INFERIOR  POSITION  OF  WOMEN  —  WOMEN  WITH  FIREWOOD  —  DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  GIRLS  OF 
VARIOUS  RANKS. 


Wi'EN  the  marriage-day  is  fixed,  a  cere- 
monial talies  place,  differing  iu  detail  accord- 
ing to  the  wealth  of  the  parties,  but  similar 
in  all  the  principal  points.  The  bride, 
decked  in  all  the  beads  and  other  finery  that 
she  can  muster,  proceeds  in  a  grand  proces- 
sion to  the  kraal  of  her  future  husljand. 
Her  head  is  shaved  with  an  assagai  before 
she  starts,  the  little  tuft  of  hair  on  the 
top  of  her  bare  pate  is  rubbed  with  red 
paint,  and  dressed  with  various  appliances, 
until  it  stands  on  end,  and  the  odd  little  tuft 
looks  as  much  as  possible  like  a  red  shaving 
brush,  with  very  short,  diverging  bristles. 
She  is  escorted  by  all  her  young  friends,  and 
is  accompanied  by  her  mother  and  many 
other  married  women  of  the  tribe,  all  bediz- 
ened to  the  utmost.  Her  male  relatives 
and  friends  make  a  point  of  joining  the  pro- 
cession, also  dressed  in  their  best,  but  each 
bearing  his  shield  and  a  bundle  of  assagais, 
so  as  to  guard  the  bride  against  enemies. 
She  then  seats  herself,  surrounded  by  her 
companions,  outside  the  kraal. 

About  this  period  of  the  ceremony  there 
is  generally  a  considerable  amount  of  by- 
play respecting  certain  oxen,  which  have  to 
be  given  by  the  bridegroom  and  the  father 
of  the  bride.  The  former  is  called  the 
"  Ukutu  "  ox,  which  is  given  to  the  mother 
of  the  bride  l)y  the  bridegroom.  The  word 
"Ukutu"    literally    signifies    the    leathern 

(8: 


thongs  which  are  hung  about  the  bodies  of 
children  by  way  of  charms,  and  the  present 
of  the  ox  to  the  mother  is  made  in  order  to 
reimburse  her  for  the  expenditure  in  thongs 
during  her  daughter's  childhood.  The 
mother  does  not  keep  the  ox,  but  slaughters 
it  and  dresses  it  for  the  marriage  feast,  and 
by  the  time  that  the  wedding  has  been  fairly 
begun,  the  Ukutu  ox  is  ready  for  the  guests. 
Another  ox,  called  by  the  curious  name  of 
"  Umquoliswa,"  is  given  by  the  bridegroom 
to  the  girl's  father,  and  aljout  this  there 
is  much  ceremory,  as  is  narrated  liy  Mr. 
Shooter.  "  The  day  having  considerably  ad- 
vanced, the  male  friends  of  the  bride  go  to 
the  bridegroom's  kraal  to  claim  the  ox  called 
Umquoliswa.  In  a  case  which  I  witnessed, 
they  proceeded  in  a  long  file,  with  a  step  dif- 
ficult to  describe,  being  a  sort  of  slow  and 
measured  stamping,  an  imitation  of  their 
dancing  movement.  AVearing  the  dress  and 
ornaments  previously  mentioned  as  appro- 
priated to  occasions  of  festivity,  they  bran- 
dished shields  and  sticks,  the  usual  accom- 
paniment of  a  wedding  dance;  while  their 
tongues  were  occupied  with  a  monotonous 
and  unsentimental  chant  — 

"  'Give  IIS  the  TTmquoliswa, 
We  desire  the  Umquoliswa.' 

"  In  this  way  they  entered  the  krnal,  and, 
turning  to  the  right,  reached  the  principal 
12; 


PROCESSION  or  THE  jskide. 

(See  page  8a.) 


(83) 


THE   WEDDIXCt  DAJ^^CE. 


85 


hut.  The  father  of  the  girl  now  called  upon 
the  bridegroom,  who  was  inside,  to  come 
forth  and  give  them  the  Umquoliswa.  The 
latter  replied  that  he  had  no  ox  to  present 
to  them.  lie  was  then  assured  that  the 
bride  would  be  taken  home;  but  he  re- 
mained invisil)le  until  other  meml)ers  of 
the  party  had  required  him  to  appear. 
Having  left  the  house,  he  hurried  to  the 
gateway,  and  attempted  to  pass  it.  His 
exit,  however,  was  barred  by  a  company  of 
women  already  in  possession  of  the  en- 
trance, while  "a  smile  on  his  face  showed 
that  his  efforts  to  escape  were  merely  for- 
mal, and  that  he  was  going  through  an 
amusing  ceremony.  The  Umquoliswa  was 
now  fetched  from  the  herd,  and  given  to  the 
bride's  party,  who  were  bivouacking  under 
the  lee  of  a  clump  of  bush.  Her  sisters 
affected  to  despise  it  as  a  paltry  thing,  and 
bade  the  owner  produce  a  better.  He  told 
them  that  it  was  the  largest  and  the  fattest 
that  he  could  procure  ;  but  they  were  not 
satistied  —  they  would  not  eat  it.  Presently, 
the  father  put  an  end  to  their  noisy  by-play, 
and  accepted  the  beast.  The  bride  then  ran 
toward  the  kraal,  and  after  a  while  the 
dances  commenced." 

The  dances  are  carried  on  with  the  vio- 
lent, and  almost  furious  energy  that  seems 
to  take  possession  of  a  KafHr's  soul  when 
engaged  in  the  dance,  the  arms  flourishing 
sticks,  shields,  and  spears,  while  the  legs  are 
performing  marvellous  feats  of  activity. 
First,  the  bridegroom  and  his  companions 
seat  themselves  in  the  cattle  pen,  and  re- 
fresh themselves  copiously  with  beer,  while 
the  j)arty  of  the  bride  dances  before  him. 
The  process  is  then  reversed,  the  bride  sit- 
ting down,  an<l  her  husband's  party  dancing 
before  her.  Songs  on  both  sides  accompany 
the  dance. 

The  girl  is  addressed  by  the  matrons 
belonging  to  the  bridegroom's  party,  who 
depreciate  her  as  much  as  j)ossible,  telling 
lier  that  her  husband  has  given  too  many 
cows  for  her,  that  she  will  never  be  able  to 
do  a  married  woman's  work,  that  she  is 
rather  plain  than  otherwise,  and  that  her 
marriage  to  the  bridegroom  is  a  wonderful 
instance  of  condescension  on  his  part.  This 
cheerful  address  is  intended  to  prevent  her 
from  being  too  much  elated  by  her  trans- 
lation from  the  comparative  nonentity  of 
girlhood  to  the  honorable  post  of  a  Zulu 
matron. 

Perfect  equity,  however,  reigns  ;  and 
when  the  bride's  party  begin  to  dance  and 
sing,  they  make  the  most  of  their  opportu- 
nity. Addressing  the  parents,  they  congrat- 
ulate them  on  the  possession  of  such  a 
daughter,  but  rather  condole  with  them  on 
the  very  inadequate  number  of  cows  which 
the  bridegroom  has  paid.  They  tell  the 
bride  that  she  is  the  most  lovely  girl  in 
the  tribe,  that  her  conduct  has  been  abso- 
lute -perfection,  that  the  husband  is  quite 


unworthy  of  her,  and  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  himself  for  making  such  a  hard  bargain 
with  her  father.  Of  course  neither  party 
believes  a  word  that  is  said,  but  everything 
in  Kaffirland  must  be  conducted  with  the 
strictest  etiquette. 

After  each  dance,  the  leader  —  usually 
the  father — addresses  a  speech  to  the  con- 
tracted couple  ;  and,  if  the  bridegroom  be 
taking  a  wife  for  the  first  time,  the  quantity 
of  good  advice  that  is  heaped  upon  him  by 
the"  more  experienced  would  be  very  iisL'ful 
if  he  were  likely  to  pay  any  attention  to  it. 
He  is  told  that,'being  a  bachelor,  he  cannot 
know  how  to  manage  a  wife,  and  is  advised 
not  to  make  too  frequent  use  of  the  stick, 
by  way  of  gaining  obedience.  Men,  lie  is 
told,  can  manage  any  number  of  wives 
without  using  personal  violence  ;  but  boj's 
are  apt  to  be  too  hasty  with  their  hands. 
The  husband  of  Uzinto,  whose  adventures 
have  already  been  related,  made  a  curious 
stipulation  When  thus  addressed,  and  prom- 
ised not  to  lieat  her  if  she.  did  not  beat  him. 
Considering  the  exceedingly  energetic  char- 
acter of  the  girl,  this  was  rather  a  wiae 
condition  to  make. 

All  these  preliminaries  being  settled,  the 
bridegroom  seats  himself  on  the  grmmd 
while  the  bride  dances  before  him.  While 
so  doing,  she  takes  the  opportunity  of  call- 
ing him  by  opprobrious  epithets,  kicks  dust 
in  his  face,  disarranges  his  elegant  head- 
dress, and  takes  similar  liberties  by  way  of 
letting  him  know  that  he  is  not  her  master 
yet.  "After  she  is  married  she  will  take  no 
such  liberties. 

Then  another  ox  comes  on  the  scene,  the 
last,  and  most  important  of  all.  This  is 
<-alled  the  Ox  of  the  Girl,  and  has  to  be  pre- 
sented l>y  the  Ijridegroom. 

It  must  here  lie  mentioned  that,  although 
the  bridegroom  seems  to  be  taxed  rather 
heavily  for  the  privilege  of  possessing  a  wife, 
the  tax  is  more  apparent  than  real.  In  the 
first  place,  he  considers  that  all  these  oxen 
form  iiart  of  the  price  which  he  pays  for  the 
wif?  in  question,  and  looks  upon  them  much 
in  the  same  light  that  householders  regard 
the  various  taxes  that  the  occupier  of  a 
house  has  to  pay  —  namely,  a  recognized 
addition  to  the  sum  demanded  for  the  prop- 
erty. The  Kaffir  husliand  considers  his 
wife  as  much  a  jiortion  of  his  ]u-operty  as 
his  spear  or  his  kaross,  and  will  sometimes 
state  the  point  very  plainly. 

"Wlien  a  missionary  was  trying  to  re- 
monstrate with  a  Kaffir  for  throwing  all  the 
hard  work  upon  his  wife  and  doing  nothing 
at  all  himself,  he  answered  that  she  was 
nothing  more  or  less  than  his  ox,  bought 
and  paid  for,  and  must  expect  to  be  worked 
accordingly.  His  interlocutor  endeavored 
to  strengthen  his  position  by  mentioning 
the  manner  in  which  Europeans  treated 
their  wives,  but  met  with  little  success 
in  his  argument.     The  Kaffii-'s  reply  was 


86 


THE  KArriR. 


simple  enough,  and  perfectly  unanswerable. 
'•  White  men  do  not  buy  their  wives,  and 
the  two  cases  arc  not  parallel."  In  fact, 
a  Kaffir  husband's  idea  of  a  wife  does  not 
diiler  very  far  from  that  of  Petruchio, 
although  the  latter  did  happen  to  be  an 
European  — 

,  "I  will  be  master  of  what  is  mine  own; 

SIk-  is  my  goods,  my  chattels,  she  is  ray  house, 
My  liouseholil  stutl',  my  field,  my  barn. 
My  horse,  my  ox,  my  ass,  my  anything." 

And  the  Kaffir  wife's  idea  of  a  husband  is 
practically  that  of  the  tamed  Katherine  — 

"Thy  husband  is  thy  lord,  thy  keeper. 
Thy  head,  thy  sovereign" — 

though  she  could  by  no  manner  of  means 
fluish  the  speech  with  truth,  and  say  that 
he  labors  for  her  while  she  aliides  at  "liome 
at  ease,  and  asks  no  other  tribute  but  obe- 
dience and  love.  The  former  portion  of 
ffiat  tribute  is  exacted;  the  latter  is  not 
so  rare  as  the  circumstances  seem  to  de- 
note. 

The  sums  which  a  Kaffir  pays  for  his 
wife  he  considers  as  projierty  invested  by 
himself,  and  expected  to  return  a  good 
interest  in  the  long  run,  and,  as  has  already 
been  mentioned,  there  are  often  circum- 
stances under  which  be  takes  credit  for  the 
amount,  and  expects  to  be  repaid.  So, 
although  a  bridegroom  is  obliged  to  part 
with  certain  cattle  on  the  occasion  of  his 
wedding,  he  keeps  a  verj'  accurate  mental 
account  of  them,  and  is  siu'e  to  repay  him- 
self in  one  way  or  another. 

After  the  Ox  of  the  C4irl  has  been  fur- 
nished, it  is  solemnly  slaughtered,  and  tliis 
constitutes  the  binding  ]iortion  of  the  mar- 
riage. Up  to  that  time  the  fatlier  or  owner 
of  the  girl  might  take  her  back  again,  of 
course  returning  the  cattle  that  had  been 
paid  for  her,  as  well  as  those  which  had 
been  presented  and  slaughtered.  Our  hero- 
ine, Uziuto,  aftbrded  an  example  of  this 
kind.  The  bridegroom  had  a  natural  anti- 
patliy  to  the  chief,  who  had  tried  to  marry 
the  lady  by  force,  and  showed  his  feelings 
by  sending  the  very  smallest  and  thinnest 
ox  that  could  be  found.  The  chief  remon- 
strated at  this  insult,  and  wanted  to  annul 
the  whole  transaction.  In  this  he  might 
have  succeeded,  but  for  a  curious  coin- 
cidence. The  father  of  the  bride  had 
finally  quarrelled  with  his  chief,  and  had 
been  forced  to  follow  the  example  of  his 
daughter  and  her  intended  husband,  and 
to  take  refuge  in  Natal.  .lust  at  the  wed- 
ding he  unexpectedly  made  his  appearance, 
and  found  liimself  suddenly  on  the  way  to 
wealth.  His  daughter  was  actually  being 
married  to  a  man  who  had  enajaged  to  piiy 
ten  cows  for  her.  So  he  did  not  trouble 
himself  in  the  least  about  the  size  of  the 
ox  that  was  to  be  slauirhtered,  but  accepted 
the  animal,  and  accordingly  became  owner 


of  the  cows  in  question,  minus  those  which 
had  to  be  jjaid  as  honorary  gifts  to  the  dis- 
appointed chief  and  the  successful  lover. 

After  the  ceremonies  are  over,  the  hus- 
band takes  his  wife  home,  the  character 
of  that  home  being  dependent  on  his  rank 
and  wealth.  But  when  the  couple  have 
fairly  taken  up  their  abode,  the  father  or 
previous  owner  of  the  wife  always  sends 
one  ox  to  her  husband.  This  ox  Is  called 
the  Ox  of  the  Surplus,  and  represents  sev- 
eral ideas.  In  the  first  place  it  is  supposed 
to  imply  that  the  girl's  value  very  far  ex- 
ceeds that  of  any  number  of  oxen  which 
can  be  given  for  her,  and  is  intended  to 
let  the  bridegroom  know  that  he  is  not 
to  think  too  much  of  himself.  Next,  it 
is  an  admission  on  the  father's  side  that  he 
is  satisfied  with  the  transaction,  and  that 
when  he  dies  he  will  not  avenge  himself 
by  haunting  his  daughter's  household,  and 
.so  causing  tlie  husband  to  be  disappoint- 
ed in  his  wishes  for  a  large  family  of 
l)oys  and  girls,  t)ie  first  to  be  warriors 
and  extend  the  power  of  his  house,  and 
the  second  to  be  sold  for  many  cows 
and  increase  his  wealth.  So  curiously 
elaborate  are  the  customs  of  the  Kaffirs, 
that  when  this  Ox  of  the  Surplus  enters 
the  kraal  of  the  hu.sband  it  is  called  by 
another  name,  and  is  then  entitled  "  The 
Ox  tbat  opens  the  Cattle-fold."  The  theory 
of  this  name  is,  that  the  husband  lias  paid 
for  his  wife  all  his  oxen,  and  that  in  conse- 
quence the  cattle-fold  is  empty.  Ihit  the 
ox  that  she  brings  witb  her  reopens  the 
gate  of  the  fold,  and  is  looked  upon  as  an 
earnest  of  the  herds  that  are  to  be  pur- 
chased with  the  daughters  which  she  ma}' 
have  in  the  course  of  her  married  life. 
Tliese  curious  customs  strongly  remind  us 
of  the  old  adage  respecting  the  counting  of 
chickens  before  they  are  hatched,  but  the 
Kaffir  seems  to  perform  that  premature 
calculation  in  more  ways  than  one. 

The  reader  will  understand  that  these 
minute  and  com])licated  ceremonies  are  not 
always  observed  in  jjreciselj'  the  same 
manner.  In  many  cases,  especially  when 
the  Kaffirs  have  lived  for  any  length  of 
time  under  the  protection  of  white  men, 
there  is  very  little,  if  any  ceremony;  the 
chief  rites  being  the  arrangement  with 
the  girl's  owner  or  fatlier,  the  delivery  of 
the  cattle,  and  the  transfer  of  the  ]nirchased 
girl  to  the  kraal  of  her  husband.  More- 
over, it  is  very  difficult  for  while  men  to  be 
present  at  Kaffir  ceremonies,  and  in  many 
cases  the  Kaffirs  will  pretend  tbat  there  is 
no  ceremony  at  all,  in  order  to  put  their 
interrogatoris  ofl"  the  track.  Tlie  foregoing 
account  is,  however,  a  tolerably  full  descrip- 
tion of  the  ceremonies  that  are.  or  have 
been,  practised  by  the  great  Zulu  tribe. 

A  marriage  thus  made  is  considered  quite 
as  binding  as  anv  ceremony  among  our- 
selves, and  the  Kaffir  may  not  put  away  his 


POAVER  or  DIVORCE. 


87 


wife  except  for  causes  that  are  considered 
valid  by  tlie  councillors  of  the  tribe.  lu- 
fidelity  is,  of  course,  punished  by  instant 
dismissal  of  the  unfaithful  wife,  if  not  by 
her  death,  the  latter  tixte  invariably  befall- 
ing the  erring  wife  of  a  chief.  As  for  the 
other  culprit,  the  aggrieved  husband  has 
him  at  his  mercy,  and  sometimes  puts  him 
to  death,  but  sometimes  commutes  that 
punishment  for  a  heavy  tine.  Constant  and 
systematic  disobedience  is  also  accepted  as 
a  valid  cause  of  divorce,  and  so  is  incor- 
rigible idleness.  The  process  of  reasoning 
is,  that  the  husband  has  bought  the  woman 
in  order  to  perform  certain  tasks  for  liim. 
If  she  refuses  to  perform  them  through 
disobedience,  or  omits  to  perform  them 
through  idleness,  it  is  clear  that  he  has  paid 
his  mjney  for  a  worthless  article,  and  is 
therefore  entitled  to  return  her  on  the 
hands  of  the  vendor,  and  to  receive  back 
a  fair  proportion  of  the  sum  which  he  has 
paid.  Sometimes  she  thinks  herself  ill 
treated,  and  betakes  herself  to  the  kraal 
of  her  father.  In  this  case,  the  father  can 
keep  her  by  paying  back  the  cattle  which 
^he  has  received  for  her;  and  if  there  should 
be  any  children,  the  husband  retains  them 
as  hostages  until  the  cattle  have  been  de- 
livered. He  then  transfers  them  to  the 
mother,  to  whom  thej'  righth'  belong. 

Another  valid  cause  of  divorce  is  the 
liiisfortune  of  a  wife  being  childless.  The 
husband  expects  that  she  shall  be  a  fruit- 
ful wife,  and  that  his  children  will  add  to 
his  power  and  wealth;  an<l  if  she  does  not 
fulfil  this  expectation,  he  is  entitled  to  a 
divorce.  Generally,  he  sends  the  wife  to 
the  kraal  of  her  father,  who  propitiates  the 
spirits  of  her  ancestors  by  the  sacrifice  of 
an  ox,  and  begs  the:n  to  remove  the  cause 
of  divorce.  She  then  goes  back  to  her  hus- 
band, but  if  she  should  still  continue  child- 
less, she  is  sent  back  to  her  father,  who  is 
bound  to  return  the  cattle  which  he  has 
received  for  her.  Sometimes,  however,  a 
modification  of  this  system  is  employed, 
jind  the  father  gives,  in  addition  to  the 
wife,  one  of  her  unmarried  sisters,  who, 
it  is  hoped,  may  better  fulfil  the  wishes  ot 
the  husband.  The  father  would  rather  fol- 
low this  plan  than  consent  to  a  divorce, 
because  he  then  retains  the  cattle,  and  to 
give  up  a  single  ox  causes  pangs  of  sorrow 
in  a  Kaffir's  breast.  Should  the  sister  be- 
come a  fruitful  wife,  one  or  two  of  the  chil- 
dren are  transferred  to  the  former  wife, 
and  ever  afterward  considered  as  belong- 
ing to  her  house. 

_  All  these  details  remind  the  observer  of 
similar  details  in  the  Mosaic  law  of  mar- 
riage, and,  in  point  of  fact,  the  social  con- 
dition of  the  Kaffir  of  the  present  day  is 
not  very  different  from  that  of  the "  Is- 
raelite when  the  Law  was  first  promul- 
gated through  the  great  legislator.  Many 
of  the  customs  are  identical,  and  in  others 


there  is  a  similitude  that  is  almost  startling. 
But,  as  far  as  the  facility  of  divorce  goes, 
the  Kaffir  certainly  seems  to  look  upon 
marriage,  even  though  he  may  have  an 
unlimited  number  of  \vives,  with  more 
reverence  than  did  the  ancient  Israelite, 
and  he  would  not  think  of  <livorcing  a  wife 
through  a  mere  caprice  of  the  moment, 
as  was  sanctioned  by  the  traditions  of  the 
.Jews,  though  not  by  their  divinely  given 
law. 

Still,  though  he  does  not,  as  a  general 
rule,  think  himself  justified  in  such  arbi- 
trar}'  divorces,  he  considers  himself  gifted 
with  an  irresponsible  authoritv  over  his 
wives,  even  to  the  power  of  life  and  death. 
If,  for  example,  a  husband  in  a  fit  of  passion 
were  to  kill  his  wife  —  a  circumstance  that 
has  frequently  occurred  —  no  one  has  any 
business  to  interfere  in  the  matter,  for,  ac- 
cording to  his  view  of  the  case,  she  is  his 
[jroperty,  bought,  and  paid  for,  and  he  has 
just  as  much  right  to  kill  her  as  if  she  were 
one  of  his  goats  or  oxen.  Her  father  can- 
not proceed  against  the  murderer,  for  he 
has  no  further  right  in  his  daughter,  hav- 
ing sold  her  and  received  the  stipulated 
price.  The  man  has,  in  fact,  destroyed 
valuable  property  of  his  own  —  property 
which  might  be  sold  for  cows,  and  which 
was  expected  to  work  for  him,  and  produce 
offspring  exchangeable  for  cows.  It  is 
thought,  therefore,  that  if  he  chooses  to 
inflict  upon  himself  so  severe  a  loss,  no 
one  has  any  more  right  to  interfere  with 
him  than  if  he  were  to  kill  a  numljcr  of 
oxen  in  a  fit  of  passion.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, the  chief  has  been  known  to  take 
such  a  matter  in  hand,  and  to  fine  the  de- 
linquent in  a  cow  or  two  for  destroying  a 
valuable  piece  of  property,  which,  though 
his  own,  formed  a  unit  in  the  strength  of 
the  tribe,  and  over  which  he,  as  the  ac- 
knowledged father  of  the  tribe,  had  a  juris- 
diction. But,  even  in  such  rare  instances, 
his  interference,  although  it  would  be  made 
ostensibly  for  the  sake  of  justice,  would  in 
reality  be  an  easy  mode  of  adding  to  his 
own  wealth  by  confiscating  the  cattle  which 
he  demanded  as  a  fine  from  the  culprit. 

Between  married  persons  and  their  rela- 
tives a  very  singular  code  of  etiquette  pre- 
vails. In  the  first  place,  a  man  is  not 
allowed  to  marry  any  one  to  whom  he  is 
related  by  l)lood.  He  may  marry  two  or 
more  sisters,  provided  that  the3'  come  from 
a  difterent  family  from  his  own,  but  he  may 
not  take  a  wife  who  descended  from  his  own 
immediate  ancestors.  But,  like  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  a  man  may  not  only  marry  tho 
wife  of  a  deceased  brother,  but  considers 
himself  bound  to  do  so  in  justice  to  the 
woman,  and  to  the  children  of  his  brother, 
wlio  then  become  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses his  own. 

The  peculiar  etiquette  which  has  been 
mentioned    lies    in    the    social   conduct  of 


88 


THE   KAFFIR. 


reader  may  perhaps  renifiiiber  that  a  simi- 
lar custuni  prevails  tliroughuut  the  greater 
part  of  I'olyiiesia. 

Tlie  wife,  again,  is  interdicted  from  pro- 
ncHineing  the  name  of  her  husband,  or  that 
of  any  of  his  brothers.  This  seems  as  if  she 
would  lie  prevented  from  speaking  to  him 
in  familiar  terms,  but  such  is  not  really  the 
case.  The  fact  is,  that  every  Kaffir  has 
more  than  one  name;  and  the  higher  the 
rank,  the  greater  the  number  of  names. 
At  birth,  or  soon  afterward,  a  name  is 
given  to  the  child,  and  this  name  has  al- 
ways reference  to  some  attribute  which  the 


those  who  are  related  to  each  other  by  mar- 
riage and   not  by  blood.     After   a   man  is 
married,  he  may  not   speak  familiarly  to  his 
wife's  mother,  nor  even   look  ui)On  her  face, 
and   this   curious  custom   is  called  "  being 
ashamed    of    the    mother-in-law."      If    he 
wishes   to  speak   to   her.  he  must  retire  to 
some  distance,  and  carry  on   his   communi- 
cation bv  shouting;  which,  as  has  been  truly 
said,  is  certainly   no   hardship   to   a  Kaffir. 
Or,  if  the  communication  be  ot  a  nature  that 
others  ought   not   to   hear,  the   etiquette  is 
thought  to  be  sufficiently  observed  jn-ovided 
that  the  two  parties  stand  at  either  side  of  a 
fence  over  which  they  cannot  see. 
If,  as  is  often  the  case,  the  man 
and  his  mother-in-law  happen  to 
meet  in  one  of  the  narrow  paths 
that   lead  from   the  kraal  to  the 
gardens  and  cultivated  tields,  they 
must  always  pretend   not  to  see 
each  other.     The  woman  gener- 
-ally   looks   out  for   a  convenient 
bush,    and    crouches    behind    it, 
while  the  man  carefully  holds  his 
shield  to  his  face.     So  far  is  this 
peculiar    etiquette     carried     that 
neither  the  man  nor  his  mother- 
in-law  is  allowed  to  mention  the 
name  of  the  other.     This  prohi- 
bition must  in  all  places  be  ex- 
ceedingly awkward,  but  it  is  more 
so  in  Kaffirland,  where  the  name 
which  is  given  to  each  individual 
is  sure  to  denote  some  mental  or 
physical   attribute,  or   to   be   the 
name     of    some     natural     object 
which  is  accepted  as  the  embodi- 
ment of  that  attribute. 

Supposing,  then,  that  the  name 
of  the  man'signitied  a  house,  and  that  the  1  child  is  desired  to  possess,  or  to  some  cir- 


KAFFIR  PASSING  HIS  MOTHER-IN-LAW. 


name  of  his  mother-in-law  signifieti  a  cow, 
it  is  evident  that  each  must  lie  rather  em- 
barrassed in  ordinary  conversation.  Per- 
sons thus  situated  always  substitute  some 
other  word  for  that  which  they  are  forliid- 
den  to  pronounce,  and  that  substitution  is 
always  accepted  by  the  friends.  Curiouslj- 
circumlocutory  terms  are  thus  invented,  and 
very  much  resemble  the  euphemisms  which 
prevail  both  in  Northern  America  and 
Northern  Europe.  In  such  a  case  as  has 
been  mentioned,  the  man  might  always 
speak  of  a  cow  as  the  "  horned  one,"  and 
the  woman  would  use  the  word  "  dwelling  " 
or  "  habitation  "  instead  of  ''  house." 

As,  moreover,  a  man  has  generally  a  con- 
siderable uumbi'r  of  mothers-in-law,  it  is 
evident  that  this  rule  must  sometimes  be 
productive  of  much  inconvenience,  and 
cause  the  memory  to  be  always  on  the 
stretch.  How  such  a  man  as  Panda,  who 
has  at  least  a  thousand  mothers-in-law,  con- 
trives to  carry  on  conversation  at  all,  is 
rather  perplexing.  Perhajis  he  is  consid- 
ered to  be  above  the  law,  and  that  his  words 
are    as  irresponsible  as  his  actions.    The 


cumstancc  which  has  occurred  at  the  time. 

For  example,  a  child  is  sometimes  called 
by  the  name  of  the  day  on  which  it  is  born, 
jiist  as  Kobinson  Crusoe  called  his  servant 
Friday.  If  a  wild  beast,  such  as  a  lion  or  a 
jackal,  were  heard  to  roar  at  the  time  when 
the  child  was  born,  the  circumstance  would 
be  accepted  as  an  omen,  and  the  child  called 
l)y  the  name  of  the  beast,  or  by  a  word 
which  represents  its  cry.  Mr.  Shooter 
mentions  some  rather  curious  examples  of 
these  names.  If  tlie  animal  which  was 
heard  at  the  time  of  the  child's  liirth  were 
the  hyrena,  which  is  called  mijiiai  liy  the 
natives,  the  name  of  the  child  might  lie 
either  U'mpisi,  or  U-huhu,  the  seconil  liemg 
an  imitative  sound  representing  the  laugh- 
like crv  of  th."  hvama.  A  boy  whose  la- 
ther prided  himself  on  the  number  of  his 
stud,  which  of  course  would  be  yery  nnich 
increased  when  his  son  inherited  them, 
called  the  child  '■  Uso-mahashe,"  J.  f.  the 
father  of  horses.  This  child  liecnme  after- 
ward a  well-known  chief  in  the  Natal  dis- 
trict. A  girl,  again,  whose  mother  had 
been  presented  with  a  new  hoe  just  before 


BIRTH-NAMES  AXD   PRAISE-NAMES. 


89 


her  (laughter  was  born,  called  the  girl 
"  Uno-iitsimbi,"  i.  e.  the  daughter  of  iron. 
The  name  of  Panda,  the  king  of  the  Zulu 
tribes,  is  in  reality  "  U-mpande,"  a  name 
derived  from  "  impande,"  a  kind  of  root. 

These  birth-names  are  Known  by  the  title 
"  igama,"  and  it  is  only  to  theni  that  the 
prohiljitive  custom  extends.  In  the  case  of 
a  chief,  his  igama  may  not  be  spoken  by 
any  belonging  to  his  kraal;  and  in  the  case 
of  "a  king;  the  law  extends  to  all  his  sub- 
jects. Thus,  a  Kaffir  will  not  only  refuse  to 
.speak  of  Panda  by  his  name,  but  when  he 
has  occasion  to  speak  of  the  root  imijandc, 
he  substitutes  another  word,  and  calls  it 
"  ingxabo." 

A  Kaffir  does  not  like  that  a  stranger 
should  even  hear  his  igama,  lor  he  has  a 
hazy  sort  of  idea  that  the  knowledge  might 
he.  used  for  some  evil  purpose.  One  of  my 
friends,  who  lived  in  Kafflrland  for  some 
years,  and  employed  a  considerable  number 
of  the  men,  never  could  induce  any  of  them 
to  tell  him  their  igama,  and  found  tliat  they 
woulil  always  prefer  to  lie  called  by  some 
English  name,  such  as  Tom,  or  Billy.  At 
last,  when  he  had  attained  a  tolerable  idea 
of  the  language,  he  could  listen  to  their 
conversation,  and  so  find  out  the  real  names 
by  which  they  addressed  each  other.  When 
he  had  mastered  these  names,  he  took  an 
opportunity  of  addressing  each  man  by  his 
igama,  and  frightened  them  exceedinglj'. 
On  hearing  the  word  spoken,  they  started 
as  if  they  had  been  struck,  and  laid  their 
hands  on  their  mouths  in  horrified  silence. 
The  very  fact  that  the  white  man  had  been 
able  to  gain  tlie  forbidden  knowledge  af- 
fected them  witli  so  strong  an  idea  of  his 
superiority  that  they  became  very  obedient 
servants. 

In  addition  to  the  igama,  the  Kaffir  takes 
other  names,  alwaj's  in  praise  of  some 
action  that  he  has  performed,  and  it  is 
thought  good  manners  to  address  him  by 
one  or  more  of  these  titles.  This  second 
name  is  called  the  "  isi-bonga,"  a  word  ^vdlich 
is  derived  from  "  uku-bonga,"  to  praise. 
In  Western  Africa,  a  chief  takes,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  ordinary  name,  a  whole  series  of 
"  sti'ong-uames,"'  all  allusive  to  some  por- 
tion of  his  history.  Sometimes,  the  isi- 
bonga  is  given  to  him  by  others.  For 
example,  as  soon  as  a  boy  is  enrolled  among 
the  youths,  his  parents  give  him  an  isi- 
bonga;  and  when  he  assumes  the  head- ring 
of  manhood,  he  always  assumes  another 
praise-name.  If  a  man  distinguishes  him- 
self in  battle,  his  comrades  greet  him  by  an 
isi-bonga,  by  which  he  is  officially  known 
until  he  earns  another.  On  occasions  of 
ceremony  he  is  always  addressed  by  one  or 
more  of  these  praise-names;  and  if  he  be 
visited  by  an  inferior,  the  latter  stands  out- 
side his  hut,  and  proclaims  aloud  as  man}' 
of  his  titles  as  he  thinks  suitable  for  tlie 
occasion.    It  is  then  according  to  etiquette 


to  send  a  present  of  snuff,  food,  and  drink  to 
the  visitor,  who  again  visits  the  hut,  and 
recommences  his  proclamation,  adding  more 
titles  as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  chief's 
liberality. 

A  king  has,  of  course,  an  almost  illimit- 
able number  of  isi-bongas,  and  really  to 
learn  them  all  in  order  requires  a  memory 
of  no  mean  order.  Two  or  three  of  them 
are  therefore  selected  for  ordinary  use,  the 
remainder  being  reserved  for  the  herakls 
whose  peculiar  office  it  is  to  recite  the 
jiraises  of  tlieir  monarch.  Panda,  for  exam- 
ple, is  usually  addressed  as  "  O  Elephant." 
This  is  merely  a  symbolical  isi-bonga,  and 
is  given  to  the  king  as  admitting  him  to 
be  greatest  among  men  as  the  elephant  is 
greatest  among  beasts.  In  one  sense  it  is 
true  enough,  the  elephantine  proportions  of 
Panda  quite  justifj'ing  such  an  allusion. 
This  title  might  be  given  to  any  very  great 
man,  but  it  is  a  convenient  name  by  which 
the  king  may  be  called,  and  therefore  by 
this  name  he"  is  usually  addressed  in  council 
and  on  parade. 

For  example,  Mr.  Shooter  recalls  a  little 
incident  which  occurred  during  a  review  by 
Panda.  The  king  turned  to  one  of  the 
'■  boys,"  and  asked"  how  lie  would  behave  if 
he  met  a  white  man  in  battle?  Never  was 
there  a  more  arrant  coward  than  this 
"boy,"  but  boasting  was  safe,  and  springing 
to  his  feet  he  spoke  like  a  brave  :  "  Yes,  O 
Elephant !  You  see  me  !  I'll  go  against 
the  white  man.  Ilis  gun  is  nothing.  I'll 
rush  upon  him  quickly  before  he  has  time 
to  shoot,  or  I'll  stoop  down  to  avoid  the  liall. 
See  how  I'll  kill  him!''  and  forthwith  his 
stick  did  the  work  of  an  assagai  on  the  body 
of  an  imaginaiy  European.  Ducking  to 
avoid  a  bullet,  and  then  rushing  in  before 
the  enemjf  had  time  to  reload,  was  a  very 
favorite  device  with  the  Kaffir  warriors, 
and  answered  very  well  at  first.  But  their 
white  foes  soon  learned  to  aim  so  low  that 
all  the  ducking  in  the  world  could  not  elude 
the  bullet,  while  the  more  recent  invention 
of  revolvers  and  breech-loaders  has  entirely 
discomfited  tliis  sort  of  tactics. 

Ill  a  song  in  honor  of  Panda,  a  part  of 
which  has  already  been  quoted,  a  great 
number  of  isi-bongas  are  introduced.  It 
will  be  therefore  better  to  give  the  song 
entire,  and  to  explain  the  various  allusions 
in  their  order.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  in  his  earlier  days  Panda,  whose  life 
was  originally  spared  by  Ditigan,  when  he 
murdered  Tchaka  and  the  rest  of  the  fam- 
ily, was  afterward  obliged  to  flee  before 
him,  and  very  ingeniously  contrived  to  get 
off  safely  across  the  river  liy  watching  his 
opportunity  while  the  army  of  Dingan  was 
engaged  in  another  direction.  He  tlien 
made  an  alliance  with  the  white  men, 
brought  a  large  force  against  Dingan,  and 
conquered  him,  driving  him  far  beyond  the 
boundaries,  and  ending  by  having  himself 


90 


THE   KATFIR. 


proclaimed  as  Kin?  of  the  Zulu  tribes. 
This  fight  took  pla^e  at  the  Makoiiko,  and 
was  witnessed  by  Panda's  wife,  who  came 
from  Mankebe.  The  various  praise-names 
of  Panda,  or  the  isi-bougas,  are  marked  by 
being  printed  in  italics. 

"1.  Thou  brother  of   the  Tchakas,   considerate 
/order, 

2.  A  swallow  lohirhfled  in  the  ski/  : 

3.  A  swallow  with  a  whi.skered  breast; 

4.  AVliose  eattU-  was  ever  in  so  huddled  a  crowd, 

5.  They  stimilil»-d  tor  room  when  they  ran. 

6.  Thou  false  adorer  of  the  valor  of  another, 

7.  That  valor  thou  tookest  at  the  battle  of  Ma- 

kouko. 

8.  Of  the  stock  of  N'dabazita,  ramrodof  brass, 

9.  Survivor  alone  of  all  other  rods ; 

10.  Others  they  broke  and  left  this  in  the  soot, 

11.  Thinkiiii;  to  burn  it  some  rainy  cold  day. 

12.  Tliii/h  iif  the  tiiillork  of  Inkakarini, 

13.  Always  delicious  if  only  'tis  roasted, 

14.  It  will  always  be  tasteless  if  boiled. 

15.  The  woman  from  Mankebe  is  delighted ; 

16.  She  has  seen  the  leojiards  of  Jama 

17.  Fi>;litinic  tof,'i-tlier  l)etween  the  Makonko. 

18.  He  jiassed  lietween  the  Jutuma  and  Ihliza, 

19.  The  Celestial   who  thundered  between   the 

Makonko. 

20.  I  praise  thee,  O  king!  son  of  Jokwane,  the 

son  of  Und.aba, 

21.  The  merciless  opponent  of  every  conspiracy. 

22.  Thou  art  an  elephant,  an  elephant,  an  elephant. 

23.  All  glory  to  thee,   thou  monarch  who  art 

black." 

The  first  isi-bonga  in  line  1,  alludes  to 
the  ingenuity  with  which  Panda  succeeded 
in  crossing  the  river,  so  as  to  escape  out  of 
the  district  where  Dingan  exercised  author- 
ity. In  the  second  line,  "  swallow  which 
tied  in  the  sky,"  is  another  allusion  to  the 
secrecy  with  which  he  managed  his  flight, 
which  left  no  more  track  than  the  passage 
of  a  swallow  through  the  air.  Lines  4  and 
5  allude  to  the  wealth,  i.  e.  the  abundance  of 
cattle,  possessed  by  Panda.  Line  0  asserts 
that  Panda  was  too  humble-minded,  and 
tliought  more  of  the  power  of  Dingan  than 
it  deserved  ;  while  line  7  offers  as'proof  of 
this  assertion  that  when  they  came  to  fight 
Panda  conquered  Dingan.  Lines  8  to  11 
all  relate  to  the  custom  of  seasoning  sticks 
by  hanging  them  over  the  firejilaces  in 
Kaffir  huts.  Line  14  alludes  to  the  fact  that 
meat  is  verj'  seldom  roasted  b\'  the  Kaffirs. 
Init  is  almost  invariably  boiled,  or  rather 
stewed,  in  closed  vessels.  In  line  15  the 
"  woman  from  Mankebe  "  is  Panda's  favor- 
ite wife.  In  line  19,  "  The  Celestial "  alludes 
to  the  name  of  the  great  Zulu  tribe  over 
which  I'anda  reigned  ;  the  word  "  Zulu " 
meaning  celestial,  and  having  much  the 
same  import  as  the  same  word  when  em- 
ployed by  the  Chinese  to  denote  their  ori- 
gin. Line  "21  refers  to  the  attempts  of 
Panda's  rivals  to  dethrone  him,  and  the 
ingenious  manner  in  which  he  contrived 
to  defeat  their  plans  by  forming  judicious 
alliances.  Line  22  reiterates  the  chief  isi- 
bonga  by  which  he  is  orally  addressed,  and 
the  words  "Monarch  who  art  black"  have 


already  been  explained  at  p.  12,  when  treat- 
ing of  the  appearance  of  the  Kaffir  tribes. 

As  is  the  case  in  many  countries,  when  a 
man  has  his  first-born  son  presented  to  him 
he  takes  as  a  new  isi-bonga  the  name  of  the 
son,  with  that  of  '■father''  prefixed  to  it; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  if  his  father 
should  hajipen  to  be  a  man  of  peculiar 
eminence  he  takes  as  a  praise-name  that 
of  his  father,  with  the  word  "  son"  prefixed. 
It  will  l)e  seen,  therefore,  that  while  the  orig- 
inal name,  or  igama,  is  permanent,  though 
very  seldom  mentioned,  his  isi-l)onga,  "or 
praise-name,  is  continually  changing. 

Fortunately,  the  Zulu  language  is  com- 
plex in  its  structure,  and  its  puritj'  is  jeal- 
ously preserved  by  the  continual  "couiicils 
which  are  held,  and  the  displays  of  oratory 
which  always  accompany  them.  Otherwise, 
thi.s  curious  custom  of  sulistituting  arbitra- 
rily one  word  for  another  might"  have  an 
extremely  injurious  efi'ect  on  the  language, 
as  has  indeed  been  the  case  in  the  countries 
where  a  similar  custom  prevails,  and  in 
which  the  language  has  changed  so  com- 
pletely that  the  natives  who  had  left  their 
OW'U  country,  and  returned  after  a  lajise  of 
some  thirty  years,  would  scarcely  be  able  to 
make  themselves  understood,  even  though 
they  had  jierfectly  retained  the  language  as  it 
was  when  they  last  spoke  it  in  their  own  land. 

There  is  a  curious  regulation  among  the 
Kaffirs,  that  a  man  is  not  allowed  to  enter 
the  hut  in  which  either  of  his  son's  wives 
may  be.  If  he  wishes  to  enter  he  gives 
notice,  and  she  retires.  But,  when  he  is  in 
possession  of  the  hut,  she  is  (placed  at  equal 
disadvantage,  and  cannot  enter  her  own 
house  until  he  has  left  it.  This  rule,  how- 
ever, is  seldom  kept  in  all  its  strictness,  and 
indeed  such  literal  obedience  is  hardly  pos- 
sible, because  the  eldest  son  very  seldom 
leaves  his  father's  kraal  until  he  has  mar- 
ried at  least  two  wives.  In  consequence  of 
the  great  practical  inconvenience  of  this 
rule,  the  Kaffirs  have  contrived  to  evade  it, 
although  they  have  not  openly  abandoned  it. 
The  father-in-law  presents  an  ox  to  his  son's 
wife,  and  in  consideration  of  this  liberality, 
she  frees  him  from  the  obligation  of  this  ])e- 
culiar  and  troublesome  courtesy.  The  na- 
tive name  for  this  custom  is  "  uku-hlonipa." 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  evident 
that  women  hold  a  very  inferior  position 
among  the  Kaffirs,  and  are  looked  ujion 
quite  "as  if  they  were  cattle;  liable,  like 
cattle,  to  be  bought  and  sold.  A  Kaffir 
never  dreams  that  he  and  his  •^^■ife  are  on 
terms  of  the  least  equality,  or  that  he  does 
not  deserve  praise  at  her  hand  for  his  con- 
descension in  marrying  her  at  all.  A  man 
will  scarcely  condescend  to  notice  the  wo- 
men of  his  "own  household.  If  they  go  out 
on  their  several  labors,  they  go  their  several 
ways.  Supposing,  for  example,  that  a  man 
were  to  cut  sticks  for  firing,  or  poles  for  the 
support  of  a  new  house ;  his  wives,  in  going 


INTEKIOR  POSITION  OF  WOMEN". 


91 


to  the  same  spot,  would  be  careful  to  choose 
a  ditterent  path.  When  he  has  cut  the 
wood  he  walks  off,  leaving  his  wives  to  per- 
form the  really  heavy  labor  of  bringing  it 
home,  and  no  man  would  ever  think  of 
assisting  a  woman  in  so  menial  a  labor. 

There  are  now  before  me  several  photo- 
graphs representing  women  carrying  bun- 
dles of  sticks,  and  it  is  wonderful  what  hu:je 
burdens  these  hard  worked  women  will 
carry.  A  man  will  not  even  litt  the  wood 
upon  the  head  of  his  wife,  but  expects  that 
one  of  her  own  sex  will  assist  her.  Some- 
times, when  a  number  of  women  are  re- 
turning froTU  wood  cutting,  walking  in  single 
lile,  as  is  their  custom,  a  "  boy  '"  will  take 
the  head  of  the  procession.  But  he  will 
not  degrade  himself  by  carrying  so  much  as 
a  stick,  and  bears  nothing  but  his  weapons, 
and  perhaps  a  sni;}ll  shield. 

The  unceremonious  manner  in  which 
these  hard  worked  women  are  treated  is 
little  less  singular  than  the  cheerful  acqui- 
escence wich  which  they  obey  the  com- 
mands of  their  sable  masters.  Once,  when 
Captain  Gardiner  was  visiting  Dingan,  he 
was  roused  long  before  daybreak  by  the 
vociferation  of  a  man  who  was  running 
through  the  kraal,  and  shouting  some  com- 
mand in  a  most  peremptory-  tone.  It 
turned  out  that  Dingan  had  suddenly  taken 
into  his  head  to  build  a  new  kraal,  and  had 
ordered  all  the  women  into  the  bush  to  pro- 
cure reeds  and  branches  for  building  pur- 
poses. In  a  few  minutes  a  vast  number 
of  female  voices  were  heard  uniting  in  a 
pleasing  melody,  which  became  louder  and 
louder  as  the  numbers  of  the  singers  in- 
creased on  their  mustering  ground,  and 
then  gradually  died  away  in  the  distance  as 
they  moved  to  the  scene  of  their  labors. 
The  bush  to  which  they  were  sent  was  ten 
miles  from  the  kraal,  but  they  went  off 
quite  cheerfully,  and  in  the  afternoon,  when 
they  returned,  each  bearing  a  huge  bundle 
of  iDushes  on  her  head,  they  were  singing 
the  same  song,  though  they  had  walked  so 
long  a  distance  and  so  heavily  laden.  .  Tlie 
song  does  not  seem  to  liave  possessed  much 
variety,  as  it  chieliy  consisted  of  one  line, 
"  Akoosiniki,  ingonvama  izezewi,"  and  a  cho- 
rus of  "Haw!  haw!  haw!"  It  was  probably 
intended  for  the  same  purpose  as  the  tunes 
played  by  regimental  bands;  namely,  to  en- 
able the  party  to  keep  step  with  each  other. 
Dingan  was  so  tenacious  of  the  superior- 
ity of  his  own  sex  that  he  would  never  allow 
his  wives  to  stand  in  his  presence,  but  made 
them  shuffle  about  from  place  to  place  on 
their  knees. 

In  consequence  of  their  different  habits  of 
life,  the  men  and  women  hardly  seem  to 
belong  to  the  same  race.  The  men,  as  a 
rule,  are  exceptionally  fine  specimens  of 
humanity  ;  and,  despite  their  high  cheek- 
bones, woolly  hair,  and  thick  lips,  might 
serve  as  models  for  a  sculptor.   Their  stature 


is  tall,  their  forms  are  elastic  and  muscular, 
and  their  step  is  free  and  noble,  as  becomes 
the  gait  of  warriors.  In  all  these  respects 
they  are  certainly  not  inferior  to  Europeans, 
and  in  many  are  decidedly  superior.  The 
women,  however,  are  rather  stunted  than 
otherwise:  their  figures  are  bowed  by  rea- 
son of  the  heavy  weights  which  they  have 
to  carry,  and  they  rapidly  lose  that  wonder- 
ful synnnetry  of  form  which  distinguished 
them  while  still  in  the  bloom  of  youth.  The 
men  preserve  their  grandeur  of  demeanor 
and  their  bold,  intelligent  aspect,  even  until 
their  hair  is  gray  from  age,  while  the  elderly 
Kaffir  woman  is  at  best  awkward  and  un- 
sightly, and  the  old  woman  irresistibly 
reminds  the  observer  of  an  aged  and  with- 
ered monkey. 

Exceptions  to  the  general  rule  are  some- 
times found.  A  chief  or  wealthy  man,  for 
exami)le,  would  take  a  pride  in  freeing  his 
daughters  and  cliief  wife  fr(mi  the  exception- 
ally hard  Labor  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  the 
sex  in  KafHrland.  In  the  case  of  the  daugh- 
ters, he  is  moved  quite  as  niuch  by  self- 
interest  as  by  parental  affection.  A  girl 
fetches  a  price  commensm-ate  with  her 
appearance,  and  the  very  best  price  is 
always  to  be  olitained  for  the  best  article. 
The  daughter  of  a  poor  man,  or  dependant, 
is  obliged  to  work  liard  and  live  hard;  and 
the  natural  consequence  is,  that  she  has 
scarcely  any  real  youth,  and  that  her  form 
is  spoiled  by  the  heavy  labors  which  are 
imposed  ujion  her  at  an  age  when  all  the 
bodily  powers  ought  to  be  employed  in  add- 
ing to  the  ]5hysical  energy  of  her  frame. 
Therefore,  when  such  a  girl  is  old  enough 
to  be  married,  she  is  thin,  careworn,  and 
coarse,  and  no  one  will  give  very  much  for 
her.  Indeed,  if  she  should  be  married,  she 
is  perfectly  aware  that  her  real  post  in  the 
kraal  of  her  husband  is  little  more  than  that 
of  a  purchased  drudge. 

The  daugliter  of  a  wealthy  man,  on  the 
contrary,  vmdertakes  but  little  of  the  really 
hard  work  which  falls  to  the  lot  other  sex; 
and  as  she  is  not  only  allowed,  but  encour- 
aged, to  ea"  che  most  fattening  food  with  as 
much  despatch  as  possible,  it  naturally  fol- 
lows that,  when  compared  with  the  ordinary 
drudge  of  every-day  life,  she  is  by  far  the 
more  prepossessing,  and  her  father  is  sure  to 
oljtain  a  very  much  higher  price  for  her 
than  would  have  been  the  case  if  she  had 
been  forced  to  do  hard  labor.  Thus  the 
three  great  requisites  of  a  Kaffir  girl  are, 
that  she  should  be  fat,  strong,  and  have 
a  tolerably  good-looking  face.  This  last 
qualification  is,  however,  subordinate  to  the 
other  two.  That  she  is  fat,  shows  that  she 
has  not  been  prematurely  worn  out  by  hard 
work;  and  that  she  is  strong,  gives  promise 
that  she  will  be  able  to  do  plenty  of  work 
after  her  marriage,  and  that  the  purchaser 
will  not  have  reason  to  think  that  he  has 
wasted  his  money. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


WAE  — OFFENSIVE  WEAPONS. 


THE  KAFFIB  MTLITART  SPIRIT,  HOW  GENERATED,  AND  HOW  FOSTERED  —  DREAD  OP  THE  UNKNOWN  — 
ARTILLERY  —  ITS  MORAL  EFFECT  ON  THE  K.AFFIR  —  NATrV'E  NAME  FOR  CANNON  —  ORGANIZATION 
OF  THE  ARMY  —  WEAPONS  USED  BY  THE  ZULU  TRIUES  —  PRIJIITIVE  FORMATION  OF  THE  SPEAR — 
MATERIALS  USED  FOR  SPEAR-HEADS — ZULU  SPEARS,  OR  "  ASSAGAIS  " — THE  ZULU  AS  A  BLACK- 
SMITH—  SHAPE  OF  THE  ASSAGAI  HEAD  —  THE  KAFFIb'S  PREFERENCE  FOR  SOFT  STEEL  —  THE 
KAFFIR  KNIFE  AND  AXE  —  RUST-RESISTING  PROPERTY  —  THE  KAFFIR  FORGE  AND  BELLOWS  — 
SMELTING  IRON  —  A  KAFFIR  CHIEF  ASTONISHED  —  LE  VAILLANT  INSTRUCTING  THE  NATIVES  Df 
THE  USE  OF  THE  FORGE  —  WIRE-DRAWING  AND  WORKING  IN  BRASS  —  HOW  THE  KAFFIR  CASTS 
AND  MODELS  RBASS  —  DIFFICULTIES  IN  IRON  WORKING  —  HOW  A  KAFFIR  OBTAINS  FIRE  —  TEMPER 
OF  ASSAGAI  HEADS  —  ASSAGAI  SHAFTS — CURIOUS  METHOD  OF  FASTENING  THE  HEAD  TO  THE  SHAFT 
—  A  REMARKABLE  SPECIMEN  OF  THE  ASSAGAI  —  HOW  THE  ASSAGAI  IS  THROWN  —  A  KAFFIR 
chief's  STRATAGEM,  AND  A  CLASSICAL  PARALLEL  —  THE  TWO  KINDS  OF  ASSAG.VI  —  THE  KNOB- 
KERRY,    AND  MODE  OF  USING  IT. 


If  there  is  any  one  trait  wliicli  distinguislies 
the  true  Kaffir  race,  it  is  tlie  innate  genius 
for  warfare.  Tlie  Kaffir  lives  from  liis  cliild- 
hood  to  his  deatli  in  an  atmosphere  of  war. 
Until  he  is  old  and  wealthy,  and  naturally 
desires  to  keep  his  possessions  in  tranquillity, 
a  time  of  peace  is  to  him  a  time  of  trouble. 
He  has  no  opportunity  of  working  off  his 
superabundant  energy;  he  has  plenty  of 
spears  which  he  cannot  use  against  an  en- 
emy, and  a  shield  which  he  can  only  employ 
in  the  dance.  He  has  no  chauco  of  dis- 
tinguishing himself,  and  so  gaining  both 
rank  and  wealth;  and  if  he  be  a  young 
bachelor,  he  cannot  hope  to  l)e  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  "  man,"  and  allowed  to  marry, 
for  many  a  long  year.  It  is  true,  that  in  a 
time  of  war  he  may  be  killed;  but  that  is  a 
reflection  which  does  not  in  the  least  trouble 
a  Kaffir.  For  all  he  knows,  he  stands  in  just 
as  great  danger  of  his  life  in  a  time  of  peace. 
He  may  unintentionally  offend  the  king;  he 
may  commit  a  breach  of  discipline  which 
would  he  overlooked  in  war  time;  he  may 
be  accused  as  a  wizard,  and  tortured  to 
death;  he  may  accumulate  a  few  cows,  and 
so  excite  the  cupidity  of  the  chief  who  will 
fine  him  heavily  for  something  which  either 
he  did  not  do,  or  which  was  not  of  the  slight- 
est imjiortance. 
Knowing,  therefore,  that  a  violent  death 


is  quite  as  likely  to  befall  him  in  peace  as  in 
war,  and  as  in  peace  he  has  no  chance  of 
gratifying  his  ambitious  feelings,  the  young 
Kafrir  is  all  for  war.  Indeed,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  judicious  councils  of  the  old  men, 
the  English  Government  would  have  had 
much  more  trouble  with  these  tribes  than 
has  been  the  case.  Even  under  Panda's 
rule,  there  have  been  great  dissensions 
among  the  army.  All  agreed  in  disliking 
the  rule  of  the  English  in  the  Natal  district, 
because  Natal  formed  a  refuge  for  thousands 
of  Kaffirs,  most  of  them  belonging  to  the 
Zulu  tribe,  and  having  fled  from  the  tyr- 
anny of  Panda;  while  others  belonged  to 
tribes  against  which  Panda  had  made  war, 
and  had  fled  for  protection  to  the  English 
flag. 

The  younger  warriors,  fierce,  arrogant, 
despising  the  white  man  because  they  do 
not  know  him,  have  repeatedly  begged  to 
be  allowed  to  invade  Natal.  They  urge,  in 
pursuance  of  their  request,  that  they  will 
conquer  the  country,  restore  to  their  king 
all  the  fugitives  who  have  run  away  from 
him,  and  inflame  their  own  minds,  and  those 
of  tlie  young  and  ignorant,  by  glowing  de- 
scriptions of  the  rich  spoil  whicli  would  fall 
to  the  conquerors,  of  the  herds  of  cattle,  the 
tons  of  beads,  the  quantities  of  flre-arms  and 
ammunition,  and,  in  lact,  the  unlimited  sup- 
2) 


okganizatio:n^  of  the  akmy. 


93 


ply  of  everything  wliich  a  Kaffir's  heart  can 
possibly  desire.  Tlie  older  men,  however, 
who  have  more  acquaintance  with  the  white 
men,  and  a  tolerably  gooil  experience  of  the 
fact  that  when  a  whitt'  man  tires  his  gun  he 
generally  hits  his  mark,  have  always  dis- 
suaded their  younger  and  more  impetuous 
comrades  from  so  rash  an  attempt. 

Strangely  enough,  the  argument  which 
has  proved  most  powerful  is  really  a  very 
weak  one.  The  Kaffir,  like  other  men,  is 
brave  enough  when  he  can  coniiirehend  his 
danger;  but  he  does  not  at  all  like  to  fiice  a 
peril  which  he  cannot  understand.  Like  all 
unknown  things,  such  a  peril  is  indeed  ter- 
rible to  a  Kaffir's  mind,  and  this  unknown 
peril  is  summed  up  in  the  word  cannon,  or 
"  By-and-b}' "  — •  to  use  the  native  term. 
Why  cannon  are  so  called  will  presently  be 
mentioned.  The  Kaffirs  have  heard  that  the 
dreai-lful  By-and-by  eats  up  everything  — 
trees,  houses,  stones,  grass;  and,  as  they 
justly  argue,  it  is  very  likely  to  eat  up  Kaffir 
soldiers.  Of  course,  in  defending  a  fort 
against  Kaffirs,  cannon,  loaded  with  grape 
and  canister,  would  be  of  terrible  efficacy, 
and  they  would  be  justitied  in  declining  to 
assault  any  place  that  was  defended  with 
such  dreadful  weapons.  But  they  do  not 
seem  to  be  aware  that  guns  in  a"  fort  and 
guns  in  the  bush  are  two  very  different 
things,  and  that,  if  they  could  decoy  the 
artillei'y  into  the  bush,  the  dreaded  weapons 
would  be  of  scarcely  more  use  than  if  they 
were  logs  of  wood.  This  distinction  the 
Kaffir  never  seems  to  have  drawn,  and  the 
wholesome  dread  of  cannon  has  done  very 
much  to  insure  tranquillity  among  the  im- 
petuous and  self-contident  soldiery  of  KatKr- 
land. 

The  odd  name  of  "  By-and-by  "  became 
attached  to  the  cannon  in  the  following 
manner:  —  When  the  natives  first  saw  some 
pieces  of  artillery  in  the  ]^atal  district,  they 
asked  what  such  strange  objects  could  be, 
and  were  answered  that  they  would  learn 
"  by-and-by."  Further  questions,  added  to 
the  tiring  of  a  few  shots,  gave  them  such  a 
terror  of  the  "By-and-by,"  that  they  have 
never  liked  to  match  themselves  against  such 
weapons. 

The  Zulu  tribes  are  remarkable  for  being 
the  only  people  in  that  part  of  Africa  who 
have  practised  war  in  an  European  sense  of 
the  word.  The  other  tribes  are  very  good 
at  bush-fighting,  and  are  exceedingly  crafty 
at  taking  an  enemy  unawares,  and  coming 
on  him  before  he  is  prepared  for  them. 
Guerilla  warfiire  is,  in  fact,  their  only  mode 
of  waging  battle,  and,  as  is  necessarily  the 
case  in  such  warfare,  more  depends  on  the 
exertion  of  individual  combatants  than  on 
the  scientific  combination  of  masses.  But 
the  Zulu  tribe  have,  since  the  time  of 
Tchaka,  the  great  inventor  of  military  tac- 
tics, carried  on  war  in  a  manner  approach- 
ing the  notions  of  civilization. 


Their  men  are  organized  into  regiments, 
each  sultdivided  into  companies,  and  each 
commanded  by  its  own  chief,  or  colonel, 
while  the  king,  as  commanding  general,  leads 
his  forces  to  war,  disposes  them  in  Isattle 
array,  and  personally  directs  their  move- 
ments. They  give  an  enemy  notice  that 
they  are  about  to  march  against  him,  and 
boldly  meet  him  in  the  open  field.  There  is 
a  military  etiquette  about  them  which  some 
of  our  own  people  have  been  slow  to  under- 
stand. They  once  sent  a  message  to  the 
English  commander  that  they  would  "  come 
and  breakfast  with  him."  He  thought  it 
was  only  a  joke,  and  was  very  much  sur- 
prised wlien  the  Kaffirs,  true  to  their  prom- 
ise, came  pouring  like  a  torrent  over  the 
hills,  leaving  him  barely  time  to  get  his 
men  under  arms  before  the  dark  enemies 
arrived. 

As,  in  Kaffir  warfare,  much  stress  is  laid 
upon  the  weapons,  otfensive  and  defensive, 
with  which  the  troops  are  armed,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  give  a  description  of  their 
weapons  before  we  proceed  any  further. 
They  are  but  few  and  simple,  and  consist  of 
certain  spears,  called  "  assagais,"  sh(n-t  clubs, 
called  "  kerries,"  and  shields  made  of  the 
hides  of  oxen. 

Almost  every  nation  has  its  distinguish- 
ing weapons,  or,  at  all  events,  one  weapon 
which  is  held  in  greater  estimation  tlian  any 
other,  and  which  is  never  used  so  skilfullj 
as  by  itself  The  Australian  savage  has  the 
boomerang,  a  weapon  which  cannot  be  used 
rightly  except  by  an  Australian.  Many 
Europeans  can  throw  it  so  as  to  make  it  per- 
form some  trifling  evolution  in  the  air,  but 
there  are  none  who  can  really  use  it  as  an 
efficient  weapon  or  instrument  of  hunting. 
The  Dyak  has  his  sumpitan,  and  the  Macou- 
shie  Indian  his  analogous  weapon,  the  zar- 
abatana,  through  which  are  blown  the  tiny 
poisoned  arrows,  a  hundred  of  which  can 
be  held  in  the  hand,  and  each  one  of  which 
has  death  upon  its  point.  The  Ghoorka  has 
his  kookery,  the  heavy  curved  knife,  with 
whicli  he  will  kill  a  tiger  in  fair  fight,  and 
boldly  attack  civilized  soldiers  in  spite  of 
their  more  elaborate  arms.  Then  the  Sikh 
has  the  strange  quoit  weapon,  or  chakra, 
which  skims  through  the  air  or  ricochets 
from  the  ground,  and  does  frightful  execu- 
tion on  the  foe.  The  Esquimaux  liave  their 
harpoons,  which  will  serve  either  for  catch- 
ing seals  or  assaulting  the  enemy.  The 
Polynesians  have  their  terrible  swords  and 
gauntlets  armed  with  the  teeth  of  sharks, 
each  of  which  cuts  like  a  lancet,  and  infiicts  a 
wound  which,  though  not  dangerous  by  itself, 
becomes  so  when  multiplied  by  the  score 
and  inflicted  on  the  most  sensitive  part  of 
the  body. 

Some  of  these  weapons  are  peculiar  in 
shape,  and  are  not  used  in  other  countries, 
whereas  some  are  modifications  of  imple- 
ments of  warfare  spread  over  a  great  part  of 


94 


THE    KAFFIR. 


the  glol)e,  and  altered  in  shape  and  size  to 
suit  llie  locality.  Of  such  a  nature  is  the 
special  weapon  of  the  Kaflirs  inhal)iting  the 
.Natal  district,  the  slight-lookinu;  but  most 
tbrniidable  spear  or  assagai.  The  spear  is 
one  of  the  simplest  of  all  weapons,  the 
simplest  of  all  excepting  the  club.  In  its 
primitive  state  the  spear  is  nothing  but  a 
stick  of  greater  or  lesser  length,  sharpened 
at  one  end.  The  best  example  of  this  prim- 
itive spear  may  be  found  in  Borneo,  where 
the  weapon  is"  made  in  a  few  minutes  by 
taking  a  piece  of  bamboo  of  convenient 
length,  and  cutting  oif  one  end  diagonally. 
The  next  improvement  in  spear  making 
was  to  put  the  jjointed  end  in  the  fln;  for  a 
few  moments.  This  process  enabled  the 
spear  maker  to  scrape  the  point  more  easily, 
while  the  charred  wood  wa.s  rendered  hard, 
and  capable  of  resisting  damp  better  than  if 
it  had  been  simply  scraped  to  a  point. 
Spears  of  this  kind  are  to  be  found  in 
almost   every  primitive  savage  tribe. 

A  further  improvement  now  takes  place. 
The  point  is  armed  with  some  material 
liarder  than  wood,  which  material  may  be 
bone,  horn,  stone,  metal,  or  other  similar 
substance.  Some  nations  arm  the  heads  of 
their  spears  with  sharp  flakes  of  flint  or 
obsidian.  Some  tip  them  with  the  end  of 
a  sharj)  horn,  or  even  with  the  claws  of  a 
mammal  or  a  bird  —  tlie  kang:u-oo,  emu,  and 
cassowary  being  used  for  this  singular  jnir- 
pose.  In  many  parts  of  the  earth,  the 
favorite  spears  are  armed  with  the  teeth  of 
sharks,  while  others  are  headed  with  tlie 
tail  spine  of  the  sting-raj%  which  not  only 
penetrates  deeply,  but  breaks  into  the 
wound,  and  always  causes  death.  These 
additions  to  the  spears,  together  with  oth- 
ers formed  of  certain  marine  shells,  are 
necessarily  the  productions  of  tribes  that 
inhabit  certain  islands  in  the  warmer  seas. 
The  last  and  greatest  improvement  that  is 
made  in  the  manufacture  of  spears  is  the 
aliolitiou  of  all  additions  to  the  head,  and 
making  the  head  itself  of  metal.  For  this 
purpose  iron  is  generally  used,  partly  be- 
cause it  takes  a  sharp  edge,  and  partly 
hecau.se  it  can  be  easily  forged  into  any 
required  shape.  The  natives  of  Southern 
Africa  are  wonderful  proflcients  in  forging 
iron,  and  indeed  a  decided  capability  f<ir  the 
blacksmith's  art  seems  to  lie  inherent  in  the 
natives  of  Africa,  from  north  to  south  and 
from  east  to  west.  None  of  the  tribes  can 
do  very  much  with  the  iron,  but  the  little 
which  they  require  is  worked  in  perfection. 
As  is  the  case  with  all  uncivilized  beings, 
the  whole  treasures  of  the  art  are  lavished 
on  their  weapons  ;  and  so  if  we  wish  to  see 
what  an  African  savage  can  do  with  iron, 
we  must  look  at  his  spears,  knives,  and 
arrows  —  the  latter  indeed  being  but  spears 
in   miniature. 

The  heads  of  the  Kaffir's  spears  are 
extremely  variable  in  form,  some  being  a 


mere  spike,  but  the  generality  being  blade 
shaped.  Very  few  are  barbed,  and  the 
ordinary  shajje  is  that  which  is  seen  several 
times  in  the  illustration  on  page  103.  Still, 
wherever  the  blade  is  adopted,  it  has  always 
one  peculiarity  of  .structure,  wliether  it  he 
plain  or  barbed.  A  raised  ridge  passes 
along  the  centre,  and  the  blade  is  convex 
on  one  side  of  the  ridge,  and  concave  on  the 
other.  The  reason  of  this  curious  structure 
seems  to  be  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  it 
is  possible  that  this  structure  of  the  blade 
acts  much  as  the  feathers  of  an  arrow,  or 
the  spiral  groove  on  the  rifle  balls  invented 
by  Dr.  Croft,  and  which  can  be  used  in 
smooth  bore  barrels.  Colonel  Lane  Fox 
finds  that  if  a  thread  be  tied  to  the  jioint  of 
an  assagai,  and  the  weapon  be  thrown  Avith 
great  care,  so  that  no  revoh'ing  force  is 
given  by  the  thrower,  the  thread  is  found 
spirally  twisted  round  the  head  and  shaft 
by  the  time  that  the  weapon  has  touched 
the  ground.  That  certainly  seems  to  be 
one  reason  for  the  form.  Another  reason 
is,  that  a  blade  thus  shaped  can  be  sharp- 
ened very  easily,  when  it  becomes  blunt. 
Nothing  is  needed  but  to  take  a  flint,  or 
even  the  back  of  a  common  knife,  and 
scrape  it  along  the  edge,  and,  if  properly 
done,  a  single  such  scrape  will  .sharpen  the 
weapon  afresh.  The  head  is  always  made 
of  soft  iron,  and  .so  yields  easilj-  to  the 
sharpening  process.  The  reader  may  re- 
member that  the  harpoons  which  we  use 
for  whale  hunting  are  always  ma<le  of  the 
softest  iron;  were  they  made  of  steel,  the 
first  furious  tug  of  the  whale  might  snap 
them,  while,  if  they  were  to  become  blunt, 
they  could  not  be  sharpened  without  much 
trouble  and  hard  work  at  the  grindstone. 

Setting  aside  the  two  questions  of  rota- 
tory motion  and  convenience  of  sharpening, 
it  is  possible  that  the  peculiar  structure  of 
the  blade  may  be  owing  to  the  fact  that 
such  a  structure  W'ould  jiroduce  the  greatest 
amount  of  strength  wilh  the  least  amount 
of  material.  The  sword  bayonet  of  the 
Chassepot  rifle  is  made  on  a  similar  prin- 
ciple. Whether  the  Kaffir  is  aware  of  this 
principle  and  forges  his  spear  head  in 
accordance  with  it,  is  another  point.  The 
reader,  better  informed  than  the  Katlir,  may 
jierhaps  remember  that  the  identical  ]u-in- 
ciple  is  carried  out  in  the  '•  corrugated  '' 
iron,  now  in  such  general  use  for  buildings, 
roofs,  and  similar  purposes. 

Kaffirs  have  a  great  fondness  for  imple- 
ments made  of  soft  iron,  and  ])rerer  a  knife 
made  of  that  material  to  the  best  blade  that 
Sheffield  can  produce.  They  admit  that  for 
some  purposes  the  steel  blade  is  superior 
to  their  own,  but  that  for  ordinary  work 
nothing  can  compare  with  the  soft  iron. 
The  steel  blade  breaks,  and  is  useless,  while 
the  soft  iron  only  bends.  Moreover,  when 
they  want  to  scoop  out  a  hollow  in  a  piece 
of  wood,  such  as  the  bowl  of  a  spoon,  the 


THE   ZULU  AS  A  BLACKSMITH. 


95 


inflexible  steel  blade  would  be  nearly  use- 
less. But  a  Kaffir  simply  takes  his  soft  iron 
knife,  bends  it  to  the  requisite  curve,  aud 
thus  can  make,  at  a  moment's  notice,  a 
gouge  witli  any  degree  of  curvature.  Wlien 
he  has  finished  his  work,  he  puts  the  blade 
on  a  flat  stone,  and  beats  it  straight  again 
in  a  few  seconds.  The  Kaffir  knife  is  nut  at 
all  like  our  own,  but  is  shaped  just  like  the 
heatl  of  an  assagai.  In  using  it,  he  grasps 
the  handle  just  as  artists  represent  assassins 
holding  daggers,  and  not  as  we  hold  knives. 
He  alwa3's  cuts  away  from  himself,  as  is 
shown  on  page  73,  No.  1;  and,  clumsy  as 
this  mode  of  using  a  knife  may  appear.  Eng- 
lishmen have  often  learned  to  appreciate  it, 
anl  to  employ  it  in  preference  to  the  ordi- 
nary European  fashion. 

Unfit  as  would  be  the  tools  made  by  a 
Kaffir  when  employed  in  Europe,  those 
made  in  Europe  and  used  in  Southern 
Africa  are  still  less  useful.  Being  unac- 
quainted with  this  fact,  both  travellers  and 
settlers  are  apt  to  spend  much  money  in 
England  upon  articles  which  they  after- 
ward And  to  be  without  the  least  value  — 
articles  which  an  experienced  settler  would 
not  take  as  a  gift.  As  a  familiar  example 
of  the  difference  between  the  tools  requii'ed 
in  various  countries,  the  axe  may  be  men- 
tioned. It  is  well  known  that,  of  all  the 
varieties  of  this  tool,  the  American  axe  is 
the  best,  as  it  has  attained  its  present  supe- 
riority by  dint  of  long  experience  on  part  of 
the  makers  among  the  vast  forests  of  their 
countrj-.  Emigrants,  therefore,  almost  in- 
variably supply  themselves  with  a  few 
American  axes,  and  in  most  cases  they 
could  not  do  better.  But  in  Southern 
Africa  this  excellent  tool  is  as  useless  as 
would  be  a  razor  in  chipping  stones.  The 
peculiar  wood  of  the  mimosa,  a  tree  which 
is  used  so  universally  in  Southern  Africa,  is 
sure  to  notch  the  edge  of  the  axe,  and  in  a 
short  time  to  render  it  incapable  of  doing 
its  work;  whereas  the  South  African  axe, 
whicli  would  be  a  clumsy  and  slow  working 
tool  in  Am  "rica,  can  cut  down  the  hardest 
mimosa  without  suflering  any  injury. 

There  is  another  reason"  why  a  Kaffir 
prefers  his  own  iron  work  to  that  of  Eu- 
ropean make.  His  own  manufacture  has 
the  property  of  resisting  damp  without 
rusting.  If  an  European  knife  or  steel  tool 
of  the  finest  quality  be  left  in  the  open  air 
all  night,  and  by  the  side  of  it'  a  Kaffir's 
assagai,  the  former  will  be  covered  with 
rust,  while  the  latter  is  as  bright  as  ever. 
Such  is  the  case  with  those  assagais  which 
are  brought  to  England.  It  is  possible  that 
this  freedom  from  rust  may  be  obtained  by 
a  process  similar  to  that  which  is  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  geological  hammers, 
namely,  that  wdiile  the  metal  is  hot,  it  is 
plunged  into  oil,  and  then  hammered.  The 
excellence  of  the  blade  is  partially  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  fire  in  which  the  metal  is 


smelted,  and  afterward  heated  for  the  forge, 
is  made  of  charcoal,  so  as  to  convert  the 
iron  into  a  kind  of  steel.  The  celebrated 
•'  wootz  "  steel  of  India  is  made  by  placing 
the  iron  in  small  crucibles  together  with 
little  twigs  of  certain  trees,  and  then  sub- 
mitting the  crucible  to  a  very  intense  heat. 

It  is  evident  that,  in  ortler  to  produce 
such  weapons,  the  Kaffir  must  be  a  good 
blacksmith,  and  it  is  certain  that,  when  we 
take  into  consideration  the  kind  of  work 
which  has  to  be  done,  he  can  hardly  be  sm-- 
passed  in  his  art.  Certainly,  if  any  EugUsli 
blacksmith  were  given  a  quantity  of  iron 
ore,  and  only  had  the  very  primitive  tools 
which  the  Kaffir  blacksmith  employs,  he 
would  be  entirely  vanquished  by  his  dusky 
brother  of  the  forge. 

Among  tht;  Kaffirs,  a  blacksmith  is  a  man 
of  considerable  importance,  aud  is  much 
respected  by  the  tribe.  He  will  not  profane 
the  mystery  of  his  craft  by  allowing  uniniti- 
ated eyes  to  inspect  his  various  processes, 
and  therefore  carries  on  his  operations  at 
some  distance  from  the  kraal.  His  first  care 
is  to  prepare  the  bellows.  The  form  which 
he  uses  prevails  over  a  very  large  portion  oi 
Africa,  and  is  seen,  with  some  few  modifica- 
tions, even  among  the  many  islands  of  Pol- 
ynesia. It  consists  of  two  leathern  sacks,  at 
the  upper  end  of  which  is  a  handle.  To  the 
lower  end  of  each  sack  is  attached  tlie  hol- 
low horns  of  some  animal,  that  of  the  cow 
or  the  eland  being  most  commonly  used ; 
and  when  the  bags  are  alternately  inflated 
aud  compressed,  the  air  passes  out  through 
the  two  horns.  Of  course  the  heat  of  the 
fire  would  destroy  the  horns  if  they  were 
allowed  to  come  in  contact  with  it,  aiid  they 
are  therefore  inserted,  not  into  the  fire,  but 
into  an  earthenware  tube,  which  communi- 
cates with  the  fire.  The  use  of  valves  is 
unknown;  but  as  the  two  horns  do  not  open 
into  the  fire,  but  into  the  tube,  the  fire  is 
not  drawn  into  the  bellows  as  would  other- 
wise be  the  case.  This  arrangement,  how- 
ever, causes  considerable  waste  of  air,  so 
Uie  bell^'vs  blower  is  obliged  to  w'ork  much 
harder  than  would  be  the  case  if  he  were 
jirovided  with  an  instrument  that  could  con- 
duct the  blast  directly  to  its  destination. 
The  ancient  Egyptians  used  a  bellows  of 
lu'ecisely  similar  construction,  except  that 
they  did  not  work  them  entirely  by  hand. 
They  stood  witli  one  foot  on  each  sack,  and 
blew  the  fire  by  alternately  pressnig  on 
them  with  the  feet,  and  raising  them  by 
means  of  a  cord  fastened  to  their  upper 
ends. 

When  the  blacksmith  is  about  to  set  to 
work,  he  digs  a  hole  in  the  ground,  in  which 
the  fire  is  placed,  and  then  sinks  the  earth- 
enware tube  in  a  sloping  direction,  so  that 
the  lower  end  opens  at  the  bottom  of  the 
hole,  while  the  upper  end  projects  above  the 
level  of  the  ground.  The  two  horns  are 
next   inserted  into  the   upper  end  of  the 


THE  KAFFIR. 


earthenware  tube,  and  the  bellows  are  then 
fastened  in  their  places,  so  that  the  sacks 
are  conveniently  disposed  for  the  hands  of 
the  operator,  who  sits  between  them.  A 
charcoal  lire  is  then  laid  in  the  hole,  and  is 
soon  l)rought  to  a  jjowerful  heat  by  means 
of  the  bellows.  A  larger  stone  serves  the 
purpose  of  an  anvil,  and  a  smaller  stone 
does  duty  for  a  hammer.  Sometimes  the 
hammer  is  made  of  a  conical  piece  of  iron, 
but  in  most  cases  a  stone  is  considered  suf- 
ficient. The  rough  work  of  hammering  the 
iron  into  shape  is  generally  done  by  the 
chief  blacksmith's  assistants,  of  whom  he 
has  several,  all  of  whom  will  pound  away 
at  tlie  iron  in  regular  succession.  The 
shaping  and  finishing  the  article  is  reserved 
by  the  smith  for  himself.  The  other  tools 
are  few  and  simple,  and  consist  of  lumches 
and  rude  pincers  made  of  two  rods  of  iron. 

With  these  instruments  the  Kaflir  smith 
can  cast  brass  into  various  ornaments. 
Sometimes  he  pours  it  into  a  cylindrical 
mould,  so  as  to  make  a  liar  from  which 
bracelets  and  similar  ornaments  can  be 
hammered,  and  sometimes  he  makes  studs 
and  knobs  by  forming  their  shapes  in  clay 
moulds. 

In  the  illustration  No.  2,  on  page  97,  a 
native  forge  is  seen  in  full  operation.  The 
chief  smith  is  at  the  left  of  tlie  engraving, 
seated  at  the  bellows  and  blowing  the  fire, 
in  which  is  placed  an  iron  rod  which  is  going 
to  be  forged  into  an  assagai  head.  The 
manner  in  which  the  horn  tubes  of  the 
bellows  are  fastened  to  the  ground  —  a  stick 
being  laid  across  each  horn,  and  a  heavy 
stone  upon  each  stick  —  is  well  shown.  At 
the  right  hand  of  the  smith  is  a  basket  con- 
taining charcoal,  and  another  is  seen  near 
the  assistant.  On  the  opposite  side  sits  the 
assistant  or  apiirentice  blacksmith,  busily 
hammering  with  a  conical  stone  at  the  spear 
head  which  is  being  forged,  and  at  his  side 
lie  one  or  two  finished  heads.  Behind  them, 
another  smith  is  hard  at  work  with  a  huge 
stone  with  which  he  is  crushing  the  ore. 
On  the  right  hand  of  the  illustration  is  seen 
the  reed  fence  which  is  erected  in  order  to 
keep  off  the  wind,  and  in  the  middle  distance 
is  the  kraal  to  which  the  smiths  belong. 
The  reed  fence  is  supported  by  being  lashed 
to  a  mimosa.  Some  jars  of  beer  stand 
within  the  shadow  of  the  fence  for  the  occa- 
sional refresliment  of  the  blacksmiths. 

How  the  blacksmith  contrives  to  work 
without  burning  liis  right  hand  is  rather 
unintelligible.  I  have  handled  the  conical 
hammer,  and  find  tliat  the  liand  is  brought 
so  close  to  the  iron  that,  when  it  is  heated 
to  a  glowing  redness,  the  eflect  upon  the 
fingers  must  be  singularly  unpleasant,  not 
to  mention  the  sparks  that  fly  about  so  lib- 
erally when  heated  iron  is  struck.  Some- 
times, when  a  native  is  making  small 
objects,  he  takes  a  tolerably  large  hammer, 
reverses  it,  and  drives  the  small  end  deeply 


into  the  ground.  The  face  of  the  hammer  is 
then  uppermost,  and  answers  as  an  anvil,  on 
which  he  works  with  a  hammer  of  smaller 
size. 

Although  the  bellows  which  a  Kaffir  makes 
arc  sufficiently  powerful  to  enable  liim  to  melt 
brass,  and  to  forge  iron  into  various  shapes, 
they  do  not  seem  to  give  a  sufficiently 
strong  and  continuous  blast  to  enable  him 
to  weld  iron  together.  Mr.  Moftatt  men- 
tions a  curious  anecdote,  which  illustrates 
this  point.  He  was  visiting  Moselekatse, 
the  king  of  the  northern  division  of  the 
Zulu  tribes,  and  very  much  frightened  the 
savage  monarch  l)y  the  sight  of'  the  wagon, 
the  wheels  of  which  seemed  to  his  ignorant 
mind  to  be  endowed  with  motion  by  some 
magic  power.  His  greatest  wonder  was, 
however,  excited  bj'  tlie  tiro  of  the  wheel, 
as  he  could  not  comprehend  how  such  a 
piece  of  iron  could  be  made  witliout  the 
junction  of  the  ends  being  visible.  A 
native  who  had  accompanied  Mr.  Moftatt 
explained  to  the  king  how  the  mystery  was 
solved.  He  took  the  missionary's  "right 
hand  in  his  own,  held  it  up  before  the  king, 
and  said,  ''  M3'  eyes  saw  that  very  baud  cut 
those  bars  of  iron,  take  a  piece  oft'  one  end, 
and  then  join  them  as  you  see  now."  Jiitev 
a  careful  insiiection,  the  spot  where  the  iron, 
h.ad  been  welded  was  pointed  out.  The 
king  then  wanted  to  know  whether  medi- 
cine were  given  to  the  iron  in  order  to 
endow  it  with  such  wonderful  powers,  but 
■\vas  told  that  nothing  was  used  except  fire, 
a  chisel,  and  a  hammer.  Yet  Moselekatse 
was  king  of  the  essentially  warlike  Zulus,  a 
nation  which  possessed  plenty  of  black- 
smitlis  who  were  well  versed  in  their  art, 
and  could  forge  the  leaf  shaped  blades  of 
the  assagais  with  such  skill  that  the  best 
Euro]iean  smiths  could  not  produce  weap- 
ons more  perfectly  suited  i»r  the  object 
which  they  were  intended  to  fulfil. 

Le  Vailiant  narrates  an  amusing  instance 
of  the  astonishment  caused  to  some  Kaffir 
blacksmiths  by  a  rude  kind  of  bellows 
which  he  made  after  the  European  fashion. 
After  paying  a  just  tribute  of  admiration  to 
the  admirable  work  produced  Ijy  the  dusky 
blacksmiths  in  spite  of  their  extremely  rude 
and  imperfect  tools,  he  proceeds  to  describe 
the  form  of  bellows  that  they  used,  which 
is  just  that  which  has  been  already  men- 
tioned. 

"I  had  great  difficulty  in  making  them 
compreliend  how  much  superior  the  bellows 
of  our  forges  in  Europe  were  to  their  inven- 
tion; and  being  persuaded  that  the  little 
they  might  catch  of  my  explanation  would 
soon  escape  from  their  memories,  and 
would  consequently  be  of  no  real  advan- 
tage to  tliem,  I  resolved  to  add  example  to 
precept,  and  to  operate  myself  in  their 
presence.  * 

"  Having  despatched  one  of  my  people  to 
our  camp  with  orders  to  bring  the  bottoms 


(2.)   KAFFIK  AT  HIS   KUKGE.    (Set-  page  90.) 
(97) 


LE   VAILLANT   INSTRUCTING   THE   NATIVES. 


99 


of  two  boxes,  a  piece  of  a  summer  kaross,  a 
hoop,  a  few  small  nails,  a  hammer,  a  saw, 
and  other  small  tools  that  I  might  have 
oceasion  for,  as  soon  as  he  returned  I 
fornu'd  in  great  haste,  and  in  a  very  rude 
manner,  a  pair  of  bellows,  which  were  not 
more  powerful  than  those  generally  used  in 
our  kitchens.  Two  pieces  of  hoop  which  I 
placed  in  the  inside  served  to  keep  the  skin 
always  at  an  equal  distance;  and  I  did  not 
forget  to  make  a  hole  in  the  inferior  part, 
to  give  a  readier  admitt.anee  to  the  air  —  a 
simple  method  of  which  they  had  no  con- 
cepti(Ui,  and  for  w\ant  of  which  they  were 
obliged  to  waste  a  great  deal  of  time  in  fill- 
ing the  sheepskin. 

"I  had  no  iron  pipe,  hut,  as  I  only  meant 
to  make  a  model,  I  fixed  to  the  extremity  of 
mine  a  toothpick  case,  after  sawing  otl"  one 
of  its  ends.  I  then  placed  my  insti-ument 
on  the  ground  near  the  fire,  and,  having 
fixed  a  forked  stick  in  the  ground,  I  laid 
across  it  a  kind  of  lever,  which  was  fastened 
to  a  bit  of  packthread  proceeding  from  the 
bellows,  and  to  which  was  fixed  a  piece  of 
lead  weighing  seven  or  eight  pounds.  To 
form  a  just  idea  of  the  surprise  of  these 
Kaffirs  on  this  occasion,  one  must  have 
seen  with  what  attention  they  beheld  all 
my  operations;  the  imcertainty  in  vv'hich 
they  were,  and  their  anxiety  to  discover 
what  would  be  the  event.  They  could  not 
resist  their  exclamations  when  they  saw 
me,  by  a  few  easy  motions  and  with  one 
hand,  give  their  fire  the  greatest  activity  by 
the  velocity  with  which  1  maile  my  machine 
draw  in  and  again  force  out  the  air.  Put- 
ting some  pieces  of  iron  into  their  fire,  I 
made  them  red  hot  in  a  few  minutes,  which 
they  undoubtedly  could  not  have  done  in 
half  an  hour. 

"  This  specimen  of  my  skill  raised  their 
astonishment  to  the  highest  pitch.  I  may 
venture  to  say  that  they  were  almost  con- 
vulsed and  thrown  into  a  delirium.  Thej' 
danced  and  capered  round  the  bellows; 
each  tried  them  in  turn,  and  they  clapped 
their  hands  the  better  to  testify  their  joy. 
They  begged  me  to  make  them  a  present 
of  this  wonderful  machine,  and  seemed  to 
await  for  my  answer  with  impatience,  not 
imagining,  as  I  judged,  that  I  woukl  readily 
give  up  so  valuable  a  piece  of  furniture.  It 
would  atford  me  great  pleasure  to  hear,  at 
some  future  period,  that  they  have  brought 
them  to  perfection,  and  that,  above  all,  tliey 
preserve  a  remembrance  of  that  stranger 
who  first  supplied  them  with  the  most  essen- 
tial instrument  in  metallurgy." 

As  lar  as  can  be  judged  by  the  present 
state  of  the  blacksmith's  art  in  Kaffirland, 
the  natives  have  not  derived  the  profit  from 
Le  Vaillant's  instructions  which  he  so  in- 
genuously predicted.  In  all  probability,  the 
bellows  in  question  would  be  confiscated  by 
the  chief  of  the  tribe,  who  would  destroy 
their    working   powers   in   endeavoring    to 


make  out  their  action.  Moreover,  the  Kaffir 
is  eminently  conservative  in  his  notions, 
and  he  would  rather  prefer  the  old  sheep- 
skin, which  only  required  to  be  tied  at  the 
legs  and  neck  with  thongs,  to  the  compara- 
tively elaborate  instrument  of  the  white 
traveller,  which  needed  the  use  of  wooden 
hoops,  nails,  saw,  hammer,  and  the  other 
tools  of  the  civilized  workman. 

The  Kaffir  smiths  have  long  known  the 
art  of  wire  drawing,  though  their  plates  are 
very  rude,  the  metal  comparatively  soft,  and 
the  wire  in  consequence  irregularly  drawn. 
Moreover,  they  cannot  make  wire  of  iron, 
but  are  obliged  to  content  themselves  with 
the  softer  metals,  such  as  brass  and  copper. 
Mr.  Mottat,  the  African  missionary,  relates 
an  amusing  anecdi)te  of  au  interview  with  a 
native  nn'tal  worker.  As  a  missionary 
ought  to  do,  he  had  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  blacksmith's  art,  and  so  became  on 
friendly  terms  with  his  dark  brother  of  the 
forge;  and  after  winning  his  heart  by  mak- 
ing him  a  new  wire  drawing  plate,  made  of 
steel,  and  pierced  for  wires  of  twenty  varia- 
tions in  thickness,  induced  him  to  exhibit 
the  whole  of  his  mystic  process. 

His  first  proceeding  was  to  prepare  four 
moulds,  very  simply  made  by  building  a 
little  heap  of  dry  sand,  and  pushing  into  it 
a  little  stick  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  He  then  built  and  lighleil  a  char- 
coal fire,  such  as  has  already  been  described, 
and  he  next  placed  in  a  kind  of  rude  clay  cru- 
cible some  copper  and  a  little  tin.  A  vigorous 
manipulation  of  the  Iiellows  fused  the  cop- 
[ler  and  tin  together,  and  he  tlien  took  out 
the  crucible  with  a  rude  kind  of  tongs  made 
of  bark,  and  poured  the  contents  into  the 
holes,  thus  making  a  number  of  short  brass 
rods  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
and  three  or  four  inches  in  length.  These 
rods  were  next  removed  from  the  moulds 
and  hammered  with  a  stone  until  they  were 
reduced  to  half  their  diameter.  During  this 
operation,  the  rods  were  frequently  heated 
in  the  flame  of  burning  grass. 

Next  came  the  important  operation  of 
drawing  the  rods  through  the  holes,  so  as  to 
convert  them  into  wire.  The  end  of  a  rod 
was  sharjiened  and  forced  through  the 
largest  hole,  a  split  stick  being  used  by  way 
of  pincers,  and  the  rod  continually  greased. 
By  repeating  this  process  the  wire  is  passed 
through  holes  that  become  regularly  smaller 
in  diameter,  until  at  last  it  is  scarcely  thicker 
than  sewing  thread.  The  wire  plate  is 
about  half  an  inch  in  thickness.  The  brass 
thus  made  is  not  equal  in  color  to  that  in 
which  zinc  is  used  instead  of  tin,  but  as  it  is 
cai)able  of  taking  a  high  polish,  the  native 
cares  for  nothing  more.  The  reader  may 
perhaps  remember  that  Mr.  Williams,  the 
well-known  missionary,  established  his  repu- 
tation among  the  savages  to  whom  he  was 
sent  by  making  an  extemporized  set  of  bel- 
lows out  of  boxes   and    boards,  the    rata 


100 


THE   KAFFIR. 


always  eating  every  scr<ap  of  leather  that  was 
exposed. 

The  knowledge  of  forge  work  which  Mr. 
Motfatt  possessed  was  gained  by  him  uniler 
very  adverse  circumstances.  A  broken- 
down  wagon  had  to  bo  mended,  and  there 
was  no  alternative  but  to  turn  blacksmith 
and  mend  the  wagon,  or  to  abandon  the 
expedition.  Finding  that  the  chief  draw- 
back to  the  powers  of  the  forge  was  the 
inefficient  construction  of  the  native  bel- 
lows, he  set  to  work,  and  contrived  to  make 
a  pair  of  bellows  very  similar  to  those  of 
which  Le  Vaillant  gave  so  glowing  a 
description.  And,  if  any  proof  were  needed 
that  the  French  traveller's  aspirations  had 
not  been  realized,  it  may  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  the  rude  bellows  made  by  the 
English  missionary  were  as  much  a  matter 
of  astonisiiment  to  the  natives  as  those  which 
had  been  made  by  Le  Vaillant  some  sixty 
years  before. 

Much  of  the  iron  used  in  Southern  Africa 
seems  to  be  of  meteoric  origin,  and  is  found 
in  several  localities  in  a  wonderfully  pure 
state,  so  that  very  little  labor  is  needed  in 
order  to  make  it  fit  for  the  forge. 

The  KatBr  lilacksniith  never  need  trouble 
himself  about  the  means  of  obtaining  a  fire. 
Should  he  set  up  his  forge  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  kraal,  the  simplest  plan  is  to  send  his 
assistant  for  a  firebrand  from  one  of  the 
huts.  But,  if  he  should  prefer,  as  is  often 
the  case,  to  work  at  some  distance  from 
the  huts,  he  can  procure  fire  with  perfect 
certainty,  though  not  without  some  lal)or. 

He  first  procures  two  sticks,  one  of  them 
taken  from  a  soft  wood  tree,  and  the  other 
from  an  acacia,  or  .some  other  tree  that 
furnishes  a  hard  wood.  Of  course  both 
the  sticks  must  be  thoroughly  dr}',  a  con- 
dition about  which  there  is  little  difficulty 
in  so  hot  a  climate.  His  next  care  is  to 
sh.ape  one  end  of  the  hard  stick  into  a 
point,  and  to  bore  a  small  hole  in  the  miil- 
dle  of  llie  soft  stick.  He  now  squats  down, 
places  the  pointed  tip  of  the  hard  stick 
in  the  hole  of  the  soft  stick,  and,  taking 
the  former  between  his  hands,  twirls  A 
backward  and  forward  with  extreme  ra- 
pidity. As  he  goes  on,  the  hole  becomes 
enlarged,  and  a  small  quantity  of  very 
fine  dust  falls  into  it,  being  rubbed  away 
by  the  friction.  Presently,  the  dust  is 
seen  to  darken  in  color,  then  to  become 
nearly  black;  and  present! v  a  very  slight 
smoke  is  seen  to  rise.  The  Kaffir  now 
redoubles  his  efforts;  he  aids  the  effect  of 
the  revolving  stick  by  his  breath,  and  in 
a  few  more  seconds  the  dust  bursts  into 
a  flame.  The  exertion  required  in  this 
operation  is  very  severe,  and  by  the  time 
that  the  fire  manifests  itself  the  producer 
is  bathed  in  perspiration. 

Usually,  two  men,  at  least,  take  part  in 
fire  making,  and,  by  dividing  the  labor,  very 
much  shorten  the  process.     It  is  evident 


that,  if  the  perpendicular  stick  be  thus 
worked,  the  hands  must  gradually  slide 
down  it  initil  tliey  reach  the  point.  The 
solitary  Katlir  would  then  lie  obliged  to  stop 
the  stick,  shift  his  hands  to  the  top,  and  be- 
gin again,  thus  losing  much  valuable  time. 
But  when  two  Kaffirs  unite  in  fire  mak- 
ing, one  sits  ojiposite  the  other,  and  as  soon 
as  he  sees  that  his  comrade's  hands  have 
nearly  worked  themselves  down  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  stick,  he  places  his  own  hands 
on  the  top,  continues  the  movement,  and 
relieves  his  friend.  Thus,  the  movement 
of  the  stick  is  never  checked  for  a  moment, 
and  the  operation  is  consequently  hastened. 
Moreover,  considerable  assistance  is  given 
by  the  seccnd  Kaffir  keeping  the  dust 
properly  arrange<l  round  the  point  of  the 
stick,  and  by  taking  the  part  of  the  bellows, 
so  as  to  allow  liis  comrade  to  expend  all  his 
strength  in  twirling  the  stick. 

I  have  now  before  me  one  of  the  soft 
sticks  in  which  fire  has  been  made.  Tliere 
is  a  hole  very  much  resembling  in  shape 
and  size  the  depressions  in  a  solitaire 
board,  except  that  its  sides  are  black  and 
deeply  charred  by  the  fire,  and  in  places 
highly  polished  by  tlie  friction.  Some  of 
my  readers  may  perhaps  remember  that 
English  blacksmiths  are  equally  indepen- 
dent of  lucifer  matches,  flint  and  steel,  and 
other  recognized  modes  of  fire  raising. 
Tliey  place  a  small  piece  of  soft  iron  on 
the  anvil,  together  with  some  charcoal 
dust,  and  hammer  it  furiously.  The  re- 
sult is  that  enough  heat  is  evolved  to  light 
the  charcoal,  and  so  to  enable  the  black- 
smith to  set  to  work. 

We  will  now  see  how  the  native  makes 
his  assagai. 

With  their  simple  tools  the  native  smiths 
contrive  to  make  their  spear  heads  of  such 
an  excellent  temper  that  they  take  a  very 
sharp  edge:  .so  sharp,  indeed,  that  the  assa- 
gai is  used,  not  only  for  cutting  up  meat 
and  similar  offices,  but  for  shaving  the  head. 
Also,  it  is  so  pliable,  that  a  good  sjiecimen 
can  be  bent  nearly  double  and  beaten  straight 
again,  without  l)eing  heated. 
"Wlicn  the  Kaffir  smith  has  finished  the 
head  of  the  assagai,  it  looks  something  like 
the  blade  of  a  table  knife  before  it  is  in- 
serted into  the  handle,  and  has  a  straight 
projecting  peg,  b}'  which  it  is  fastened  into 
the' wooden  shaft.  This  peg,  or  tang  as  cut- 
lers call  it,  is  always  notched,  so  as  to  make 
it  retain  its  hold  the  better. 

Now  comes  the  next  process.  The  spear 
maker  has  already  by  him  a  number  of 
shafts.  These  are  cut  from  a  tree  which 
is  popularly  called  "  assagai-wood,"  and  on 
the  .average  are  nearly  five  feet  in  length. 
In  diameter  they  are  very  small,  seldom 
exceeding  that  of  a  man's  little  finger  at 
the  thick  end,  while  the  other  end  tapers 
to  the  diameter  of  an  ordinary  black-lead 
pencil.     The  assagai-tree    is   called  scien- 


ASSAGAIS. 


101 


tiflcally  Curtisia  Jaginea,  and  is  something 
like  tlie  mahogany.  The  shaft  of  tlie  assa- 
gai is  seldom,  if"  ever,  sufficieutly  straight 
to  permit  the  weapon  to  be  used  at  once. 
It  is  straightened  by  means  of  heating  it 
over  the  fire,  and  then  scraping,  beating, 
and  bending  it  until  the  maker  is  pleased 
witli  the  residt.  Even  after  the  weapon 
has  been  made  and  in  use,  the  shaft  is 
very  apt  to  warp,  and  in  this  case  the 
Kaffir  always  rapidly  straightens  the  as- 
sagai before  he  throws  it.  In  spite  of  its 
brittle  nature,  it  will  endure  a  considerable 
amount  of  bending,  provided  that  the  curve 
be  not  too  sharp,  and  that  the  operator 
does  not  jei-k  the  shaft  as  he  bends  it.  In- 
deed, if  It  were  not  for  the  elasticity  of 
the  shaft,  the  native  would  not  be  alile  to 
produce  the  peculiar  quivering  or  vibrating 
movement,  to  which  the  weapon  owes  so 
much  of  its  efficiency. 

By  means  of  heating  the  "  tang "  of  the 
head  red  liot,  a  hole  is  liored  into  the  thick 
end  of  tlie  shaft,  and  the  tang  passed  into 
it.  Were  it  left  without  further  work,  the 
spear  would  be  incomplete,  for  the  head 
would  fill!  away  fi-om  the  shaft  whenever 
the  point  was  held  downward.  In  order 
to  fasten  it  in  its  place,  the  Kaffir  always 
makes  use  of  one  material,  namely,  raw 
hide.  He  cuts  a  narrow  strip  of  liide, 
sometimes  retaining  the  hair,  and  binds 
it  while  still  wet  upon  the  spear.  As  it 
dries,  the  hide  contracts,  and  forms  a  band 
nearly  as  strong  as  if  made  of  iron.  There 
is  no  particular  art  displayed  in  tying  tliis 
band;  we  never  see  in  that  portion  of  an 
assagai  the  least  trace  of  the  elaborate  and 
elegant  patterns  used  by  the  New  Zealand- 
e.rs  in  the  manufacture  of  their  weapons. 
The  strip  of  hide  is  merely  rolled  round 
the  spear  and  the  loose  end  tucked  beneath 
a  fold.  Yet  the  Kaffir  is  not  without  the 
power  of  producing  such  patterns,  and  will 
commonly  weave  very  elaborate  and  elegant 
ornaments,  from  the  hair  of  the  elephant's 
tail  and  similar  materials.  These  ornamen- 
tal lashings  are,  however,  always  placed  on 
the  shaft  of  the  weapon,  and  are  never  em- 
ployed in  fastening  the  head  of  the  assagai 
in  its  place. 

In  the  illustration  on  page  103  is  drawn 
a  group  of  assagais,  in  order  to  show  the 
chief  varieties  of  this  weapon.  The  whole 
of  them  have  Ijeen  drawn  from  specimens 
in  my  own  possession.  The  word  "  assa- 
gai "  is  not  a  Kaffir  term,  but,  like  the 
popular  name  of  the  tribe,  like  the  wor<ls 
kaross,  kraal,  &c.,  has  been  borrowed  from 
another  language.  The  Zulu  word  for  tlie 
assagai  is  um-konto,  a  word  which  has  a 
curious  though  accidental  resemblance  to 
the  Latin   contus. 

The  ordinary  form  or  "  throwing  assagai " 
is  shown  at  fig.  5.  It  is  used  as  a  missile, 
and  not  as  a  dagger.  In  some  eases  the 
throwing  assagai  is  shaped  in  a  more  simple 


manner,  the  head  being  nothing  but  a  sharp- 
ened spike  of  iron,  without  any  pretensions 
of  being  formed  into  a  blade.  This  weapon 
is  five  feet  seven  inches  in  total  length,  and 
the  blade  measures  a  foot  in  length  from  its 
junction  with  the  shaft.  Sometimes  the 
blade  is  much  longer  and  wider,  as  seen  at 
fig.  4,  which  represents  the  ordinary  "  stal> 
ing  assagai."  This  weapon  can  be  used  as 
a  "missile,  but  is  very  seldom  employed 
except  as  a  manual  weapon.  Its  long, 
straight  blade  is  much  used  in  the  more 
peaceful  vocations  of  daily  life,  and  a  Kaffir 
in  time  of  peace  seldom  uses  it  for  any  worse 
jnirpose  than  slaughtering  cattle,  and  cut- 
ting them  up  afterward.  This  is  the  assagai 
that  is  usually  employed  as  a  knife,  and  with 
which  the  ingenious  native  contrives  to 
shave  his  head. 

At  fig.  7  is  shown  a  very  remarkable  speci- 
men of  the  barbed  assagai.  Intending  to 
produce  an  extremely  elegant  weapon,  the 
artificer  has  lavished  much  pains  on  his 
work.  In  the  first  place,  he  has  forged  a 
deeply  barbed  head,  a  form  which  is  but 
rarely  seen.  He  has  then  fastened  it  to  the 
shaft  in  a  rather  singular  way.  Instead  of  cut- 
ting a  strip  of  raw  hide  and  binding  it  round 
the  weapon,  he  has  taken  the  tail  of  a  calf, 
cut  otT  a  piece  about  four  inches  in  length, 
drawn  the  skin  from  it  so  as  to  form  a  tube, 
and  slipped  this  tulie  over  the  spear.  As  is 
the  case  with  the  hide  lashing,  the  tube  con- 
tracts as  it  dries,  and  forms  a  singularly 
ett'ective  mode  of  attaching  the  head  to 
the  shaft.  The  hair  has  been  retained,  and, 
in  the  maker's  opinion,  a  very  handsome 
weapon  has  been  jiroduced. 

The  assagai,  in  its  original  form,  is  essen- 
tially a  missile,  and  is  made  expressly  for 
that  purpose,  although  it  serves  several 
others.  And,  insignificant  as  it  looks  when 
compared  with  the  larger  and  more  elabo- 
rate spears  of  other  nations,  there  is  no 
spear  or  lancet  that  can  surpass  it  in  effi- 
cacy. 

Tho  Kaffir,  when  going  on  a  warlike  or 
hunting  expedition,  or  even  when  travelling 
to  any  distance,  takes  with  him  a  bundle,  or 
"sheaf,"  of  assagais,  at  least  five  in  number, 
and  sometimes  eight  or  nine.  When  he 
assails  an  enemy,  he  rushes  forward,  spring- 
ing from  side  to  side  in  order  to  disconcert 
the  aim  of  his  adversary,  and  hurling  spear 
after  spear  with  such  rapidity  that  two  or 
three  are  in  the  air  at  once,  each  having 
lieen  thrown  from  a  different  direction. 
There  is  little  difficulty  in  avoiding  a  single 
spear  when  thrown  from  the  front ;  but 
when  the  point  of  one  is  close  to  the  heart, 
and  another  is  coming  to  the  right  side,  and 
the  enemy  is  just  hurling  anotlier  on  the 
left,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  small  difficulty  to 
escape  one  or  other  of  them.  If  the  assailed 
individual  stands  still,  he  is  sure  to  be  hit, 
for  the  Kaffir's  aim  is  absolute  certainty; 
while  if  he  tries  to  escape  a  spear  coming 


102 


THE  KATFIR. 


from  the  left,  he  will  probably  be  hit  by 
anotlier  coming  from  the  right. 

Moreover,  the  mode  iu  which  the  weapon 
is  thrown  serves  to  disconcert  the  enemy, 
and  bewilder  his  gaze.  Just  before  he 
throws  the  spear,  the  KafHr  makes  it  quiver 
in  a  very  peculiar  manner.  He  grasps  it 
with  the  thumb  and  foreflnger  of  the  right 
hand,  holding  it  just  above  the  spot  where 
it  balances  itself,  and  with  the  head  pointing 
up  his  arm.  The  other  fingers  are  laid 
along  the  shaft,  and  are  suddenly  and  tirmly 
closed,  so  as  to  liring  the  balance  spot  of  the 
spear  against  the  root  of  the  hand.  This 
movement  causes  the  spear  to  vibrate 
strongly  and  is  rapidly  repeated,  until  the 
■weai)ou  gives  out  a  peculiar  humming  or 
shivering  noise,  impossible  to  be  described, 
and  equally  impossible  to  be  forgotten  when 
once  heard.  It  is  as  menacmg  a  sound  as 
the  whirr  of  the  rattlesnake,  and  is  used  by 
the  Kaffirs  when  they  wish  to  strike  terror 
into  their  opponents.  When  thrown,  the 
assagai  does  not  lose  this  vibrating  move- 
ment, but  seems  even  to  vibrate  stronger 
tlian  before,  the  head  describing  a  large  arc 
of  a  circle,  of  which  the  balance  point  forms 
the  centre.  This  vibration  puzzles  the  eye 
of  the  adversary,  because  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  tell  the  precise  direction  which  the 
weapon  is  taking.  Any  one  can  calculate 
the  flight  of  a  rigid  missile,  such  as  a  thick 
spear  or  arrow,  but  when  the  weapon  is 
vibrating  the  eye  is  greatly  bewildered. 

The  whole  look  of  an  assagai  in  the  air  is 
very  remarkable,  and  has  never  been  prop- 
erly represented.  All  illustrations  have 
represented  it  as  quite  straight  and  stift"  in 
its  flight,  whereas  it  looks  just  like  a  very 
slender  serpent  undulating  itself  gracefully 
through  the  air.  It  seems  instinct  with  life, 
and  appears  rather  to  be  seeking  its  own 
course  than  to  be  a  simple  weapon  thrown 
by  the  hand  of  a  man.  As  it  flies  along  it 
continually  gives  out  the  peculiar  shivering 
sound  which  has  been  mentioned,  and  this 
adds  to  the  delusion  of  its  aspect. 

An  illustration  on  page  111  represents  a 
group  of  Kaffir  warriors  engaged  in  a  skir- 
mish. In  the  present  instance  they  are 
exhibiting  their  prowess  in  a  mock  fight, 
the  heads  of  the  assagais  being  of  wood 
instead  of  iron,  and  blunted,  but  still  hard 
and  sharp  enough  to  give  a  very  severe 
blow  —  experto  crede.  In  the  background 
are  seen  a  numlser  of  soldiers  standing 
behind  their  shields  so  as  to  exemplify  the 
aptness  of  their  title,  the  Matabele,  or  Dis- 
appearers.  In  the  immediate  foreground  is 
a  soldier  in  the  full  uniform  of  his  regiment. 
He  ha-s  just  hurled  one  assagai,  and,  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  manner  in  which  his 
dress  is  flying,  has  leaped  to  his  present 
position  with  another  assagai  ready  in  his 
hanil.  Two  soldiers  are  plucking  out  of 
the  ground  the  assagais  thrown  by  their  an- 
tagonists, covering  themselves  with  their 


shields  while  so  doing.  All  these  soldiers 
belong  to  the  same  regiment,  as  may  be 
seen  by  the  headtlress,  which  constitutes 
their  distinctive  uniform. 

The  skill  displaj'ed  by  the  Kaffirs  in  the 
use  of  this  weapon  is  really  surprising. 
The  rapidity  with  which  the  assagais  are 
snatched  from  the  sheaf,  poised,  quivered, 
and  hurled  is  almost  incredible.  We  are 
told  that  the  great  masteiy  of  the  old  Eng- 
lish archers  over  the  powerful  bows  which 
they  used,  was  not  so  much  owing  to  the 
personal  strength  of  the  archer,  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  he  was  taught  to  "  lay  his 
body  in  his  bow,"  and  thus  to  manage  with 
ease  a  weapon  that  much  stronger  men 
could  not  draw.  In  a  similar  manner,  the 
skill  of  the  Kaffir  in  hurling  the  assagai  is 
attributable  not  to  his  bodily  strength,  but 
to  the  constant  habit  of  using  the  weapon. 
As  soon  as  a  boy  can  fairly  walk  alone,  he 
plays  at  spear  throwing — throwing  with 
sticks;  and  as  he  grows  up,  his  lather  makes 
sham  assagais  for  him,  with  wooden  instead 
of  iron  heads.  Two  of  these  mock  weapons 
are  shown  at  fig  8  in  the  illustration  on  p. 
10.3.  They  exactly  resemble  the  ordinary 
assagai,  except  that  their  heads  are  of  wood; 
and  if  one  of  them  happened  to  hit  a  man, 
it  would  infiict  rather  an  unpleasant  wound. 

When  the  Kaffir  grasps  his  assagai,  he 
and  the  weapon  seem  to  become  one  lieing, 
the  quivering  spear  seeming  instinct  with 
life  imparted  to  it  by  its  wielder.  In  hurl- 
ing it,  he  assumes  intuitively  the  most 
graceful  of  attitudes,  reminding  the  ob- 
server of  some  of  the  ancient  statues,  and 
the  weapon  is  thrown  with  such  seeming 
ease  that,  as  a  sojourner  among  them  told 
me, ''  the  man  looks  as  if  he  were  made  of 
oil."  As  he  hurls  the  weapon,  he  presses 
on  his  foe,  trying  to  drive  him  back,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  recover  the  spent  missiles. 

Sometimes,  when  he  has  not  sjiace  to 
raise  his  arm,  or  when  he  wants  to  take  his 
foe  by  surprise,  he  throws  the  assagai  with 
a  kind  of  underhand  jerk,  his  arm  hanging 
at  full  length.  An  assagai  thus  delivered 
cannot  he  thrown  so  far  as  l\v  the  ordinary 
method,  but  it  can  lie  propelled  with  con- 
siderable force,  and  frequently  achieves  tlie 
object  for  which  it  was  intended.  He  never 
tli'rows  the  last  of  the  sheaf,  but  if  he  cannot 
succeed  in  picking  up  those  that  are  already 
thrown,  either  by  himself  or  his  enemy, 
he  dashes  forward,  and,  as  he  closes  with 
the  foe,  snaps  the  shaft  of  the  assagai  iu 
the  middle,  throws  away  the  tip,  and  uses  the 
remaining  portion  as  a  dagger. 

Tlie  wood  of  which  the  shaft  is  made, 
though  very  elastic,  is  very  brittle,  and  a 
novice  in  the  art  is  sure  to  lireak  several 
of  his  spears  before  he  learns  to  throw 
them  projierly.  Unless  they  are  rightly 
cast,  as  soon  as  the  blade  reaches  the 
ground  the  shaft  gives  a  kind  of  "  whip " 
forward,  and   snaps  short  just  above    the 


SPOONS  FOR  EATIN(: 

POURIDGE. 

(See  page  148.) 


GROUl'  OF  ASSAGAIS.    (Sec  pages  101,  105.) 
(103) 


A  KAFFIR  CHIEF'S   STEATAGEM. 


105 


blade.  One  of  the  great  warrior  chiefs 
made  a  singular  use  of  tliis  property.  Just 
before  going  into  action,  lie  made  his  men 
cut  the'shafls  of  their  assagais  nearly  across, 
just  beyond  the  junction  of  the  shaft  and 
the  head.  The  consequence  of  this  ingen- 
ious ruse  became  evident  enough  when 
the  action  commenced.  If  the  weapon 
went  ti-ue  to  its  mark,  it  pierced  the  body 
of  the  foe  just  as  etfectually  as  if  nothing 
had  been  done  to  it;  while  if  it  missed,  and 
struck  the  ground  or  a  shield,  the  shaft 
instantly  snapped,  and  the  weapon  was 
thereby  rendered  useless  to  the  foe. 

Unknowingly,  the  barbaric  chief  copied 
the  example  that  was  set  by  a  Roman  gen- 
eral nearly  two  thousand  years  ago.  When 
Marius  made  war  against  the  Cimbri,  his 
troops  carried  the  short  heavy  javelin, 
called  the  jxilum.  This  weapon  had  a  thick 
handle,  to  the  end  of  which  the  long  blade 
was  attached  by  two  iron  rivets,  one  in 
front  of  the  other.  Before  going  to  battle, 
he  ordered  the  soldiers  to  remove  the  rivet 
farthest  from  the  point,  and  to  supply  its 
place  with  a  slight  wooden  peg,  just  strong 
enough  to  hoUrthe  head  in  its  proper  jiosi- 
tion  as  long  as  no  force  was  used.  When 
the  javelin  was  hurled,  the  enemy  tried  to 
receive  it  on  their  shields;  and  if  they  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  so,  they  drew  out  the  wea- 
pon and  flung  it  back  at  the  foe.  But  as 
soon  as  the  action  began,  the  Cimbri  found 
themselves  in  a  sore  strait.  No  sooner  had 
they  caught  the  javelin  in  their  shields,  than 
the  slight  wooden  peg  snapped,  and  allowed 
the  shaft  to  dangle  from  the  blade.  Not 
only  was  the  weapon  useless,  but  it  became 
a  serious  incumbrance.  It  could  not  be 
pulled  out  of  the  shield,  as  it  atforded  no 
grasp,  and  the  heavy  shaft  dragged  on  the 
ground  so  as  to  force  the  soldier  to  throw 
away  his  shield,  and  to  fight  without  it. 

A  very  singular  modification  of  the  assa- 
gai was  made  by  the  terrible  Tchaka,  a 
chief  who  lived  but  for  war,  and  was  a  man 
of  wonderful  intellect,  dauntless  courage, 
singular  organizing  power,  and  utterly  de- 
void of  compassion.  Retaining  the  assagai, 
he  altered  its  shape,  and  made  it  a  much 
shorter  and  heavier  weapon,  unfit  for  throw- 
ing, and  only  to  be  used  in  a  hand-to-hand 
encounter.  After  arming  his  troops  with 
this  modifled  weapon,  he  entirely  altered 
the  mode  of  warfare. 

His  soldiers  were  furnished  with  a  very 
large  shield  and  a  single  assagai.  When 
they  went  into  action,  they  ran  in  a  compact 
body  on  the  enemy,  and  as  soon  as  the  first 
shower  of  spears  fell,  they  crouched  beneath 
their  shields,  allowed  the  weapons  to  ex- 
pend their  force,  and  then  sprang  in  for  a 
hand-to-hand  encounter.  Their  courage, 
naturally  great,  was  excited  by  promises  of 
reward,  and  by  the  certainty  that  not  to 
conquer  was  to  die.  If  a  soldier  was  de- 
tected in  running  away,  he  was  instantly 


killed  by  the  chief,  and  the  same  punish- 
ment awaited  any  one  who  returned  ti'om 
battle  without  his  spear  and  shield.  Owing 
to  these  tactics,  he  raised  the  tribe  of  the 
Amazulu  to  be  the  most  powerful  in  the 
country.  He  absorbed  nearly  sixty  other 
tribes  into  his  own,  and  extended  "his  do- 
minions nearly  half  across  the  continent  of 
Africa. 

He  at  last  formed  the  bold  conception  of 
sweeping  the  whole  South  African  coast 
with  his  armies,  and  extirpating  the  white 
inhabitants.  But,  while  at  the  zenith  of  his 
power,  he  was  treacherously  killed  by  two 
of  his  brothers,  Dingan  and  Umlangane. 
The  two  murderers  fought  for  the  kingdom 
on  the  following  day,  and  Dingan  ascended 
the  throne  over  the  bodies  of  both  his 
brothers.  The  sanguinary  mode  of  govern- 
ment which  Tchaka  had  created  was  not 
likely  to  be  ameliorated  in  such  hands,  and 
the  name  of  Dingan  was  dreaded  nearly  as 
much  as  that  of  his  brother.  His  successor 
and  brother.  Panda,  continued  to  rule  in 
the  same  manner,  though  without  possess- 
ing the  extraordinary  genius  of  the  mighty 
founder  of  his  kingdom,  and  found  himself 
obliged  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  Eng- 
lish, instead  of  venturing  to  make  war  upon 
them.  Tchaka's  invention  of  the  single 
stabbing  assagai  answered  very  well  as  long 
as  the  Zulus  only  fought  against  other  tribes 
of  the  same  country.  But,  when  they  came 
to  encounter  the  Dutch  Boers,  it  was  found 
that  the  stabbing  assagai  was  almost  use- 
less against  mounted  enemies,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  return  to  the  original  form 
of  the  weapon. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  illustration  ^ 
which  has  already  been  mentioned,  he  will 
see  two  specimens  of  the  short  stabbing 
assagai  with  the  large  blade.  A  fine  exam- 
ple of  this  weapon  is  seen  at  fig.  1.  The 
reader  will  see  that  the  blade  is  extremely 
wide  and  leaf  shaped,  and  that  the  other 
end,  or  but  of  the  spear,  is  decorated  with 
a  tuft  of  hairs  taken  from  the  tail  of  a  cow. 
Another  example  is  seen  at  fig.  3.  The 
maker  has  bestowed  great  pains  on  this 
particular  weapon.  Just  at  the  part  where 
the  spear  balances,  a  piece  of  soft  leather  is 
formed  into  a  sort  of  handle,  and  is  finished 
off  at  either  end  with  a  ring  made  of  the 
wire-like  hair  of  the  elephant's  tail.  Several 
wide  rings  of  the  same  material  decorate 
the  shaft  of  the  weapon,  and  all  of  them  are 
like  the  well-known  •'  Turk's-head  "  knot  of 
the  sailors.  Fig.  6  shows  another  assagai, 
which  has  once  had  a  barbed  blade  like  that 
at  fig.  7,  but  which  has  been  so  repeatedly 
ground  that  the  original  shape  is  scarcely 
perceptible.  The  s])ear  which  is  drawn  at 
fig.  13  is  one  of  the  ornamental  wooden 
weapons  which  a  Kaffir  will  use  when  eti- 
quette forbids  him  to  carry  a  real  assagai. 
This  particular  spear  is  cut  from  one  piece 
of  wood,  and  is  decorated  according  to  Kaffir 


106 


THE  KAFFIE. 


notions  of  beauty,  by  contrasts  of  black  and 
white  gained  by  charring  tliu  wood.  The 
ornamental  work  on  the  shaft  is  thus  black- 
ened, and  so  is  one  side  of  the  broad  wooden 
blade.  The  spear  shown  at  fig.  9  is  used  in 
elephant  hunting,  and  will  be  described  in  a 
future  chapter. 

To  a  Kaflir  the  assagai  is  a  necessary 
of  life.  He  never  stirs  without  taking  a 
weapon  of  some  kind  in  his  hand,  and  that 
weapon  is  generally  the  assagai.  With  it 
he  kills  his  game,  with  it  he  cuts  up  the 
carcass,  with  it  he  strips  off  the  hide,  and 
with  it  he  fashions  the  dresses  worn  by 
the  women  as  well  as  the  men.  The  ease 
and  rapidity  with  which  he  performs  these 
acts  are  really  astonishing.  AVheu  cutting 
up  slaughtered  cattle,  he  displays  as  much 
knowledge  of  the  various  cuts  as  the  most  ex- 
perienced butcher,  and  certainly  no  Initcher 
could  operate  more  rapidly  with  his  knife, 
saw,  and  cleaver,  than  does  the  Kaffir  with 
his  simple  assagai.  For  every  purjiose 
wherein  an  European  uses  a  knife,  the 
Kaffir  uses  his  assagai.  With  it  he  cuts  the 
shafts  for  his  weapons,  and  with  its  sharp 
blade  he  carves  the  wooden  dubs,  spoons, 
dishes,  and  jiillows,  and  the  various  utensils 
required  in  his  daily  life. 

When  hurling  his  assagai,  whether  at  an 
animal  which  he  is  hunting  or  at  a  foe,  or 
even  when  exhibiting  his  skill  to  a  spec- 
tator, the  Kaffir  becomes  strongly  excited, 
and  seems  almost  beside  himself.  The 
sweetest  sound  that  can  greet  a  Kaffir's 
ears  is  the  sound  of  his  weapon  entering 
the  object  at  which  it  was  aimed,  and  in 
order  to  enjoy  this  strange  gratification,  he 
will  stab  a  slain  animal  over  and  over  again, 
forgetful  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment 
that  every  needless  stab  injures  the  hide 
which  might  be  so  usefid  to  him.  When 
the  chief  summons  his  army,  and  the  war- 
riors go  through  their  extraordinary  per- 
formances in  his  presence,  they  never  fail 
to  expatiate  on  the  gratification  which  they 
shall  derive  from  hearing  their  assagais 
strike  into  the  bodies  of  their  opponents. 

It  is  rather  a  curious  fact  that  the  true 
Kaffir  never  uses  the  bow  and  arrow. 
Though  nearly  surrounded  by  tribes  which 
use  this  weapon,  and  though  often  suffering 
in  skirmishes  from  the  poisoned  arrows  ot 
the  Bosjesmans,  he  rejects  the  bow  in  war- 
fare, considering  it  to'  be  a  weapon  incon- 
sistent with  the  dignity  of  a  warrior.  He 
has  but  two  weapons,  the  assagai  and  the 
club,  and  he  wields  the  second  as  skilfully  as 
the  first.  The  clubs  used  by  the  Kaffir  tribes 
are  extremely  variable  in  size,  and  rather  so 
in  form.  Some  of  them  are  more  than  six 
feet  in  length,  while  some  are  only  fourteen 
or  fifteen  inches.  But  they  all  agree  in  one 
point,  namely,  that  they  are  straight,  or,  at 
all  events,  are  intended  to  be  so;  and  tliat 
one  end  is  terminated  by  a  knob.  They  are 
popularly  known  as  "  knob-kerries." 


In  order  to  show  the  extreme  difierence 
of  size  that  is  found  among  them,  several 
specimens  are  figured  in  the  illustration  on 
jKige  103.  Three  .specimens  are  seen  at  fig. 
10.  That  on  the  right  hand  is  used  as  a 
weapon,  and  is  wielded  iu  a  very  curious 
manner.  Not  only  can  it  be  employed  as  a 
weapon  with  which  an  opponent 'can  be 
struck,  but  it  is  also  used  as  a  missile,  some- 
times being  fiung  straight  at  the  antagonist, 
and  sometimes  thrown  on  the  ground  in 
such  a  manner  that  its  elasticity  causes  it  to 
rebound  and  strike  the  enemy  from  below 
instead  of  from  above.  The  Australian 
savages  possess  clubs  of  a  similar  shape, 
and  also  employ  the  ricochet.  The  other 
two  kerries  are  not  meant  as  weapons. 

It  is  contrary  to  etiquette  for  a  Kaffir  to 
carry  an  assagai  when  lie  enters  the  hut  of 
a  superior,  and  he  therefore  exchanges  the 
weapon  for  the  innocent  kerrie.  And  it  is 
also  contrary  to  etiquette  to  use  the  real 
assagai  in  dances.  But,  as  in  their  dances 
the  various  operations  of  warfare  and  hunt- 
ing are  imitated,  it  is  necessary  for  the  per- 
formers to  have  something  that  will  take 
the  place  of  an  assagai,  and  they  accord- 
ingly provide  themselves  with  knob-kerries 
about  the  same  length  as  the  weapons 
whose  place   they  sujjply. 

One  very  common  form  of  the  short  knob- 
kerrie  is  shown  at  fig.  14.  This  weapon  is 
only  twenty  inches  in  length,  and  can  be 
conveniently  carried  in  the  belt.  At  close 
quarters  it  can  be  used  as  a  club,  but  it  is 
more  frequently  employed  as  a  missile. 

The  Kaffir  is  so  trained  from  infancy  to 
hurl  his  weapons  that  he  always  prefers 
those  which  can  be  thrown.  The  force  and 
precision  with  which  the  natives  will  fling 
these  short  kerries  is  really  astoni.shing.  If 
Europeans  were  to  go  after  birds,  and  pro- 
vide themselves  with  knobbed  sticks  instead 
of  guns,  they  would  liring  home  but  very 
little  game.  Yet  a  Kaffir  takes  his  knob- 
kerries  as  a  matter  of  course,  when  he  goes 
after  the  bustard,  the  quail,  or  other  birds, 
and  seldom  returns  without  success. 

The  general  plan  is  for  two  men  to  hunt 
in  concert.  Tliey  walk  some  fifty  yards 
ajiart,  and  when  they  come  to  any  spot 
which  seems  a  likely  place  for  game,  they 
rest  their  kerries  on  their  right  shoulders, 
so  as  to  lose  no  time  in  drawing  back  the 
hand  when  they  wish  to  fling  the  weapon. 
As  soon  as  a  bird  rises,  they  simultaneously 
hurl  their  kerries  at  it,  one  always  aiming  a 
little  above  the  bird,  and  the  other  a  little 
below.  If  then,  the  bird  catches  sight  of  the 
upper  club,  and  dives  down  to  avoid  it,  the 
lower  club  takes  efieet,  while,  if  it  rises  from 
the  lower  kerrie,  it  falls  a  victim  to  the 
upper.  This  plan  is  wonderfully  efficacious, 
as  I  have  proved  by  person.al  experience. 
One  of  my  friends  and  myself  determined  to 
try  whether  we  could  kill  game  in  the  Kaffir 
fashion.    So  we  cut  some  knobbed  sticks. 


THE   KNOB-KEKRIE. 


107 


and  started  off  in  search  of  snipe.  As  soon 
as  a  snipe  rose,  we  flung  tlie  stick  at  it,  and 
naturally  missed,  as  it  was  quite  beyond  tlie 
range  of  any  missile  jiropelled  by  hand. 
However,  marking  the  spot  where  it  alight- 
ed, we  started  it  afresh,  and  by  repeating 
this  process,  we  got  sufficieutlj'  near  to  Isring 
it  within  the  compass  of  our  jjowers,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  knocking  it  down. 

Generally  the  short,  thick,  heavily  knobbed 
kcrrie  belongs  rather  to  the  Hottentot  and 
the  Bosjesman  than  to  the  Zulu,  who  pre- 
fers the  longer  weapon,  even  as  a  missile. 
But  it  is  evident  that  the  former  shape  of 
the  weapon  is  the  original  one,  and  that 
the  Kaffir,  who  derived  it  from  its  oi-igi- 
nal  inventor,  the  Hottentot,  lias  gradually 
lengthened  the  shaft  and  diminished  the 
size  of  the  head. 

The  material  of  which  the  kerrie  is  made 
is  mostly  wood,  that  of  the  acacia  being 
frequently  used  for  this  purpose.  The  long 
knob-kerries  of  the  Zulus  are  generally  cut 
from  the  tree  that  is  emphatically,  though 
not  euphoniously,  named  Stink-wood,  on 
account  of  the  unpleasant  odor  which  it  gives 
out  while  being  worked.  As  soon  as  it  is 
dry,  this  odor  goes  off,  and  not  even  the 


most  sensitive  nostril  can  be  annoyed  by  it. 
The  stink-wood  is  a  species  of  laurel,  and  its 
scientific  name  is  Luurus  bulluta.  The 
most  valuable,  as  well  as  the  most  durable 
knob-kerries  are  those  which  are  cut  out  of 
rhinoceros  horn,  and  a  native  can  hardly  be 
induced  to  part  with  a  fine  specimen  for  any 
bribe.  In  the  first  place,  the  very  fact  of 
possessing  such  an  article  shows  that  he 
must  be  a  mighty  hunter,  and  have  slain  a 
rhinoceros;  and  in  the  second  place,  its  great 
efficacy,  and  the  enormous  amount  of  laljor 
expended  in  carving  out  of  the  solid  horn, 
endear  it  so  much  to  him,  that  he  will  not 
part  with  it  except  for  something  which  will 
tend  to  raise  him  in  the  eyes  of  his  com- 
rades. In  England,  a  fine  specimen  of 
knob-kerrie,  made  from  the  horn  of  the 
white  rhinoceros,  has  been  known  to  fetch 
even  ten  jioimds. 

Thus  much  for  the  offensive  weapons  of 
the  Zulu  Kaffir.  Toward  the  north  as  well 
as  to  the  west  of  the  Draakensberg  Moun- 
tains, a  peculiar  battle-axe  is  used,  which  is 
evidently  a  modification  of  the  barbed  spear 
which  has  already  been  described;  but  the 
true  Zulu  uses  no  weapon  except  the  assagai 
and  the  kerrie. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


WAE —  Concluded. 


DEFENSIVE  "WEAPONS,  AND  MODE  OF  FIGHTING. 


BODY  AKMOB  NOT  WORN  — THE  KAFFIK'S  SHIELD  —  ITS  SHAPE,  MATERIAL,  AND  COLOR  — THE  SHIELD 
AS  A  UNIFORM — CirRIOUS  RUSE  —  HOW  THE  SHIELD  IS  HELD  AND  USED  —  THE  SHIELD  STICK  AND 
ITS  ORNAMENTS  —  VALUE  OF  THE  SHIELD  AGAINST  SPEARS  AND  ARROWS  — THE  BLACK  AND  WHITE 
SHIELD  REGIMENTS  —  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SHIELDS  —  MILITARY  AMBITION  AND  ITS  INCENTIVES^ 
CHIEF  OBJECTS  OF  WARFARE  —  DISCIPLINE  OF  KAFFIR  ARMY — CRUELTY  OF  TCHAKA  AND  OTHER 
ZULU  MONjVKCHS  —  OBSERV-VNCES  BEFORE  A  CAMPAIGN — SUPERSTITIOUS  CEREMONIES  —  HOW  THE 
AKMY  IS  M.UNTAINED  IN  THE  FIELD  —  TRACK  OF  AN  ARMY  THROUGH  AN  ENEMY'S  LAND— JEAL- 
OUSY BETWEEN  THE  DIFFERENT  REGIMENTS  —  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ARMY  —  NUMBER  OF 
REGIMENTS  AND  GARRISON  TOWNS — NAMES  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  REGIMENTS  —  GOZA  AND  SAN- 
DILLI  —  DISTINGUISHING  UNIFORMS  OF  THE  REGIMENTS  —  THE  REVaEW  AFTER  A  BATTLE,  AND  ITS 
CONSEQUENCES —THE  SHIELD  BE.ARER  AND  HIS  PERILOUS  TASK  —  THE  ROYAL  ATTENDANTS  — 
REWARD  AND  PUNISHMENT  —  KAFFIR  HERALDS  —  VARIOUS  TITLES  OF  THE  KING — PANDA'S 
REVIEW  COSTUME  —  THE  KING'S  PROGRESS  THROUGH  HIS  COUNTRY  —  INA'ENTION  AND  COMPLE- 
TION OP  A  MILITARY  SYSTEM — TCHAKA'S  POLICY  COMPARED  WITH  THAT  OF  THE  FIRST  NAPO- 
LEON—  TCHAKA'S  rise  AND  FALL  —  AN  UNSUCCESSFUL  EXPEDITION  —  FAMILY"  QUARRELS  —  A 
TREACHEROUS    CONSPIRACY'  —  MURDER    OF    TCHAKA,    AND    ACCESSION    OF  DINGAN. 


The  Zulu  tribe  have  but  one  piece  of 
defensive  armor,  namely,  the  shield.  The 
Kaffirs  either  are  ignorant  of,  or  despise 
bodily  armor  of  any  kind,  not  even  pro- 
tecting their  heads  by  caps  and  helmets,  but 
exposing  their  naked  bodies  and  limbs  to 
the  weapons  of  the  foe.  The  shields  are 
always  made  of  ox-hide,  and  their  color 
denotes  the  department  of  the  army  to  which 
the  owner  belongs.  None  but  "  men,"  who 
are  entitled  to  wear  the  head-ring,  are  priv- 
ileged to  carry  white  shields,  "while  the 
"  boys "  on  their  promotion  are  furnished 
with  black  shields.  Some  of  them  have  their 
black  and  white  shields  spotted  with  red  or 
brown,  tliis  coloring  denoting  the  ]iarticular 
regiment  to  which  they  belong.  It  will  be 
seen,  therefore,  that  the  shield  constitutes  a 
kind  of  uniform,  and  it  has  more  than  once 
happened,  that  when  the  Zulu  warriors  have 
got  the  lietter  of  their  enemies,  some  of  the 
more  crafty  among  the  vanquished  have 
contrived  to  exchange  their  own  shields  for 
those  belonging  to  slain  Zulu  warriors,  and 
have  thus  contrived  to  pass  themselves  oft" 
as  victorious  xVmazulu  until  they  could  find 
an  opportunity  of  making  their  escape. 

The  double  row  of  black  marks  down  the 
centre  of  the  shield  (see  Goza's,  page  117,) 


is  an  addition  which  is  invariably  found  in 
these  weapons  of  war,  and  serves  partly  as 
an  ornament,  and  partly  as  a  convenient 
mode  for  fastening  the  handle.  In  orna- 
menting the  shield  with  these  marks,  the 
Kaffir  cuts  a  double  row  of  slits  along  the 
shield  while  it  is  still  wet  and  pliant,  and 
then  passes  strips  of  black  hide  in  and  out 
through  the  slits,  so  as  to  make  the  black  of 
tlie  stri])  contrast  itself  boldly  with  the  white 
of  the  shield. 

The  handle  of  the  Kaffir's  shield  is  quite 
unique.  Instead  of  being  a  mere  loop  or 
projection  in  the  centre  of  the  shield,  it  is 
combined  with  a  stick  which  runs  along  the 
centre  of  the  shield,  and  is  long  enough  to 
project  at  both  ends.  This  stick  serves 
several  purposes,  its  chief  use  being  to 
strengthen  the  shield  and  keep  it  stift",  and 
its  second  object  being  to  assist  the  soldier 
in  swinging  it  about  "in  the  rajiid  manner 
which  is  required  in  the  Kaffir's  mode  of 
fighting  and  dancing.  The  projection  at 
the  lower  end  is  used  as  a  rest,  on  which 
the  shield  can  stand  whenever  the  warrior 
is  tired  of  carrying  it  in  his  arms,  and  the 
shield  ought  to  be  just  so  tall  that,  when 
the  owner  stands  erect,  his  eyes  can  just 
look  over  the  top  of  the  shield,  while  iiie 


(108) 


AVAR  SHIELD. 


109 


end  of  the  stick  reaches  to  the  crown  of 
his  head.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  upper 
end  of  the  stick  has  an  ornament  upon  it. 
This  is  made  of  the  furry  skin  of  some 
animal,  which  is  cut  into  strips  just  like 
those  which  are  used  for  the  "tails,"  and 
the  strips  wound  upon  the  stick  in  a  dram- 
like shape. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  illustration 
on  p.  o7,  entitled  "  Kaffirs  at  Home,"  he  will 
see  three  of  these  shield-sticks  placed  in  the 
fence  of  the  cattle-fold,  ready  to  be  inserted 
in  the  shield  whenever  they  are  wanted. 

At  each  side  of  the  shield  there  is  a  slight 
indentation,  the  object  of  which  is  not  very 
clear,  unless  it  be  simple  fashion.  It  pre- 
vails to  a  large  extent  throughout  many 
parts  of  Africa,  in  some  places  being  com- 
paratively slight,  and  in  others  so  deep  that 
the  shield  looks  like  a  great  hour-gl.ass. 
Although  the  shield  is  simply  made  of  the 
hide  of  an  ox,  and  without  that  elabo- 
rate preparation  with  glue  and  size  which 
strengthens  the  American  Indian's  shield, 
the  native  finds  it  quite  sufficient  to  guard 
hini  against  either  spear  or  club,  while 
those  tribes  which  employ  the  bow  find 
that  their  weapons  can  make  but  little  im- 
pression on  troops  which  are  furnished  with 
such  potent  defences.  The  Bosjesmans,  and 
all  the  tribes  which  use  poisoned  arrows, 
depend  entirely  on  the  virulence  of  the 
poison,  and  not  on  the  force  with  which 
the  arrow  is  driven,  so  that  their  puny 
bow  and  slender  arrows  are  almost  useless 
against  foes  whose  whole  bodies  are  covered 
by  shields,  from  which  the  arrows  recoil  as 
harmlessly  as  if  they  were  bucklers  of  iron. 
As  is  the  case  in  more  civilized  communi- 
ties, the  shields,  which  constitute  the  uni- 
forms, are  not  the  private  property  of  the 
individual  soldier,  but  are  given  out  by  the 
chief  Moreover,  it  seems  that  the  warlike 
chief  Dingan  would  not  grant  shields  to 
any  young  soldier  until  he  had  shown  him- 
self worthy  of  wearing  the  uniform  of  his 
sovereign.  The  skins  of  all  the  cattle  in 
the  garrison  towns  belong  of  right  to  the 
king,  and  are  retained  by  liim  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  made  into  shields,  each  skin 
being  supposed  to  furnish  t\vo  shields  — 
a  large  one,  and  a  small,  or  hunting  shield. 
Men  are  constantly  employed  in  convert- 
ing hides  into  shields,  ^vhich  are  stored  in 
houses  devoted  to  the  purpose. 

Captain  Gardiner  gives  an  interesting  ac- 
count of  an  application  for  shields  made  by  a 
party  of  young  soldiers,  and  their  reception 
by  the  king.  It  must  lie  first  understood 
that  Dingan  was  at  the  time  in  his  chief  gar- 
rison town,  and  that  he  was  accompanied 
by  his  two  favorite  ludoonas,  or  petty  chiefs, 
one  of  whom,  by  name  Tambooza,  was  a 
singularly  cross-grained  individual,  whoso 
chief  delight  was  in  fault  finding.  After 
mentioning  that  a  chief,  named  Georgo, 
had  travelled  to  the  king's  palace,  at  the 


head  of  a  large  detachment,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  asking  for  shields,  he  proceeded  as 
follows:  — 

"■  Their  arrival  at  (he  principal  gate  of 
the  town  having  been  notified  to  the  king, 
an  order  was  soon  after  sent  for  their  ad- 
mission, when  they  all  rushed  up  witli  a 
shout,  brandishing  their  sticks  in  a  most 
violent  manner,  until  within  a  respectable 
distance  of  the  Issigordlo,  when  they  halt- 
ed. Dingan  soon  mounted  his  pedestal  and 
showed  himself  over  the  fence,  on  which  a 
simultaneous  greeting  of  '  Byate  !  '  ran 
thrcjugh  the  line  into  which  they  were 
now  formed.  He  soon  disappeared,  and 
the  whole  ])arty  then  seated  themselves 
on  the  ground  they  occupied.  Dingan 
shortly  after  came  out,  the  two  Indoonas 
and  a  number  of  his  great  men  having  al- 
ready arrived,  and  seated  themselves  in 
semi-circular  order  on  each  side  of  his 
chair,  from  whom  he  was,  however,  re- 
moved to  a  dignified  distance.  Tambooza, 
who  is  the  great  speaker  on  all  these  occa- 
sions, and  the  professed  scolder  whenever 
necessity  requires,  was  now  on  his  legs;  to 
speak  publicly  in  any  other  postin-e  ^vould, 
I  am  convinced,  be  painful  to  a  Zulu;  nor 
is  he  content  with  mere  gesticulation  —  ac- 
tual space  is  necessary;  I  had  almost  said 
sufficient  for  a  cricket  ball  to  bound  in,  Init 
this  would  be  hyperbole  —  a  run,  however, 
he  must  have,  and  I  have  been  surprised 
at  the  grace  and  eft'ect  which  this  novel  ac- 
companiment to  the  art  of  elocution  has 
often  given  to  the  point  and  matter  of  the 
discourse. 

'■  In  this  character  Tambooza  is  inimitable, 
and  shone  especially  on  the  present  occa- 
sion, having  doubtless  been  instructed  by 
the  king,  in  whose  name  he  addressed 
Georgo  and  his  party,  to  interlard  his  ora- 
tion with  as  many  pungent  reproofs  and 
cutting  invectives  as  his  fertile  imagination 
could  invent,  or  his  natural  disposition  sug- 
gest. On  a  late  expedition,  it  appears  that 
the  troops  now  harangued  had  not  per- 
formed the  service  expected — they  had 
entered  the  territory  of  Umselekaz,  and, 
instead  of  surrounding  and  capturing  the 
herds  within  their  reach,  had  attended  to 
some  pretended  instructions  to  halt  and 
return;  some  jialliating  circumstances  had 
no  doubt  screened  them  from  the  customary 
rigor  on  such  occasions,  and  this  untoward 
occurrence  was  now  turned  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage. After  a  long  tirade,  in  which 
Tambooza  ironically  described  their  feeble 
onset  and  fruitless  eflbrt,  advancing  like  a 
Mercury  to  fix  his  part,  and  gracefully  re- 
tiring as  though  to  point  a  fresh  barb  for 
the  attack;  now  slaking  his  wrath  Ijv  a 
journey  to  the  right,  anil  then  as  abru]itly 
recoiling  to  the  left,  by  each  detour  increa-s- 
ing  in  vehemence,  the  storm  was  at  length 
at  its  height,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  tem- 
pest he  had  stirred  he  retired  to  the  feet 


110 


THE   KAFFIR. 


of  his  sovereign,  who,  I   remarked,  could 

scarcely  refrain  from  smiling  at  many  of 
the  taunting  expressions  that  were  used. 

"  George's  countenance  can  better  be  im- 
agined than  described  at  this  moment. 
Impatient  to  reply,  lie  now  rose  from  the 
centre  of  the  line,  his  person  decorated  with 
strings  of  pink  beads  worn  over  his  shoul- 
ders like  a  cross  belt,  and  large  brass  rings 
on  his  arras  and  throat.  'Amanka'  (it  is 
false),  was  the  first  word  he  uttered.  The 
various  chivalrous  deeds  of  himself  and  his 
men  were  then  set  forth  in  the  most  glow- 
ing colors,  and  a  scene  ensued  which  I 
scarcely  know  how  to  describe.  Indepen- 
dent of  his  own  energetic  gesticulations,  his 
violent  leaping  and  sententious  running; 
on  the  first  announcement  of  any  exculjia- 
tory  fact  indicating  their  prowess  in  arms, 
one  or  more  of  the  principal  warriors  would 
rush  from  the  ranks  to  corroborate  the  state- 
ment by  a  display  of  muscular  power  in 
leaping,  charging,  and  pantomimic  conflict, 
which  quite  made  the  ground  to  resound 
under  their  feet;  alternately  leaping  and 
galloping  (for  it  is  not  running)  until,  fren- 
zied by  the  tortuous  motion,  their  nerves 
were  sufficiently  strong  for  the  acme  pos- 
ture—  vaulting  several  feet  in  the  air,  draw- 
ing the  knees  toward  the  chin,  and  at  the 
same  time  passing  the  hands  between  the 
ankles.  (See  illustration  No.  2  on  page 
opposite.) 

"  In  this  singular  manner  were  the  charges 
advanced  and  relnitted  for  a  considerable 
time;  Dingan  acting  behind  the  scenes  as  a 
moderator,  and  occasionally  calling  off  Tam- 
hooza  as  an  unruly  bull-dog  from  the  bait. 
At  length,  as  though  iraperceptilily  dra'iv'n 
into  the  argument,  he  concluded  the  Inisi- 
ness  in  these  words: — 'When  have  we 
heard  anything  good  of  Georgo?  What  has 
Georgo  doncV  It  is  a  name  that  is  unknown 
to  us.  I  shall  give  j'ou  no  shields  until  you 
have  proved  yourself  Avorthy  of  them;  go 
and  bring  me  some  cattle  from  Umselekaz, 
and  then  shields  shall  be  given  you.'  A 
burst  of  applause  rang  from  all  sides  on  this 
unexpected  announcement;  under  which, 
in  good  taste,  the  despot  made  his  exit, 
retiring  into  the  Issogordlo,  while  bowls  of 
beer  were  served  out  to  the  soldiers,  wlio 
with  their  Indoon  were  soon  after  observed 
marching  over  the  hills,  on  their  way  to  col- 
lect the  remainder  of  their  regiment,  for  the 
promised  expedition. 

"  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  there  was 
much  of  state  policy  in  the  whole  of  these 
proceedings,  particular!}'  as  the  order  for  the 
attack  on  Umselekaz  was  shortly  after 
countermandetl,  and  not  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  days  elapsed  before  the  same  party 
returned,  and  received  their  shields.  At  this 
time  I  was  quietly  writing  in  my  hut;  one 
of  the  shield  houses  adjoined;  and  I  shall 
never  forget  the  unceremonious  rush  they 
made.    Kot  contented  with  turning  them 


all  out,  and  each  selecting  one,  but,  in  order 
to  prove  them  and  shake  of  the  dust,  they 
commenced  beating  them  on  the  sjjot  with 
sticks,  which,  in  connection  with  this  sud- 
den incursion,  occasioned  such  an  unusual 
tunudt  that  I  thought  a  civil  war  had  com- 
menced. 

Havixg  now  seen  the  weapons  used  by 
the  Katfir  warriors,  we  will  see  how  they 
wage  war. 

When  the  chief  arranges  his  troops  in 
order  of  battle,  ho  places  the  "  boys  "  in  the 
van,  and  gives  them  the  post  of  honor,  as 
well  as  of  danger.  In  this  position  they 
have  the  opportunity-  of  distinguishing  them- 
selves tor  which  they  so  earnestly  long,  and, 
as  a  general  rule,  display  such  valor  that  it 
is  not  very  easy  to  pick  out  those  who  have 
earned  especial  glory.  Behind  them  are 
arranged  the  "  men "  with  their  white 
shields.  These  have  already  established 
their  reputation,  and  do  not  require  further 
distinction.  Tliey  serve  a  double  purpose. 
Firstly,  they  act  as  a  reserve  in  case  the 
front  ranks  of  the  "  black-shields  "  should 
be  repulsed,  and,  being  men  of  more  mature 
age,  oppose  an  almost  impregnable  front  to 
tiie  enemy,  while  the  "  black-shields '"  can 
re-form  their  ranks  under  cover,  and  then 
renew  the  charge.  The  second  object  is, 
that  they  serve  as  a  very  effectual  incite- 
ment to  the  young  men  to  do  their  duty. 
They  know  that  behind  them  is  a  body  of 
skilled  warriors,  who  are  carefully  noting  all 
their  deeds,  and  they  are  equally  aware  that 
if  they  attempt  to  run  away  they  will  be 
instantly  killed  by  the  "white-shields"  in 
(heir  rear.  As  hasalread}'  been  mentioned, 
the  dearest  wish  of  a  young  Kaffir's  heart  is 
to  become  a  ''  white-shield "  himself,  and 
there  is  no  prouder  day  of  his  life  than  that 
in  which  he  bears  for  the  first  time  the 
white  war  .shield  on  his  arm,  the  "  isikoko  " 
on  his  head,  and  falls  into  the  ranks  with 
those  to  whom  he  has  so  long  looked  up 
with  admiration  and  envy. 

In  order  to  incite  the  "  black-shields  "  to 
the  most  strenuous  exertions,  their  reward 
is  promised  to  them  beforehand.  Just  be- 
fore they  set  out  on  their  expedition,  the 
young  unmarried  girls  of  the  tribe  are  pa- 
raded before  them,  and  they  are  told  that 
each  who  succeeds  in  distinguishing  himself 
before  the  enemy  shall  be  presented  with 
one  of  those  damsels  for  a  wife  when  he  re- 
turns. So  he  does  not  only  receive  the  bar- 
ren permission  to  take  a  wife,  and  thus  to 
enrol  himself  among  the  men,  but  the  wife 
is  presented  to  him  without  pay,  his  warlike 
deeds  being  considered  as  more  tlian  an 
equivalent  for  the  cows  which  he  would 
otherwise  have  been  obliged  to  pay  for  her. 

A  curious  custom  prevails  in  the  house- 
holds of  the  white-shield  warriors.  When 
one  of  them  goes  out  to  war,  his  wife  takes 
his  sleeping  mat,  hi«  pillow,  and  his  spoon, 


i'Li  >*. 


C^:.)   MUSCULAK   ADVOCACY.    (See  page  110.) 
(Ill) 


MILITARY  DISCIPLIXE. 


113 


and  hangs  them  upon  the  wall  of  the  hut. 
Every  morning  at  early  dawn  she  goes  and 
inspects  them  with  loving  anxiety,  and  looks 
to  see  whether  they  cast  a  shadow  or  not. 
As  long  as  they  do  so,  she  knows  that  her 
husband  is  alive;  bat  if  no  shadow  should 
happen  to  be  thrown  by  them,  she  feels  cer- 
tain that  her  husljand  is  dead,  and  laments 
his  loss  as  if  she  had  actually  seen  his  dead 
body.  This  curious  custom  irresistiljly  re- 
minds the  reader  of  certain  tales  in  the 
"  Aral.iiau  liights,"  where  the  life  or  death 
of  an  al)sent  person  is  known  by  some  ob- 
ject that  belonged  to  him  —  a  knife,  for 
example  —  whicli  dripped  blood  as  soon  as 
its  former  owner  was  dead. 

Before  Tchaka's  invention  of  the  heavy 
stabbing  -  assagai,  there  was  rather  more 
noise  than  execution  in  a  Katlir  battle,  the 
assagais  being  received  harmlessly  on  the 
shieiils,  and  no  one  much  tlie  worse  for 
them.  But  his  trained  troops  made  fright- 
ful havoc  among  the  enemy,  and  the  de- 
struction was  so  great,  that  the  Zulus  were 
said  to  be  not  men,  but  eaters  of  men.  The 
king's  place  was  in  the  centre  of  the  line, 
and  in  the  rear,  so  that  he  could  see  all  the 
proceedings  with  his  own  eyes,  and  could 
give  directions,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  f!i- 
vored  councillors  who  were  around  him,  and 
who  acted  as  aides-de-camp,  executing  their 
commissions  at  their  swiftest  pace,  and  then 
returning  to  take  their  post  by  the  sacred 
person  of  their  monarch. 

The  commander  of  each  regiment  and 
section  of  a  regiment  was  supposed  to  be  its 
embodiment, and  on  him  hung  all  the  blame 
if  it  sutlered  a  repulse.  Tchaka  made  no 
allowance  whatever  for  superior  numbers 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  and  his  warriors 
knew  well  that,  whatever  might  be  the  force 
opposed  to  them,  they  had  either  to  conquer 
or  to  die;  and,  as  it  was  better  to  die  fight- 
ing than  to  perish  ignominiously  as  cowards 
after  the  battle,  tliey  fought  witli  a  frantic 
valor  that  was  partly  inherent  in  their  na- 
ture, and  was  partly  the  result  of  the  strict 
and  sanguinary  discipline  under  which  they 
fought.  After  the  battle,  the  various  officers 
are  called  out,  and  questioned  respecting  the 
conduct  of  the  men  uniler  their  command. 
Reward  and  retriljution  are  equally  swift  in 
operation,  an  immediate  advance  in  rank 
falling  to  the  lot  of  those  wlio  had  sliown 
notable  courage,  while  those  who  liave  been 
even  suspected  of  cowardice  are  immedi- 
ately .slain. 

Sometimes  the  slaughter  after  an  expedi- 
tion is  terrible,  even  under  the  reign  of 
Panda,  a  very  much  milder  man  than  his 
great  predecessor.  Tchaka  lias  been  known 
to  order  a  whole  regiment  for  execution; 
and  on  one  occasion  he  killed  all  the 
"  white-shields,"  ordering  the  "  boys  "  to  as- 
sume the  head-ring,  and  take  the  positions 
and  shields  of  the  slain.  Panda,  however, 
is  not  such  a  despot  as  Tchaka,  and,  indeed, 


does  not  possess  the  irresponsible  power  of 
that  king.  Ko  one  ever  dared  to  interfere 
with  Tchaka,  knowing  that  to  contradict 
him  was  certain  death.  But  when  Panda 
has  lieeu  disposed  to  kill  a  number  of  his 
subjects  his  councillors  liave  interfered,  and 
by  their  remonstrances  have  succeeded  in 
stopping  the  massacre. 

Somelimes  these  wars  are  carried  on  in 
the  most  bloodthirsty  manner,  and  not  only 
the  soldiers  in  arms,  but  the  women,  the  old 
and  the  young,  fall  victims  to  the  assagais 
and  clubs'  of  the  victorious  enemy.  Having 
vau<iuished  the  foe,  they  press  on  toward 
the  kraals,  spearing  all  the  inhabitants,  and 
carrying  off  all  the  cattle.  Indeed,  the  "lift- 
ing ■"  of  cattle  on  a  large  scale  often  consti- 
tutes the  chief  end  of  a  Kaffir  war. 

Before  starting  on  an  expedition  the  sol- 
diers undergo  a  series  of  ceremonies,  which 
are  supposed  to  strengthen  tlioir  bodies,  im- 
prove their  courage,  and  [iropitiafe  the  spir- 
its of  their  forefathers  in  their  firvor.  The 
ceremony  begins  with  the  king,  who  tries  to 
obtain  some  article  belonging  to  the  person 
of  the  adverse  chief,  such  as  a  scrap  of  any 
garment  that  he  has  worn,  a  snuffbox,  tlic 
.shaft  of  an  assagai,  or,  indeed,  anything  that 
has  belonged  to  him.  A  portion  of  this  sub- 
stance is"  scraped  into  certain  medicines 
prepared  by  the  witch  doctor,  and  the  king 
either  swallows  the  medicine,  or  cuts  little 
gashes  on  different  parts  of  his  body,  and 
rubs  the  medicine  into  them.  This  pro- 
ceeding is  supposed  to  give  dominion  over 
the  enemy,  and  is  a  sign  tliat  lie  will  be 
"  eaten  up"  in  the  ensuing  battle.  So  fear- 
ful are  the  chiefs  that  the  enemy  may  thus 
overcome  them,  that  they  use  the  most  mi- 
nute ]n'ecautions  to  prevent  any  articles  be- 
longing to  themselves  fr(im  falling  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  might  make  a  bad  use 
of  them.  When  a  diief  moves  his  quarters, 
even  the  floor  of  his  hut  is  carefully  scraped; 
and  Dingan  was  so  very  particular  on  this 
point  that  he  has  been  known  to  bui'u  down 
an  entire  kraal,  after  he  left  it,  in  order  that 
no  vestige  of  anything  that  belonged  to 
himself  should  fall  into  evil  hands. 

After  the  king,  the  men  take  their  turn  of 
duty,  and  a  very  unpleasant  duty  it  is.  An 
ox  is  always  slain,  and  one  of  its  legs  cut 
off;  and  this  extraordinary  ceremony  is 
thought  to  be  absolutely  needful  for  a  suc- 
cessful warfare.  Sometimes  the  limb  is 
severed  from  the  unfortunate  animal  while 
it  is  still  alive.  On  one  occasion  the  witch 
doctor  conceived  the  brilliant  idea  of  cut- 
ting off  the  leg  of  a  living  bull,  and  then 
making  the  warriors  eat  it  raw,  tearing  tha 
flesh  from  the  bone  with  tlieir  teeth.  They 
won  the  battle,  but  the  witch  doctor  got 
more  credit  for  his  powerful  charms  than 
did  the  troops  for  their  courage. 

Of  course  the  animal  cannot  survive  very 
long  after  such  treatment;  and  when  it  is 
dead,  the  flesh  is  cut  away  with  assagais, 


114 


THE   K^UTFIR. 


and  a  part  of  it  chopped  into  small  mor- 
sels, in  each  of  which  is  a  portion  of  some 
charmed  powder.  The  uncleared  bones  are 
thrown  among  the  warriors,  scrambled  for, 
and  eaten ;  and  when  this  part  of  the  cere- 
mony' has  been  concluded,  the  remainder  of 
the  ilesh  is  cooked  and  eaten.  A  curious 
process  then  takes  place,  a  kind  of  puriflca- 
tion  by  tire,  the  sparks  from  a  burning 
brand  being  blown  over  them  by  the  witch 
doctor.  Kext  day  they  are  treated  to  a  dose 
which  act.s  as  a  violent  emetic;  and  the  cer- 
emonies conclude  with  a  purification  by 
water,  which  is  sprinkled  over  them  by  the 
chief  himself  These  wild  and  savage  cere- 
monies have  undoubtedly  a  great  influence 
over  the  minds  of  the  wari'iors,  wlio  fauc^- 
themselves  to  be  under  the  protection  of 
their  ancestors,  the  only  deities  which  a 
Kaffir  seems  to  care  much  ahout. 

As  to  the  department  of  the  commissa- 
riat, it  varies  much  with  the  caprice  of  the 
chief.  Tchaka  always  used  to  send  plenty 
of  cattle  with  his  armies,  so  that  they  never 
need  fear  the  weakening  of  their  forces  by 
liunger.  He  also  sent  very  large  supplies 
of  grain  and  other  food.  His  successors, 
however,  have  not  been  so  generous,  and 
force  their  troops  to  provide  for  themselves 
by  foraging  among  the  enemy. 

Cattle  are  certainly  taken  with  them,  but 
not  to  be  eaten.  In  case  they  may  be  able 
to  seize  the  cattle  of  the  enemy,  they  find 
that  the  animals  can  be  driven  away  much 
more  easily  if  they  are  led  by  others  of  their 
own  kind."  The  cattle  that  accompany  an 
expedition  are  therefore  employed  as  guides. 
They  sometimes  serve  a  still  more  imiior- 
tant  purpose.  Clever  as  is  a  Kaffir  in  find- 
ing his  way  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
there  are  occasions  where  even  his  wonder- 
ful topographical  powers  desert  him.  If,  for 
example,  he  is  in  an  enemy's  district,  and  is 
obliged  to  travel  by  night,  he  may  well  lose 
his  way,  if  the  nights  should  happen  to  he 
cloudy,  and  neither  moon  nor  stars  be  visi- 
ble; and,  if  he  has  a  herd  of  the  enemy's  oxen 
under  his  charge,  he  feels  himself  in  a  very 
awkward  predicament.  He  dares  not  pre- 
sent himself  at  his  kraal  without  the  oxen, 
or  his  life  would  be  instantly  forfeited;  and 
to  drive  a  herd  of  oxen  to  a  place  whose 
position  he  does  not  know  would  he  impos- 
sible. He  therefore  allows  the  oxen  that  he 
has  brought  with  him  to  go  their  own  way, 
and  merely  follows  in  their  track,  knowing 
that  their  instinct  will  surely  guide  them  to 
their  liome. 

Wlien  the  Kaffir  soldiery  succeed  in  cap- 
turing a  kraal,  their  first  care  is  to  secure 
the  oxen ;  and  if  the  inhaliitants  should  have 
been  prudent  enough  to  remove  their  mucli 
loved  cattle,  their  next  search  is  for  maize, 
millet,  and  other  kinds  of  corn.  It  is  not  a 
very  easy  matter  to  find  the  grain  stores, 
because  they  are  dug  in  the  ground,  and, 
after  being  filled,  arc  covered  over  so  neatly 


with  earth,  that  only  the  depositors  know  the 
exact  spot.  The  "  isi-baya "  is  a  favorite 
place  for  these  subterranean  stores,  because 
the  trampling  of  the  cattle  soon  obliterates 
all  marks  of  digging.  The  isi-baya  is.  tliere- 
fore,  the  first  place  to  be  searched;  and  in 
some  cases  the  inhabitants  have  concealed 
their  stores  so  cleverly  that  the  invaders 
could  not  discover  them  liy  any  other  means 
except  digging  up  the  whole  of  the  enclos- 
ure to  a  consiilerable  dejjth.  Now  and  then, 
when  the  inhabitants  of  a  kraal  have  re- 
ceived notice  that  the  enemy  is  expected, 
they  remo\-e  the  grain  from  the  storehouses, 
and  hide  it  in  the  bush,  closing  the  grana- 
ries again,  so  as  to  give  the  enenn-  all  the 
trouble  of  digging,  to  no  purpose. 

Panda,  who  refuses  to  send  provisions 
with  his  forces,  lias  sometimes  caused  them 
to  suffer  great  hardships  by  his  jienurious 
conduct.  On  one  occasion  the)'  discovered 
a  granary  with  plenty  of  corn  in  it,  and 
were  so  hungry  that  the)'  could  not  wait  to 
cook  it  properly,  luit  ate  it  almost  raw,  at 
the  same  lime  drinking  large  quantities  of 
water.  The  consequence  was,  tliat  many  of 
them  were  so  ill  that  they  had  to  be  left 
behind  when  the  march  was  resumed,  and 
were  detected  and  killed  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  kraal,  Avho  came  back  from  their  hid- 
ing places  in  the  bush  as  soon  as  Ihev  saw 
the  enemy  move  away.  In  one  case.  Panda's 
army  was  so  badly  supplied  with  pro^•isions 
that  the  soldiers  were  obliged  to  levy  con- 
friljutions  even  on  his  own  villages.  In 
some  of  these  kraals  the  women,  who  ex- 
pected what  might  happen,  had  emptied 
their  storehouses,  and  hidden  all  their  food 
in  the  bush,  so  that  the  hungry  soldiers 
could  not  even  find  some  corn  to  grind  into 
meal,  nor  clotted  milk  to  mix  with  it.  They 
were  so  angry  at  their  disappointment  that 
they  ransacked  the  cattlc-fbld,  discovered 
and  rolibed  the  subterranean  granaries,  and, 
after  cooking  as  much  food  as  they  wanted, 
carried  off  a  quantity  of  corn  for  future 
rations,  and  broke  to  pieces  all  the  cooking 
vessels  which  they  had  used.  If  they  could 
act  thus  in  their  own  countr)',  their  conduct 
in  an  enemy's  land  m.aj'  be  easily  conjec- 
tured. 

One  reason  for  the  withholding  of  supplies 
may  probably  be  due  to  the  mode  of  fighting 
of  the  Zulu  armies.  They  are  entirely  com- 
posed of  light  infantry,  and  can  lie  sent  to 
great  distances  with  a  rapidity  that  an  ordi- 
nary European  soldier  can  scarcely  comjire- 
hen'd.  The  fsict  is,  they  cany  nothing 
except  their  weapons,  and  have  no  heavy 
knapsack  nor  tight  clothing  to  impede  their 
movements.  In  fact,  the"  clothing;  which 
they  wear  on  a  campaign  is  more  for  orna- 
ment than  for  covering,  and  consists  chiefly 
of  feathers  stuck  in  the  hair.  So  careful  are 
the  chiefs  that  their  soldiers  should  not  be 
impeded  liy  liaggage  of  any  kind,  that  tliey 
are  not  even  allowed  to  take  a  kaross  with 


JEALOUSY  BETWEEN  DIEFEKEXT  KEGIMENTS. 


115 


them,  Init  must  sleep  in  tlie  open  air  with- 
out any  covering,  just  as  is  tlie  case  with  tlie 
guarcH'ans  of  the  harem,  wlio  are  supposed, 
hy  virtue  of  their  ollice,  to  be  soldiers  en- 
gaged in  a  campaign. 

As  to  pay,  as  we  understand  the  word, 
neither  chief  nor  soldiers  have  much  idea  of 
it.  If  the  men  distinguish  themselves,  the 
chief  mostly  presents  "them  with  beads  and 
blankets,  not  as  pay  to  which  they  have  a 
right,  but  as  a  gratuity  for  which  they  are 
indel)ted  to  his  generosity.  As  to  the 
"  boys,"  they  seldom  have  anything,  being 
only  on  their  promotion,  and  not  considered 
as  "enjoying  the  privileges  of  manhood. 
This  custom  is  very  irritating  to  the  "  boys," 
some  of  whom  are  more  than  thirty  years  of 
age,  and  who  consider  themselves  quite  as 
effective  members  of  the  army  as  those  who 
have  been  permitted  to  \vear  the  head-ring 
and  bear  the  white  shield.  Their  dissatis- 
faction with  their  rank  has,  however,  the 
good  effect  of  making  them  desirous  of 
becoming  ''  ama-doda,"  and  thus  increasing 
their  value  in  time  of  action. 

Sometimes  this  distinction  of  rank  breaks 
out  in  open  quarrel,  and  on  one  occasion 
the  "  men  ''  and  the  "  boys  "  came  to  blows 
with  each  other,  and  would  liave  taken  to 
their  spears  if  Panda  and  his  councillors  had 
not  personally  quelled  the  tumult.  The  lact 
was,  that  Panda  had  organized  an  invasion, 
and,  as  soon  as  they  heard  of  it,  the  black- 
shield  regiment  begged  to  be  sent  off  at 
once  to  the  scene  of  battle.  The  white- 
shields,  however,  suspected  what  was  reallv 
the  case;  namely,  that  the  true  destination 
of  the  troops  was  not  that  which  the  king 
had  mentioned,  and  accordingly  sat  silent, 
and  took  no  part  in  the  general  enthusiasm. 
Thereupon  the  ''  boys  "  taunted  the  "  men  " 
with  cowardice,  and  said  that  they  preferred 
their  comfortable  homes  to  the  hardships  of 
warfare.  The  "  men  "  retorted  that,  as  they 
had  fought  under  Tchaka  aud  Diugau,  as 
well  as  Panda,  and  had  earned  their  ad- 
vancement under  the  eye  of  chiefs  who 
killed  all  who  did  not  fight  bravely,  no  one 
could  accuse  them  of  cowardice;  whereas  the 
"  boys  "  were  ignorant  of  warfare,  and  were 
talking  nonsense.  These  remarks  were  too 
true  to  be  pleasant,  and  annoyed  the  ''  boys  " 
so  much  that  they  grew  insolent,  and  pro- 
voked the  "  men "  to  take  to  their  sticks. 
However,  instead  of  yielding,  the  "  boys  " 
only  returned  the  blows,  and  if  Panda  had 
not  interfered,  there  would  have  been  a 
serious  riot. 

His  conduct  on  this  occasion  shows  the 
strange  jealousy  which  possesses  the  mind 
of  a  Katfir  king.  The  "  men  "  were,  in  this 
case,  undouljtedly  right,  and  the  "  boys " 
imdoubtedly  wrong.  "Yet  Panda  took  "the 
part  of  the  latter,  because  he  was  offended 
with  the  argument  of  the  "  men."  They 
ought  not  to  have  mentioned  his  predeces- 
sors, Tchaka  and  Dingau,  in  his  presence, 


as  the  use  of  their  names  implied  a  slight 
upon  himself.  They  might  have  prided 
themselves  as  much  as  they  liked,  in  the 
victories  which  they  had  gained  imder  him, 
but  they  had  no  business  to  mention  the 
warlike  "deeds  of  his  predecessors.  Perhaps 
he  remembered  that  those  predecessors  had 
been  murdered  by  their  own  people,  and 
might  have  an  uneasy  fear  that  his  own 
turn  would  come  some  day.  So  he  showed 
his  disjileasure  by  sending  oxen  to  the 
■'  boys  "  as  a  feast,  and  leaving  the  '"  men  " 
without  any  food.  Of  course,  in  the  end 
the  "  men  "  had  to  yield,  and  against  their 
judgment  went  on  "the  campaign.  During 
that  expedition  the  smouldering  flame  broke 
out  several  times,  the  "  boys "  refusing  to 
yield  the  post  of  honor  to  the  "  men,"  whom 
they  taunted  with  being  cowards  and  afraid 
to  fight.  However,  the  more  prudent  coun- 
sels of  the  ''  men  "  prevailed,  and  harmony 
was  at  last  restored,  the  "  men "  and  the 
"  boys "  dividing  into  two  brigades,  and 
each  succeeding  in  the  object  for  which  they 
set  out,  without  needlessly  exposing  them- 
selves to  danger  by  attacking  nearly  impreg- 
nable forts. 

AVe  will  now  proceed  to  the  soldiers  them- 
selves, and  see  how  the  wonderful  discipline 
of  a  Kaffir  army  is  carried  out  in  detail. 
First  we  will  examine  the  dress  of  the  sol- 
dier. Of  course,  the  chief,  who  is  the  gen- 
eral in  command,  will  have  the  place  of 
honor,  and  we  will  therefore  take  the  por- 
trait of  a  well-known  Zulu  chief  as  he 
a])pears  when  fully  equipped  for  war.  If 
the  reader  will  ref(?r  to  page  117,  No.  1,  he 
wdl  see  a  portrait  of  Goza  in  the  costume 
which  he  ordinarily  wears.  The  illustration 
No.  2,  same  page,  represents  him  in  full 
uniform,  and  affords  a  favorable  example  of 
the  war  dress  of  a  powerful  Kaffir  chief.  He 
bears  on  his  left  arm  his  great  white  war 
shield,  the  size  denoting  its  object,  and  the 
color  pointing  out  the  fact  that  he  is  a  mar- 
ried man.  The  long,  slender  feather  which 
is  fastened  in  his  h'ead-ring  is  that  of  the 
South  African  crane,  and  is  a  conventional 
symbol  denoting  war.  There  is  in  my  col- 
lection a  very  remarkable  war  headdress, 
that  was  worn  by  the  celebrated  Zulu  chief, 
Sandilli,  who  gave  the  English  so  much 
trouble  duringthe  Kaffir  war,  and  proved 
himself  worthy  of  his  rank  as  a  warrior,  and 
his  great  reputation  as  an  orator.  Sandilli 
was  further  remarkable  because  he  had  tri- 
umphed over  physical  disadvantages,  which 
are  all-important  in  a  Kaffir's  eyes. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  a  de- 
formed person  is  scarcely  ever  seen  among 
the  Kaffirs,  because  infants  that  show  signs  of 
deformity  of  any  kind  are  almost  invariably 
killed  as  soon  as  born.  Sandilli  was  one  of 
these  imfortunate  children,  one  of  his  legs 
being  withered  as  high  as  the  knee,  so  that 
he  was  deprived  of  all  that  physical  agility 


116 


THE   KAFFIR. 


that  Is  so  greatly  valued  by  Kaffirs,  and 
which  has  so  great  a  share  in  gaining  pro- 
motion. By  some  strange  chance  the  lite 
of  tliis  deformed  infant  was  preserved,  and, 
under  the  now  familiar  name  of  Sandilli, 
the  child  grew  to  be  a  man,  rose  to  emi- 
nence among  his  own  people,  took  rank  as 
a  great  chief,  and  became  a  very  thorn  in 
the  sides  of  the  English  colonists.  After 
many  years  of  struggle,  he  at  last  gave  in 
his  submission  to  English  rule,  and  might 
be  often  seen  on  horseback,  dashing  about 
in  the  headlong  style  which  a  Kaffir  loves. 

The  lieaddress  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
wear  in  time  of  war  is  represented  in  "arti- 
ticles  of  costume,'"  page  33,  at  fig.  4.  Instead 
of  wearing  a  single  feather  of  the  crane,  San- 
dilli took  "the  whole  breast  of  the  bird,  from 
■v\  hieh  the  long,  slender  feathers  droop.  The 
skin  has  been  removed  from  the  breast, 
bent  and  worked  so  as  to  form  a  kiud  of 
cap,  and  the  feathers  arranged  so  that 
they  shall  all  point  upward,  leaning  rather 
backward.  This  curious  and  valuable  head- 
dress was  presented  to  me  by  G.  Ellis,  Esq., 
who  lirought  it  from  the  Cape  in  1865.  San- 
dilli belongs  to  the  sub-trilae  Amagaika,  and 
is  remarkable  for  his  very  light  color  and 
commanding   statiu'e. 

It  will  be  seen  that  both  Goza  and  his 
councillors  wear  pk-nty  of  feathers  on  their 
heads,  and  that  the  cap  of  the  left-hand 
warrior  bears  some  resemblance  to  that 
which  has  just  been  described.  Tlie  whole 
person  of  the  chief  is  nearly  covered  witli 
barbaric  ornaments.  His  apron  is  made  of 
leopards'  tails,  and  his  knees  and  ankles  are 
decorated  with  tufts  made  of  the  long  tlow- 
ing  hair  of  the  Angora  goat.  Twisted 
strips  of  rare  furs  hang  from  his  neck  and 
chest,  while  his  right  liand  holds  the  long 
knob-kerrie  which  is  so  much  in  use  among 
the  Zulu  warriors.  The  portrait  of  Goza  is 
taken  from  a  photograph.  The  councillors 
who  stand  behind  him  are  apparelled  witli 
nearly  as  much  gorgeousness  as  their  chief, 
and  the  odd-shaped  headdresses  wliich  they 
wear  denote  the  regiments  to  which  they 
happen  to  belong.  "These  men,  like  their 
chief,  were  photographed  in  their  full  dress. 

It  lias  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
soldiers  are  divided  into  two  great  groups; 
namely,  the  married  men  and  the  l)achelors, 
or,  as  they  are  popularly  called,  the  '•  men  " 
and  the  "boys."  But  each  of  these  great 
groups,  or  divisions,  if  we  may  use  that 
word  in  its  military  sense,  is  composed  of 
several  regiments,  varying  from  six  hundred 
to  a  thousand  or  more  in  strength.  Each  of 
these  regiments  inhaljits  a  single  military 
kraal,  or  garrison  town,  and  is  commaiifled 
by  the  headman  of  that  kraal.  Moreover, 
the  regiments  are  subdivided  into  com- 
panies, eacli  of  which  is  under  the  com- 
mand of  an  officer  of  lower  grade;  and  so 
thoroughly  is  this  system  carried  out,  that 
European  soldiers  feel  almost  startled  when 


they  find  that  these  savages  have  organized 
a  system  of  army  management  nearly  iden- 
tical with  their  own.  Tlie  regiments  are 
almost  invariably  called  by  the  name  of 
some  animal,  and  the  soldiers  are  placed  in 
them  according  to  their  physical  charac- 
teristics. Thus,  the  Elephant  regiment 
consists  of  the  largest  and  strongest  war- 
riors, and  holds  a  position  hke  that  of  our 
Grenadiers.  Then  the  Lion  regiment  is 
composed  of  men  who  have  distiugiushed 
themselves  by  special  acts  of  daring";  while 
the  Spring1)ok  regiment  would  be  formed 
of  men  noted  for  their  activity,  fen-  the 
quickness  with  which  they  can  leap  about 
when  encumbered  with  their  weapons,  and 
for  their  speed  of  foot,  and  ability  to  run 
great  distances.  They  corresjiond  with  our 
light  cavalry,  and  ai-e  used  for  the  same 
purpose. 

There  are  twenty-six  of  these  regiments 
in  the  Zulu  army,  and  they  can  be  as  easily 
distinguished  by  their  uniform  as  those  of 
our  own  armj'.  The  twenty-sixth  regi- 
ment is  the  equivalent  of  our  household 
troops,  being  the  body-guard  of  the  king, 
and  furnishing  all  the  sentinels  for  the 
harem.  Their  uniform  is  easily  distinguish- 
able, and  is  verj'  simple,  being,  in  fact,  an 
utter  absence  of  all  clothing.  Only  the 
picked  men  among  the  warriors  are  placed 
in  this  distinguished  regiment,  and  neither 
by  day  nor  night  do  they  wear  a  scrap  of 
clothing.  This  seems  rather  a  strange 
method  of  conferring  an  lionorable  distinc- 
tion; but  entire  nudity  is  quite  as  much 
valued  by  a  Kaffir  soldier  as  the  decoration 
of  the  Bath  or  Victoria  Cross  among  our- 
selves. 

The  first  regiment  is  called  Omobapan- 
kue,  a  word  that  signifies  "  Leopard-catch- 
ers."' Some  years  ago,  when  Tchaka  was 
king  of  the  Zulus,  a  leopard  killed  one  of 
his  "attendants.  He  sent  a  detachment  of 
the  first  regiment  after  the  animal,  and  tlie 
brave  fellows  succeeded  in  catching  it  alive, 
and  bearing  their  struggling  prize  to  the 
king.  In  order  to  reward  them  for  their 
courage,  he  gave  the  first  regiment  tlie  hon- 
orary title  of  "  Leopard-catchers,"  which  title 
has  been  ever  since  borne  by  them. 

There  are  three  commissioned  officers  — 
if  such  a  term  may  be  used  —  in  each  regi- 
ment :  namely  the  colonel,  or  "  Indoona- 
e'nkolu,"  i.e.  the  Great  Officer;  the  captain, 
"N'senana,"  and  the  lieutenant,  "N"ge- 
na-obzana."  The  headman  of  any  kraal 
goes  by  the  name  of  Indoona,  and  he  who 
rules  oVer  one  of  the  great  garrison  towns 
is  necessarily  a  man  of  "considerable  author- 
ity and  high  rank.  The  king"s  councillors 
are  mostly  selected  from  the  various  In- 
doonas.  Below  the  lieutenant,  there  are 
subordinate  officers  who  correspond  almost 
exactly  to  the  sergeants  and  corporals  of 
our  own   arniitts. 

In  order  to   distinguish  the   men  of  the 


(117) 


THE  REVIEW  AI'TER  A  BATTLE. 


119 


different  regiments,  a  peculiar  headdress  is 
assigned  to  eacli  regiment.  On  these  head- 
dresses tlie  natives  seem  to  liave  exercised 
all  their  ingenuity.  The  wildest  fancy 
■would  hardly  conceive  the  strange  shapes 
that  a  Kaffir  soldier  can  make  with  feathers, 
and  fur,  and  raw  hide.  Any  kind  of  feather 
is  seized  upon  to  do  duty  in  a  Kaffir  soldier's 
headdress,  but  the  most  valued  plumage  is 
that  of  a  roller,  whose  glittering  dress  of 
blue  green  is  worked  up  into  large  globular 
tufts,  which  are  worn  upon  the  back  of  the 
head,  and  on  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead. 
Such  an  ornament  as  this  is  seldom  if  ever 
seen  upon  the  head  of  a  simple  warrior,  as 
it  is  too  valuable  to  be  possessed  liy  any  but 
a  chief  of  consideration.  Panda  is  very  fond 
of  wearing  this  beautiful  ornament  on  occa- 
sions of  state,  and  sometimes  wears  two  at 
once,  the  one  on  the  front  of  his  head-ring, 
and  the  other  attached  to  the  crown  of  the 
head. 

The  raw  hide  is  stripped  of  its  fur  by 
being  rolled  up  and  buried  for  a  day  or  two, 
and  is  then  cut  and  moulded  into  the  most 
fantastic  forms,  reminding  the  observer  of 
the  strange  devices  with  which  the  heroes 
of  the  ISf  iebelungen  decorated  their  helmets. 
Indeed,  some  of  these  headdresses  of  the 
Kaffir  warriors  might  easily  be  mistaken  at 
a  little  distance  for  the  more  classical  though 
not  more  elaborate  helmet  of  the  ancient 
German  knights.  The  soldiers  which  are 
here  represented  belong  to  two  different 
regiments  of  the  Zulu  army,  and  have  been 
selected  as  affording  good  examples  of  the 
wild  and  picturesque  uniform  which  is 
adopted  liy  these  dusky  troops.  In  some 
headdresses  the  fur  is  retained  on  the  skin, 
and  thus  another  effect  is  obtained. 

The  object  of  all  this  savage  decoration 
is  twofold:  flrstlj^to  distinguish  the  soldiers 
of  the  different  regiments,  and,  secondly  to 
strike  terror  into  the  enemj'.  Both  their 
olajects  are  very  thoroughly  accomplished, 
for  the  uniforms  of  the  twenty-six  regiments 
are  very  dissimilar  to  each  other,  ;vnd  all  the 
neighboring  tribes  stand  in  the  greatest 
dread  of  the  Amazulu,  who,  they  s.ay,  arc 
not  men,  but  eaters  of  men. 

Beside  the  regular  regiments,  there  is 
always  a  body-guard  of  armed  men  whose 
duty  it  is  to  attend  the  chief  and  ,obey  his 
orders.  Eacli  chief  has  his  own  body-guard, 
but  that  of  the  king  is  not  only  remarkable 
for  its  numerical  strength,  but  for  the  rank 
of  its  members.  Dingan.  for  example,  liad 
a  body-guard  that  mustered  several  hundred 
strong,  and  every  member  of  it  was  a  man 
of  rank.  It  was  entirely  composed  of  In- 
doonas  from  all  parts  of  the  country  under 
his  command.  With  the  admirable  organ- 
izing power  which  distinguishes  the  Kaffir 
chiefs,  he  had  arranged  his  Indoonas  so 
methodically,  that  each  man  had  to  serve  in 
the  body-guard  for  a  certain  time,  until  he 
was  relieved  by  his  successor.    This  simple 


plan  allowed  the  king  to  exercise  a  personal 
supervision  over  the  ruling  men  of  his  do- 
minions, and,  on  the  other  side,  the  subor- 
dinate chiefs  were  able  to  maintain  a  per- 
sonal communication  with  their  monarch, 
and  to  receive  their  orders  directly  from 
himself. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that,  after 
a  battle,  the  king  calls  his  soldiers  together, 
and  holds  a  review.  One  of  these  assem- 
blages is  a  most  astonishing  sight,  and  very 
few  Europeans  have  been  privileged  to  see 
it.  This  review  is  looked  upon  by  the  troops 
with  the  greatest  reverence,  tor  few  of  them 
know  whether  at  the  close  of  it  they  may  be 
raised  to  a  higher  rank  or  be  lying  dead  in 
the  bush.  As  to  the  "  boys,"  especially 
those  who  are  conscious  that  they  have 
behaved  well  in  the  fight,  they  look  to  it 
with  hope,  as  it  presents  a  chance  of  their 
elevation  to  the  ranks  of  the  "  men,"  and 
their  possession  of  the  coveted  white  shield. 
Those  who  are  not  so  sure  of  themselves  are 
very  nervous  about  the  review,  and  think 
themselves  extremely  fortunate  if  they  are 
not  pointed  out  to  the  king  as  bad  soldiers, 
and  executed  on  the  spot. 

The  review  takes  place  in  the  great  enclo- 
sure of  one  of  the  garrison  towns,  and  the 
troops  form  themselves  into  a  large  circle. 
It  is  a  curious  fact  that  not  even  in  military 
matters  has  the  Kaffir  an  idea  of  forming 
in  line,  and  that  the  evolutions,  such  as  they 
are,  are  all  carried  out  in  curved  lines,  which 
are  the  abhorrence  of  European  tacticians. 
The  white  and  bl.ack  shield  divisions  are 
separated  from  each  other  in  each  regiment, 
and  the  whole  army  "  stands  at  ease,"  with 
the  shield  resting  on  the  ground,  and  the 
whole  body  covered  by  it  as  high  as  tlie  lips. 
They  stand  motionless  as  statues,  and  in 
death-like  silence  await  the  coming  of  their 
king. 

After  the  customary  lapse  of  one  hour 
or  so,  the  king,  with  his  councillors,  chief 
officers,  and  particular  friends,  comes  into 
the  circle,  attended  by  his  chair  bearer,  his 
shield  bearer,  his  page,  and  a  servant  or 
two.  The  shield  bearer  has  an  honorable, 
though  perilous,  service  to  perform.  He  has 
to  hold  the  shield  so  as  to  shade  the  royal 
])erson  from  the  sun,  and  should  he  happen, 
through  any  inadvertence,  to  allow  the  king 
to  feel  a  single  sunbeam,  he  may  think  him- 
self fortunate  if  he  escape  with  his  life,  while 
a  severe  punishment  is  the  certain  result. 

The  chair  is  placed  in  the  centre  of  the 
circle,  in  order  for  his  sable  majesty  to 
repose  himself  after  the  exertion  of  w.alking 
nearly  two  hundred  y.ards.  Large  baskets 
full  of  beer  are  placed  near  the  royal  chair, 
and  before  he  can  proceed  to  business  the 
king  is  obliged  to  recruit  his  energies  with 
beer  and  snuff,  both  of  which  are  handed  to 
him  by  his  pages. 

He  next  orders  a  number  of  cattle  to  be 
driven  past  him,  and  points  to  certain  ani- 


120 


THE  KAFFIR. 


mals  which  he  intends  to  be  killed  in  honor 

of  his  guests.  As  each  ox  is  pointed  out,  a 
warrior  leaps  forward  witli  his  stabliin.s;- 
assagai,  and  kills  the  animal  with  a  single 
blow,  piercing  it  to  the  heart  with  the  skill 
of  a  practised  hand.  Much  as  a  Kaffir  loves 
his  oxen,  the  sight  of  the  dying  animal 
always  seems  to  excite  him  to  a  strange 
pitch  of  enthusiasm,  and  the  king  contem- 
plates with  great  satisfaction  the  dying  oxen 
sti'uggling  in  the  last  pangs  of  death,  and 
the  evolutions  of  the  survivors,  who  suutl' 
and  snort  at  the  blood  of  their  comrades, 
and  then  dasli  wildly  awaj'  in  all  directions, 
pursued  by  their  keepers,  and  with  difficulty 
guided  to  their  own  enclosures.  The  king 
then  rises,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  his 
attendants,  walks,  or  rather  waddles,  round 
the  inner  ring  of  warriors  as  fast  as  his 
obesity  will  permit  him,  resting  every  now 
and  then  on  his  chair,  wliich  is  carried  after 
him  by  his  page,  and  refreshing  himself  at 
rather  short  intervals  with  beer. 

Next  comes  the  most  important  part  of 
the  proceedings.  The  chief  officers  of  the 
various  regiments  that  have  been  engaged 
give  iu  their  reports  to  the  king,  who  imme- 
diately acts  upon  them.  Wlicn  a  warrior 
has  particularly  distinguished  himself,  the 
king  points  to  him,  and  calls  him  by  name. 
Every  man  in  the  army  echoes  the  name  at 
the  full  pitch  of  his  voice,  and  every  arm  is 
pointed  at  the  liappy  soldier,  who  sees  his 
ambition  as  fully  gratified  as  it  is  possible  to 
be.  Almost  beside  himself  with  exultation 
at  his  good  fortune,  he  leaps  from  the  ranks, 
"and  commences  running,  leaping,  spring- 
ing high  into  the  air,  kicking,  and  flourish- 
ing his  shield,  and  going  through  tlie  most 
surprising  and  agile  man<euvres  imagin- 
able; now  brandishing  his  weapons,  stab- 
bing, parrying,  and  retreating;  and  again 
vaulting  into  the  ranks,  light  of  foot  and 
rigid  ot  muscle,  so  rapidly  that  the  eye  can 
scarcel}'  follow  his  evolutions."  Sometimes 
six  or  seven  of  these  distinguislied  warriors 
will  be  dancing  simultaneously  in  different 
parts  of  the  ring,  while  their  companions 
encourage  them  with  shouts  and  yells  of 
applause.  Many  of  the  "  boys "  are  at 
these  reviews  permitted  to  rank  among  the 
"  men,"  and  sometimes,  when  a  whole  regi- 
ment of  the  black-shields  has  behaved  espe- 
cially well,  the  king  has  ordered  them  all  to 
exchange  their  black  for  the  white  shield, 
and  to  assume  the  head-ring  which  marks 
their  rank  as  ama-doda,  or  "  men." 

Next  come  the  terrible  scenes  when  the 
officers  iioint  out  tliose  who  have  disgraced 
themselves  in  action.  The  unfortunate  sol- 
diers are  instantly  dragged  out  of  the  ranks, 
their  shields  and  spears  taken  from  them, 
and,  at  the  king's  nod,  they  are  at  once 
killed  and  their  bodies  thrown  into  the 
bush.  Sometimes  they  are  beaten  to  death 
with  knob-kerries,  and  sometimes  their 
necks  arc  twisted  by  the  executioner  laying 


one  hand  on  the  crown  of  the  head  and  the 
other  under  the  chin.  The  wretched  suffer- 
ers never  think  of  resisting,  nor  even  of 
appealing  for  mercy;  and  to  such  a  pitch  of 
obedience  did  Tcliaka  bring  this  fltrce  and 
^varlike  nation,  that  men  guiltless  of  any 
otl'ence  have  been  known  to  thank  him  for 
their  punishment  while  actually  dying  un- 
der the  strokes  of  the  executioners. 

When  the  double  business  of  rewarding 
the  brave  soldiers  and  punishing  the  cow- 
ards has  been  completed,  the  professional 
minstrels  or  praisers  come  forward,  and 
recite  the  various  honorary  titles  of  tlie 
king  in  a  sort  of  recitative,  without  the  least 
I)ause  between  the  words,  and  in  most  sten- 
torian voices.  Perhaps  the  term  Heralds 
would  not  be  very  inappropriate  to  these 
men.  The  soldiers  take  up  the  chorus  of 
praise,  and  repeat  the  titles  of  their  ruler  in 
shouts  that  are  quite  deafening  to  an  unac- 
customed ear.  Each  title  is  assumed  or 
given,  to  the  king  in  commemoration  of 
some  notable  deed,  or  on  account  of  some 
fimcy  that  may  happen  to  flit  through  the 
royal  brain  in  a  dream;  and,  as  he  is  con- 
tinually adding  to  his  titles,  the  professional 
reciters  had  need  possess  good  memories,  as 
the  omission  of  any  of  them  would  be  con- 
sidered as  an  insult. 

Some  of  Panda's  titles  have  already  been 
mentioned,  but  some  of  the  others  are  so 
curious  that  thej^  ought  not  to  be  omitted. 
For  example,  he  is  called  "  Father  of  men," 
i.  e.  the  ama-doda,  or  married  warriors;  "He 
who  lives  forever"  —  a  compliment  on  his 
surviving  the  danger  of  being  killed  by 
Dingan;  "He  who^  is  high  as  the  moun- 
tains "  —  "  He  who  is  high  as  the  heavens  " 
—  this  being  evidently  the  invention  of  a 
clever  courtier  who  wished  to  "  cap  "  the 
previous  compliment;  "Elephant's  calf;" 
•'  Great  black  one ;  "  "  Bird  that  eats  other 
birds  "  —  in  allusion  to  his  conquests  in  liat- 
tle;  "Son  of  a  cow;"  "Noble  elephant," 
and  a  hundred  other  titles,  equally  absurd 
in  the  mind  of  a  European,  but  inspiring 
great  respect  in  that  of  a  Kaffir. 

When  all  this  tumultuous  scene  is  over, 
the  review  closes,  just  as  our  reviews  do, 
with  a  "  march  past.'"  The  king  sits  in  his 
chair,  as  a  general  on  his  horse,  while  the 
whole  army  defiles  in  front  of  him,  each  sol- 
dier as  he  passes  bowing  to  the  ground,  and 
lowering  his  shield  and  assagais,  as  we 
droop  our  colors  in  the  presence  of  the  sov- 
ereign. In  order  to  appear  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage on  these  occasions,  and  to  impress 
the  sp'eetators  with  the  solemnity  of  the  cer- 
emony, the  king  dresses  himself  with  pecul- 
iar care,  and  generally  wears  a  ditierent  cos- 
tume at  each  review".  The  dress  which  he 
usu.ally  wears  at  his  evening  receptions, 
when  his  officers  come  to  report  themselves 
and  to  accompany  him  in  his  daily  insjiec- 
tion  of  his  herds,  is  the  usual  aproii  or  kilt, 
made  either  of  leopard's  tails  or  monkey's 


(U.)    UUNTINU    SCJiNK.     (ttcc  paye   U5.) 


INVEJ^^TIOX  OF  A  MILITARY  SYSTEM. 


123 


skin,  .1  headdress  composed  of  various  feath- 
ers and  a  round  ball  of  clipped  worsted, 
while  his  arms  are  decorated  with  rings  of 
brass  and  ivory. 

It  is  eas}'  to  see  how  this  custom  of  hold- 
ing a  review  almost  immediately  after  the 
battle,  and  causing  either  reward  or  punish- 
ment to  come  swiftly  upon  the  soldiers, 
must  have  added  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
armies,  especially  when  the  system  was  car- 
ried out  by  a  man  like  its  originator  Tchaka, 
an  astute,  sanguinary,  determined,  and  piti- 
less despot.  Under  the  two  .successive 
reigns  of  Dingan  and  Panda,  and  especially 
under  the  latter,  the  efficiency  of  the  Zulu 
army  —  the  eaters  of  men  —  has  notably  di- 
minished, this  result  being  probablj'  owing 
to  the  neighborhood  of  the  English  colony 
at  Natal,  in  which  the  Zulu  warriors  can  tin'd 
a  refuge  when  they  fear  that  their  lives  are 
endangered.  Formerly,  the  men  h.ad  no 
possible  refuge,  so  that  a  Kaffir  was  utterly 
in  the  power  of  his  chief,  and  the  army  was 
therefore  more  of  a  machine  than  it  is  at 
present. 

Reviews  such  as  have  been  described  are 
not  only  held  in  war  time,  but  frequently 
t.ake  jilaco  in  times  of  peace.  It  has  been 
mentioned  that  the  king  of  the  Zulu  tribe 
has  twenty-six  war- kraals,  or  garrison 
towns,  and  he  generally  contrives  to  visit 
each  of  them  in  the  course  of  the  year. 
Each  time  that  he  honors  the  kra.al  by  his 
presence  the  troops  are  turned  out,  and  a 
review  is  held,  though  not  alw.ays  accompa- 
nie<l  by  the  lavish  distribution  of  rewards 
and  punishment  which  distinguishes  those 
whicli  are  held  after  battle. 

The  vicissitudes  of  Kaffir  warfare  are 
really  remarkable  from  a  military  jioint  of 
view.  Originally,  the  only  idea  which  the 
Kaffirs  had  of  warfiire  was  a  desiritory  kind 
of  skirmishing,  in  which  each  man  fought 
"  for  his  own  hand,"  and  did  not  reckon  on 
receiving  any  support  from  his  comrades, 
each  of  whom  was  engaged  in  fight  on  his 
own  account.  In  fact,  war  was  little  more 
than  a  succession  of  duels,  and,  if  a  warrior 
succeeded  in  killing  the  particular  enemy 
to  whom  he  was  o]iposed,  he  immediately 
sought  another.  I3ut  the  idea  of  large 
bodies  of  men  acting  in  concert,  and  being 
directed  by  one  mind,  was  one  that  had  not 
occurred  to  the  Kaffirs  until  the  time  of 
Tchaka. 

When  that  monarch  introduced  a  system 
and  a  discipline  into  warfare,  the  result  was 
at  once  apparent.  Individual  skirmishers 
had  no  chance  against  large  bodies  of  men, 
mutually  supporting  each  other,  moving  as 
if  actuated  by  one  mind,  and,  under  "the 
guidance  of  a  single  le.ader,  advancing  with 
a  swift  but  steady  impetuosity  that  the 
undisciplined  soldiers  of  the  enemy  could 
not  resist.  Discipline  could  not  be  turned 
against  the  Zulus,  for  Tchaka.  left  the  con- 
quered tribes  no  time  to  organize  them- 


selves into  armies,  even  if  they  had  pos- 
sessed leaders  who  were  capaljle  of  that 
task.  His  troops  swept  over  the  country 
like  an  army  of  locusts,  consuming  every- 
thing on  tlieir  way,  and  either  extermi- 
nating the  various  tribes,  or  incorporating 
tliem  in  some  capacity  or  other  among  the 
Zulus. 

In  truth,  his  great  policy  was  to  extend 
the  Zulu  trilie,  and  from  a  mere  trilje  to 
raise  them  into  a  nation.  His  object  was, 
therefore,  not  so  much  to  destroy  as  to 
aljsorb,  and,  although  he  did  occasionally 
extirjjate  a  tribe  that  would  not  accept  his 
conditions,  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  striking 
terror  into  others,  and  proving  to  them  the 
futility  of  resistance.  Those  that  had  ac- 
cepted his  offers  he  incorporated  with  his 
own  army,  and  subjected  to  the  same  disci- 
pline, but  took  care  to  draught  them  off  into 
different  regiments,  so  that  they  could  not 
comtune  in  a  successful  revolt.  The  result 
of  this  simple  but  far-seeing  policy  was,  that 
in  a  few  years  the  Zulu  tribe,  originally 
small,  had,  beside  its  regular  regiments  on 
duty,  some  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand  men 
always  ready  for  any  sudden  expedition, 
and  at  the  end  of  five  or  six  years  the  Zulu 
king  was  paramount  over  the  whole  of 
Southern  Africa,  the  only  check  u])on  him 
being  the  European  colonies.  These  he 
evidently  intended  to  sweep  away,  but  was 
murdered  before  he  could  bring  his  scheme 
to  maturity.  Tcliaka's  system  was  followed 
by  Moselekatze  in  the  north  of  Kaffirland, 
who  contrived  to  manage  so  well  that  the 
bulk  of  his  army  belonged  to  Bechuanau 
and  other  tribes,  some  of  whose  customs  he 
adopted. 

The  military  system  of  Tchaka  prevailed, 
as  must  be  the  case  when  there  is  no  very 
great  inequality  betsveen  the  opposing  for- 
ces, and  discipline  is  all  on  one  side.  But, 
when  disciiiline  is  opposed  to  discipline,  and 
the  advantage  of  weapons  lies  on  the  side  of 
the  latter,  the  consequences  are  disastrous 
to  the  former.  Thus  it  has  been  with  the 
Kaffir  tribes.  The  close  ranks  of  warriors, 
armed  with  shield  and  spear,  were  irresist- 
ible when  opposed  to  men  similarly  armed, 
but  without  any  regular  discipline,  but,  when 
they  came  to  match  themselves  against  fire- 
arnis,  they  found  that  their  system  was  of 
little  value. 

The  shield  could  resist  the  assagai  well 
enough,  but  against  the  bullet  it  was  power- 
less, and  though  the  stabbing-assagai  was  a 
terrible  weapon  when  tlie  foe  was  at  close 
quarters,  it  was  of  no  use  against  an  enemy 
who  could  deal  destruction  at  the  distance 
of  several  hundred  yards.  Moreover,  the 
close  and  compact  ranks,  which  were  so  effi- 
cacious against  the  irregular  warriors  of  the 
country,  became  an  absolute  element  of 
weakness  when  the  soldiers  were  exposed 
to  heavy  volleys  from  the  distant  enemy. 
Therefore,  the  whole  course  of  battle  was 


124 


THE   KAFFIB. 


changed  when  the  Zukis  fought  against  the 
white  man  and  his  lire-arms,  and  tliey  found 
themselves  obliged  to  revert  to  the  old  sys- 
tem of  skirmishing,  though  the  skirmishers 
fought  under  the  commands  of  the  chief, 
instead  of  each  man  acting  independently, 
as  had  formerly  been  the  case. 

We  remember  how  similar  changes  have 
taken  place  in  our  Eurojjean  armies,  when 
the  heavy  columns  that  used  to  be  so  resist- 
less were  shattered  by  the  Are  of  single 
ranks,  and  how  the  very  massiveness  of  the 
column  rendered  it  a  Ijetter  mark  for  the 
enemy's  tire,  and  caused  almost  every  shot 
to  take  effect. 

Tchaka  was  not  always  successful,  for  he 
forgot  that  cunning  is  often  superior  to 
force,  and  that  the  enemy's  spears  are  not 
the  most  dangerous  weapons  in  his  armory. 
The  last  expedition  that  Tchaka  organized 
was  a  singularly  unsuccessful  one.  He  had 
first  sent  an  army  against  a  tribe  which 
had  long  held  out  against  him,  and  which 
had  the  advantage  of  a  military  position  so 
strong  that  even  the  trained  Zulu  warriors, 
who  knew  that  failiu'e  was  death,  could 
not  succeed  in  taking  it.  Fortunately  for 
Tchaka,  some  Europeans  were  at  the  time 
in  his  kraal,  and  he  obliged  them  to  fight 
on  his  behalf.  The  enemy  had,  up  to  that 
time,  never  seen  nor  heard  of  fire-arms;  and 
when  they  saw  their  comrades  falling  with- 
out being  visibly  struck,  they  immediately 
yielded,  thinking  that  the  spirits  of  their 
forefathers  were  angry  with  them,  and  spat 
fire  out  of  their  mouths.  This,  indeed,  was 
the  result  which  had  been  anticipated  by 
the  bearers  of  the  fire-arms  in  question,  for 
they  thought  that,  if  the  enemy  were  intim- 
idated by  the  strange  weapons,  great  loss  of 
life  would  be  saved  on  both  "sides.  Tlie 
battle  being  over,  the  conquered  tribe 
were  subsidized  as  tributaries,  according  to 
Tchaka's  custom,  and  all  their  cattle  given 
up. 

The  success  of  this  expedition  incited 
Tchaka  to  repeat  the  experiment,  and  his 
troops  had  hardly  returned  when  he  sent 
them  ofl'  against  a  chief  named  Sotshan- 
gana.  This  chief  had  a  spy  in  the  camp  of 
Tchaka,  and  no  sooner  had  the  army  set  oft 
than  the  spy  contrived  to  detach '  himself 
from  the  troops,  and  went  oft'  at  full  speed 
to  his  master.  Sotshangana  at  once  sent 
out  messengers  to  see  whether  the  spy  had 
told  the  truth,  and  when  he  learned  that  the 
Zulu  army  was  really  coming  upon  him,  lie 
laid  a  traji  into  which  the  too  confident 
enemy  fell  at  once.  He  withdrew  his 
troops  from  his  kraals,  but  left  everything 
in  its  ordinarj'  position,  so  as  to  look  as  if 
no  alarm  had  been  taken.  The  Zulu  regi- 
ments, seeing  no  signs  thrit  their  presence 
was  expected,  took  possession  of  the  kraal, 
feasted  on  its  provisions,  and  slept  in  fan- 
cied security.  But,  at  the  dead  of  night, 
Sotshangana,    accompanied    by    the     spy, 


whom  he  had  rewarded  with  the  command 
of  a  regiment,  came  on  the  unsuspecting 
Zulus,  fell  upon  them  while  sleeping,  and 
cut  one  regiment  nearly  to  pieces.  The 
others  rallied,  and  drove  oft"  their  foes;  but 
they  were  in  an  enemy's  country,  wliere 
every  hand  was  against  them. 

Their  wonderful  discipline  availed  them 
little.  They  got  no  rest  by  day  or  by  night. 
They  were  C(mtiuuany  harassed  by  "attacks, 
sometimes  of  outlying  skirmishers,  who 
kept  them  always  on  the  alert,  sometimes 
of  large  forces  of  soldiers  who  had  to  he 
met  in  battle  array.  They  could  obtain  no 
food,  for  the  whole  country  was  against 
them,  and  the  weaker  tribes,  whom  they 
attacked  in  order  to  procure  provisions, 
'drove  their  cattle  into  the  bush,  and  set  fire 
to  their  own  corn-fields.  It  is  said  also,  and 
with  some  likelihood  of  truth,  that  the  water 
was  poisoned  as  well  as  the  food  destroj-ed; 
and  the  consequence  was,  that  the  once  vic- 
torious army  was  obliged  to  retreat  as  it 
best  could,  and  the  shattered  fragments  at 
last  reached  their  fiwn  country,  after  suft'er- 
ing  almost  incredible  hardships.  It  was  in 
this  campaign  that  the  soldiers  were  ol)liged 
to  eat  their  shields.  At  least  twenty  thou- 
sand of  the  Zulu  warriors  perished  in  this 
expedition,  three-fourths  having  died  from 
privation,  and  the  others  fallen  by  the 
spears  of  the  enemy. 

AVhat  would  have  been  Tchaka's  fury  at 
so  terrible  a  defeat  may  well  be  imagined; 
but  he  never  lived  to  see  his  conquered 
warriors.  It  is  supposed,  and  with  some 
show  of  truth,  that  he  had  been  instrumen- 
tal in  causing  the  death  of  his  own  mother, 
Mnande.  This  word  signifies  "  amiable  "  or 
'•  pleasant,"  in  the  Zulu  tcmgue,  and  never 
was  a  name  more  misapplied.  She  was  vio- 
lent, obstinate,  and  wilful  to  a  degree,  and 
her  son  certainly  inherited  these  traits  of 
his  mother's  character,  besides  superadding 
a  few  of  his  own.  She  was  the  wife  of  the 
chief  of  the  Amazulu,  then  a  small  and 
insignificant  tribe,  who  lived  on  the  banks 
of  the  White  Fo'osi  river,  and  behaved  in 
such  a  manner  that  she  could  not  be  kept 
in  her  husband's  kraal.  It  may  be  imag- 
ined that  such  a  mother  and  son  were  not 
likely  to  agree  very  well  together;  and 
when  the  latter  came  to  be  a  man,  lie  was 
known  to  beat  his  mother  openly,  without 
attempting  to  conceal  the  fact,  but  rather 
taking  credit  to  himself  for  it. 

Therefore,  when  she  died,  her  family  had 
some  good  grounds  for  believing  that 
Tchaka  had  caused  her  to  be  killed,  and 
determined  on  revenge.  Hardly  had  that 
ill-foted  expedition  set  out,  when  two  of 
her  sisters  came  to  Dingan  and  Umhlan- 
gani,  the  brothers  of  Tchaka,  and  openly 
accused  him  of  having  murdered  Mnande, 
urging  the  two  brothers  to  kill  him  and 
avenge  their  mother's  blood.  Tliey  adroitly 
mentioned  the  absence  of  the  ai'iny,  and  the 


MURDER  OF  TCHAICA. 


125 


terror  in  which  every  soldier  held  his  blood- 
thirsty king,  and  said  that  it"  on  the  return 
of  the  army,  Tchaka  was  dead,  the  soldiers 
would  he  rejoiced  at  the  death  of  the  tyrant, 
and  would  be  sure  to  consider  as  their 
leaders  the  two  men  who  had  freed  them 
from  such  a  yoke.  The  two  brothers  brielly 
answered,  "  Ye  have  spoken!  "  but  the 
women  seemed  to  know  that  by  those  words 
the  doom  of  Tchaka  was  settled,  and  with- 
drew themselves,  leaving  their  nephews  to 
devise  their  own  plans  for  the  murder  of  the 
king. 

This  was  no  easy  business.  They  would 
have  tried  poison,  but  Tchaka  was  much  too 
wary  to  die  such  a  death,  and,  as  force  was 
clearly  useless,  they  had  recourse  to  treach- 
ery. They  corrupted  the  favorite  servant 
of  Tchaka,  a  man  named  Bopa,  and  having 
armed  themselves  with  unshafled  heads  of 
assagais,  which  could  be  easily  concealed, 
they  proceeded  to  the  king's  house,  where 
Ire  was  sitting  in  conference  with  several  of 
his  councillors,  who  were  unarmed,  accord- 
ing to  Kaffir  etiquette.  The  treacherous 
Bopa  began  his  task  by  rudely  interrupting 
rhe  councillors,  accusing  them  of  tellhig 
talsehoods  to  the  king,  and  Isehaving  with 
an  amount  of  insolence  to  which  he  well  i 


knew  they  would  not  submit.  As  they  rose 
in  anger,  and  endeavored  to  seize  the  man 
who  had  insulted  them,  Dingan  and  Umh- 
langani  stole  behind  Tchaka,  whose  atten- 
tion was  occupied  by  the  extraordinary 
scene,  and  stabbed  him  in  the  back.  lie 
attempted  to  escape,  but  was  again  stabbed 
by  Bopa,  and  fell  dying  to  the  gi'ound, 
whore  he  was  instantly  slain.  The  af- 
frighted councillors  tried  to  tly,  but  were 
killed  by  the  same  weapons  that  had  slain 
their   master. 

This  dread  scene  was  terminated  by  an 
act  partly  resulting  from  native  ferocity, 
and  partly  from  superstition.  The  two 
murderers  opened  the  still  warm  body  of 
their  victim,  and  drank  the  gall.  Their 
subsequent  quarrel,  and  the  accession  of 
Dingan  to  the  throne,  has  already  been 
mentioned.  The  new  king  would  probably 
have  been  murdered  by  the  soldiers  on  their 
return,  had  he  not  conciliated  them  by  re- 
laxing the  strict  laws  of  celibacy  which 
Tchaka  had  enforced,  and  by  granting  in- 
dulgences of  various  kinds  to  the  troops. 
As  to  the  dead  Muande,  the  proximate 
cause  of  Tchaka's  death,  more  will  be  said 
on  a  future  page. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


HUNTING. 


THE  KAFFIRS  LOVE  FOR  THE  CHASE  — THE  GAJVIE  AND  CLIMATE  OF  AFRICA  —  THE  ANTELOPES  CF 
AFRICA  —  HUNTING  THE  KOODOO  —  USES  OF  THE  HORNS — A  SCENE  ON  THE  UMGENIE  RIVER  — 
THE  DUIKER- BOK  AND  ITS  PECULIARITIES  —  ITS  MODE  OF  ESCAPE  AND  TENACITY  OF  LIFE  — 
SINGULAR  MODE  OF  CONCEALMENT  —  THE  ELAND,  ITS  FLESH  AND  FAT  —  CURIOUS  SUPERSTITION 
OF  THE  ZULU  WARRIORS — THIGH-TOKGUES — MODE  OF  HUNTING  THE  ELAND  —  THE  GEMSBOK  — 
ITS  INDIFFERENCE  TO  DRINK  —  DIFFICULTY  OP  HUNTING  IT  —  HOW  THE  GEMSBOK  WIELDS  ITS 
HORNS  —  THEIR  USES  TO  M.VN  —  MODES  OF  TRAPPING  AND  DESTROYING  ANTELOPES  WHOLESALE 
—  THE  HOPO,  OB  LARGE  PITFALL,  ITS  CONSTRUCTION  AND  MODE  OF  EMPLOYMENT  —  EXCITING 
SCENE  AT  THE  HOPO  —  PITFALLS  FOR  SINGLE  ANIMALS — THE  STAKE  AND  THE  RIDGE  —  THE 
GIRAFFE  PITFALL  —  HUNTING  THE  ELEPHANT  —  USE  OP  THE  DOGS  —  BEST  PARTS  OF  THE  ELE- 
PHANT—  HOW  THE  FOOT  IS  COOKED  —  VORACITY  OF  THE  NATIVES  —  GAJIE  IN  A  "  HIGH  "  CONDI- 
TION—  EXTRACTING  THE  TUSKS  AND  TEETH  —  CUTTING  UP  AN  ELEPHANT  —  FLESH,  FAT,  AND 
SKIN  OP  THE  RHINOCEROS  —  SOUTH  AFRICAN  "  HAGGIS  " — ASSAILING  A  HERD  OF  GAME  —  SLAUGH- 
TER IN  THE  RAVINE  —  A  HUNTING  SCENE  IN  KAFFIRLAND  —  THE  "kLOOP"  AND  THE  "  BUSH  " — 
PALLS  OF  THE  UMZIMVUBU  RIVER — HUNTING  DANCE  —  CHASE  OF  THE  LION  AND  ITS  SANGUINARY 
RESULTS  —  DINGAN'S  DESPOTIC  MANDATE  —  HUNTING  THE  BUFFALO. 


Excepting  war,  there  is  no  pursuit  which 
is  SO  engrossing  to  a  Kaffir  as  tlie  cliase;  and 
whether  he  unites  with  a  number  of  his 
comrades  in  a  campaign  against  his  game, 
whether  lie  pursues  it  singly,  or  whether  he 
entices  it  into  traps,  he  is  wholly  absorbed 
in  the  occupation,  and  pursues  "it  with  an 
enthusiasm  to  which  a  European  is  a 
stranger.  Indeed,  in  many  cases,  and  cer- 
tainly in  most  instances,  where  a  Kaffir  is 
the  hunter,  the  chase  becomes  a  mimic  war- 
fare, which  is  waged  sometimes  against  the 
strong,  and  sometimes  against  the  weak  ; 
which  op])oses  itself  equally  to  the  fierce 
activity  of  the  lion,  the  resistless  force  of  the 
elephant,  the  speed  of  the  antelope,  and  the 
wariness  of  the  zebra.  The  love  of  hunt- 
ing is  a  necessity  in  such  a  counti\y,  which 
fully  deserves  the  well-known  title  of  the 
"  Happy  Hunting  Grounds."  There  is.  per- 
haps, no  country  on  earth  where  may  be 
found  such  a  wonderful  variety  of  game  in 
so  small  a  compass,  and  which  will  serve  to 
exercise,  to  the  vei-y  utmost,  every  capacity 
for  the  chase  that  mankind  can  possess. 

Southern  Africa  possesses  the  swiftest, 
the  largest,  the  heaviest,  the  fiercest,  the 
mightiest,  and  the  tallest  beasts  in  th(^ 
world.    The  lofty  mountain,  the  reed-clad 


dell,  the  thorny  bush,  the  open  plain,  the 
river  bank,  and  the  very  water  itself,  are 
filled  with  their  proper  inhabitants,  simplv 
on  account  of  the  variety  of  soil,  which 
always  produces  a  corresponding  variety  of 
inhabitants.  The  different  kinds  of  herbage 
attract  and  sustain  the  animals  that  are 
suited  to  them ;  and  were  thej'  to  be  extinct, 
the  animals  must  follow  in  their  wake.  The 
larger  carnivora  are  in  their  turn  attracted 
by  the  herbivorous  inhabitants  of  the  coun- 
try, and  thus  it  happens  that  even  a  very 
slight  modification  in  the  vegetation  has 
altered  the  whole  character  of  a  district. 
Mr.  Moffatt  has  mentioned  a  curious  instance 
of  this  fact. 

He  and  his  companions  wfcre  in  great 
jeopardy  on  account  of  a  disappointed 
"  rain-maker."  The  country  had  originally 
been  even  remarkable  ibr  the  quantity  of 
rain  which  fell  in  it,  and  for  its  consequent 
fertility.  The  old  men  said  that  their  fore- 
fathers had  told  them  "  of  the  floods  of  an- 
cient times,  the  incessant  showers  which 
clothed  the  very  rocks  with  verdure,  and 
the  giant  trees  and  forests  which  onee  stud- 
ded the  brows  of  the  Hamhana  hills  and 
neighl)oring  plains.  They  boasted  of  the 
Kuruman  and  other  rivers,  with  their  im- 


(126) 


THE  KOODOO. 


127 


passable  torrents,  in  which  the  hippopotami 
played,  while  the  lowing  herds  walked  up  to 
their  necks  in  grass,  tilling  their  makakas 
(milk-sacks)  with  milk,  making  every  heart 
to  sing  for  joy." 

That  such  tales  were  true  was  proved  by 
the  numerous  stumps  of  huge  acacia-trees, 
that  showed  where  the  forest  had  stood,  and 
by  the  dry  and  parched  ravines,  which  had 
evidently  been  the  beds  of  rivers,  and  clothed 
with  vegetation.  For  the  drought  the  mis- 
sionaries were  held  responsible,  according 
to  the  invariable  custom  of  the  rain-makers, 
who  are  only  too  glad  to  find  something 
on  which  to  shift  the  blame  when  no  ram 
follows  their  uicantations.  It  was  in  vani 
that  Mr.  Moftatt  reminded  them  that  the 
drought  had  been  known  long  before  a 
white  man  set  his  foot  on  the  soil.  A 
savage  African  is,  as  a  general  rule,  im- 
pervious to  dates,  not  even  having  the  least 
idea  of  his  own  age,  so  this  argument  failed 
utterly. 

The  real  reason  was  evidently  that  which 
Mr.  iSIoft'att  detected,  and  which  he  tried  in 
vain  to  impress  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
lanil.  They  themselves,  or  rather  their  fore- 
fathers, were  responsible  for  the  cessation 
of  rain,  and  the  consequent  change  from  a 
fertile  land  into  a  desert.  For  the  sake  of 
building  their  kraals  and  houses,  they  liad 
cut  down  every  tree  that  their  axes  could 
fell,  and  those  that  defied  their  rude  tools 
they  destroyed  by  fire.  Now  it  is  well 
known  that'  trees,  especially  when  in  full 
foliage,  are  very  powerful  agents  in  causing 
rain,  inasmuch  as  they  condense  the  mois- 
ture floating  in  the  air,  and  cause  it  to  fall 
to  the  earth,  instead  of  passing  liy  in  sus- 
pension. Every  tree  that  is  felled  has  some 
effect  in  reducing  the  quantity  of  rain;  and 
when  a  forest  is  levelled  with  the  ground, 
the  ditlerent  amount  of  rainfall  becomes 
marked  at  once. 

These  tribes  are  inveterate  destroyers  of 
timber.  When  they  wish  to  establish  them- 
selves in  a  fresh  spot,  and  build  a  new  kraal, 
they  always  station  themselves  close  to  the 
forest,  or  at  all  events  to  a  large  thicket, 
which  in  the  course  of  time  is  levelled  to 
the  ground,  the  wood  having  been  all  used 
for  building  and  culinary  purposes.  The 
tribe  then  go  off  to  another  spot,  and  cut 
down  more  timber;  and  it  is  to  this  custom 
that  the  great  droughts  of  Southern  Africa 
m.ay  partly  be  attributed. 

The  game  which  inhabited  the  fallen  for- 
ests is  perforce  obliged  to  move  into  dis- 
ti'icts  where  the  destructive  axe  has  not 
been  heard,  and  the  whole  of  those  animals 
that  require  a  continual  supply  of  water 
either  die  off  for  the  want  of  it,  or  And 
their  way  into  more  favored  regions.  This 
is  specially  the  case  with  the  antelopes, 
which  form  the  chief  game  of  this  land. 
Southern  Africa  absolutely  teems  with  an- 
telopes, some  thirty  species  of  which  are 


known  to  inhabit  this  wonderful  country. 
They  are  of  all  sizes,  from  the  great  elands 
and  koodoos,  which  rival  our  tinest  cattle  in 
weight  and  stature,  to  the  tiny  species  which 
inhabit  the  bush,  and  have  bodies  scarcely 
larger  than  if  they  were  rabbits.  Some  of 
them  are  solitary,  others  may  be  found  in 
small  parties,  others  unite  in  herds  of  in- 
calculable numbers;  while  there  are  several 
species  that  form  associations,  not  only 
with  other  species  of  their  own  group,  l)ut 
with  giraffes,  zebras,  ostriches,  and  other 
strange  companions.  Each  kind  must  be 
hunted  in  some  special  manner;  and,  as 
the  antelopes  are  generally  the  wariest  as 
well  as  the  most  active  of  game,  the  hunter 
must  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  his 
business  before  he  can  hope  for  success. 

One  of  the  antelopes  which  live  in  small 
parties  is  the  koodoo,  so  well  known  for  its 
magnificent  spiral  horns.  To  Europeans 
the  koodoo  is  only  interesting  as  being  one 
of  the  most  splendid  of  the  antelope  tribe, 
but  to  the  Kafiir  it  is  almost  as  valuable  an 
anim;il  as  the  cow.  The  flesh  of  the  koo- 
doo is  well-flavored  and  tender,  two  quali- 
ties whinli  arc  exceedingly  rare  among  South 
African  antelopes.  The  marrow  taken  from 
the  leg  bones  is  a  great  luxury  with  the 
Kaffirs,  who  are  so  fond  of  it  that  when  they 
kill  a  koodoo  they  remove  the  leg  boucs, 
break  them,  and  eat  the  marrow,  not  only 
without  cooking,  but  while  it  is  still  warm. 
Revolting  as  such  a  practice  may  seem  to 
us,  it  has  been  adopted  even  by  English 
hunters,  who  have  been  sensible  enough  to 
accommodate  themselves  to  circumstances. 

Then,  its  hide,  although  comparatively 
thin,  is  singularly  tough,  and,  when  cut 
into  narrow  slij^s  and  properly  manipu- 
lated, is  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes 
which  a  thicker  hide  could  not  fulfil.  The 
toughness  and  strength  of  those  thongs  are 
really  wonderful,  and  the  rapidity  with 
which  they  are  made  scarcely  less  so.  I 
have  seen  an  experienced  skindresser  cut 
a  strip  from  a  dried  koodoo  skin,  and  in  less 
than  half  a  minute  produce  a  long,  delicate 
thong,  aljout  as  thick  as  ordinary  whipcord, 
as  pliant  as  silk,  and  beautifully  roimded. 
I  have  often  thought  that  the  much  vexed 
question  of  the  best  leather  for  boot-laces 
might  be  easily  solved  by  the  use  of  koo- 
doo hide.  Such  thongs  would  be  expensive 
in  the  outset,  but  their  lasting  powers  would 
render  them  cheap  in  the  long  run. 

Tlie  horns  of  the  koodoo  are  greatly  val- 
ued in  this  country,  and  command  a  high 
price,  on  account  of  their  great  beauty. 
The  Kaffirs,  however,  value  them  even  more 
than  we  do.  They  will  allow  the  horns  of  the 
eland  to  lie  about  and  perish,  but  those  of 
the  koodoo  they  carefully  preserve  for  two 
special  purposes,  —  namely,  the  forge  and  the 
smoking  party.  Although  a  Kattir  black- 
smith will  use  the  horns  of  the  domestic 
ox,  or  of  the  eland,  as  tubes  whereby  the 


128 


THE  KAFFIK. 


wind  is  conveyed  from  the  bellows  to  the 
fire,  he  very  much  prefers  those  of  the  Ivoo- 
doo,  and,  if  lie  shoultl  be  fortunate  enougli 
to  obtain  a  pair,  he  will  lavish  much  pains 
on  making  a  handsome  pair  of  bellows.  He 
also  uses  the  koodoo  horn  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  remarkable  water-pipe  in  which 
he  smokes  dakka,  or  hemp.  On  page  167 
may  be  seen  a  figure  of  a  Kaffir  engaged  in 
smoking  a  pipe  made  from  the  kcjoiloo  horu. 
Like  many  other  antelopes,  the  koodoo  is 
a  wary  animal,  and  no  small  amount  of 
pains  must  be  taken  before  the  hunter  can 
succeed  in  his  object.  The  koodoo  is  one 
of  the  antelopes  that  require  water,  and  is 
not  like  its  relative,  the  eland,  which  never 
cares  to  drink,  and  which  contrives,  in  some 
mysterious  manner,  to  be  the  largest,  the 
fattest,  and  tlie  plumpest  of  all  the  antelope 
tribe,  though  it  lives  far  from  water,  and  its 
principal  food  is  herbage  so  dry  that  it  can 
be  rubbed  to  powder  between  the  hands. 

Each  of  the  antelopes  has  its  separate 
wiles,  and  puts  in  practice  a  difl'erent  me- 
thod of  escape  from  an  enemy.  The  pretty 
little  Duiker-bok,  for  example,  jumps  about 
here  and  there  with  an  eri-atic  series  of 
movements,  reminding  the  sportsman  of 
the  behavior  of  a  flushed  snipe.  Sud- 
denly it  will  stop,  as  if  tired,  and  lie  down 
in  the  grass;  but  when  the  hunter  comes 
to  the  spot,  the  animal  has  vanished.  All 
the  previous  movements  were  merely  for 
the  purpose  of  distracting  the  attention 
of  the  hunter,  and  as  soon  as  the  little  an- 
telope crouched  down,  it  lowered  its  head 
and  crawled  away  on  its  knees  under  cover 
of  the  herbage.  It  is  owing  to  this  habit 
that  the  Dutch  colonists  called  it  the  Duiker, 
or  Diver.  This  httle  antelope  is  found  in 
long  grass,  or  among  stunted  bushes,  and 
the  wary  Kaftir  is  sure  to  have  his  weapons 
ready  whenever  he  passes  by  a  spot  where 
he  may  expect  to  find  the  Duyker,  or  Im- 
poon,  as  he  calls  it.  Tlie  creature  is  won- 
derfully tenacious  of  life,  and,  even  when 
mortally  wounded,  it  will  make  its  escape 
from  a  hunter  who  does  not  know  its  pecul- 
iarities. 

Other  antelopes  that  inhabit  grass  and 
bush  land  have  very  ingenious  modes  of 
concealing  themselves.  Even  on  the  bare 
plain  they  will  crouch  down  in  such  odd 
attitudes  that  all  trace  of  their  ordinary 
outline  is  gone,  and  they  contrive  to  ar- 
range themselves  in  such  a  manner  that  at 
a  little  distance  they  much  resemble  a  heap 
of  withered  grass  and  dead  sticks,  the  former 
being  represented  by  their  fur,  and  the  lat- 
ter by  their  horns  and  limbs.  An  untrained 
eye  would  never  discover  one  of  these  ani- 
mals, and  novices  in  African  hunting  can 
seldom  distinguish  the  antelope  even  when 
it  is  pointed  out  to  them. 

Whenever  a  practised  hunter  sees  an 
antelope  crouching  on  the  ground,  he  may 


be  sure  that  the  animal  is  perfectly  aware  of 
his  presence,  and  is  only  watching  for  an 
opportunity  to  escape.  If  he  were  to  go 
directly  toward  it,  or  even  to  stop  and  look 
at  it,  the  antelope  would  know  that  it  is 
detected,  and  would  dart  ott'  while  still  out 
of  range.  But  an  experienced  hunter  al- 
ways pretends  not  to  have  seen  the  animal, 
and  instead  of  approaching  it  in  a  direct 
line,  walks  round  and  roimd  the  spot  where 
it  is  lying,  always  coming  nearer  to  his 
object,  but  never  taking  anj-  apparent  notice 
of  it.  The  animal  is'quite  bewildered  by 
this  mode  of  action,  and  cannot  make  up  its 
mind  what  to  do.  It  is  not  sure  that  it  has 
been  detected;  and  therefore  does  not  like 
to  run  the  risk  of  jumping  up  and  openly 
betraying  itself,  and  so  it  only  crouches 
closer  to  the  ground  until  its  enemy  is  within 
range.  The  pretty  antelope  called  the  Ou- 
rebi  is  often  taken  in  this  manner. 

Some  antelopes  cannot  be  taken  in  this 
manner.  They  are  very  wary  animals,  and, 
when  the}'  perceive  an  enemy,  thej'  imme- 
diately gallop  ott',  and  will  go  wonderful 
distances  in  an  almost  straight  line.  One  of 
these  animals  is  the  well-known  eland,  an 
antelope  which,  in  spite  of  its  enormous  size 
and  great  weight,  is  wonderfully  swift  and 
active ;  and,  although  a  large  eland  will  be 
nearly  six  feet  high  at  the  slioulders,  and  as 
largely  built  as  our  oxen,  it  will  dash  over 
rough  hill}'  places  at  a  pace  that  no  horse 
can  for  a  time  equal.  But  it  cannot  keep  up 
this  pace  for  a  very  long  time,  as  it  becomes 
extremely  fat  and  heavy ;  and  if  it  be  con- 
tinually hard  pressed,  and  not  allowed  to 
slacken  its  pace  or  to  halt,  it  becomes  so 
exhausted  that  it  can  be  easily  overtaken. 
The  usual  plan  in  such  cases  is  to  get  in 
front  of  the  tired  eland,  make  it  turn  round, 
and  thus  drive  it  into  the  camping  spot, 
where  it  can  be  killed,  so  that  the  hunters 
save  themselves  the  trouble  of  carrying  the 
meat  to  camp. 

Eland  hunting  is  always  a  favorite  sport 
both  with  natives  and  white  men,  partly 
because  its  flesh  is  singularly  excellent,  and 
partly  because  a  persevering  chase  is  almost 
always  rewarded  with  success.  To  the 
native,  the  eland  is  of  peculiar  value,  be- 
cause it  furnishes  an  amount  of  meat  which 
will  feed  them  plentifully  for  several  days. 
Moreover,  the  flesh  is  always  tender,  a  qual- 
ity which  does  not  generally  belong  to  South 
African  venison.  The  Zulu  warriors,  how- 
ever, do  not  eat  the  flesh  of  the  eland,  being 
restrained  by  superstitious  motives. 

Usually,  when  an  antelope  is  killed,  its 
flesh  must  either  be  eaten  at  once,  before 
the  animal  heat  has  left  the  body,  or  it  must 
be  kept  for  a  day  or  two,  in  order  to  free  it 
from  its  toughness.  But  the  flesh  of  the 
eland  can  be  eaten  even  within  a  few  hours 
after  the  animal  has  been  killed.  The  hunt- 
ers make  a  rather  curious  preparation  trom 
the  flesh  of  the  eland.    They  take  out  sep- 


THE  HOPO. 


129 


arately  the  muscles  of  the  thighs,  and  cure 
them  iust  as  if  they  were  tongues.  These 
ai-ticles  are  called  "  thigh-tongues,"  and  are 
useful  on  a  journey  when  provisions  are 
likely  to  be  scarce.  Perhaps  one  of  the 
greatest  merits  of  the  eland  in  a  Kaffir's 
eyes  is  the  enormous  quantity  of  fat  which 
it  will  produce  when  in  good  condition. 
As  has  already  been  mentioned,  fat  is  one 
of  the  necessaries  of  life  to  a  Kaffir,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries,  and  a  bull 
eland  in  good  condition  furnishes  a  supply 
that  will  make  a  Kaffir  happy  for  a  month. 

There  is  another  Soutli  African  antelope, 
which,  like  the  eland,  runs  in  a  straight 
course  when  alarmed,  but  which,  unlike  the 
eland,  is  capable  of  great  endurance.  This 
is  the  splendid  gemsbok,  an  antelope  which 
is  nearly  as  large  as  the  eland,  though  not 
so  massively  built.  This  beautiful  antelope 
is  an  inhabitant  of  tlie  dry  and  parched 
plains  of  Southern  Africa,  and,  like  the  eland, 
cares  nothing  for  water,  deriving  all  the 
moisture  which  it  needs  from  certain  succu- 
lent roots  of  a  bulbous  nature,  whiclr  lie 
hidden  in  the  soil,  and  whicli  its  instinct 
teaches  it  to  uneartli.  This  ability  to  sus- 
tain life  without  the  aid  of  water  renders  its 
chase  a  very  difficult  matter,  and  the  hunters, 
both  native  and  European,  are  often  baffled, 
not  so  much  by  the  speed  and  endurance  of 
the  animal,  as  by  the  dry  and  thirsty  plains 
through  which  it  leads  them,  and  in  wliich 
they  can  find  no  water.  The  spoils  of  the 
gemsbok  are  therefore  much  valued,  and  its 
splendid  horns  will  always  command  a  high 
price,  even  in  its  own  country,  while  in 
Europe  they  are  sure  of  a  sale. 

The  horns  of  this  antelope  are  about  three 
feet  in  length,  and  are  very  slightly  curved. 
The  mode  in  which  they  are  placed  on  the 
head  is  ratlier  curious.  They  are  very 
nearly  in  a  line  with  the  forehead,  so  that 
when  the  animal  is  at  rest  their  tips  nearly 
touch  the  back.  Horns  thus  set  may  be 
thought  to  be  deprived  of  much  of  their 
capabilities,  but  the  gemsbok  has  a  rather 
curious  mode  of  managuig  these  weapons. 
When  it  desires  to  charge,  or  to  receive  the 
assaults  of  an  enemy,  it  stoops  its  head  nearly 
to  the  ground,  the  nose  passing  between  the 
fore-feet.  The  horns  are  then  directed 
toward  the  foe,  their  tips  being  some  eigh- 
teen or  twenty  inches  from  the  ground.  As 
soon  as  the  enemy  comes  within  reach,  the 
gemsbok  turns  its  head  sti'ongly  upward, 
and  impales  the  antagonist  on  its  horns, 
which  are  so  sharp  that  they  seem  almost  to 
have  been  pointed  and  polished  by  artificial 
means. 

Dogs  find  the  gemsbok  to  be  one  of  their 
worst  antagonists;  for  if  they  succeed  in 
bringing  it  to  bay,  it  wields  its  horns  with 
such  swift  address  that  they  cannot  com,e 
within  its  reach  witliout  very  great  danger. 
Even  when  the  animal  has  received  a  mor- 
tal wound,  and  been  lying  on  the  ground 


with  only  a  few  minutes  of  life  in  its  body,  it 
has  been  known  to  sweep  its  armed  head  so 
fiercely  from  side  to  side  that  it  killed  sev- 
eral of  the  dogs  as  they  rushed  in  to  seize 
the  fiillen  enemy,  wounded  others  severely, 
and  kept  a  clear  space  within  range  of  its 
horns.  Except  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  when  the  gemsbok  becomes  very  fat, 
and  is  in  consequence  in  bad  condition  for 
a  long  chase,  the  natives  seldom  try  to  pur- 
sue it,  knowing  that  they  are  certain  to 
have  a  very  long  run,  and  that  the  final  cap- 
ture of  the  animal  is  very  uncertain. 

As  to  those  antelopes  which  gather  them- 
selves together  in  vast  herds,  the  South 
African  hunter  acts  on  very  dift'erent  prin- 
ciples, and  uses  .stratagem  rather  than  speed 
or  force.  One  of  their  most  successful  meth- 
ods of  destroying  the  game  wholesale  is  by 
means  of  the  remarkable  trap  called  the 
Hopo.  The  hopo  is,  in  fact,  a  very  large 
pitfall,  dug  out  with  great  lalior,  and  capa- 
ble of  holding  a  vast  numljer  of  animals. 
Trunks  of  trees  are  laid  over  it  at  each  end, 
and  a  similar  arrangement  is  made  at  the 
sides,  so  tliat  a  kind  of  overlapping  edge  is 
given  to  it,  and  a  beast  that  has  fallen  into 
it  cannot  possibly  escape.  From  this  pit 
two  fences  diverge,  in  a  V-like  form,  the  pit 
being  the  apex.  These  fences  are  about  a 
mile  in  length,  and  their  extremities  are  a 
mile,  or  even  more,  apart. 

Many  hundreds  of  hunters  then  turn  out, 
and  ingeniously  contrive  to  decoy  or  drive 
the  herd  of  ganie  into  the  treacherous  space 
lietween  the  fences.  They  then  form  them- 
selves into  a  cordon  across  the  open  end  of 
the  V,  and  advance  slowly,  so  as  to  urge  the 
animals  onward.  A  miscellaneous  company 
of  elands,  hartebeests,  gnoos,  zebras,  and 
other  animals,  is  thus  driven  nearer  and 
nearer  to  desta'uction.  Toward  the  angle  of 
the  V,  the  fence  is  narrowed  into  a  kind  of 
lane  or  passage,  some  fifty  yards  in  length, 
and  is  made  very  sti-ongly,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  affrighted  animals  from  breaking 
through.  When  a  number  of  them  have 
fiiirly  entered  the  passage,  the  hunters  dash 
forward,  yelling  at  the  full  stretch  of  their 
powerful  voices,  brandishing  their  shields 
and  assagais,  and  so  terrifying  the  doomed 
animals  that  they  dash  blindly  forward,  and 
fall  into  the  pit.  It  is  useless  for  those  in 
front  to  recoil  when  they  see  their  danger, 
as  they  are  pushed  onward  hj  their  com- 
rades, and  in  a  few  minutes  the  pit  is  full  of 
dead  and  dying  animals.  Many  of  the  herd 
escape  when  the  pit  is  quite  full,  by  passing 
over  the  bodies  of  their  fallen  companion.s, 
but  enough  are  taken  to  feast  the  whole 
ti'ibe  for  a  considerable  time.  Those  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  herd  often  break  wildly 
away,  and  try  to  make  their  escape  through 
the  cordon  of  armed  hunters.  Many  of 
them  succeed  in  their  endeavors,  but  others 
fall  victims  to  the  assagais  which  are  hurled 
at  them  upon  all  sides. 


130 


THE  KAiTIE. 


Even  such  large  game  as  the  girafle,  the 
butl'alo,  and  the  rhinoceros  have  been  taken 
in  this  ingenious  and  most  etlective  trap. 
Dr.  Livingstone  mentions  that  tlie  small 
sub-tribe  called  the  Bakawas  took  from 
sixty  to  seventy  head  of  cattle  per  week  in 
the  various  hopos  which  they  constructed. 

The  animated  scene  which  takes  place  at 
one  of  these  hunts  is  well  described  by  Mr. 
H.  H.  Methuen,  in  his  ''  Life  in  the  Wilder- 
ness." After  mentioning  the  pitfall  and 
the  two  diverging  fences,  between  which  a 
herd  of  quaggas  had  been  enclosed,  he  pro- 
ceeds as  follows:  "  Noises  thickened  round 
me,  and  men  rushed  past,  their  skin  cloaks 
streaming  in  the  wind,  till,  from  their  black 
naked  figures  and  wild  gestures,  it  wanted 
no  Martin  to  imagine  a  Pandemonium.  I 
pressed  hard  upon  the  tlying  animals,  and 
galloping  down  the  lane,  saw  the  pits  choke- 
full  ;  while  several  of  the  quaggas,  noticing 
their  danger,  turned  upon  me,  ears  back, 
and  teeth  showing,  compelling  me  to  retreat 
with  equal  celerity  from  them.  Some  na- 
tives standing  in  the  lane  made  the  fugi- 
tives run  the  gauntlet  with  their  assagais. 
As  each  quagga  made  a  dash  at  them,  they 
pressed  their  backs  into  the  hedge,  and  held 
their  hard  ox-hide  shields  in  his  foce,  hurl- 
ing their  spears  into  his  side  as  he  passed 
onward.  One  managed  to  burst  through 
the  hedge  and  escape  ;  the  rest  fell  pierced 
with  assagais,  like  so  many  porcupines. 
Men  are  often  killed  in  these  hunts,  when 
bufialoes  turn  back  in  a  similar  way. 

"  It  was  some  little  time  before  Bari  and 
I  could  find  a  gap  in  the  hedge  and  get 
rovmd  to  the  pits,  but  at  length  we  found 
one,  and  then  a  scene  exhibited  itself  which 
balfies  description.  So  fuU  were  the  jjits 
that  many  animals  had  run  over  the  bodies 
of  their  comrades,  and  got  free.  Never  can 
I  forget  that  bloody,  murderous  spectacle;  a 
moaning,  wriggling  mass  of  quaggas,  hud- 
dled and  jannned  together  in  the  most  inex- 
tricable confusion  ;  some  were  on  their 
backs,  with  their  heels  up,  and  others  Ij'ing 
across  them  ;  some  had  taken  a  dive  and 
only  displayed  their  tails;  all  lay  interlocked 
like  a  bucketful  of  eels.  The  savages,  fran- 
tic with  excitement,  yelled  round  them, 
thrusting  their  assagais  with  smiles  of  sat- 
isfaction into  the  upper  ones,  and  leaving 
them  to  suftbcate  those  beneath,  evidently 
rejoicino;  in  the  agony  of  their  victims. 
Moseleli,  the  chief,  was  there  in  person,  and 
after  the  lapse  of  lialf  an  hour,  the  poles  at 
the  entrance  of  the  pits  being  removed,  the 
dead  bodies,  in  all  the  contortions  and  stiff- 
ness of  death,  were  drawn  out  by  hooked 
stakes  secured  through  the  main  sinew  of 
tJie  neck,  a  rude  song,  with  extemporary 
words,  being  chanted  "the  while." 

The  narrator  mentions  that  out  of  one  pit, 
only   twelve   feet  square  and  six  deep,  he 
saw  twenty  "  quaggas  "  extracted. 
Sometimes  pitfalls  are  constructed  for  the 


reception  of  single  animals,  such  as  the  ele- 
phant, the  hippoj)otamus,  and  the  rhinoceros. 
These  are  made  chictly  in  two  modes.  The 
pitfalls  which  are  intended  for  catching  the 
three  last  mentioned  animals  are  tolerably 
large,  but  not  very  deep,  because  the  size 
and  weight  of  the  prisoners  jirevent  them 
from  making  their  escape.  Moreover,  a 
stout  stake,  some  five  feet  or  more  in  length, 
and  sharpened  at  the  top,  is  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  pit,  so  that  the  animal  falls 
upon  it  and  is  impaled.  The  pits  are  neatly 
covered  with  sticks,  leaves,  and  earth,  so 
ingeniously  disposed  that  they  look  exactly 
like  the  surf;ice  of  the  ground,  and  are  dan- 
gerous, not  only  to  the  beasts  which  they 
are  intended  to  catch,  but  to  men  and 
horses.  So  man}'  accidents  have  hapijened 
by  means  of  these  pits,  that  when  a  trav- 
eller goes  from  one  district  to  another  he 
sends  notice  of  his  coming,  so  that  all  the 
pitfalls  that  lie  in  his  way  may  be  opened. 

Elephants  are,  of  course,  the  most  valu- 
able game  that  can  be  taken  in  these  traps, 
because  their  tusks  can  be  sold  at  a  high 
price,  and  their  flesh  supplies  a  vast  quan- 
tity of  meat.  As  the  elephant  is  a  terrible 
enemy  to  their  cornfields  and  storehouses, 
the  natives  '^re  in  the  hal)it  of  guarding  the 
approaches  by  means  of  these  pitfalls,  and  at 
first  find  their  stratagem  totally  successful. 
But  the  elephants  are  so  crafty  that  they 
soon  learn  caution  from  the  fate  of  their 
comrades,  and  it  is  as  difficult  to  catch  an 
elephant  in  a  pitfall  as  it  is  to  catch  an  old 
rat  in  a  trap.  Having  been  accustomed  to 
such  succulent  repasts,  tlie  elephants  do  not 
like  to  give  up  their  feasts  altogether,  and 
proceed  on  their  nocturnal  expeditions  much 
as  usual.  But  some  of  the  oldest  and  wari- 
est of  the  herd  go  in  front,  and  when  they 
come  near  the  cultivated  ground,  they  beat 
the  earth  with  their  trunks,  not  venturing  a 
step  until  they  have  ascertained  that  their 
footing  is  safe.  As  soon  as  they  come  to  a 
pitfall,  the  hollow  .sound  warns  them  of  dan- 
ger. They  instantly  stop,  tear  the  covering 
of  the  pitfall  to  p'icces,  and,  having  thus 
unmasked  it,  proceed  on  their  way. 

The  pitfall  which  is  made  for  the  giraffe 
is  constructed  on  a  different  principle.  Ow- 
ing to  the  exceedingly  long  limbs  of  the 
animal,  it  is  dug  at  least  ten  feet  in  depth. 
But,  instead  of  being  a  mere  pit,  a  wall  or 
bank  of  earth  is  left  in  the  middle,  alwut 
seven  feet  in  height,  and  shaped  much  like 
the  letter  A.  As  soon  as  the  giraffe  tum- 
bles into  the  pit,  its  fore  and  hind  legs  fall 
on  opposite  sides  of  the  wall,  so  that  the 
animal  is  lialanced  on  its  belly,  and  wastes 
its  strength  in  plunging  about  in  hopes  of 
finding  a  foothold. 

Sometimes  a  number  of  Kaffirs  turn  out 
for  the  inirpose  of  elephant  hunting.  By 
dint  of  the  wary  caution  which  they  can 
always  exercise  when  in  pursuit  of  game, 
they"  find  out  the  animal  which  possesses 


HUN^TING  THE  ELEPHANT. 


131 


the  finest  tusks,  and  mark  all  his  peculiari- 
ties; they  then  watch  the  spot  where  he 
treads,  and,  by  means  of  a  lump  of  soft  cla}', 
they  take  an"  impression  of  his  footmarks. 
The  reason  for  doing  so  is  simple  enough, 
viz.  that  if  they  should  have  to  chase  him, 
they  may  not  run  the  risk  of  confounding 
hisfootmarks  with  those  of  other  elephants. 
The  sole  of  every  elephant's  foot  is  traversed 
by  a  number  of  indented  lines,  and  in  no  two 
specimens  are  these  lines  alike.  The  clay 
model  of  the  footprints  serves  them  as  a 
guide  whereby  they  may  assure  themselves 
that  they  are  on  the  right  track  whenever 
they  come  to  the  neighborhood  of  w.ater, 
where  the  ground  is  soft,  and  where  the 
footprints  of  many  elephants  are  sure  to  be 
founl.  Their  next  endeavor  is  to  creep 
near  enough  to  the  elephant  to  inflict  a 
severe  wound  upon  it,  an  object  which  is 
generally  attained  by  a  numl)er  of  the  dark 
hunters  gliding  among  the  trees,  and  simul- 
taneously hurling  their  spears  at  the  unsus- 
pecting auimal.  The  wounded  elephant  is 
nearly  certain  to  charge  directly  at  the  spot 
from  which  he  fancies  that  the  assault  has 
been  made,  and  his  shriek  of  mingled  rage 
and  alarm  is  sure  to  cause  the  rest  of  the 
herd  to  rush  off  in  terror.  The  hunters 
then  try  by  various  stratagems  to  isolate  the 
■wounded  animal  from  its  comrades,  and  to 
prevent  him  from  rejoining  them,  while  at 
every  opportuuity  fresh  assagais  are  thrown, 
and  the  elephant  is  never  permitted  to  rest. 
As  a  wounded  elephant  always  makes  for 
the  bush,  it  would  be  quite  safe  from  white 
hunters,  though  not  so  from  the  lithe  and 
naked  Kaffirs,  who  glide  through  the  under- 
wood and  between  the  trees  faster  than  the 
elephant  can  push  its  way  through  them. 
Every  now  and  then  it  will  turn  and  charge 
madly  at  its  foes,  but  it  expends  its  strength 
in  vain,  as  they  escape  by  nimbly  jumping 
behind  trees,  or,  in  critical  cases,  by  climb- 
ing up  them,  knowing  that  an  elephant 
never  seems  to  comprehend  that  a  foe  can 
be  anywhere  but  on  the  ground. 

In  this  kind  of  chase  they  are  much  as- 
sisted by  their  dogs,  which  bark  incessantly 
at  the  animal,  and  serve  to  distract  its  atten- 
tion from  the  hunters.  It  may  seem  strange 
that  so  huge  an  animal  as"  the  elephant 
should  bo  in  the  least  impeded  by  such 
small  creatures  as  dogs,  which,  even  if  he 
stood  still  and  allowed  them  to  bite  his  legs 
to  their  hearts'  content,  could  make  no  im- 
pression on  the  thick  and  tough  skin  which 
defends  them.  But  the  elephant  has  a 
strange  terror  of  small  animals,  and  espe- 
cially dreads  the  dog,  so  that,  when  it  is 
making  up  its  mind  to  charge  in  one  direc- 
tion, the  barking  of  a  contemptible  little  cm- 
will  divert  it  from  its  purpose,  and  enable 
its  intended  victim  either  to  secure  himself 
behind  a  tree,  or  to  become  the  assailant,  and 
add  another  spear  to  the  number  that  are 
already  quivering  in  the  animal's  vast  body. 


The  slaughter  of  an  elephant  by  this  mode 
of  hunting  is  always  a  long  and  a  cruel  pro- 
cess. Even  when  the  hunters  are  furnislied 
with  the  best  tire-arms,  a  number  of  wounds 
are  generally  inflicted  before  it  dies,  the  ex- 
ceptional case,  when  it  falls  dead  at  the  first 
shot,  being  very  rare  indeed.  Now,  how- 
ever powerful  may  be  the  practised  aim  of 
a  Kaffir,  and  sharp  as  may  be  his  weapon, 
he  cannot  drive  it  through  the  inch-thick 
hide  into  a  vital  part,  and  the  consequence 
is  that  the  poor  auimal  is  literally  worried 
to  death  by  a  multitude  of  wounds,  singly 
insignificant,  but  collectively  fatal.  At  last 
the  huge  victim  falls  under  the  loss  of  blood, 
and  great  are  the  rejoicings  if  it  should 
hajspen  to  sink  down  in  its  ordinary  kneeling 
posture,  as  the  tusks  can  then  l^e  extracted 
with  comparative  ease,  and  the  grove  of 
spears  planted  in  its  body  can  be  drawn  out 
entire;  whereas,  when  the  elephant  falls  on 
one  side,  all  the  spears  upon  that  side  are 
shattered  to  pieces,  and  every  one  must  be 
furnished  with  a  new  shaft. 

The  first  proceeding  is  to  cut  off  the  tail, 
which  is  valued  as  a  trophy,  and  the  next  is 
to  carve  upon  the  tusks  the  mark  of  the 
hunter  to  whom  they  belong,  and  who  is 
alwa^-s  the  man  who  inflicted  the  first  wound. 
The  next  proceeding  is  to  cut  a  large  hole  in 
one  side,  into  which  a  number  of  Kaffirs 
enter,  and  busy  themselves  by  taking  out 
the  most  valuable  parts  of  the  animal.  The 
inner  membrane  of  the  skin  is  saved  for 
water-sacks,  which  are  made  in  a  very  prim- 
itive manner,  a  large  sheet  of  the  membrane 
being  gathered  together,  and  a  sharp  stick 
thrust  Ihrough  the  corners.  The  heart  is 
then  taken  out,  cut  into  convenient  pieces, 
and  each  portion  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  the 
ear.  If  the  party  can  encamp  for  the  night 
on  the  spot,  they  prepare  a  royal  feast,  by 
baking  one  or  two  of  the  feet  in  the  primi- 
tive but  most  effective  oven  which  is  in  use, 
not  only  in  Southern  Africa,  but  in  many 
other  parts  of  the  world. 

A  Separate  oven  is  made  for  each  foot, 
and  formed  as  follows:  —  A  hole  is  dug  in 
the  ground,  considerably  larger  than  the 
foot  which  is  to  be  cooked,  and  a  fire  is  built 
in  it.  As  soon  as  it  burns  up,  a  large  heap 
of  dry  wood  is  iiiled  upon  it,  and  suffered  to 
burn  down.  When  the  heap  is  reduced  f.o 
a  mass  of  glowing  ashes,  the  Kaffirs  scrape 
out  the  embers  by  means  of  a  long  pole, 
each  man  taking  his  tiu'n  to  run  to  the  hole, 
scrape  away  until  he  can  endure  the  heat 
no  longer,  and  then  run  away  again,  leav- 
ing the  pole  for  his  successor.  The  hole 
bemg  freed  from  embers,  the  foot  is  rolled 
into  it,  and  covered  with  green  leaves  and 
twigs.  The  hot  earth  and  embers  are  then 
piled  over  the  hole,  and  another  great  bon- 
fire lighted.  As  soon  as  the  wood  has  en- 
tirely burned  itself  out,  the  operation  of 
baking  is  considered  as  complete,  and  the 
foot  is  lifted  out  by  several  men  furnished 


132 


THE   KAFFIK. 


with  long  sharpened  poles.  By  means  of 
tills  remarkable  oven  the  meat  is  cooked 
more  thoroughly  than  could  be  achieved  iu 
any  oven  of  more  elaborate  construction, 
the  whole  of  the  tendons,  the  fat,  the  imma- 
ture bone,  and  similar  substances  Ijeing  con- 
verted into  a  gelatinous  mass,  which  the 
African  hunter  seems  to  prefer  to  all  otlier 
dishes,  excepting,  perhaps,  the  marrow  taken 
fx-om  the  leg  bones  of  the  giraffe  or  eland. 

Sometimes  the  trunk  is  cut  into  thick 
slices,  and  baked  at  the  same  time  with  the 
feet.  Although  this  part  of  the  elephant 
may  not  be  remarkable  for  the  excellence  of 
its  flavor,  it  has,  at  all  events,  the  capability 
of  being  made  tender  by  cooking,  which  is 
by  no  means  the  case  with  the  meat  that  is 
usually  obtained  from  the  animals  which 
inhabit  Southern  Africa.  Even  the  skull 
itself  is  broken  up  for  the  sake  of  the  oily  fat 
which  fills  the  honeycomb-like  cells  which 
intervene  between  the  plates  of  the  skull. 
The  rest  of  the  meat  is  converted  into  "  bil- 
tongue,"  by  cutting  it  into  strips  and  drying 
it  in  the  sun,  as  has  already  been  described. 
As  a  general  rule,  the  Kaflirs  do  not  like  to 
leave  an  animal  until  they  have  dried  or 
consumed  the  whole  of  the  meat.  Under  the 
read}'  spears  and  powerful  jaws  of  the  na- 
tives, even  an  elephant  is  soon  reduced  to  a 
skeleton,  as  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact 
that  five  Kaffirs  can  eat  a  buffalo  in  a  day 
and  a  half. 

The  skull  and  tusks  can  generally  be  left 
on  the  spot  for  some  time,  as  the  hunters 
respect  each  other's  marks,  and  will  not,  as 
a  rule,  take  the  tusks  from  an  elephant  that 
has  been  killed  and  marked  by  another. 
The  object  in  allowing  the  head  to  remain 
untouched  is,  that  putrefaction  may  take 
place,  and  render  the  task  of  extracting  the 
tusks  easier  than  is  the  case  when  they  are 
taken  out  at  once.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  tusks  of  an  elephant  are  imbedded 
in  the  skull  for  a  considerable  portion  of 
their  length,  and  that  the  only  mode  of 
extracting  them  is  by  chopping  away  their 
thick,  bony  sockets,  which  is  a  work  of  much 
time  and  labor.  However,  in  that  hot  climate 
putrefaction  takes  place  very  readily,  and  by 
the  time  that  the  hunters  have  finislied  the 
elephant  the  tusks  can  be  removed.  Some- 
times the  flesh  becomes  more  than  "  high," 
but  the  Kaliirs,  and  indeed  all  African  sav- 
ages, seem  rather  to  prefer  certain  meats 
when  in  the  incipient  stage  of  putrefac- 
tion. 

Careless  of  the  future  as  are  the  natives  of 
Southern  Africa,  they  are  never  wasteful  of 
food,  and,  unlike  the  aborigines  of  North 
America,  they  seldom,  if  ever,  allow  the 
body  of  a  slain  animal  to  become  the  prey  of 
birds  and  lieasts.  They  will  eat  in  two  days 
the  food  that  ought  to  serve  them  for  ten, 
and  will  nearly  starve  themselves  to  death 
during  the  remaining  eight  days  of  fiimine, 
but  they  will  never  throw  away  anything 


that  can  l\y  any  possibility  be  eaten.  Even 
the  very  blood  is  not  wasted.  If  a  large 
animal,  such  as  a  rhinoceros,  be  killed,  the 
black  hunters  separate  the  ribs  fi-om  the 
spine,  as  the  dead  animal  lies  on  its  side, 
and  by  dint  of  axe  blades,  assagai  heads,  and 
strong  arms,  soon  cut  a  large  hole  in  the 
side.  Into  this  hole  the  hunters  straight- 
way lower  themselves, and  remove  the  intes- 
tines of  the  animal,  passing  them  to  'heir 
comrades  outside,  who  invert  them,  tie  up 
the  end,  and  return  them.  By  this  lime  a 
great  quantity  of  blood  has  collected,  often 
reaching  above  the  ankles  of  the  hunters. 
This  blood  they  ladle  with  their  joined  hands 
into  the  intestines,  and  so  contrive  to  make 
black  puddings  on  a  gigantic  scale. 

The  flesh  of  the  rhinoceros  is  not  very 
temjitiug.  That  of  an  old  animal  is  so  very 
tough  and  dry  that  scarcely  any  one  except 
a  native  can  eat  it;  and  even  that  of  the 
young  animal  is  only  partly  eatable  by  a 
white  man.  When  a  European  hunter  kills 
a  jxiuiig  rhinoceros,  he  takes  a  comparatively 
small  portion  of  it,  —  namely,  the  hump,  and 
a  layer  of  fat  and  flesh  which  lies  between 
the  skin  and  the  ribs.  The  remainder  he 
abandons  to  his  native  assistants,  who  do 
not  seem  to  care  very  much  whether  meat 
be  tough  or  tender,  so  long  as  it  is  meat. 
The  layer  of  fat  and  lean  on  the  ribs  is  only 
some  two  inches  in  thickness,  so  that  the 
attendants  have  the  lion's  share,  as  far  as 
quantity  is  concerned.  Quality  they  leave 
to  the  more  fastidious  taste  of  the  white 
man. 

The  intestines  of  animals  are  greatly  val- 
ued bj'  the  native  hunters,  who  laugh  at 
white  men  for  throwing  them  away.  They 
state  that,  even  as  food,  the  intestines  are 
the  best  parts  of  the  animal,  and  those 
Europeans  who  have  had  the  moral  courage 
to  tbllow  the  examjile  of  the  natives  have 
always  corroborated  their  assertion.  The 
reader  may  perhaps  remember  that  the  liack- 
woodsmen  of  America  never  think  of  reject- 
ing these  daint}'  morsels,  but  have  an  odd 
method  of  drawing  them  slowly  through  the 
fire,  and  thus  eating  them  as  fast  as  they  are 
cooked.  Moreover,  the  intestines,  as  well 
as  the  paunch,  are  always  useful  as  water- 
vessels.  This  latter  article,  when  it  is  taken 
from  a  small  animal,  is  always  reserved  for 
cooking  purposes,  being  filled  with  scraps  of 
meat,  fat,  blood,  and  other  ingredients,  and 
tlien  cooked.  Scotch  travellers  have  com 
pared  this  dish  to  tli 
native  land. 

The  illustration  opposite  represents  the 
wild  and  animated  scene  which  accompa- 
nies the  death  of  an  elephant.  Some  two 
or  three  hours  are  sujijiosed  to  have  elapsed 
since  the  elephant  was 'killed,  and  the  chief 
has  just  arrived  at  the  spot.  He  is  shown 
seated  in  the  foreground,  his  shield  and 
assagais  stacked  behind  him,  while  his  page 
is  holding  a  cup  of  beer,  and  two  of  his 


haggis  "  of  their 


COOKING   ELEl'HANT'S  FOOT. 

(See  page  132.) 


(133) 


SLAUGHTER  IN  THE   RAVINE. 


135 


chief  men  are  offering  him  tlie  tuslis  of  tlie 
elephant.  In  the  middle  distance  are  seen 
the  Kaffirs  preparing  the  oven  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  elephant's  foot.  Several  men  are 
seen  engaged  in  raking  out  the  embers  from 
the  hole,  shielding  themselves  from  the  heat 
by  leafy  branches  of  trees,  while  one  of  the 
rakers  has  just  left  his  post,  being  scorched 
to  the  utmost  limit  of  endurance,  and  is  in 
the  act  of  handing  over  his  pole  to  a  com- 
rade who  is  about  to  take  his  place  at  the 
fire. 

Two  more  Kaffirs  are  shown  in  the  act 
of  rolling  the  huge  foot  to  the  oven,  and 
strips  of  the  elephant's  flesh  are  seen  sus- 
peniled  from  the  boughs  in  order  to  be  con- 
verted into  "  biltongue."  It  is  a  rather 
remarkable  fact  that  this  simple  process  of 
cutting  the  meat  into  strips  and  drying  it 
in  the  air  has  the  effect  of  rendering  sev- 
eral unsavory  meats  quite  palatable,  taking 
away  the  powerful  odors  which  deter  even 
a  Kaffir,  and  much  more  a  white  man,  from 
eating  them  in  a  fresh  state. 

In  the  extreme  distance  is  seen  the 
nearly  demolished  body  of  the  elephant,  at 
which  a  couple  of  Kaffirs  are  still  at  work. 
It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  after  an  ele- 
phant is  killed,  the  Kaffirs  take  very  great 
pains  about  making  the  first  incision  into 
the  body.  The  carcass  of  the  slain  animal 
generally  remains  on  the  ground  for  an 
hour  or  two  until  the  orders  of  the  chief 
can  be  received;  and  even  in  that  brief 
space  of  time  the  hot  African  sun  produ- 
ces a  partial  decomposition,  and  causes  the 
body  of  the  animal  to  swell  by  reason  of  the 
quantity  of  gas  which  is  generated.  The 
Kaffir  who  takes  upon  himself  the  onerous 
task  of  making  the  first  incision  chooses  his 
sharpest  and  weightiest  assagai,  marks  the 
direction  of  the  wind,  selects  the  best  spot 
for  the  operation,  and  looks  carefully  round 
to  see  that  the  coast  is  clear.  Having  made 
all  his  preparations,  he  hurls  his  weapon 
deeply  into  the  body  of  the  elephant,  and 
simultaneously  leaps  aside  to  avoid  the 
result  of  the  stroke,  the  enclosed  gas  escap- 
ing with  a  loud  report,  and  pouring  out  in 
volumes  of  such  singularly  offensive  odor 
that  even  the  nostrils  of  a  Kaffir  are  not 
proof  against  it. 

I  have  more  than  once  witnessed  a  some- 
what similar  scene  when  engaged  in  the 
pursuit  of  comparative  anatomy,  the  worst 
example  being  that  of  a  lion  which  had 
been  dead  some  three  or  four  weeks,  and 
which  was,  in  consequence,  swollen  out  of 
all  shape.  We  fastened  tightly  all  the  win- 
dows which  looked  upon  the  yard  in  which 
the  body  of  the  animal  was  lying,  and  held 
the  door  ready  to  be  closed  at  a  moment's 
notice.  The  adventurous  operator  armed 
himself  with  a  knife  and  a  lighted  pipe, 
leaned  well  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  ani- 
mal, delivered  his  stab,  and  darted  back  to 
the  door,  which  was  instantly  closed.    The 


result  of  the  operation  was  very  much  like 
that  which  has  been  mentioned  when  per- 
formed on  the  elephant,  though  on  a  smaller 
scale,  and  in  a  minute  or  so  the  lion  was  re- 
duced to  its  ordinary  size. 

Sometimes  a  great  number  of  hunters 
unite  for  the  purpose  of  assailing  one  of  the 
vast  herds  of  animals  which  have  already 
been  mentioned.  In  this  instance,  they  do 
not  resort  to  the  pitfall,  but  attack  the  ani- 
mals with  their  spears.  In  order  to  do  so 
effectually,  they  divide  themselves  into  two 
parties,  one  of  which,  consisting  chielly  of 
the  younger  men,  and  led  by  one  or  two 
of  the  old  and  experienced  hunters,  sets  off 
toward  the  herd,  while  the  others,  armed 
with  a  large  supply  of  assagais  and  kerries, 
proceed  to  one  of  the  narrow  and  steep- 
sided  ravines  which  are  so  common  in 
Southern  Africa.  (See  engraving  No.  2,  p. 
1-21.) 

The  former  party  proceed  very  cautiously, 
availing  themselves  of  every  cover,  and  being 
very  careful  to  manceuvre  so  as  to  keep  on 
the  leeward  side  of  the  herd,  until  they 
have  fairly  placed  the  animals  between 
themselves  and  the  ravine.  Meanwhile, 
sentries  are  detached  at  intervals,  whose 
duty  it  is  to  form  a  kind  of  lane  toward  the 
ravine,  and  to  prevent  the  herd  from  taking 
a  WTong  course.  When  all  the  arrange- 
ments are  completed,  the  hunters  boldly 
show  themselves  in  the  rear  of  the  animals, 
who  immediately  move  forward  in  a  body  — 
not  very  fast  af  first,  because  they  are  not 
quite  sure  whether  they  are  going  to  be 
attacked.  As  they  move  along,  the  senti- 
nels show  themselves  at  either  side,  so  as  to 
direct  them  toward  the  ravine;  and  when 
the  van  of  the  herd  has  entered,  the  remain- 
der are  sure  to  follow. 

Then  comes  a  most  animated  and  stirring 
scene.  Knowing  that  when  the  leaders  of 
the  herd  have  entered  the  ravine,  the  rest 
are  sure  to  follow,  the  driving  party  rushes 
forward  with  loud  yells,  beating  their  shields, 
and  terrifying  the  animals  to  such  a  degree 
that  they  dash  madly  forward  in  a  mixed 
concourse  of  antelopes,  quaggas,  giraffes,  and 
often  a  stray  ostrich  or  two.  Thick  and  fast 
the  assagais  rain  upon  the  affrighted  animals 
as  they  try  to  rush  out  of  the  ravine,  but  when 
they  reach  the  end  they  find  their  exit  barred 
by  a  strong  party  of  hunters,  who  drive  them 
back  with  shouts  and  spears.  Some  of  them 
charge  boldly  at  the  hunters,  and  make  their 
escape,  while  others  rush  back  again  through 
the  kloof,  hoping  to  escape  by  the  same  way 
as  they  had  entered.  This  entrance  is,  how- 
ever, guarded  by  the  driving  party,  and  so  the 
wretched  animals  are  sent  backward  and  for- 
ward along  this  deadly  path  until  the  weaj)- 
ons  of  their  assailants  are  exhausted,  and  the 
survivors  are  allowed  to  escape. 

These  "  kloofs  "  form  as  characteristic  fea- 
tures of  Southern  Africa  as  do  the  table 
mountains.    They  have  been  well  defined 


136 


THE   KAFFIR. 


as  the  re-entering  elbows  or  fissures  in  a 
range  of  hills;  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that  the  kloof  is  mostly  clothed  with  thick 
bush,  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the 
surrounding  country.  In  Colonel  E.  Na- 
pier's "Excursions  in  Southern  Africa," 
there  is  so  admirable  a  description  of  the 
kloof  and  the  bush  that  it  must  lie  given  in 
the  language  of  the  writer,  who  has  drawn  a 
most  perfect  word-picture  of  South  African 
scenery: — 

"The  character  of  the  South  African 
'  bush '  has  features  quite  peculiar  in  itself, 
and  sometimes  unites  —  while  strongly  con- 
trasting—  the  grand  and  sublime  with  the 
grotesque  and  ridiculous.  When  seen  afar 
from  a  commanding  elevation  —  the  undula- 
ting sea  of  verdure  extending  for  miles  and 
miles,  with  a  bright  sun  shining  on  a  green, 
compact,  unbroken  surface  —  it  conveys  to 
the  mind  of  a  spectator  naught  save  images 
of  repose,  peace,  and  tranquillity.  He  for- 
gets that,  like  the  hectic  bloom  of  a  fatal 
malady,  these  smiling  seas  of  verdure  often 
in  their  entangled  depths  conceal  treacher- 
ous, death-dealing  reptiles,  ferocious  beasts 
of  prey,  and  the  still  more  dangei'ous, 
though  no  less  crafty,  and  more  cruel 
Kaffir. 

"  On  a  nearer  approach,  dark  glens  and 
gloomy  kloofs  are  found  to  fence  the  moun- 
tain sides.  These  often  merge  downward 
into  deep  ravines,  forming  at  their  base 
sometimes  the  bed  of  a  clear,  gurgling  brook, 
or  that  of  a  turbid,  raging  torrent,  generally 
shadowed  and  overhung  l)y  abundant  vege- 
tation, in  all  the  luxuriance  of  tropical 
growth  and  profusion.  Noble  forest  trees, 
entwined  with  creepers,  encircled  by  parasi- 
tical plants  and  with  long  gray  mantles  of 
lichen,  loosely  and  beardlike  floating  from 
their  spreading  limbs,  throw  the  '"brown 
horrors '  of  a  shadowy  gloom  o'er  the  dark, 
secluded,  Druidical-looking  dells.  But  jab- 
bering apes,  or  large,  satyr-like  baboons, 
performing  grotesque  antics  and  uttering 
unearthly  yells,  grate  strangely  on  the  ear, 
and  sadly  mar  the  solemnity  of  the  scene  ; 
whilst  lofty,  leafless,  and  fantastic  euphorbia, 
like  huge  candelabra,  shoot  up  in  bare  pro- 
fusion from  the  gray,  rocky  cliffs,  pointing 
as  it  were  in  mockery  their  skeleton  arms 
at  the  dark  and  luxuriant  foliage  around. 
Other  plants  of  the  cactus  and  milky  tribes 
—  of  thorny,  rugged,  or  smooth  and  fleshy 
kinds  —  stretch  forth  in  every  way  their 
bizarre,  misshapen  forms;  waving  them  to 
the  breeze,  from  yon  high,  beetling  crags,  so 
thickly  clothed  to  their  very  base  with  grace- 
ful nojebooms,  and  drooping,  palm-like  aloes; 
whose  tall,  slender,  and  naked  stems  spring 
up  from  amidst  the  dense  verdure  of  gay  and 
flowering  mimosas. 

"  Emerging  from  such  darksome  glens  to 
the  more  sunny  side  of  the  mountain's  brow, 
there  we  still  find  an  imiienetrable  lHish,but 
diflering  in  character  from  what  we  have 


just  described  —  a  sort  of  high,  thorny  under- 
wood, composed  chiefly  of  the  mimosa  and 
portulacacia  tribe;  taller,  thicker,  more  im- 
penetrable, and  of  more  rigid  texture  than 
even  the  tiger's  accustomed  lair  in  the  far 
depths  of  an  Indian  jungle;  but,  withal,  so 
mixed  and  mingled  with  luxuriant,  turgid, 
succulent  plants  and  parasites,  as  —  even 
during  the  dryest  weather —  to  be  totally 
impervious  to  the  destroying  influence  of 
fire. 

"  The  bush  is,  therefore,  from  its  impas- 
sable character,  the  Kafiir's  never-failing 
place  of  refuge,  both  in  peace  and  war.  In 
his  naked  hardihood,  he  either,  snake-like, 
twines  through  and  creeps  beneath  its 
densest  masses,  or,  shielded  with  the  kaross, 
securely  defies  their  most  thornj'  and  abrad- 
ing opposition.  Under  cover  of  the  bush,  in 
«'«r,  he,  panther-like,  steals  upon  his  foe; 
in  peace,  upon  the  farmer's  flock.  Secure,  in 
both  instances,  Irom  ])ursuit,  he  can  in  the 
bush  set  European  power,  European  skill, 
and  European  discipline  at  naught;  and 
hitherto,  vain  has  been  every  efibrt  to 
destroy  by  fire  this,  his  impregnable- — for  it 
is  impregnable  to  all  save  himself  —  strong- 
hold." 

After  a  successful  hunt,  such  as  has  just 
been  described,  there  are  great  rejoicings, 
the  chief  of  the  tribe  having  all  the  slaugh- 
tered game  laid  before  him,  and  giving  or- 
ders for  a  grand  hunting  dance.  The  chief, 
who  is  generally  too  iat  to  care  about 
accompanying  the  lumters,  takes  his  seat  in 
some  open  space,  mostly  the  central  enclos- 
ure of  a  kraal,  and  there,  in  company  with  a 
huge  bowl  of  beer  and  a  few  distinguished 
guests,  awaits  the  arrival  of  the  game.  The 
animals  have  hardly  tiillen  before  they  are 
carried  in  triumph  to  the  chief,  and  laid 
before  him.  As  each  animal  is  jilaccd  on 
the  ground,  a  little  Kaffir  boy  comes  and 
lays  himself  over  his  body,  remaining  in  this 
position  until  the  dance  is  over.  This  curi- 
ous custom  is  adopted  from  an  idea  that  it 
prevents  sorcerers  from  throwing  their 
spells  upon  the  game.  The  boys  who  are 
employed  for  this  purpose  become  greatly 
disfigured  by  the  blood  of  the  slain  ani- 
mals, but  they  seem  to  think  that  the  gory 
stains  are  ornamental  rather  than  the  re- 
verse. 

At  intervals,  the  hunting  dance  takes 
place,  the  hunters  arranging  themselves  in 
regular  lines,  advancing  and  retreating  with 
the  precision  of  trained  soldiers,  shouting, 
leaping,  beating  their  shields,  brandishing 
their  weapons,  and  working  themselves  up 
to  a  wonderful  pitch  of  excitement.  The 
leader  of  the  dance,  who  faces  them,  is,  if 
possible,  even  more  excited  tlinn  the  men, 
and  leaps,  stamps,  and  shouts  with  an  energy 
that  seems  to  be  almost  maniacal.  Mean- 
while, the  chief  sits  still,  and  drinks  his  beer, 
and  signifies  occasionally  his  approval  of  the 
dancers. 


LION  HUNTING. 


137 


Besides  those  animals  whicli  the  Kaffir 
kills  for  food,  there  are  others  which  he  only 
attacks  for  the  sake  of  their  trophies,  such 
as  the  skin,  claws,  and  teeth.  The  mode 
adopted  in  assailing  the  tierce  and  active 
beasts,  such  as  the  lion,  is  very  remarkable. 
Each  man  furnishes  himself,  in  addition  to 
his  usual  weapons,  with  an  assagai,  to  the 
but-end  of  which  is  attached  a  large  bunch 
of  ostrich  feathers,  looking  very  much  like 
the  feather  brushes  with  which  ladies  dust 
delicate  furniture.  They  then  proceed  to 
the  spot  where  the  lion  is  to  be  found,  and 
spread  themselves  so  as  to  make  a  circle 
round  him.  The  lion  is  at  first  rather  dis- 
quieted at  this  proceeding,  and,  according 
to  his  usual  custom,  tries  to  slip  off  unseen. 
When,  however,  he  finds  that  he  cannot  do 
so,  and  that  the  circle  of  enemies  is  closing 
on  him,  he  becomes  angry,  turns  to  bay,  and 
with  menacing  growls  announces  his  in- 
tention of  punishing  the  intruders  on  his 
domain.  One  of  them  then  comes  forward, 
and  incites  the  lion  to  charge  him,  and  as 
soon  as  the  animal's  attention  is  occupied  by 
one  object,  the  hunters  behind  him  advance, 
and  hiirl  a  shower  of  assagais  at  him.  With 
a  terrible  roar  the  lion  springs  at  the  bold 
challenger,  who  sticks  his  plumed  assagai 
into  the  ground,  leaping  at  the  same  time  to 
one  side.  In  his  rage  and  pain,  the  lion 
does  not  at  the  moment  comprehend  the 
deception,  and  strikes  with  his  mighty  paw 
at  the  bunch  of  ostrich  plumes,  which  he 
takes  for  the  feather-decked  head  of  his 
assailant.  Finding  himself  baffled,  he  turns 
round,  and  leaps  on  the  nearest  hunter,  who 
repeats  the  same  process;  and  as  at  every 
turn  the  furious  animal  receives  fresh 
wounds,  he  succumbs  at  last  to  his  foes. 

It  is  seldom  that  in  such  an  affray  the 
hunters  come  off  scathless.  The  least  hes- 
itation in  planting  the  plumed  spear  and 
leaping  aside  entails  the  certainty  of  a 
severe  wound,  and  the  probability  of  death. 
But,  as  the  Kaffirs  seldom  engage  in  such  a 
hunt  without  the  orders  of  their  chief,  and 
are  perfectly  aware  that  failure  to  execute 
his  commands  is  a  capital  oflence,  it  is 
better  for  them  to  run  the  risk  of  being 
swiftly  killed  by  the  lion's  paw  than  cruelly 
beaten  to  death  by  the  king's  executioners. 

That  sanguinary  monarch,  Dingan,  used 
occasionally  to  send  a  detachment  with 
orders  to  catch  a  lion  alive,  and  bring  it  to 
him.  They  executed  this  extraordinary 
order  much  in  the  same  manner  as  has 
been  related.  But  they  were  almost  totally 
unarmed,  having  no  weapons  but  their 
shields  and  kerries,  and,  as  soon  as  the  lion 
was  induced  to  charge,  the  bold  warriors 
threw  themselves  upon  him  in  such  num- 
bers that  they  fairly  overwhelmed  him, 
and  brought  him  into  the  presence  of  Din- 
gan, bound  and  gagged,  though  still  furious 


with  rage,  and  without  a  wound.  Of  course, 
several  soldiers  lost  their  lives  in  the  assault, 
but  neither  their  king  nor  their  comrades 
seemed  to  think  that  anything  out  of  the 
ordinary  course  of  things  had  been  done. 
On  one  occasion,  Dingan  condescended  to 
play  a  practical  joke  upon  his  soldiers. 

A  traveller  had  gone  to  see  him,  and  had 
turned  loose  his  horse,  which  was  quietly 
grazing  at  a  distance.  At  that  time  horses 
had  not  been  introduced  among  the  Kaffirs, 
and  many  of  the  natives  had  never  even 
seen  such  an  animal  as  a  horse.  It  so 
happened  that  among  the  soldiers  that 
surrounded  Dingan  were  some  who  had 
come  from  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  and 
who  were  totally  unacquainted  with  horses. 
Dingan  called  them  to  him,  and  pointing  to 
the  distant  horse,  told  them  to  liring  him 
that  lion  alive.  They  instantly  started  oft', 
and,  as  usual,  one  stood  in  advance  to  tempt 
the  animal  to  charge,  while  the  others  closed 
in  ujjon  the  supposed  lion,  in  order  to  seize 
it  when  it  had  made  its  leap.  They  soon 
discovered  their  mistake,  and  came  back 
looking  very  foolish,  to  the  great  delight  of 
their  chief. 

The  bufialo  is,  however,  a  more  terrible 
foe  than  the  lion  itself,  as  it  will  mostly  take 
the  initiative,  and  attack  before  its  presence 
is  suspected.  Its  habit  of  living  in  the 
densest  and  darkest  thicket  renders  it  a 
peculiarly  dangerous  animal,  as  it  will  dash 
from  its  concealment  upon  any  unfortunate 
man  who  happens  to  pass  near  its  lair;  and 
as  its  great  weight  and  enormously  solid 
horns  enable  it  to  rusli  through  the  bush 
much  faster  than  even  a  Kaffir  can  glide 
among  the  matted  growths,  there  is  but 
small  chance  of  escape.  Weapons  are  but 
of  little  use  when  a  buffalo  is  in  question,  as 
its  armed  front  is  scarcely  pervious  to  a  rifle 
ball,  and  perfectly  impregnable  against  such 
weapons  as  the  Kaffir's  spear,  and  the  sud- 
denness of  the  attack  gives  but  little  time 
for  escape. 

As  the  Kaffirs  do  not  particularly  care  for 
its  flesh,  though  of  course  they  will  eat  it 
when  they  can  get  nothing  better,  they  will 
hunt  the  animal  for  the  sake  of  its  hide, 
from  which  they  make  the  strongest  possible 
leather.  The  hide  is  so  tough  that,  except 
at  close  quarters,  a  bullet  which  has  not 
been  hardened  by  the  admixture  of  some 
other  metal  will  not  penetrate  it.  Some- 
times the  Kaffir  engages  very  unwillingly 
in  war  with  this  dangerous  beast,  being 
attacked  unawares  when  passing  near  its 
haunts.  Under  these  circumstances  the 
man  makes  for  the  nearest  tree,  and  if  he 
can  find  time  to  ascend  it  he  is  safe  from  the 
ferocious  brute,  who  would  only  be  too  glad  to 
toss  him  in  the  air  first,  and  then  to  pound 
his  body  to  a  jelly  by  trampling  on  him. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


AGKICULTUEE. 


Pf-SlON  OF  LABOR  —  HOW  LANE  IS  PREPARED  FOB  SEED  —  CLEABtNG  THE  LAND  AND  BREAKING  tTP 
THE  GROUND  —  EXHAUSTH'E  SYSTEM  OF  AGRICULTURE  —  CROPS  CULTIVATED  BY  KAFFIRS  —  THE 
STAFF  OF  LIFE — WATCH-TOWERS  AND  THEIK  USES  —  KEEPING  OFF  THE  BIRDS — ENEIHES  OF 
THE  CORN-FIELD — THE  CHACMA  AND  ITS  DEPREDATIONS  —  THE  BAEIANA  ROOT  —  USES  OF  THE 
CHACMA  —  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS  AND  ITS  DESTRUCTIVE  POWERS  —  THE  ELEPH^VNT  —  SINGULAR  PLAN 
OF  TERRIFYTNG  IT  —  ANTELOPES,  BUFFALOES,  AND  WILD  SWINE  —  EL.UJOUATE  FORTIFICATION  — 
BIRD  KILLING  —  THE  LOCUST  —  CURIOUS  KAFFIR  LEGEND  —  FRUITS  CULTrVATED  BY  THE  KAFFIR 
—  FORAGE   FOB  CATTLE  —  BURNING  THE   BUSH  AND  ITS  RESULTS. 


As  by  the  chase  the  Kaffirs  obtain  the 
greater  part  of  their  animal  food,  so  by  agri- 
culture they  procure  the  chief  part  of  their 
vegetable  nourishment.  The  task  of  provi- 
ding food  is  divided  between  the  two  sexes, 
the  women  not  being  permitted  to  take  part 
in  the  hunt,  nor  to  meddle  with  the  cows, 
while  the  men  will  not  contaminate  their 
warrior  hands  with  the  touch  of  an  agricul- 
tural implement.  They  have  no  objection 
to  use  edge-tools,  such  as  the  axe,  and  will 
cut  down  the  trees  and  brushwood  which 
may  be  in  the  way  of  cultivation;  but  they 
will  not  carry  a  single  stick  otf  the  ground, 
nor  help  the  women  to  dig  or  clear  the  soil. 
When  a  new  kraal  is  built,  the  inhab- 
itants look  out  for  a  convenient  spot  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood,  where  they  may 
cultivate  the  various  plants  that  form  the 
staple  of  South  African  produce.  As  a  gen- 
eral rule,  ground  is  of  two  kinds,  namelj', 
bush  and  open  ground,  the  former  being 
the  more  fertile,  and  the  latter  requiring 
less  trouble  in  clearing.  The  experienced 
agriculturist  invariablj"  prefers  the  former, 
although  it  costs  him"  a  little  more  labor  at 
first,  and  although  the  latter  is  rather  more 
inviting  at  first"  sight.  This  favorable  im- 
pression soon  vanishes  upon  a  closer  in- 
spection, for,  as  a  general  rule,  where  it  is 
not  sandy,  it  is  baked  so  hard  by  the  sun 
that  a  plough  would  have  no  chance  against 
it,  and  even  the  heavy  picks  with  which  the 
women  work  cannot  make  an  impression 
without  much  labor.  Moreover,  it  requires 
much  more  water  than  is  supplied  from 
natural  sources,  and,  even  when  well  moist- 


ened, is  not  very  remarkable  for  its  fertility. 
Bush  land  is  of  a  far  better  quality,  and  is 
prepared  for  agriculture  as  follows:  — 

The  men  set  to  work  with  their  little 
axes,  and  chop  down  all  the  underwood  and 
small  trees,  leaving  the  women  to  drag  the 
fallen  branches  out  of  the  space  intended 
for  the  field  or  garden.  Large  trees  they 
cannot  fell  with  their  imperfect  instru- 
ments, and  so  they  are  obliged  to  content 
themselves  with  cutting  oft'  as  many 
branches  as  possible,  and  then  bringing  the 
tree  down  by  means  of  fire.  The  small  trees 
and  branches  that  are  felled  are  generally 
arranged  round  the  garden,  so  as  to  form 
a  defence  against  the  numerous  enemies 
which  assail  the  crops.  The  task  of  build- 
ing this  fence  belongs  to  the  men,  and  when 
they  have  completed  it  their  part  of  the 
work  is  done,  and  they  leave  the  rest  to  tlie 
women. 

Furnished  with  the  heavy  and  clumsy 
hoe,  the  woman  breaks  up  the  ground  by 
sheer  manual  labor,  and  manages,  in  her 
curious  fashion,  to  combine  digging  and 
sowing  in  one  operation.  Besides  her  pick, 
laid  over  her  shoulder,  and  possibly  a  baby 
slung  on  her  back,  she  carries  to  the  field  a 
large  basket  of  seed  balanced  on  her  head. 
When  she  arrives  at  the  scene  of  her 
labors,  she  begins  bv  scattering  the  seed 
broadcast  over  the  ground,  and  then  pecks 
up  the  earth  with  her  hoe  to  a  depth  of 
some  three  or  four  inches.  The  larger 
roots  and  grass  tufts  are  then  picked  out  by 
hand  and  removed,  but  the  smaller  are 
not  considered  worthy  of  sjiecial  attention. 


(138) 


WATCH-TOWERS  AXD   THEIR  USES. 


139 


This  constitutes  the  operation  of  sowing, 
and  in  a  wonderfully  short  time  a  mixed 
crop  of  corn  and  weeds  shoots  up.  When 
both  are  about  a  month  old,  the  ground  is 
again  hoed,  and  the  weeds  are  then  pulled 
up  and  destroyed.  Owing  to  the  very  im- 
perfect mode  of  cultivation,  the  soil  produ- 
ces uncertain  results,  the  corn  coming  up 
thickly  and  rankly  in  some  spots,  while  in 
others  not  a  blade  of  corn  has  made  its 
appearance.  When  the  Kaffir  chooses  the 
open  ground  for  his  garden,  he  does  not 
always  trouble  himself  to  build  a  fence,  but 
contents  himself  with  marking  out  and  sow- 
ing a  patch  of  ground,  trusting  to  good  for- 
tune that  it  may  not  be  devastated  by  the 
numerous  foes  with  which  a  Kalflr's  garden 
is  sure  to  be  infested. 

The  Kaffir  seems  to  have  very  little  idea 
of  artificial  irrigation,  and  none  at  all  of 
renovating  the  ground  by  manure.  Irriga- 
tion he  leaves  to  the  natural  showers,  and, 
beyond  paying  a  professional  "rain-maker"' 
to  charm  the  clouds  for  him,  he  takes  little, 
if  any,  trouble  about  this  important  branch 
of  agriculture.  As  to  manuring  soil,  he 
is  totally  ignorant  of  such  a  proceeding, 
although  the  herds  of  cattle  which  are  kept 
in  every  kraal  would  enable  him  to  render 
his  cultivated  laud  marvellously  fertile. 
The  fact  is,  land  is  so  plentiful  that  when 
one  patch  of  it  is  exhausted  he  leaves  it, 
and  goes  to  another;  and  for  this  reason, 
abandoned  gardens  are  very  common,  their 
position  being  marked  out' by  remnants  of 
the  fence  wliich  encircled  them,  and  by 
the  surviving  maize  or  pumpkin  pl.ants 
which  have  contrived  to  maintain  an  un- 
assisted existence. 

Four  or  live  gardens  are  often  to  be  seen 
round  a  kraal,  each  situated  so  as  to  suit 
some  particular  pLint.  Various  kinds  of 
crops  are  cultivated  by  the  Kaffirs,  the  prin- 
cipal being  maize,  millet,  pumpkins,  and 
a  kind  of  spurious  sugar-cane  in  great  use 
throughout  Southern  Africa,  and  popularly 
known  by  the  name  of  '•  sweet  reed."  The 
two  former  constitute,  however,  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  the  latter  belonging  rather  to 
the  class  of  luxuries.  The  maize,  or,  as  it 
is  popularly  called  when  the  pods  are  sev- 
ered from  the  stem,  "  mealies,"  is  the  very 
stall'  of  life  to  a  Kaffir,  as  it  is  from  the 
mealies  that  is  made  the  thick  porridge  on 
which  the  Kaffir  chiefly  lives.  If  an  Euro- 
pean hire  a  Kaffir,  whether  as  guide,  ser- 
vant, or  hunter,  he  is  obliged  to  supply  him 
with  a  stipulated  quantity  of  food,  of  which 
the  maize  forms  the  chief  ingredient.  In- 
deed, so  long  as  the  native"  of  Southern 
Africa  can  get  plenty  of  porridge  and  sour 
milk,  he  is  perfectly  satisfied  with  his  lot. 
When  ripe,  the  ears  of  maize  are  removed 
from  the  stem,  the  leafy  envelope  is  stripped 
off,  and  they  are  hung  in  pairs  over  sticks 
until  they  are  dry  enough  to  be  taken  to 
the  storehouse. 


A  watch-tower  is  generally  constructed 
in  these  gardens,  especially  if  they  are  of 
considerable  size.  The  tower  is  useful 
for  two  reasons:  it  enables  the  watcher 
to  see  to  a  considerable  distance,  and 
acts  as  a  protection  against  the  wild  boars 
and  other  enemies  which  are  ajit  to  devas- 
tate the  gardens,  especially  if  they  are 
not  guarded  by  a  fence,  or  if  the  fence 
should  be  damaged.  If  the  spot  be  un- 
fenced,  a  guard  is  kept  on  it  day  and  night, 
but  a  properly  defended  garden  needs  no 
nigb.t  watchers  except  in  one  or  two  weeks 
of  the  year.  The  watch-tower  is  very  sim- 
ply made.  Four  stout  poles  are  fixed  firmly 
in  the  ground,  and  a  number  of  smaller 
poles  are  lashed  to  their  tops,  so  as  to  make 
a  flat  platform.  A  small  hut  is  built  on  part 
of  the  platform  as  a  protection  against  the 
weather,  so  that  the  inmate  can  watch  the 
field  while  ensconced  in  the  hut,  and,  if  any 
furred  or  feathered  robbers  come  within  its 
[irecincts,  can  run  out  on  the  platform  and 
frighten  thom  away  by  shouts  and  waving 
of  arms.  The  space  between  the  platform 
and  ground  is  wattled  on  three  sides,  leav- 
ing the  fourth  open.  The  oliject  of  this 
wattling  is  twofold.  In  the  first  place,  the 
structure  is  rendered  more  secure;  and  in 
the  second,  the  inmate  of  the  tower  can 
make  a  fire  and  cook  food  without  being 
inconvenienced  by  the  wind. 

The  task  of  the  fields  is  committed  to  the 
women  and  young  girls,  the  men  thinking 
such  duties  beneath  them.  In  order  to 
keep  off  the  birds  from  the  newly  s])routed 
corn  blades,  or  from  the  just  ripening  grain, 
a  very  ingenious  device  is  emploj'ed.  A 
great  number  of  tall,  slender  posts  are 
stuck  at  intervals  all  over  the  piece  of 
land,  and  strings  made  of  bark  are  led  from 
pole  to  pole,  all  the  ends  being  brought  to 
the  top  of  the  watch-tower,  where  they  are 
firmly  tied.  As  soon  as  a  flock  of  birds 
alight  on  the  field,  the  girl  in  charge  of  the 
tower  pulls  the  strings  violently,  which  sets 
them  all  vibrating  up  and  down,  and  so  the 
birds  are  frightened,  and  fly  away  to  another 
spot.  A  system  almost  identical  with  this 
is  emploj'ed  both  in  the  Chinese  and  .Japa- 
nese empires,  and  the  comi^licated  arrange- 
ment of  poles  and  strings,  and  the  central 
watch-tower,  is  a  favorite  subject  for  illus- 
tration in  the  rude  but  graphic  prints  which 
both  nations  produce  with  such  fertility. 

The  enemies  of  the  cornfield  are  innu- 
merable. There  are,  in  the  first  place,  hosts 
of  winged  foes,  little  birds  and  insects, 
which  cannot  be  prohibited  from  entering, 
and  can  only  be  driven  away  when  they 
have  entered.  Then  there  are  certain  mem- 
bers of  the  monkey  tribes,  notably  the 
baboons,  or  chacmas,  which  care  very  little 
more  for  a  fence  than  do  the  birds,  and 
which,  if  tliey  find  climbing  the  fence  too 
troublesome,  can  generally  insinuate  them- 
selves through  its  interstices.    This   cun- 


uo 


THE  KAFFIR. 


ning  and  active  animal  is  at  times  too  clever 
even  for  the  Kattir,  and  will  succeed  in 
stealing  unobserved  into  his  warden,  and  car- 
r^'ing  otf  the  choicest  of  the  crojis.  What- 
ever a  man  will  eat  a  chacnia  will  eat,  and 
the  creature  knows  as  well  as  the  man  when 
the  cro|is  are  in  the  liest  order.  Whether 
the  garden  contain  maize,  millet,  pumpkin.?, 
sweet  reed,  or  fruits,  the  chaema  is  sure  to 
select  the  best;  and  even  when  the  animals 
are  detected,  and  chased  out  of  the  garden, 
it  is  very  annoying  to  the  proprietor  to  see 
them  go  oft'  with  a  quantity  of  spoil,  besides 
the  amount  which  tliey  have  eaten. 

The  ordinary  food  of  the  chaema  is  a  plant 
called  Babiana,  from  the  use  which  the 
baboons  make  of  it.  It  is  a  subterranean 
root,  which  has  the  property  of  being  always 
full  of  watery  Juice  in  the  dryest  weather,  so 
that  it  is  of  incalculable  value  to  travellers 
who  have  not  a  large  supply  of  water  with 
them,  or  who  lind  that  the  regular  fountains 
are  dried  up,  ilauy  Kaffirs  keep  tame 
chacmas  which  they  have  captured  when 
very  young,  and  which  have  scarcely  seen 
any  of  their  own  kind.  These  animals  are 
very  useful  to  the  Kaffirs,  for,  if  they  come 
upon  a  jilant  or  a  fruit  which  they  do  not 
know,  they  ofter  it  to  the  baboon;  and  if  he 
eats  it,  they  know  that  it  is  suitable  for 
human  consinnption. 

On  their  journeys  tlie  same  animal  is  very 
useful  in  discovering  water,  or,  at  all  events, 
the  lialiiana  roots,  which  sup]ily  a  modicum 
of  moisture  to  the  system,  and  serve  to  sup- 
port life  until  water  is  reached.  Under 
these  circumstances,  the  baboon  takes  the 
lead  of  the  party,  being  attached  to  a  long 
rope,  and  allowed  to  run  about  as  it  likes. 
When  it  comes  to  a  root  of  babiana,  it  is 
held  liack  until  the  precious  vegetable  can 
be  taken  entire  out  of  the  ground,  but,  in 
order  to  stimulate  the  animal  to  further 
exertions,  it  is  allowed  to  eat  a  root  now  and 
then.  The  search  for  water  is  conducted  in 
a  similar  manner.  The  wretched  baboon  is 
intentionally  kept  without  drink  until  it  is 
half  mad  with  thirst,  and  is  then  led  by  a 
cord  as  before  mentioned.  It  proceeds  with 
great  caution,  standing  occasionally  on  its 
hind  legs  to  sniff  the  breeze,  and  looking  at 
and  smelling  every  tuft  of  grass.  By  what 
signs  the  animal  is  guided  no  one  can  even 
conjecture:  but  if  water  is  in  the  neighbor- 
hood the  baboon  is  sure  to  find  it.  So,  al- 
though this  animal  is  an  inveterate  foe  of 
the  held  and  garden,  it  is  not  without  its 
u.ses  to  man  when  its  energies  are  rightly 
directed. 

If  the  gardens  or  fields  should  happen  to 
be  near  the  river  side,  there  is  no  worse  foe 
for  them  than  the  hippoiiotamus,  which  is 
only  too  glad  to  exchange  its  ordinary  food 
for  the  rich  banquet  which  it  finds  in  culti- 
vated grounds.  If  a  single  hippopotamus 
should  once  succeed  in  getting;  into  a  gar- 
den, a  terrible  destruction  to  the  crop  takes 


place.  In  the  first  place,  the  animal  can 
consume  an  almost  illimitable  amount  of 
green  food  ;  and  when  it  gets  among  such 
danties  as  cornfields  and  pumpkin  patches, 
it  indulges  its  appetite  inordinately.  More- 
over, it  damages  more  than  it  cats,  as  its 
broad  feet  and  short  thick  legs  trample 
their  way  through  the  crojis.  The  track  of 
any  large  animal  would  lie  injurious  to  a 
standing  crop,  but  that  of  the  hippo]iotamus 
is  doubly  so,  because  the  legs  of  either  side 
are  so  wide  apart  that  the  animal  makes  a 
double  track,  one  being  made  with  the  feet 
of  the  right  side,  and  the  other  with  those 
of  the  left. 

Against  these  heavy  and  voracious  foes,  a 
fence  would  be  of  little  avail,  as  the  hippo- 
potamus coidd  force  its  way  through  the 
barrier  without  injury,  thanks  to  its  thick 
hide.  The  owner  of  the  field  therefore 
encloses  it  within  a  tolerably  deep  ditch, 
and  furthennore  defends  the  ditch  by 
]iointed  stakes  ;  so  that,  if  a  hijipopotamus 
did  hapjien  to  fall  into  the  trench,  it  would 
never  come  out  again  alive.  A  similar 
defence  is  sometimes  made  against  the  in- 
roads of  the  elephants.  Those  animals  do 
not  often  take  it  into  their  heads  to  attack  a 
garden  in  the  vicinity  of  human  habitations; 
bnt  when  they  do  so,  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
stop  them,  except  by  such  an  obstacle  as  a 
ditch.  Even  the  ordinary  protection  of  a 
fence  and  the  vicinity  of  human  habitations 
is  worthless,  when  a  number  of  elephants 
choose  to  make  an  inroad  upon  some  field; 
and,  luiless  the  whole  iiopulation  turns  out 
of  the  ki'aal  and  uses  all  means  at  their  com- 
mand, the  animals  will  carry  out  their  plans. 
The  elejihant  always  chooses  the  night  for 
his  marauding  expeditions,  so  that  the 
defenders  of  the  crops  have  doulde  disad- 
vantages to  contend  against.  One  weapon 
which"  they  use  against  the  elephant  is  a 
very  singular  one.  They  have  an  idea  that 
the  animal  is  terrified  at  the  shrill  cry  of  an 
infant,  and  as  soon  as  elephants  approach  a 
kraal,  all  the  children  are  whipped,  in  hojies 
that  the  elephants  may  be  dismayed  at  the 
universal  clamor,  and  leave  the  spot. 

Antelopes  of  various  kinds  are  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  the  young  corn  blades,  and,  if 
the  'field  be  without  a"  fence,  are  sure  to 
come  in  ntimliers,  and  nibble  every  green 
shoot  down  to  the  very  ground.  Xear  the 
bush  the  buftalo  is  scarcely  less  injurious, 
and  more  dangerous  to  meddle  with:  and 
even  the  jicrcupine  is  capable  of  working 
much  damage.  The  wild  swine,  however, 
are  perhaps  the  worst,  because  the  most  con- 
stant invaders,  of  the  garden.  Even  a  fence 
is  useless  against  them,  unless  it  be  [lerfect 
throughout  its  length,  for  the  pigs  can  force 
themselves  through  a  wonderfully  small  ap- 
erture, owing  totheir  wedge-shaped  head, 
while  their  thick  and  tough  skins  enable 
them  to  push  their  way  through  thorns  and 
spikes  without  suflering  anj-  damage. 


CUEIOUS  KAFFIR  LEGEND. 


141 


The  "  pi^s,"  as  tjie  wild  swine  are  popu- 
larly called,  always  come  from  the  bush; 
and  when  several  kraals  are  built  near  a 
bush,  the  chief's  of  each  kraal  agree  to  make 
a  fence  from  one  to  the  other,  so  as  to  shut 
out  the  pigs  from  all  the  cultivated  land. 
This  fence  is  a  very  useful  edifice,  but,  at 
the  same  time,  has  a  very  ludicrous  aspect 
to  an  European.  The  reader  has  already 
been  told  that  the  Kaffir  cannot  draw  a 
straight  line,  much  less  build  a  straight 
fence  ;  and  the  consequence  is,  that  the 
builders  continually  find  that  the  fence  is 
assuming  the  form  of  a  segment  of  a  circle 
in  one  direction,  and  then  try  to  correct  the 
error  by  making  a  segment  of  a  circle  in  the 
opposite  direction,  thus  making  the  fence 
very  much  larger  than  is  necessary,  and  giv- 
ing* themselves  a  vast  amount  of  needless 
trouble. 

As  to  the  winged  enemies  of  the  garden, 
many  modes  of  killing  them  or  driving  them 
away  are  emploj-ed.  One  metliod  for  fright- 
ening birds  has  already  been  described,  and 
is  tolerably  useful  when  the  corn  is  young 
and  green;  but  when  it  is  ripe,  the  birds  are 
much  too  busy  to  be  deterred  by  such  flimsy 
devices,  and  continue  to  eat  the  corn  in 
spite  of  the  shaking  strings.  Under  such 
circumstances,  war  is  declared  against  the 
birds,  and  a  number  of  Kaffirs  surround  the 
enclosure,  each  being  furnished  with  a  num- 
ber of  knob-kerries.  A  stone  is  then  flung 
into  the  corn  for  the  purpose  of  startling 
the  birds,  and  as  they  rise  in  a  dense  flock, 
a  shower  of  kerries  is  rained  upon  them 
from  every  side.  As  every  missile  is  sure 
to  go  into  the  flock,  and  as  each  Kaffir  con- 
trives to  hurl  four  or  Ave  before  the  birds 
can  get  out  of  range,  it  may  be  imagined 
that  the  slaughter  is  very  great.  Tchaka, 
who  was  not  above  directing  the  minutice  of 
domestic  life,  as  well  as  of  leading  armies, 
subsidizing  nations,  and  legislating  for  an 
empire,  ordered  that  the  birds  should  be  con- 
tinually attacked  throughout  his  dominions; 
and,  though  he  did  not  succeed  in  killing 
them  all,  yet  he  thinned  their  numbers  so 
greatly,  that  during  the  latter  years  of  his 
life  the  graminivorous  birds  had  become 
scarce  instead  of  invading  the  fields  in  vast 
flocks. 

Locusts,  the  worst  of  the  husbandman's 
enemies,  could  not  be  extirpated,  and,  in- 
deed, the  task  of  even  thinning  their  num- 
bers appeared  impractic-'J)le.  The  onlj' 
plan  that  seems  to  have  the  least  success 
is  that  of  burning  a  large  heap  of  grass, 
sticks,  and  leaves  well  to  windward  of  the 
fields,  as  soon  as  the  locusts  are  seen  in  the 
distance.  These  insects  alwa3's  fly  with 
the  wind,  and  when  they  find  a  tract  of  coun- 
try covered  with  smoke,  they  would  natu- 
rally pass  on  until  they  found  a  sjiot  which 
wa.s  not  defiled  with  smoke,  and  on  which 
they  might  settle.  It  is  said  that  locusts 
were   not  known  in    the  Zulu  territories 


until  1829,  and  that  they  were  sent  by  the 
supernatural  power  of  Sotshangana,  a  chief 
in  the  Uelagoa  district,  whom  Tchaka  at- 
tacked, and  by  whom  the  Zulu  warriors 
were  defeated,  as  has  already  been  men- 
tioned on  page  124.  The  whole  story  was 
told  to  Mr.  Shooter,  who  narrates  it  in  the 
following  words:  — 

"When  they  had  reached  Sotshangana's 
country,  the  Zulus  were  in  great  want  of 
food,  and  a  detachment  of  them  coming  to 
a  deserted  kraal,  began,  as  usual,  to  search 
for  it.  In  so  doing,  they  discovered  some 
large  baskets,  used  'for  storing  corn,  and 
their  hungry  stomachs  rejoiced  at  the  pros- 
pect of  a  meal.  But  when  a  famished  war- 
rior impatiently  removed  the  cover  from 
one  of  them,  out  rushed  a  multitude  of  in- 
sects, and  the  anticipated  feast  flew  about 
their  ears.  Astonishment  seized  the  host, 
for  they  never  beheld  such  an  apparition 
before;  every  man  asked  his  neighljor,  but 
none  could  '  tell  its  quality  or  name.'  One 
of  their  number  at  last  threw  some  light  on 
the  mystery.  He  had  seen  the  insects  in 
Makazana's  country,  and  perhaps  he  told 
his  wandering  companions  that  they  had 
been  collected  for  food.  But  they  soon 
learned  this  from  the  people  of  the  kraal, 
who  had  only  retired  to  escape  the  enemy, 
and  whose  voices  were  heard  from  a  neigh- 
boring rock.  In  no  case  would  the  fugi^ 
fives  have  been  likely  to  spare  their  lungs, 
since  they  could  rail  and  boast  and  threaten 
with  impunity;  but  when  they  saw  that 
their  food  was  in  danger,  they  lifted  up 
their  voices  with  desperate  energy,  and  ut- 
tered the  terrible  threat  that  if  the  invaders 
ate  their  locusts,  others  should  follow  them 
home,  and  carry  famine  in  their  train.  The 
Zulus  were  too  hungry  to  heed  the  woe,  or 
to  be  very  discriminating  in  the  choice  of 
victuals,  and  the  locusts  were  devoured. 
But  when  the  army  returned  home,  the 
scourge  appeared,  and  the  threatening  was 
fulfilled." 

How  locusts,  the  destroyers  of  food,  are 
converted  into  food,  and  become  a  benefit 
instead  of  a  curse  to  mankind,  will  be  seen 
in  the  next  chapter. 

As  to  the  fruits  of  this  country,  they  are 
tolerably  numerous,  the  most  valued  being 
the  banana,  which  is  sometimes  called  the 
royal  fruit ;  a  Kaffir  monarch  having  laid 
claim  to  all  bananas,  and  forced  his  subjects 
to  allow  him  to  take  his  choice  before  they 
touched  the  fruit  themselves.  In  some  fa- 
vored districts  the  banana  grows  to  a  great 
size,  a  complete  bunch  being  a  heavy  load 
for  a  man. 

Next  in  importance  to  food  for  man  is 
forage  for  cattle,  and  this  is  generally  found 
in  great  abundance,  so  that  the  grazing  of 
a  herd  costs  their  owner  nothing  but  the 
trouble  of  driving  his  cattle  to  and  from  the 
grass  land.  In  tliis,  as  in  other  liot  coun- 
tries, the  grass  grows  with  a  rapidity  and 


142 


THE  KAFFIB. 


luxuriance  that  tends  to  make  it  too  ranlj 
for  cattle  to  eat.  When  it  first  springs  up, 
it  is  green,  sweet,  and  tender;  but  when  it 
has  reached  a  toleralile  length  it  becomes  so 
harsh  that  the  cattle  can  hardl}'  eat  it.  The 
Kaffir,  therefore,  adopts  a  plan  by  which 
he  obtains  as  much  fresh  grass  as  he  likes 
throughout  the  season. 

When  a  patch  of  grass  has  been  fed  upon 
as  long  as  it  can  furnish  nourishment  to  the 
cattle,  the  Kaffir  marks  out  another  feeding- 
place.  At  night,  when  the  cattle  are  safely 
penned  within  the  kraal,  the  Kaffir  goes  out 
with  a  firebrand,  and,  when  he  has  gone 
well  to  windward  of  the  spot  which  he 
means  to  clear,  he  sets  Are  to  the  dry  grass. 
At  first,  the  flame  creeps  but  slowly  on,  but 
it  gradually  increases  both  in  speed  and 
extent,  and  sweeps  over  the  plain  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  wind.  On  level  ground,  the  fire 
marches  in  a  tolerably  straight  line,  and  is 
of  nearly  uniform  height,  except  when  it 
happens  to  seize  upon  a  clump  of  bushes, 
when  it  sends  bright  spires  of  flame  far 
into  the  sky.  But  when  it  reaches  the 
bush-clad  hills,  the  spectacle  becomes  im- 
posing. On  rushes  the  mass  of  flame,  climb- 
ing the  hill  with  fearful  strides,  roaring 
like  myriads  of  flags  ruffled  in  the  breeze, 
and  devouring  in  its  progress  every  particle 
of  vegetation.  Not  an  inhabitant  of  the 
bush  or  plain  can  withstand  its  progress, 
and   the   fire  confers   this  benefit   on  th« 


natives,  that  it  destroys  the  snakes  and 
the  slow-moving  reptiles,  while  the  swifter 
antelopes  are  able  to  escape. 

When  the  tire  has  done  its  work,  the 
ti'act  over  which  it  has  passed  presents  a 
most  dismal  spectacle,  the  whole  soil  being 
bare  and  black,  and  the  only  sign  of  former 
vegetation  being  an  occasional  slump  of  a 
tree  which  the  flames  had  not  entirely  con- 
sumed. But,  in  a  very  short  time,  the  won- 
derfully vigorous  life  of  the  herbage  begins 
to  assert  itself,  especially  if  a  shower  of 
rain  should  happen  to  fall.  Delicate  green 
blades  show  their  slender  points  through 
the  blackened  covering,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  whole  tract  is  covered  with  a  mantle  of 
uniform  tender  green.  Kothing  can  be 
more  beautiful  than  the  fresh  green  of  the 
young  blades,  as  they  are  boldly  contrasted 
with  the  deep  black  hue  of  the  ground.  The 
nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  singularly  beau- 
tiful tint  of  our  hedgerows  in  early  spring 
—  a  tint  as  fleeting  as  it  is  lovely.  The 
charred  ashes  of  the  burned  grass  form  an 
admirable  top-dressing  to  the  new  grass, 
which  springs  up  with  marvellous  rapidity, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  affords  pastiire  to 
the  cattle.  The  Kaffir  is,  of  course,  careful 
not  to  burn  too  much  at  once ;  but  by  select- 
ing difterent  spots,  and  burning  them  in  reg- 
ular succession,  he  is  able  to  give  his  be- 
loved cows  fresh  pasturage  throughout  the 
year. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


FOOD. 


THB  STAFF  OF  LIFE  Dt  KAFFDRLAOT)  —  HOW  A  DUTODB  IS  COOKED  —  BOrLING  AND  GRINDING  COKN  — 
THE  KAFFIR  MILL,  AND  MODE  OP  USING  IT  —  FAIR  DIVISION  OF  LAEOK  — A  KAFFIR  DINNER- 
PARTY—  SINGING  IN  CHORPS  —  ACCOUNT  OF  A  KAFFIR  SIEETING  AND  WAR-SONG  —  HISTORY  OF 
THE  WAR-SONG,  AND  ITS  V.tRIOUS  POINTS  EXPLAINED  —  TCHAKA's  WAR-SONG  —  SONG  IN  HONOR 
OF  PANDA  —  HOW  PORRIDGE  IS  EATEN  —  VARIOUS  SPOONS  SIADE  BY  THE  NATIVES  — A  USEFUL 
COMBINATION  OF  SPOON  AND  SNUFF-BOX  —  THE  GIRAFFE  SPOON  —  HOW  THE  COLORING  IS  SIAN- 
AGED  —  PECULIAR  ANGLE  OF  THE  BOWL  AND  REASONS  FOR  IT  —  KAFFIR  ETIQUETTE  IN  DINING  — 
INNATE  LOVE  OF  JUSTICE  —  GIGANTIC  SPOON  —  KAFFIR  LADLES — LOCUSTS  EATEN  BY  KAFFIRS  — 
THE  INSECT  IN  ITS  DIFFERENT  STAGES  —  THE  LOCUST  ARMIES  AND  THEIR  NtrilBERS — DESTRUC- 
TU'ENESS  OF  THE  INSECT  —  DESCRIPTION  OP  A  FLIGHT  OP  LOCUSTS  —  EFFECT  OF  WIND  ON 
THE  LOCUSTS  —  HOW  THE  INSECTS  ARE  CAUGHT,  COOKED,  AND  STORED — GENERAL  QUALITY  OP 
THE  MEAT  OBTAINED  IN  K AFFIBLAND  —  JERKED  MEAT,  AND  MODE  OF  COOKING  IT  —  THE  HUNGER- 
BELT  AND  ITS  USES  —  EATING  SHIELD  —  CEREMONIES  IN  EATING  BEEF  —  VARIOUS  DRINKS  USED 
BY  THE  KAFFIR  —  HOW  HE  DRINKS  WATER  FROM  THE  RIVER — INTOXICATING  DRINKS  OF  DIF- 
FERENT COUNTRIES — HOW  BEER  IS  BREWED  IN  SOUTHERN  AFRICA  —  MAKING  MAIZE  INTO  MALT 
—  FERMENTATION,  SKIMMING,  AND  STRAINING  —  QUANTITY  OF  BEER  DRUNK  BY  A  KAFFIR  — 
VESSELS  IN  WHICH  BEER  IS  CONTAINED  —  BEER-BASKETS  —  BASKET  STORE-HOUSES  —  THE  KAF- 
FIR'S LOVE  FOR  HONEY  —  HOW  HE  FINDS  THE  BEES'  NESTS  —  THE  HONEY-GUIDE  AND  THB 
HONEY-RATEL  —  POISONOUS  HONEY — POULTRY  AND  EGGS  —  FORBIDDEN  MEATS  —  THB  KAFFIB 
AND  THE  CROCODILE. 


We  have  now  seen  how  the  Kaffirs  obtain 
the  staple  of  their  animal  food  lay  the  cattle- 
pen  and  hunting-field,  and  how  they  pro- 
cure vegetable  food  by  cultivating  the  soil. 
We  will  next  proceed  to  the  various  kinds 
of  food  used  by  the  Kaffirs,  and  to  the 
method  by  which  they  cook  it.  Man,  accord- 
ing to  a  familiar  saying,  has  been  defined  as 
par  excellence  the  cooking  animal,  and  we 
shall  always  find  that  the  various  modes  used 
in  preparing  food  are  equally  characteristic 
and  interesting. 

The  staffof  lite  to  a  Kaffir  is  grain,  whether 
maize  or  millet,  reduced  to  a  pulp  by  careful 
grinding,  and  bearing  some  resemblance  to 
the  oatmeal  porridge  of  Scotland.  When  a 
woman  has  to  cook  a  dinner  for  her  hus- 
band, she  goes  to  one  of  the  grain  stores, 
and  takes  out  a  sufficient  quantity  of  either 
maize  or  millet,  the  former  being  called 
umbila,  and  the  latter  amabele.  The  great 
cooking  pot  is  now  bi'ought  to  the  circular 
fireplace,  and  set  on  three  large  stones,  so  as 
to  allow  the  fire  to  burn  beneath  it.  Water 
and  maize  are  now  put  into  the  pot,  the 
cover  is  luted  down,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  and  the  fire  lighted.    The  cook- 


(143J 


ing  pot  is  made  of  clay,  which  is  generally 
procured  by  pounding  the  materials  of  au 
ant-hill  and  kneading  it  thoroughly  with 
water. 

Her  next  proceeding  is  to  get  her  mill 
ready.  This  is  a  very  rude  apparatus,  and 
requires  an  enormous  amount  of  labor  to 
produce  a  comparatively  small  effect.  It 
consists  of  two  parts,  namely,  the  upper  and 
lower  millstones,  or  the  bed  and  the  stone. 
The  bed  is  a  large,  heavy  stone,  which  has 
been  flat  on  the  upper  surface,  but  which 
has  been  slightly  hollowed  and  sloped.  The 
stone  is  oval  in  shape,  and  about  eight  or 
nine  inches  in  length,  and  is,  in  fact,  that 
kind  of  stone  which  is  ]iopuIarly  known 
under  the  name  of  "cobble." 

When  the  corn  is  sufficiently  boiled,  and 
the  woman  is  ready  to  grind  it,  she  takes  it 
from  the  pot,  and  places  it  on  the  stone, 
under  which  she  has  spread  a  mat.  She 
then  kneels  at  the  mill,  takes  the  stone  in 
both  hands,  and  with  a  peculiar  rocking  and 
grinding  motion  reduces  it  to  a  tolerably 
consistent  paste.  As  fast  as  it  is  ground,  it 
is  forced  down  the  sloping  side  of  the  stone, 
upon  a  skin  which  is  ready  to  receive  it. 


144 


THE   KAFFIR. 


This  form  of  mill  is  perhaps  the  earliest 
with  which  we  are  acquainted,  and  it  may  be 
found  in  many  parts  of  the  worki.  In  Mex- 
ico, for  example,  the  ordinary  mill  is  made 
on  precisely  the  same  principle,  though  the 
lower  stone  is  rudely  carved  so  as  to  stand 
on  three  legs. 

It  is  more  than  probable  that  the  opera- 
tion of  grinding  corn,  which  is  so  often 
mentioned  in  tiie  earlier  Scriptures,  was 
performed  in  just  such  a  mill  as  the  Kattir 
woman  uses.  The  lalior  of  grinding  the 
corn  is  very  severe,  tlio  whole  weight  of 
the  body  being  thrown  on  the  stone,  and  the 
hands  being  fully  occupied  in  rolling  and 
rocking  the  upper  stone  upon  the  lower. 
Moreover,  the  labor  has  to  be  re])eatod 
daily,  and  oftentimes  the  poor  hard-worked 
woman  is  obliged  to  resume  it  several  times 
in  the  day.  Only  sufficient  corn  is  ground 
for  the  consumption  of  a  single  meal;  and 
therefore,  so  often  as  the  men  are  hungry, 
so  often  has  she  to  grind  corn  for  them.  " 

The  boiled  and  ground  corn  takes  a  new 
name,  and  is  now  termed  "isicaba;"  and 
when  a  sufficient  quantity  has  been  ground, 
the  woman  takes  it  from  the  mat.puts  it 
into  a  basket,  and  brings  it  to  her  husband, 
who  is  probaljly  asleep  or  smoking  his  pipe. 
She  then  brings  him  a  bowl,  some  clot- 
ted milk,  and  his  favorite  spoon,  and  leaves 
him  to  mix  it  for  himself  and  take  liis  meal, 
she  not  expecting  to  partake  with  him,  any 
more  than  she  would  expect  him  to  help  her 
in  grinding  the  corn. 

As  the  Kaffir  is  eminently  a  social  being, 
he  likes  to  takes  his  meals  in  company,  and 
does  so  in  a  very  orderly  fashion. 

When  a  number  of  Kaffirs  meet  for  a 
social  meal,  they  seat  themselves  round  the 
fire,  squatted  in  their  usual  manner,  and 
always  forming  themselves  into  a  circle, 
Kaffir  fashion.  If  they  should  be  very 
numerous,  they  will  form  two  or  more  con- 
centric circles,  all  close  to  each  other,  and  all 
facing  inward.  The  pot  is  then  put  on  to 
boil,  and  while  the  "  mealies,"  or  heads  of 
maize,  are  lieing  cooked,  they  all  strike  up 
songs,  and  sing  them  until  the  feast  is  ready. 
Sometimes  they  prefer  love  songs,  and  are 
always  fond  of  songs  that  celebrate  the  pos- 
session of  cattle.  These  melodies  have  a 
chorus  that  is  perfectly  meaningless,  like 
the  choruses  of  many  of  our  own  popular 
songs,  but  the  singers  become  quite  infat- 
uated with  them.  In  a  well  known  cattle 
song,  the  burden  of  which  is  E-e-e-yu-yu-yu, 
they  all  accomjiany  the  words  with  gestures. 
Their  hands  are  clenched,  with  the  palms 
turned  upward;  their  arms  bent,  and  at  each 
E-e-e  they  drive  their  arms  out  to  their  full 
extent;  and  at  each  repetition  of  the  sylla- 
ble •'  yu,"  they  bring  their  elbows  against 
their  sides,  so  as  to  give  additional  emphasis 
to  the  song.  An  illustration  on  page  14.5, 
represents  such  a  scene,  and  is  drawn  from 
a  sketch  by  Captain  Drayson,  ]J.  A.,  who  has 


frequently  been  present  in  such  scenes,  aud 
learned  to  take  his  part  in  the  wild  chorus. 
As  to  the  smoke  of  the  lire,  the  Kaffirs  care 
nothing  for  it,  although  no  European  singer 
would  be  able  to  utter  two  notes  in  such  a 
choking  atmosphere,  or  to  see  \\hat  he 
was  doing  in  a  small  hut  without  window 
or  chimney,  and  filled  with  wood  smoke. 
Some  snulf  gourds  are  seen  on  the  ground, 
and  on  the  left  hand,  just  behind  a  pillar,  is 
the  Induna,  or  head  of  the  kraal,  who  is  the 
founder  of  the  feast. 

The  number  of  Kaffirs  that  will  crowd 
themselves  into  a  single  small  hut  is  almost 
incredible.  Even  in  the  illustration  they 
seem  to  be  tolerably  close  together,  Init  the 
fact  is,  that  the  artist  was  obliged  to  omit  a 
considerable  number  of  individuals  in  order 
to  give  a  partial  view  of  the  fireplace  and 
the  various  utensils. 

One  African  traveller  gives  a  very  amus- 
ing account  of  a  scene  similar  to  th.at  which 
is  depicted  in  the  engraving.  In  the  even- 
ing he  heard  a  most  singular  noise  of 
many  voices  rising  and  falling  in  regular 
rhythm,  and  found  it  to  proceed  from  an 
edifice  which  he  had  taken  for  a  haycock, 
but  which  proved  to  be  a  Kaffir  hut.  He 
put  his  head  into  the  door,  but  the  atmos- 
phere was  almost  too  much  for  him,  and 
he  could  only  see  a  few  dying  embers, 
throwing  a  ruddy  glow  over  a  number  of 
Kaffirs  squatting  round  the  fireplace,  and 
singing  with  their  usual  gesticulations.  He 
estimated  their  number  at  ten,  thinking 
that  the  hut  could  not  possibly  hold,  much 
less  accommodate,  more  than  that  number. 
However,  from  that  very  liut  issued  thirty- 
five  tall  and  jiowerful  Kaffirs,  and  they  did 
not  look  in  the  least  hot  or  uncomibrtable. 
The  song  which  they  were  singing  with 
such  energy  was  upon  one  of  the  only  two 
subjects  which  seem  to  inspire  a  Kaffir's 
muse,  namely,  war  and  cattle.  This  partic- 
ular composition  treated  of  the  latter  sub- 
ject, and  began  with  "All  the  calves  are 
drinking  water." 

A  very  grajihic  account  of  the  method  in 
which  the  Kaffirs  sing  in  concert  is  given 
by  Mr.  Mason,  wlio  seems  to  have  written 
his  description  immediately  after  witnessing 
the  scene,  and  while  the  impression  was 
still  strong  on  his  mind:  — 

"  By  the  light  of  a  small  oil  lanij)  I  was 
completing  my  English  journal,  ready  for 
the  mail  which  sailed  next  day;  and,  while 
thus  busily  employed,  time  stole  away  so 
softly  that  it  was  late  ere  I  closed  and  sealed 
it  up.  A  fearful  shout  now  burst  from 
the  recesses  of  the  surrounding  jungle,  ap- 
parently within  a  hundred  yards  of  our 
tent;  in  a  moment  all  was  still  again,  and 
then  the  yell  broke  out  with  increased 
vigor,  till  it  dinned  in  our  ears,  and  made 
the  very  air  shake  and  vibrate  with  the 
clamor.  At  first  we  were  alarmed,  and 
looked  to  the  priming  of  our  pistols;  but,  as 


(:;.)  SOLDIKKS   LAITING   VV'ATKK,    (See  page  16a.) 
(U5) 


WAR-SONO. 


147 


the  souuvls  approached  no  nearer,  I  coii- 
ckidetl  that  it  must  be  part  of  some  Kattir 
festival,  and  determined  on  ascertaining  its 
meaning;  so,  putting  by  the  pistol,  I  started, 
just  as  I  was,  without  coat,  hat,  or  waistcoat, 
and  made  my  way  through  the  dripping 
boughs  of  the  jungle,  toward  the  spot  from 
whence  the  strange  sounds  proceeded. 

'■  By  this  time  the  storm  liad  quite  abated; 
the  heavy  clouds  were  rolling  slowly  from 
over  the  rising  moon;  the  drops  from  the 
lofty  trees  fell  heavily  on  the  dense  bush 
below;  thousands  of  insects  were  chirping 
merrily;  and  there,  louder  than  all  the  rest, 
was  the  regular  rise  and  fall  of  some  score 
of  Kaffirs.  I  had  already  penetrated  three 
hundred  yai'ds  or  more  into  the  bush,  when 
I  discovered  a  large  and  newly  erected 
Kaffir  hut,  with  a  huge  fire  blazing  in  its 
centre,  just  visible  through  the  dense  smoke 
that  poured  forth  from  the  little  semicircu- 
lar aperture  whieh  served  for  a  doorway. 
These  huts  of  the  Kaffirs  are  formed  of 
ti'ellis-work,  and  thatched;  in  appearance 
they  resemble  a  well  rounded  haycock, 
being,  generally,  eight  or  ten  feet  high  at 
the  vertex,  circular  in  form,  and  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  feet  broad,  with  an  opening 
like  that  of  a  beehive  for  a  doorway,  as  be- 
fore described. 

"  But,  .as  it  was  near  midnight,  it  seemed 
to  me  that  my  visit  miglit  not  be  altogether 
seasonable.  However,  to  have  turned  back 
when  so  near  the  doorway  might  have 
brought  an  assagai  after  me,  since  the  occu- 
pants of  the  hut  would  have  attributed  a 
rustling  of  the  bushes,  at  that  late  hour,  to 
the  presence  of  a  thief  or  wild  boast.  I 
therefore  coughed  aloud,  stooped  down,  and 
thrust  my  head  into  the  open  doorway, 
where  a  most  interesting  sight  presented 
itself: 

"  Fancy  three  rows  of  jet-black  Kaffirs, 
ranged  in  circles  around  the  interior  of  the 
hut.  sitting  knees  and  nose  altogether,  wav- 
ing their  well  oiled,  strongly  built  frames 
backward  and  forward,  to  keep  time  in 
their  favorite  'Dingan's  war-song; '  throw- 
ing their  arms  about,  and  brandishing  the 
glittering  assagai,  singing  and  shouting, 
uttering  a  shrill  piercing  whistle,  beating 
the  ground  to  imitate  the  heavy  tramp  of 
marching  men,  and  making  the  very  woods 
echo  again  with  their  boisterous  merriment. 

"  My  presence  was  unobserved  for  a  mo- 
ment, until  an  old  gray-headed  Kaffir  (an 
Umdodie)  pointed  his  finger  toward  me. 
In  an  instant,  the  whole  phalanx  of  glar- 
ing eyes  was  turned  to  the  doorway;  and 
silence  reigned  throughout  the  demoniac- 
looking  group.  A  simultaneous  exclama- 
tion of 'Molonga!  Molonga! '  (white  man! 
white  man!)  was  succeeded  by  an  universal 
beckon  for  me  to  come  in  and  take  a  place 
in  the  ring.  This  of  course  I  complied 
with;  and,  having  seen  me  comfortably 
seated,  they  fell  to  work  again  more  vo- 


ciferously than  ever,  till  I  was  well  near 
bewildered  with  the  din,  and  stifled  with 
the  dense  smoke  issuing  from  the  huge  fire 
in  the  centre  of  the  ring." 

Dingan's  war-song,  which  is  here  men- 
tioned, is  rather  made  in  praise  of  Dingan's 
warlike  exploits.  To  a  Kaffir,  who  under- 
stands all  the  allusions  made  by  the  poet, 
it  is  a  marvellously  exciting  composition, 
though  it  loses  its  chief  Ijeauties  when 
translated  into  a  foreign  language,  and 
deiu'ived  of  the  peculiar  musical  rhythm 
and  alliteration  which  form  the  "great 
charms  of  Kaffir  poetry.  The  song  was 
as  follows :  — 

"Tliou  needy  offspring  of  Umpikazi, 
Eyer  of  tlie  cattle  of  men. 
Bird  of  Maiibe,  fleet  as  a  bullet, 
Sleek,  erect,  of  beautiful  parts. 
Thy  cattle  like  the  comb  of  the  bees, 
O  herd  too  large,  too  hviddled  to  move. 
Devourer  of  Moselekatze,  son  of  Machobana, 
Devourer  of  'Swazi,  son  of  Sobuza. 
Breaker  of  the  gates  of  Machobana. 
Devourer  of  Guudave  of  M.achobana. 
A  monster  in  size,  of  mighty  power. 
Devourer  of  Ungwati  of  ancient  race; 
Devourer  of  the  kingly  Uomape; 
Like  heaven  above,  raining  and  shining." 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  song  in 
honor  of  Panda,  which  is  given  on  jiage 
90,  he  will  see  the  strong  resemljlance  that 
exists  between  the  two  odes,  each  narrating 
some  events  of  the  hero's  early  life,  theii 
diverging  into  a  boast  of  his  great  wealth, 
and  ending  with  a  list  of  his  warlike  achieve- 
ments. 

Mr.  Shooter  mentions  a  second  song 
which  was  made  in  honor  of  Tchaka,  as, 
indeed,  he  was  told  by  that  renowned  chief 
himself  It  was  composed  after  that  war- 
like despot  had  made  himself  master  of  the 
whole  of  Kaffirland,  and  the  reader  will  not 
fail  to  notice  the  remarkable  resemblance 
between  the  burden  of  the  song,  "  Where 
will  you  go  out  to  battle  now?"  and  the 
lament  of  Alexander,  that  there  were  no 
more  worlds  to  conquer. 

"Thou  hast  finished,  finished  the  nations! 
AVIiere  will  you  go  out  to  battle  now? 
Hey!  where  will  you  go  out  to  battle  now? 
Thou  hast  conquered  kings! 
Where  are  you  going  to  battle  now? 
TIiou  hast  finished,  finished  the  nations! 
Wliere  are  you  going  to  battle  now? 
Hurrah!     Hurrah!     Hurrah! 
Where  are  you  going  to  battle  now?" 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  in  eating 
his  porridge  the  Kaffir  uses  a  spoon.  lie 
takes  a  wonderful  pride  in  his  spoon,  and 
expends  more  trouble  u]ion  it  than  upon 
any  other  article  which  he  possesses,  not 
even  his  "  tails,  "  pipes,  or  snuff  box,  being 
thought  worthy  of  so  much  labor  as  is  lav- 
ished upon  his  spoons.  Although  there  is 
a  great  variety  of  patterns  among  the  spoons 
manuflictured  by  the  Katlir  tribes,  there  is 
a  character  about  them  which  is  quite  un- 


148 


THE   KATFIR. 


mistakable,  and  which  points  out  the  coun- 
try of  the  maker  as  c:learly  as  if  his  name 
were  written  on  it.  The  bowl,  for  example, 
instead  of  being  almost  in  the  same  line 
with  the  stem,  is  bent  forward  at  a  slight 
angle,  and,  instead  of  being  rather  deep,  is 
quite  shallow.  It  is  almost  incapable  of 
containing  liquids,  and  is  only  adapted  for 
conveying  to  the  mouth  the  thick  jjorridge 
which  has  already  been  described.  Several 
of  these  spoons  are  represented  on  page  103, 
drawn  from  specimens  in  my  collection. 

Fig.  1  is  a  spoon  rather  more  than  two 
feet  in  length,  cut  from  a  stout  branch  of  a 
tree,  as  isshown  by  the  radiating  circles, 
denotin,^  the  successive  annual  deposits  of 
woody  fibre.  The  little  dark  mark  in  the 
bowl  shows  the  pithy  centre  of  the  branch. 
The  end  of  the  handle  is  made  to  represent 
the  head  of  an  assagai,  and  the  peculiar 
convexity  and  concavity  of  that  weapon  is 
represented  by  staining  one  side  of  the 
blade  black.  This  staining  process  is  very 
simply  managed  by  heating  a  piece  of  iron 
or  a  stone,  and  charring  the  wood  with  it,  so 
as  to  make  an  indelible  black  mark.  Part 
of  the  under  side  of  the  bowl  is  stained 
black  in  a  similar  manner,  and  so  is  a  por- 
tion of  the  handle,  this  expeditious  and 
easy  mode  of  decoration  being  in  great 
favor  among  the  Katfirs,  when  they  are 
making  any  article  of  wood.  The  heads  of 
the  wooden  assagais  shown  on  page  103  are 
stained  in  the  same  fashion.  According  to 
English  ideas,  the  bowl  is  of  unpleasantly 
large  dimensions,  being  three  inches  and  a 
quarter  in  width.  But  a  Kaffir  mouth  is  a 
capacious  one,  and  he  can  use  this  gigantic 
instrument  without  inconvenience. 

Fig.  2  represents  a  singularly  elaborate 
example  of  a  spoon,  purchased  from  a  na- 
tive by  the  late  H.  Jackson,  Esq.  It  is 
more  than  three  feet  in  length  and  is 
slightly  curved,  whereas  the  preceding  ex- 
ample "is  straight.  The  wood  of  which  it  is 
made  is  much  harder  than  that  of  the  other 
spoon,  and  is  therefore  capable  of  taking  a 
tolerably  high  polish.  The  maker  of  this 
spoon  has  ornamented  it  in  a  very  curious 
manner.  Five  rings  are  placed  round  the 
stem,  and  these  rings  are  made  of  the  wire- 
like hairs  from  the  elephant's  tail.  They 
are  plaited  in  the  manner  that  is  known  to 
sailors  as  the  "  Turk's-head  "  knot,  and  are 
similar  to  those  that  have  been  mentioned 
on  page  101  as  being  placed  on  the  handle  of 
the  assagai.  In  order  to  show  the  mode  in 
which  these  rings  are  made,  one  of  them  is 
given  on  an  enlarged  scale. 

At  the  end  of  the  handle  of  the  spoon 
may  be  seen  a  globular  knob.  This  is 
carved  from  the  same  piece  of  wood  as  the 
spoon,  and  is  intended  for  a  snuif  box,  so 
that  the  owner  is  doubly  supplied  with  luxu- 
ries. It  is  cut  in  order  to  imitate  a  gourd, 
and,  considering  the  very  rude  tools  which 
a  Kaffir  possesses,  the  skill  displayed  in  hol- 


lowing it  is  very  great.  Round  the  neck  of 
the  opening  is  one  of  the  elephant's  hair 
rings,  and  at  the  bottom  there  is  some 
rather  deep  carving.  This  odd  snuff  box 
is  ornamented  by  being  charred,  as  is  the 
bowl  and  the  greater  part  of  the  stem. 

Sometimes  the  Kaffirs  exert  great  ingenu- 
ity in  carving  the  handles  of  their  spoons 
into  rude  semblances  of  various  animals. 
On  account  of  its  long  neck  and  legs  and 
sloping  back,  the  giraffe  is  the  favorite. 
Fig.  1  on  page  103  shows  one  of  these 
spoons.  It  is  rather  more  than  a  foot  in 
length,  and  represents  the  form  of  the  ani- 
mal better  than  might  be  supposed  from 
the  illustration,  whicli  is  taken  from  the 
front,  and  therefore  causes  its  form  to  be 
foreshortened  and  the  characteristic  slope 
of  the  back  to  be  unseen.  It  is  made  of 
the  acacia  wood,  that  being  the  tree  on 
which  the  giraff'e  loves  to  feed,  and  which 
is  called  by  the  Dutch  settlers  '■  Kameel- 
dorn,"  or  camel-thorn,  in  consequence.  The 
peculiar  attitude  of  the  head  is  a  i'aithful 
representation  of  the  action  of  the  giraffe 
when  raising  its  head  to  browse  among  the 
i'oliage,  and  the  spotted  skin  is  welf  imi- 
tated by  application  of  a  red-hot  iron. 

In  some  examples  of  the  giraffe  spoon, 
the  form  of  the  animal  is  much  better 
shown,  even  the  joints  of  the  legs  being 
carefulh'  marked,  and  their  action  indi- 
cated. Sometimes  the  Kaffir  does  not 
make  the  whole  handle  into  the  form  of 
an  animal,  but  cuts  the  handle  of  the 
usual  shape,  and  leaves  at  the  end  a  large 
block  of  solid  wood,  which  he  can  carve 
into  the  required  shape.  The  hippopota^ 
mus  is  frequently  chosen  for  this  luirpose, 
and  so  is  the  rhinoceros,  while  the  hysena 
is  always  a  favorite,  apparently  because  its 
peculiar  outline  can  easily  be  imitated  in 
wood. 

The  reader  will  probably  have  noticed  the 
angle  at  which  the  shallow  bowl  is  set,  and 
it  appears  to  make  the  spoon  a  most  incon- 
venient instrument.  If  held  after  the  Eu- 
ropean foshion,  the  user  would  scarcely  be 
able  to  manage  it  at  all,  but  the  Kaffir  has 
his  own  way  of  holding  it,  which  is  perfectly 
effective.  Instead  of  taking  it  between  the 
thumb  and  the  forefinger,  he  grasps  the  stem 
with  the  whole  hand,  having  the  bowl  to  the 
left,  and  the  handle  to  the  right.  He  then 
dips  the  shallow  bowl  into  the  tenacious 
porridge,  takes  up  as  much  as  it  will  possibly 
bold,  and  inserts  the  whole  of  the  bowl  into 
his  mouth,  the  convex  side  being  uppermost. 
In  this  position  the  tongue  can  lick  the  spoon 
quite  clean,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  the  next 
visit  to  the  porridge. 

If  a  number  of  Kaffirs  are  about  to  par- 
take of  a  common  meal,  they  always  use  a 
common  sjioon.  Were  each  man  to  bring 
his  own  with  him,  and  all  to  dip  in  the  pot 
at  once,  it  is  evident  th.it  he  who  had  the 
largest  simoon,  would  get  the  largest  share, 


LOVE   OF   JUSTICE. 


149 


than  which  nothing  would  be  more  distaste- 
ful to  the  justice  loviui;  Kaffir,  besides  giving 
rise  to  a  scene  of  hurry,  and  probaljly  con- 
tention, which  would  be  a  breach  of  good 
manners.  So  the  chief  man  present  takes 
the  spoon,  helps  himself  to  a  mouthful,  and 
hands  the  clean  spoon  to  his  next  neighbor. 
Thus  the  spoon  goes  round  in  regular  order, 
each  man  having  one  spoonful  at  a  time,  and 
none  having  more  than  another. 

This  love  of  justice  pervades  all  classes  of 
Kaffirs,  and  even  adheres  to  them  when  they 
are  partially  civilized  — a  result  which  does 
not  always  take  place  when  the  savage  has 
taken  his  first  few  lessons  in  the  civilization 
of  Europe.  Some  time  ago,  when  a  visitor 
was  inspecting  an  English  school  for  Kaffir 
children,  he  was  struck  by  the  method 
adopted  in  giving  the  scholars  their  meals. 
Porridge  was  prepared  for  them,  and  served 
out  by  one  of  their  own  nation,  who  used 
the  most  scrupulous  accuracy  in  dividing 
the  food.  She  was  not  content  with  giving 
to  each  child  an  apparently  equal  share,  but 
went  twice  or  thrice  round  the  circle,  add- 
ing to  one  portion  and  taking  away  from 
another,  until  all  were  equally  served.  Xot 
until  she  was  satisfied  that  tfie  distribution 
was  a  just  one,  did  the  dusky  scholars  think 
of  beginning  their  meal. 

Sometimes  the  Kaffirs  will  amuse  them- 
selves by  making  spoons  of  the  most  por- 
tentous dimensions,  which  would  baffle  even 
the  giants  of  our  nursery  tales,  did  they 
endeavor  to  use  such  implements.  One  of 
these  gigantic  spoons  is  in  the  collection  of 
Colonel  Lane  Fox.  It  is  shaped  much  like 
fig.  1,  in  the  illustration  at  page  lO.'i,  and  if 
very  much  reduced  in  size  would  be  a  ser- 
viceable Kaffir  spoon  of  the  ordinary  kind. 
But  it  is  between  five  and  six  feet  in  length, 
its  stem  is  as  thick  as  a  man's  arm,  and  its 
bowl  large  enough  to  accommodate  his  whole 
head. 

At  fig.  2  of  the  illustration  on  the  upper 
part  of  same  page  may  be  seen  an  article 
which  looks  like  a  spoon,  but  rather  deserves 
the  name  of  ladle,  as  it  is  used  for  substances 
more  liquid  than  the  porridge.  It  is  carved 
from  a  single  piece  of  wood,  and  it  is  a  sin- 
gular fact  that  the  maker  should  have  been 
able  to  carve  the  deeply  grooved  handle 
without  the  aid  of  a  lathe.  If  this  handle  be 
turned  round  on  its  axis,  so  that  the  eye  can 
follow  the  spiral  course  of  the  grooves,  it 
becomes  evident  that  they  have  been  cut 
without  the  use  of  any  machinery.  But  the 
truth  of  their  course  is  really  wonderful,  and 
the  carver  of  this  handsome  handle  has  taken 
care  to  darken  the  spiral  grooves  by  the 
application  of  a  hot  iron.  This  remarkable 
specimen  was  brought  from  Africa  by  the 
Rev.  J.  Shooter,  and  the  illustration  has 
been  taken  from  the  specimen   itself 

Two  more  similar  ladles  are  illustrated  on 
page  155.  The  ujipermost  figure  represents 
a  ladle  about  fourteen  inches  in  length.    The 


pattern  has  no  pretence  to  elaborate  detail ; 
but  the  whole  form  is  very  bold  and  decided, 
and  the  carver  has  evidently  done  his  work 
thoroughly,  and  on  a  definite  plan.  The 
black  marks  on  the  stem  and  handle  are 
made  b}'  a  hot  iron,  and  the  under  surface 
of  the  bowl  is  decorated  with  two  triangular 
marks  made  in  the  same  manner. 

At  figure  2  of  the  same  illustration  is 
shown  a  rather  remarkable  ladle.  It  is 
eighteen  inches  in  length,  and  the  bowl  is 
both  wide  and  deep.  It  is  made  from  the  hard 
wood  of  the  acacia,  and  must  have  cost  the 
carver  a  considerable  amount  of  ti'ouble.  In 
carving  the  ladle,  the  maker  has  set  himself 
to  shape  the  handle  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  resembles  a  bundle  of  small  sticks  tied 
together  by  a  band  at  the  end  and  another 
near  the  middle.  So  well  has  he  achieved 
this  feat  that,  when  I  first  saw  this  ladle,  in 
ratlier  dim  light,  I  really  thought  that  some 
ingenious  artificer  had  contrived  to  make  a 
number  of  twigs  start  from  one  part  of  a 
branch,  and  had  carved  that  portion  of  the 
branch  into  the  twwl,  and  had  tied  the  twigs 
together  to  form  the  handle.  He  has  height- 
ened the  deception,  by  charring  the  sham 
bands  Ijlack,  while  the  rest  of  the  handle  is 
left  of  its  natural  color.  Figs.  3  and  4  of 
the  .  same  illustration  will  be  presently 
described. 

There  is  an  article  of  food  which  is  used 
liy  the  natives,  iu  its  proper  season,  and 
does  not  prepossess  a  European  in  its  favor. 
This  is  the  locust,  the  well-known  insect 
which  sweeps  in  countless  myriads  over  the 
laud,  and  which  does  such  harm  to  the  crops 
and  to  everything  that  grows.  The  eggs  of 
the  locust  are  laid  in  the  ground,  and  at  the 
proper  season  the  young  make  their  appear- 
ance. They  are  then  very  small,  but  they 
grow  with  great  rapidity  —  as,  indeed,  they 
ought  to  do,  considering  the  amount  of  food 
which  they  consume.  Until  they  have  passed 
a  considerable  time  in  the  world,  they  have 
no  wings,  and  can  only  crawl  and  hop.  The 
Kaffirs  call  these  imperfect  locusts  "  boyane," 
and  the  Dutch  settlers  term  them  "  voet- 
gangers,"'  or  "  foot-goers,"  because  they  can- 
not fly.  Even  in  this  stage  they  are  terribly 
destructive,  and  march  steadily  onward  con- 
suming every  green  thing  that  they  can 
eat. 

Nothing  stops  them  in  their  progress 
short  of  death,  and,  on  account  of  their  vast 
myriads,  the  numbers  that  can  be  killed 
form  but  an  insignificant  proportion  of  the 
whole  army.  A  stream  of  these  insects,  a 
mile  or  more  in  width,  will  pass  over  a  coun- 
try, and  scarcely  anything  short  of  a  river 
will  stop  them.  Trenches  are  soon  filled  up 
with  their  bodies,  and  those  in  the  rear 
march  over  the  carcasses  of  their  dead  com- 
rades. Sometimes  the  trenches  have  Ijeen 
filled  with  fire,  but  to  no  jnir]iose,  as  the  fire 
is  soon  put  out  by  the  locusts  tliat  come 


150 


THE   KATFIE. 


crowding  upon  it.  As  for  walls,  the  insects 
care  nothing  for  them,  but  surmount  tliem, 
and  even  the  very  houses,  williout  sutl'ering 
a  check. 

When  they  become  perfect  insects  and 
gain  tlieir  wings,  they  proceed,  as  liefore,  in 
vast  myriads;  but  this  time,  tliey  direct  tlieir 
course  through  the  air,  and  not  merely  on 
laud,  so  that  not  even  the  broadest  river  can 
stop  them.  They  generally  start  as  soon  as 
the  sun  has  dispelled  the  dews  and  warmed 
the  air,  which,  in  its  nightly  chill,  paralyzes 
them,  and  renders  them  incapable  of  flight 
and  almost  unable  even  to  walk.  Toward 
evening  they  always  descend,  and  perhaps 
in  the  daytime  also;  and  wherever  they 
alight,  every  green  thing  vanishes.  The 
sound  of  their  jaws  cutting  down  the  leaves 
and  eating  them  can  be  heard  at  a  great  dis- 
stance.  Thej'  eat  everything  of  a  vegetable 
nature.  Mr.  Mofiatt  saw  a  whole  tield  of 
maize  consumed  in  two  liours,  and  has  seen 
them  eat  linen,  tlannel,  and  even  tobacco. 
When  they  rise  for  another  flight,  the  spot 
which  they  have  left  is  as  bare  as  if  it  were 
desert  land,  and  not  a  vestige  of  auj'  kind  of 
verdure  is  to  be  seen  upon  it. 

A  very  excellent  description  of  a  flight  of 
locusts  is  given  by  Mr.  Cole,  in  his  work  on 
South  Africa:  — 

"Next  day  was  warm  enough,  but  the 
wind  was  desperately  high,  and,  much  to 
my  disgust,  right  in  my  face  as  I  rode  away 
on  my  journey.  After  travelling  some  ten 
miles,  having  swallowed  several  ounces  of 
sand  meanwhile,  and  been  comiielled  occa- 
sionally to  remove  the  sand-hills  that  were 
collecting  in  my  eyes,  I  hegan  to  fall  in  with 
some  locusts.  At  first  they  came  on  gradu- 
ally and  in  small  quantities,  speckling  the 
eai'th  here  and  there,  and  voraciously  de- 
vouring the  herhage. 

"They  were  not  altogether  pleasant,  as 
they  are  weak  on  the  wim;,  and  quite  at  the 
mercy  of  the  wind,  which  uncivilly  dashed 
many  a  one  into  my  lace  with  a  force  that 
made  my  cheeks  tingle.  By  degrees  they 
grew  thicker  and  more  frequent.  My  prog- 
ress was  now  most  unpleasant,  for  they  flew 
into  my  face  every  instant.  Flung  against 
me  and  my  horse  by  the  breeze,  they  clung 
to  us  with  the  tightness  of  desperation,  till 
we  were  literally  speckled  with  locusts. 
Each  moment  the  clouds  of  them  became 
denser,  till  at  length  —  I  am  guilty  of  no 
exaggeration  in  saying  —  they  were  as  thick 
in  the  air  as  the  "flakes  of  snow  during  a 
heavy  fall  of  it;  they  covered  the  grass  and 
the  road,  so  that  at  every  step  my  horse 
crushed  dozens;  they  were  whirled  into  my 
e}'es  and  those  of  my  poor  nag,  till  at  last 
the  latter  refused  to  face  them,  and  turned 
tail  in  spite  of  whip  and  spur.  They  crawled 
about  my  face  and  neck,  got  down  my  shirt 
collar  and  up  m_y  sleeves  —  in  a  word  they 
drove  me  to  despair  as  completely  as  they 
drove  my  horse  to  stubbornness,  and  I  was 


obliged  to  ride  back  a  mile  or  two,  and 
claim  shelter  from  them  at  a  house  1  had 
passed  on  my  route;  fully  convinced  that  a 
shower  of  locusts  is  more  unliearablc  than 
hail,  rain,  snow,  and  sleet  combined.  I 
found  the  poor  farmer  in  despair  at  the 
dreadful  visitation  which  had  come  ujion 
him  —  and  well  he  might  be  so.  To-day  he 
had  standing  crops,  a  garden,  and  wide  pas- 
ture lauds  in  full  verdure;  the  next  day  the 
earth  was  as  bare  all  round  as  a  macadam- 
ized road. 

"  I  afterwards  saw  millions  of  these  in- 
sects driven  by  the  wind  into  the  sea  at 
Algoa  Bay,  and  washed  on  shore  again  in 
such  heaps,  that  the  prisoners  and  "coolies 
in  the  town  were  busily  employed  for  a  day 
or  two  in  burying  the  bodies,  to  prevent  the 
evil  consequence  that  would  arise  from  the 
]iutrefying  of  them  close  to  the  town.  No 
description  of  these  little  plagues,  or  of  the 
destruction  they  cause,  can  well  Ix'  an  exag- 
geration. Fortunately,  their  visitations  are 
not  frequent,  as  I  only  remember  three  dur- 
ing my  five  years'  residence  in  South  Af- 
rica. Huge  fires  are  sometimes  lighted 
round  corn-lands  and  gardens  to  prevent 
their  approach;  and  this  is  an  elfective 
preventive  when  they  can  steer  their  own 
course;  but  i\'hen  carried  away  by  such  a 
wind  as  I  have  described,  they  can  only  go 
where  it  drives  them,  and  all  the  bonlires 
in  the  world  would  be  useless  to  stay  their 
progress.  The  farmer  thus  eaten  out  of 
house  and  home  (most  literally)  has  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  move  his  stock-forthwith  to 
some  other  spt)t  which  has  escaped  them  — 
hajjpy  if  he  can  find  a  route  free  from  their 
devastation,  so  that  his  herds  and  flocks  may 
not  perish  by  the  waj'." 

Fortunately,  their  bodies  heing  heavy  in 
pro])ortion  to  their  wings,  they  cannot  fly 
against  the  wind,  and  it  often  happens  that, 
as  in  the  old  Scripture  narrative,  a  country 
is  relieved  by  a  change  of  wind,  which 
drives  the  insects  into  the  sea,  where  they 
are  drowned;  and,  as  Mr.  C^ole  observes, 
they  were  driven  by  the  wind  into  his  face 
or  upon  his  clothes,  as  helples.sly  as  the 
cockchafers  on  a  windy  summer  evening. 
Still,  terrible  as  are  the  locusts,  they  have 
their  uses.  In  the  flrst  place,  they  atlbrd 
food  to  innumerable  animals.  As  they  fly, 
large  flocks  of  birds  wait  on  them,  sweep 
among  them  and  devour  them  on  the  wing. 
While  they  are  on  the  ground,  whether  in 
their  winged  or  imperfect  state,  they  are 
eaten  by  various  animals ;  even  the  lion 
and  other  formidable  carnivora  not  dis- 
daining so  easily  gained  a  repast.  As  the 
cool  air  of  the  night  renders  the  locusts 
incapable  of  moving,  they  can  be  captured 
without  difliculty.  Even  to  mankind  the 
locusts  are  serviceable,  being  a  favorite 
article  of  food.  It  is  true  that  these  in- 
sects devour  whole  croi)s,  but  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  they  do  not  confer  a  ben- 


THE   HUNGER-BELT. 


151 


efit  on  the  dusky  cultivators  rather  than 
inflict  an  injury. 

As  soon  as  the  sliades  of  evening  render 
the  locusts  helpless,  the  natives  turn  out  in 
a  body,  with  sacks,  skins,  and  everything 
that  can  hold  the  expected  prey,  those  who 
possess  such  animals  bringing  pack  oxen  in 
order  to  bear  the  loads  home.  The  locusts 
are  swept  by  millions  into  the  sacks,  with- 
out any  particular  exertion  on  the  part 
of  the  "natives,  though  not  without  some 
danger,  as  venomous  serpents  are  apt  to 
come  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  on  the 
Insects,  and  are  sometimes  roughly  handled 
in  the  darkness. 

When  the  locusts  have  been  brought 
home,  they  are  put  into  a  large  covered 
pot,  such  as  has  already  been  described,  and 
a  little  water  added  to  them.  The  fire  is 
then  lighted  under  the  pot,  and  the  locusts 
are  then  boiled,  or  rather  steamed,  until 
they  are  sufflciently  cooked.  They  are  then 
taken  out  of  the  pot,  and  spread  out  in  the 
sunbeams  until  they  are  quite  dry;  and 
when  this  part  of  the  process  is  completed, 
they  are  sliaken  about  in  the  wind  until  the 
legs  and  wings  tall  otf,  and  are  carried  aw.ay 
just  as  the  chatf  is  carried  away  by  the 
breeze  when  corn  is  winnowed.  When 
they  are  perfectly  dry,  they  are  stored  away 
in  baskets,  or  placed  in  the  granaries  just  as 
if  they  were  corn. 

Sometimes  the  natives  eat  them  whole, 
just  as  we  eat  .shrimps,  and,  if  they  can 
aftbrd  such  a  luxury,  add  a  little  salt  to 
them.  Usually,  however,  the  locusts  are 
treated  much  in  the  same  manner  as  corn 
or  maize.  They  are  ground  to  powder  by 
the  mill  until  they  are  reduced  to  meal, 
which  is  then  mixed  with  water,  so  as  to 
form  a  kind  of  porridge.  A  good  locust  sea- 
son is  always  acceptable  to  the  natives,  who 
can  indulge  their  enormous  appetites  to 
an  almost  unlimited  extent,  and  in  conse- 
quence become  quite  fat  in  comparison  with 
their  ordinary  appearance.  So  valuable, 
indeed,  are  the  locusts,  that  if  a  native  con- 
jurer can  make  his  companions  believe  that 
his  incantations  have  brought  the  locusts, 
he  is  sure  to  be  richly  rewarded  by  them. 

Meat,  when  it  can  be  obtained,  is  the  great 
luxury  of  a  Kaflir.  Beef  is  his  favorite 
meat;  but  he  will  eat  that  of  many  of  the 
native  animals,  though  tliere  are  some,  in- 
cluding all  kinds  of  fish,  which  he  will  not 
touch.  With  a  very  few  exceptions,  such 
as  the  eland,  the  wild  animals  of  Southern 
Africa  do  not  furnish  very  succulent  food. 
Venison  when  taken  from  a  semi-domesti- 
cated red  deer,  or  a  three-parts  domesticated 
fallow  deer,  is  a  very  different  meat  when 
obtained  from  a  wild  deer  or  antelope.  As 
a  general  rule,  such  animals  have  very  little 
fat  about  them,  and  their  flesh,  by  reason  of 
constant  exercise  and  small  supply  of  food, 
is  exceedingly  tough,  and  would  baffle  the 
jaws  of  any  but  a  very  hungry  man. 


Fortunately  for  the  Kaffirs,  their  teeth 
and  jaws  are  equal  to  any  task  that  can  be 
imposed  upon  them  in  the  way  of  mastica- 
tion, and  meat  which  an  European  can 
harilly  manage  to  eat  is  a  dainty  to  his  dark 
companions.  The  late  Gordon  Cumraing, 
who  liad  as  much  experience  in  hunter  life  as 
most  men,  used  to  say  that  a  very  good  idea 
of  the  meat  which  is  usually  obtained  by  the 
gun  in  Kathrland  may  be  gained  by  taking 
the  very  worst  part  of  the  toughest  possible 
beef,  multiplying  the  toughness  by  ten,  and 
subtracting  all  the  gravy. 

The  usual  plan  that  is  adopted  is,  to  eat  at 
once  the  best  parts  of  an  animal,  and  to  cure 
the  rest  by  drying  it  in  the  sun.  This  pro- 
cess is  a  very  simple  one.  The  meat  is  cut 
into  thin,  long  strips,  and  hung  on  branches 
in  the  open  air.  The  burning  sunbeams 
soon  have  their  eflect,  and  convert  the  scar- 
let strips  of  raw  meat  into  a  substance  that 
looks  like  old  shoe-leather,  and  is  nearly  as 
tough.  The  mode  of  dressing  it  is,  to  put  it 
under  the  ashes  of  the  fire,  next  to  pound 
it  between  two  stones,  and  then  to  stew  it 
slowly  in  a  pot,  just  as  is  done  with  fresh 
beef "  Of  course,  this  mode  of  cooking  meat 
is  only  emiiloyed  on  the  march,  when  the 
soldiers  are  unable  to  take  with  them  the 
cooking-pots  of  domestic  life. 

Sometimes,  especially  when  returning  from 
an  unsuccessful  war,  the  Kaffirs  are  jnit  to 
great  straits  for  want  of  food,  and  have 
recourse  to  the  strangest  expedients  for 
allaying  hunger.  They  begin  by  wearing 
a  "hunger-belt,"  i.  e.  a  belt  passed  several 
times  round  the  body,  and  arranged  so  as 
to  press  upon  the  stomach,  anil  take  oft' 
for  a  time  tne  feeling  of  faint  sickness  that 
accompanies  hunger  before  it  develops  into 
starvation.  As  the  hours  pass  on,  and  the 
faintness  again  appears,  the  hunger-belt  is 
drawn  tighter  and  tighter.  This  curious 
remedy  for  hunger  is  to  be  found  in  many 
parts  of  the  world,  and  has  long  been  prac- 
tised by  the  native  tribes  of  North  America. 

The  hungry  soldiers,  when  reduced  to  the 
last  straits,  have  been  known  to  eat  their 
hide-shields,  and,  when  these  were  finished, 
to  consume  even  the  thongs  which  bind  the 
head  of  the  assagai  to  the  shaft.  The  same 
process  of  cooking  is  employed  in  making 
the  tough  skin  eatable ;  namely,  partial  broil- 
ing under  ashes,  then  pounding  between 
stones,  and  then  stewing,  or  boiling,  if  any 
substitute  for  a  cooking-pot  can  be  found. 
One  of  the  missionariesrelates,  in  a  manner 
that  shows  the  elastic  spirit  which  animated 
him,  how  he  and  his  companions  were  once 
driven  to  eat  a  box  which  he  had  made  of 
rhinoceros  hide,  and  seems  rather  to  regret 
the  loss  of  so  excellent  a  box  than  to  demanj 
any  sympathy  for  the  hardships  which  he 
had   sustained. 

We  now  come  to  the  question  of  the 
liquids  which  a  Kaffir  generally  consumes. 


132 


THE  K^\JFriR. 


Ordinary  men  are  forced  to  content  them- 
selves with  water,  and  there  are  occasions 
when  tliey  woultl  only  be  too  glad  to  obtain 
even  water.  Certain  ceremonies  demand 
that  the  warriors  shall  l)e  fed  plenteously 
with  beef  during  the  night,  but  that  they 
shall  not  be  allowed  to  drink  until  the  dawn 
of  the  following  day.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  feast  they  are  merry  enough;  for  beef 
is  always  wtdcome  to  a  Kaffir,  and  to  be 
allowed  to  eat  as  much  as  he  can  possibly 
manage  to  accommodate  is  a  luxury  which 
but  seldom  occurs. 

However,  the  time  comes,  even  to  a  hun- 
gry Kaffir,  when  he  cannot  possibly  eat  any 
more,  and  he  craves  for  something  to  drink. 
This  relief  is  strictly  prohibited,  no  one 
being  allowed  to  leave  the  circle  in  which 
theyare  sitting.  It  generally  hapiiens  that 
some  of  the  younger  "  boys,"  who  have  been 
but  recently  admitted  into  the  company  of 
soldiers,  find  themselves  unable  to  endure 
such  a  privation,  and  endeavor  to  slip  away 
unobserved.  But  a  number  of  old  and  tried 
warriors,  who  have  inured  themselves  to 
thirst  as  well  as  hunger,  and  who  look  with 
contempt  on  all  who  are  less  hardy  than 
themselves,  are  stationed  at  every  point  of 
exit,  and,  as  soon  as  they  see  the  dusky  form 
of  a  deserter  approach  the  spot  which  they 
are  guarding,  they  unceremoniously  attack 
him  "with  their  sticks,  and  beat  him  back  to 
his  place  in  the  circle. 

On  the  march,  if  a  Kaffir  is  hurried,  and 
comes  to  a  spot  where  there  is  water,  he 
stoops  down,  and  with  his  curved  hand  flings 
the  water  into  his  mouth  with  movements 
almost  as  rapid  as  those  of  a  cat's  tongue 
when  she  laps  milk.  Sometimes,  if  he  comes 
to  a  river,  which  he  has  to  ford,  he  will  con- 
trive to  slake  his  thirst  as  he  proceeds,  with- 
out once  checking  his  speed.  This  precau- 
tion is  necessary  if  he  should  be  pursued,  or 
if  the  river  should  happen  to  be  partially  in- 
fested with  crocodiles  and  other  dangerous 
reptiles.    (See  engraving  No.  2  on  p.  145.) 

Kaffirs  are  also  very  fond  of  a  kind  of 
whey,  whicli  is  poured  ofi'  from  the  milk 
when  it  is  converted  into  "amasi,"  and  which 
is  something  like  our  buttermilk  to  the 
taste.  Still,  although  the  Kaffirs  can  put  up 
with  water,  and  like  their  buttermilk,  they 
have  a  craving  for  some  fermented  liquor. 
Water  and  buttermilk  are  very  well  in  their 
way;  but  they  only  serve  for  quenching 
thirst,  and  have  nothing  sociable  about  them. 
Now  the  Kaffir  is  essentially  a  sociable 
being,  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  and 
he  likes  nothing  better  than  sitting  in  a 
circle  of  friends,  talking,  grinding  siiuif  or 
taking  it,  smoking,  ami  drinking.  And, 
when  he  Joins  in  such  indulgences,  he  prefers 
that  his  drink  should  be  oif  an  intoxicating 
nature,  therein  following  the  usual  instincts 
of  mankind  all  over  the  world. 

There  are  few  nations  who  do  not  know 
how  to  make  intoxicating  drinks,  and  the 


Kaffir  is  not  likely  to  be  much  behindhand 
in  this  respect.  The  only  fermented  drink 
which  the  genuine  Kaffirs  use  is  a  kind  of 
beer,  called  in  the  native  tongue  "  outchu- 
alla."  Like  all  other  savages,  the  Kaffirs 
very  much  prefer  the  stronger  potations 
that  are  made  by  Europeans;  and  their  love 
for  whisky,  rum,  and  brandy  has  been  the 
means  of  ruining,  and  almost  extinguishing, 
many  a  tribe — just  as  has  been  the  case  in 
Northern  America.  The  quantity  of  s)iirit- 
uous  liquid  that  a  Kaffir  can  drink  is  really 
astonishing;  and  the  strangest  thing  is,  that 
he  will  consume  nearlj-  a  bottle  of  the  com- 
monest and  coarsest  spirit,  and  rise  at  day- 
break on  the  next  morning  without  even  a 
headache. 

The  beer  which  the  Kaffirs  make  is  by  no 
means  a  heady  liquid,  and  seems  to  have 
rather  a  fattening  than  an  intoxicating 
quality.  All  men  of  note  drink  large  quan- 
tities of  beer,  and  the  chief  of  a  ti'ilje  rarely 
stirs  without  having  a  great  vessel  of  beer  at 
hand,  together  with  his  gourd  cup  and  ladle. 
The  operations  of  brewing  are  conducted 
entirely  by  the  women,  and  are  tolerably 
simple,  much  resembling  the  plan  which  is 
used  in  England.  Barley  is  not  employed 
for  this  purpose,  the  grain  of  maize  or  millet 
being  substituted  for  it. 

The  grain  is  first  encouraged  to  a  jjartial 
sprouting  l.iy  being  wrapped  in  wet  mats, 
and  is  then  killed  by  heat,  so  as  to  make  it 
into  malt,  resemljling  that  which  is  used  iu 
our  own  country.  The  next  ]irocess  is  to 
put  it  into  a  vessel,  and  let  it  boil  for  some 
time,  and  afterward  to  set  it  aside  for  fer- 
mentation. The  Kaffir  has  no  yeast,  but 
employs  a  rather  curious  substitute  for  it, 
being  the  stem  of  a  species  of  ice-plant, 
dried  and  kejit  ready  for  use.  As  the  liquid 
ferments,  a  .scum  arises  to  the  top,  which  is 
carefully  removed  by  means  of  an  ingenious 
skimmer,  shown  at  figs.  3  and  4.  on  page 
155.  This  skimmer  is  very  much  like  those 
wire  implements  used  by  our  cooks  for  tak- 
ing vegetables  out  of  hot  water,  and  is  made 
of  grass  stems  very  neatly  woven  together; 
a  number  of  them  forming  the  handle,  and 
others  spreading  out  like  the  bowl  of  a  spoon. 
The  bowls  of  these  skimmers  are  set  at  dif- 
ferent angles,  so  as  to  suit  the  vessel  in 
which  fermentation  is  carried  on. 

When  the  beer  is  poured  into  the  vessel 
in  which  it  is  kept  for  use,  it  is  passed 
through  a  strainer,  so  as  to  prevent  any  of 
the  malt  from  mixing  with  it.  One  of  tliese 
strainers  is  shown  at  fig.  3,  on  page  ()7. 
The  specimen  from  which  the  drawing  was 
taken  is  in  my  own  collection,  and  is  a  good 
sample  of  the  Kaffir's  workmanship.  It  is 
made  of  reeds,  sjilit  and  flattened;  each  reed 
being  rather  more  than  tht^  fifth  of  an  inch 
wide  at  the  opening  and  the  twelfth  of  an 
inch  at  the  smaller  end,  and  being  carefully 
graduated  in  width.  In  shape  it  resembles 
a  jelly-bag,  and,  indeed,  has  mucli  the  same 


KAFFIR'S  BASKET- WOEK. 


153 


office  to  jierfoiin.  The  reeds  are  woven  in 
the  ■'  under  three  and  over  three  "  fashion, 
so  as  to  produce  a  zigzag  pattern;  and  the 
conical  sliape  of  the  strainer  is  olitained,  not 
by  any  alteration  in  the  mode  of  weaving, 
but  by  the  gradual  diminution  of  the  reeds. 
These  strainers  are  of  various  sizes;  but  my 
own  specimen,  which  is  of  the  average 
dimensions,  measures  fifteen  inches  in 
length,  and  nine  in  width  across  the  open- 

Beer,  like  milk,  is  kept  in  baskets,  which 
the  Kaffirs  are  capal:)le  of  making  so  elabor- 
ately, that  they  can  hold  almost  any  liquid 
as  well  as  if  they  were  casks  made  by  the 
best  European  coopers.  Indeed,  the  fine- 
ness and  beauty  of  the  Kaffir  basket-work 
may  excite  the  admiration,  if  not  the  envy, 
of  civilized  basket-makers,  who,  however 
artistic  may  be  the  forms  which  they  pro- 
duce, would  be  sadly  puzzled  if  required  to 
make  a  liasket  that  would  hold  beer,  wine, 
or  even  milk. 

One  of  the  ordinary  forms  of  beer  basket 
may  be  seen  in  the  illustration  on  page  67, 
the  small  mouth  being  for  the  greater  con- 
venience of  pouring  it  out.  Others  can  be 
seen  in  the  illustration  on  page  63,  repre- 
senting the  interior  of  a  Kaffir  hut.  Beer 
baskets  of  various  sizes  are  to  be  found  in 
every  kraal,  and  are  always  kept  in  shady 
places,  to  prevent  the  liquid  from  behig 
injured  by  heat.  A  Kaffir  chief  hardly 
seems  to  be  able  to  su])port  existence  with- 
out his  Ijeer.  Within  his  own  house,  or  in 
the  shadow  of  a  friendly  screen,  he  will  sit 
by  the  hour  together,  smoking  his  enormous 
pipe  continually,  and  drinking  his  beer  at 
tolerably  constant  intervals,  thus  contriving 
to  consume  a  considerable  amount  both  of 
tobacco  and  beer.  Even  if  he  goes  out  to 
inspect  his  cattle,  or  to  review  his  soldiers, 
a  servant  is  sure  to  be  with  him,  bearing 
his  beer  basket,  stool,  and  other  luxurious 
ap]iendages  of  state. 

He  generally  drinks  out  of  a  cup,  which 
he  makes  fronr  a  gourd,  and  which,  in  shape 
and  size,  much  resembles  an  emu's  egg  with 
the  top  cut  off.  For  the  purpose  of  taking 
the  beer  out  of  the  basket,  and  pouring  it 
Into  the  cup,  he  uses  a  ladle  of  some  sort. 
The  form  which  is  most  generally  in  use  is 
that  which  is  made  from  a  kind  of  gourd; 
not  egg-shaped,  like  that  from  which  the 
cup  is  made,  but  formed  very  much  like  an 
onion  with  the  stalk  attached  to  it.  The 
bulb  of  the  onion  represents  the  end  of  the 
gourd,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  when  a  slice 
is  cut  off  this  globular  cud,  and  the  interior 
of  the  gourd  removed,  a  very  neat  ladle  can 
be  produced.  As  the  outer  skin  of  the 
gourd  is  of  a  fine  yellow  color,  and  has  a 
high  natural  polish,  the  cup  and  ladle  have 
a  very  pretty  appearance. 

Sometimes  the  Kaffir  carves  his  ladles 
out  of  wood,  and  displays  much  skill  and 
taste  in  their  construction,  as  may  be  seen 


by  the  .specimens.  Occasionally  the  beer 
bowl  is  carved  from  wood  as  well  as  the 
ladle;  but,  on  account  of  its  weight  when 
empty,  and  the  time  employed  in  making  it, 
none  but  a  chief  is  likely  to  make  use  of 
such  a  bowl.  One  of  these  wooden  bowls  is 
shown  at  fig.  2,  in  the  illustration  on  page 
67,  and  is  drawn  from  a  specimen  brought 
from  Southern  Africa  by  Mr.  II.  Jackson. 
It  is  of  large  dimensions,  as  may  be  seen  by 
comparing  it  with  the  milkpail  at  fig.  1. 
The  color  of  the  bowl  is  black. 

It  is  rather  remarkable  that  the  Kaffir  who 
carved  this  bowl  has  been  so  used  to  baskets 
as  beer  vessels  that  he  has  not  been  able 
to  get  the  idea  out  of  his  mind.  The  bowl 
is  painfully  wrought  out  of  a  single  block 
of  wood,  and  must  have  cost  an  enormous 
amount  of  labor,  considering  the  rudeness  ot 
the  tools  used  by  the  carver.  According  to 
our  ideas,  the  bowl  ought  therefore  to  show 
that  it  really  is  something  more  valuable 
than  usual,  and  as  unlike  the  ordinary 
basket  as  possible.  But  so  wedded  has 
been  the  maker  to  the  notion  that  a  basket, 
and  nothing  but  a  basket,  is  the  proper  ves- 
sel for  beer,  that  he  has  taken  great  pains  to 
carve  the  whole  exterior  in  imitation  of  a 
basket.  So  well  and  regularly  is  this  deco- 
ration done,  that  wlien  the  bowl  is  set  some 
little  distance,  or  placed  in  the  shade,  many 
persons  mistake  it  for  a  basket  set  on  three 
wooden  legs,  and  stained  black. 

At  fig.  .5  of  the  same  illustration  is  an 
example  of  the  Kathr's  Ixisket-work.  This 
is  one  of  the  baskets  used  by  the  women 
when  they  have  been  to  the  fields,  and  have 
to  carry  home  the  ears  of  maize  or  other 
produce.  This  basket  is  very  stout  and 
strong,  and  will  accommodate  a  quantity  of 
corn  which  would  form  a  good  load  for  an 
average  English  laborer.  But  she  con- 
siders this  hard  work  as  part  of  woman's 
mission,  asks  one  of  her  companions  to 
assist  in  placing  it  on  her  head,  and  goes  off 
with  her  burden,  often  lightening  the  heavy 
task  by  joining  in  a  chorus  with  her  simi- 
larly-laden friends.  Indeed,  as  has  been 
well  said  by  an  experienced  missionary,  in 
the  normal  state  of  the  Kaffir  tribes  the 
woman  serves  every  office  in  husbandry, 
and  herself  fulfils  the  duties  of  field  laborer, 
plough,  cart,  ox,  and  horse. 

Basket-work  is  used  for  an  infinity  of 
purposes.  It  is  of  basket  -  work,  for  ex- 
ample, that  the  Kaffir  makes  his  curious 
and  picturesque  storehouses,  in  which  he 
keeps  the  corn  that  he  is  likely  to  require 
for  household  use.  These  storehouses  are 
always  raised  some  height  from  the  ground, 
for  the  double  purpose  of  keeping  vermin 
from  devastating  them,  and  of  allowing  a 
free  passage  to  the  air  round  them,  and  so 
keeping  their  contents  dry  and  in  good  con- 
dition. Indeed,  the  very  houses  are  formed 
of  a  sort  of  basket-work,  as  may  be  seen  by 
reference  to  Chapter  VII.;  and  even  their 


irA 


THE   KAFFIR. 


kraals,  or  villages,  arc  little  more  than 
basket-work  on  a  very  large  scale. 

Almost  any  kind  of  flexible  material 
seems  to  answer  for  baskets,  and  the  Katlir 
workman  impresses  into  his  service  not 
only  the  twiiis  of  pliant  bushes,  like  the 
osier  and  willow,  but  uses  grass  stems,  grass 
leaves,  rushes,  flags,  reeds,  bark,  and  similar 
materials.  When  he  makes  those  that  are 
used  for  holding  liquids,  he  always  uses  fine 
materials,  and  closes  the  spaces  between 
them  by  beating  down  each  successive  row 
with  an  instrument  that  somewhat  resem- 
bles a  very  stout  paper-knife,  and  that  is 
made  either  of  wood,  bone,  or  Ivor}'.  As 
is  the  case  with  casks,  pails,  quaighs,  and 
all  vessels  that  are  made  with  staves,  the 
baskets  must  be  well  soaked  before  they 
become  thoroughly  water-tight. 

One  of  these  baskets  is  in  my  own  collec- 
tion. It  is  most  beautifully  niade,  and  cer- 
tainly surpasses  vessels  of  wood  or  clay  in 
one  respect;  namely,  that  it  will  bear  very 
rough  treatment  without  breaking.  The. 
mode  of  weaving  it  is  peculiarly  intricate. 
A  vast  amount  of  grass  is  employed  in  its 
construction,  the  work  is  very  close,  and 
the  ends  of  the  innumerable  grass  blades 
are  so  neatly  woven  into  the  fabric  as 
scarcely  to  be  distinguishable.  Soon  after 
it  came  into  my  possession,  I  sent  it  to  a 
conversazione,  together  with  a  largo  num- 
ber of  ethnological  curiosities,  and,  know- 
ing that  very  few  would  believe  in  its 
powers  without  actual  proof,  I  filled  it  with 
milk,  and  placed  it  on  the  table.  Although 
it  had  been  in  England  for  some  time,  and 
had  evidently  undergone  rather  rough  treat- 
ment, it  held  the  milk  very  well.  There  was 
a  very  slight  leakage,  caused  by  a  mistake 
of  the  former  proprietor,  who  had  sewed  a 
label  upon  it  with  a  very  coarse  needle, 
leaving  little  holes,  through  which  a  few 
drops  of  milk  gradually  oozed.  With  this 
exception,  how-ever,  the  basket  was  as  ser- 
viceable as  when  it  was  in  use  among  the 
Kaffir  huts. 

Honey  is  a  very  favorite  food  with  the 
Kaffirs,  who  are  expert  at  attacking  the 
nests,  and  removing  the  combs  in  spite  of 
the  attacks  of  the  bees.  They  detect  a  bees' 
nest  in  many  ways,  and,  among  other  plans 
for  finding  the  nest,  tliey  set  great  value  on 
the  bird  called  the  honey-guide.  There 
are  several  species  of  honey-guide,  two  of 
which  are  tolerably  common  in  Southern 
Africa,  and  all  of  which  belong  to  the 
cuckoo  family.  These  liirds  are  remarkable 
for  the  trust  which  they  instinctively  repose 
in  mankind,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
act  as  guides  to  the  nest.  Whenever  a 
Kaffir  hears  a  bird  utter  a  peculiar  cry, 
which  has  been  represented  by  the  word 
"  Cherr  !  cherrl  "  he  looks  out  for  the 
singer,  and  goes  in  the  direction  of  the 
voice.  The  bird,  seeing  that  the  man  is 
following,  begins  to  approach  the  bees'  nest, 


still  uttering  its  encouraging  cry,  and  not 
ceasing  until  the  nest  is  found. 

The  Kaffirs  jilace  great  reliance  on  the 
bird,  and  never  eat  all  the  honey,  but  make 
a  point  of  leaving  some  for  the  guide  tliat 
conducted  them  to  the  sweet  storehouse. 
They  say  that  the  honey-guide  voluntarily 
seeks  the  help  of  man,  because  it  would 
otherwise  be  unable  to  get  at  the  bee- 
combs,  which  are  made  in  hollow  trees, 
thus  l)eing  protected  in  secure  fortresses, 
which  the  bird  could  not  penetrate  without 
the  assistance  of  some  being  stronger  than 
itself  And  as  the  bird  chiefly  wants  the 
combs  which  contain  the  bee-grubs,  and 
the  man  only  wants  those  which  contain 
honey,  the  Kaffir  leaves  all  the  grub-combs 
for  the  liird,  and  takes  all  the  honey-comljs 
himself;  so  that  both  jiarties  are  equally 
pleased.  Whether  this  be  the  case  or  not, 
it  is  certain  that  the  bird  does  perlorm  this 
service  to  mankind,  and  that  licith  the  Kaffir 
and  the  bird  seem  to  understand  each  other. 
The  honey-ratel,  one  of  the  largest  species 
of  the  weasel  tribe,  and  an  animal  which 
is  extremely  fond  of  bee-combs,  is  said  to 
share  with  mankind  the  privilege  of  alli- 
ance with  the  honey-guide,  and  to  requite 
the  aid  of  the  bird  with  the  comb  which  it 
tears  out  of  the  hollow  tree.  It  is  remark- 
able that  lioth  the  ratel  and  the  honey-guide 
are  so  thickly  defended,  the  one  with  fur, 
and  the  other  with  feathors,  that  the  stings 
of  the  bees  cannot  penetrate  through  their 
natural  armor. 

It  is  rather  curious,  however,  that  the 
honey-guide  does  not  invariably  lead  to  the 
nests  of  bees.  It  has  an  odd  habit  of  guid- 
ing the  attention  of  n.aukind  to  any  animal 
which  may  be  hiding  in  the  l.iush,  and  the 
wary  traveller  is  always  careful  to  have  his 
weapons  ready  when  he  follows  the  honey- 
guide,  knowing  that,  although  the  bird  gen- 
erally leads  the  way  to  honey,  it  has  an 
unpleasant  custom  of  leading  to  a  concealed 
buffalo,  or  lion,  or  panther,  or  even  to  a  spot 
where  a  cobra  or  other  poisonous  snake  is 
reposing. 

Although  honey  is  much  prized  by  Kaf- 
firs, they  exercise  much  caution  in  eating 
it;  and  "before  they  will  trust  themselves  to 
taste  it,  they  inspect  the  neighborhood,  with 
the  purpose  of  seeing  whether  certain  iioi- 
sonous  plants  grow  in  the  vicinity,  as  in 
that  case  the  honey  is  sure  to  be  deleterious. 
Tlie  euphorbia  is  one  of  these  poisonous 
jilants,  and  Ijelongs  to  a  large  order,  which 
is  represented  in  "England  by  certain  small 
plants  known  by  the  common  denomination 
of  spurge.  One  of  them,  commonly  called 
milky-weed,  sun-spurge,  or  wort-spurge,  is 
well  known  for  the  white  juice  which  pours 
plentifully  from  the  wounded  stem,  and 
which  is"  used  in  some  places  as  a  means 
of  destroying  warts.  In  our  own  country 
the  juice  is  only  remarkable  for  its  milky 
appearance  and  its  hot  acrid  taste,  which 


(1.)  HARP. 

(See  paf^e  211.) 


(2.)  EXTERIOR   OF   KAFFIR    HUT.    (See  page  56.) 


(3.)    1,  Sl'OON.     2,   LADLE.     3,  4,  SKIMMERS. 
(See  page  149.) 


(4.)  WATER  PIPE.    (See  pngc  164.) 


(5.)   FOWL  HOUSE.    (See  page  157.) 


(155) 


FORBIDDEN  MEATS. 


157 


abides  in  the  niniitli  for  a  wonderfully  Inn;:; 
time;  but  in  Africa  the  euphorbias  j^row  to 
tlie  diiuensious  of  trees,  and  tlie  Juice  is 
used  in  many  parts  of  that  continent  as  a 
poison  for  arrows.  Some  of  them  hwk  so 
like  the  cactus  group  that  they  miglit  be 
mistaljen  for  those  plants;  but  they  are 
easily  known  by  the  milky  juice  that  i)0urs 
from  them  when  wounded,  and  by  the  fact 
that  their  thorns,  when  they  have  any,  grow 
singly,  and  not  in  clusters,  like  those  of  the 
cactus.  The  white  juice  furnishes,  when 
evaporated,  a  highly'poisonous  drug,  called 
euphorbium. 

Honey  is  often  found  in  very  singular 
places.  A  swarm  has  been  known  to  take 
possession  of  a  human  skull,  and  combs 
have  been  discovered  in  the  skeleton  frame- 
work of  a  dead  elephant. 

Like  many  other  nations,  the  Zulus  use 
both  poultry  and  their  eggs  for  food,  and 
both  are  employed  as  objects  of  barter. 
The  unfortunate  fowls  that  are  selected  for 
this  purpose  must  be  singularly  uncom- 
fortable; for  they  are  always  tied  in  bun- 
dles of  three,  their  legs  being  firmly  bound 
together.  While  the  bargaining  is  in  prog- 
ress, the  fowls  are  thrown  heedlessly  on  the 
ground,  where  they  keep  up  a  cotitinual 
cackling,  as  if  complaining  of  their  hard 
treatment.  The  Kaffir  does  not  intend  to 
be  cruel  to  the  poor  birds;  but  he  has  really 
no  idea  that  he  is  inrticting  pain  on  them, 
and  will  carry  them  for  miles  by  the  legs, 
their  heads  hanging  down,  an;l  their  legs 
cut  by  the  cords. 

An  illustration  on  page  IS-j  represents  one 
of  the  ingenious  houses  which  the  KafKrs 
build  for  their  poultry.  The  house  is  made 
of  rough  basket-work,  and  is  then  plastered 
thickly  with  clay,  just  like  the  low  walls  of 
the  cooking-house  mentioned  on  page  1.39. 
By  the  side  of  the  henhouse  is  an  earthen- 
ware jar,  with  an  inverted  basket  by  way  of 
cover.  This  jar  holds  corn,  and  in  front  of 
it  is  one  of  the  primitive  grain  mills.  A 
beer  bowl  and  its  ladle  are  placed  near  the 
mill. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  nothing  can  in- 
duce the  Kaffirs  to  eat  fish,  this  prejudice 
being  shared  by  many  nations,  while  others 
derive  a  great  part  of  their  subsistence  from 
the  sea  and  the  river.  They  seem  to  feel  as 
much  disgust  at  the  notion  of  eating  fish 
as  we  do  at  articles  of  diet  such  as  caterpil- 
lars, earthworms,  spiders,  and  other  crea- 
tures, which  are  considered  as  dainties  in 
some  parts  of  the  world. 

In  the  article  of  diet  the  Zulus  are  curi- 
ously particular,  rejecting  manv  articles  of 
food  which  the  neighboring  tribes  eat  with- 
out scruple,  and  which  even  the  European 
settlers  do  not  refuse.  As  has  already  been 
mentioned,  fish  of  all  kinds  is  rejected,  and 
so  are  reptiles.  The  true  Zulu  will  not  eat 
any  species  of  monkey  nor  the  hy.tna,  and 
in  this  particular  we  can  sympathize  vfith 


them.  But  it  is  certainly  odd  to  find 
that  the  prohibited  articles  of  food  in- 
clude many  of  the  animals  which  inhabit 
jVtrica,  and  which  are  eaten  not  only  by 
the  other  tribes,  but  by  the  white  men. 
Tlie  most  extraordinary  circumstance  is, 
that  the  Zulus  will  not  eat  the  eland,  an 
animal  whose  flesh  is  far  sujierior  to  that  of 
any  English  ox,  is  preferred  even  to  veni- 
son, and  can  be  procured  in  large  quan- 
tities, owing  to  its  size. 

Neither  will  the  Zulus  eat  the  zebra,  the 
gnu,  the  hartebeest,  nor  the  rhinoceros;  and 
the  warriors  refrain  from  the  flesh  of  the 
elephant,  the  hippopotamus,  and  the  wild 
swine.  The  objection  to  eat  these  animals 
seems  to  have  extended  over  a  consideral)le 
portion  of  Southern  Africa ;  but  when  Tchaka 
overran  the  country,  and  swept  off  all  the 
herds  of  cattle,  the  vanquished  tribes  were 
obliged  either  to  eat  the  hitherto  rejected 
animals  or  starve,  and  naturally  preferred 
the  former  alternative.  It  is  probable  that 
the  custom  of  repudiating  certain  articles 
of  food  is  founded  upon  some  of  the  super- 
stitious ideas  which  take  the  place  of  a 
religion  in  the  Kaffir's  mind.  It  is  certain 
that  superstition  prohiljif s  fowls,  ducks,  bus- 
tards, porcupines,  and  eggs,  to  all  excejit  the 
very  young  and  the  old,  because  the  Kaffirs 
think  that  those  who  eat  such  ftjod  will 
never  enjoy  the  honoralile  title  of  father 
or  mother;  and,  as  is  well  known,  a  child- 
less man  or  woman  is  held  in  the  suprem- 
est  contempt. 

There  is  perhaps  no  article  of  food  more 
utterly  hateful  to  the  Kaffir  than  the  flesh  of 
the  crocodile,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
even  the  pangs  of  starvation  would  induce 
a  Zulu  Kaffir  to  partake  of  such  food,  or  to 
hold  friendly  intercourse  with  any  one  who 
had  done  so.  An  amusing  instance  of  this 
innate  horror  of  the  crocodile  occurred  some 
years  ago.  An  European  settler,  new  to 
"the  countrjf,  had  shot  a  crocodile,  and  hav- 
ing heard  much  of  the  properties  possessed 
by  the  fiit  of  the  reptile,  he  boiled  some  of 
its  flesh  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  it. 
Unfortunately  for  him,  the  only  vessel  at 
hand  was  an'  iron  pot,  in  which  his  Kaffir 
servants  were  accustomed  to  cook  their 
food,  and,  thinking  no  harm,  he  used  the  pot 
for  his  purpose.  He  could  not  have  done 
anything  more  calculated  to  shock  the  feel- 
ings of  the  Kaffirs,  who  deserted  him  in  a 
body,  leaving  the  polluted  vessel  behind 
them. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  none 
but  a  Kaffir  can  either  drive  or  milk  the  na- 
tive cattle,  and  the  unfortunate  colonist  was 
obliged  to  visit  all  the  kraals  within  reach 
in  order  to  hire  new  servants.  But  the 
news  had  spread  in  all  directions,  that  the 
white  man  cooked  crocodile  in  his  jiorridge 
]iof,  and  not  a  single  Kaffir  would  serve  him. 
At  Last  he  was  forced  to  go  to  a  considera- 
ble distance,  and  visited  a  kraal  which  ha 


158 


THE   KAFFIR. 


thought  was  beyond  the  reach  of  rumor. 
The  chief  mau  received  him  hospitably, 
promised  to  send  one  of  his  "boys"  as 
a  servant,  and  volunteered  permission  to 
beat  the  "boy"  if  he  were  disobedient. 
He  finished  liv  saving  that  he  only  made 
one    stipulation,  and    that    was,  that    the 


"  boy "  in  question  should  not  be  obliged 
to  eat  crocodile. 

It  will  be  understood  that  these  peculiar- 
ities regarding  food  apply  only  to  the  Zulu 
tribe,  and  that,  even  in  that  tribe,  great 
modifications  have  taken  place  iu  later 
years. 


CHAPTER  XXl. 


SOCIAL  CHAKACTEKISTICS. 


THE  UNTVERSAL  LOVE  OF  TOBACCO  —  SNUFFrNG  AND  SMOKING  —  HOW  A  KAFFIK  MAKES  HIS  SNtJFF  — 
HOW  A  KAFFHt  TAKES  SNUFF  —  THE  SNUFF  SPOON,  ITS  FORMS,  AND  MODE  OF  USING  IT  —  ETI- 
QUETTE OF  SNUFF  TAKING  —  BEGGflsG  AND  GIVING  SNUFF  —  COMPARISON  WITH  OUR  ENGLISH 
CUSTOM  — DELICACY  OF  THE  KAFFIr's  OLFACTORY  NERVES — VARIOUS  FORMS  OF  SNUFF  BOX  — 
THE  EAR  BOX — THE  SINGULAR  BLOOD  BOX  —  A  KAFFLR'S  CAPACITY  FOB  MODELLING  —  GOURD 
SNUFF  BOX  —  THE  KAFFIR  AND  HIS  PIPE  —  PIPE  LOVERS  THROUGHOUT  THE  WORLD  —  A  SINGULAR 
INLAID  PIPE — THE  WATER  PIPE  OF  THE  KAFFIK — HEMP,  OR  DAGHA,  AND  ITS  OPERATION  ON 
THE  SYSTEM  —  THE  POOR  MAN'S  PIPE  —  CURIOUS  ACCOMP.iNIJIENT  OF  SMOKING  —  MAJOR  ROSS 
king's  SMOKING  ADVENTURE  —  CULTIVATION  AND  PREPARATION  OF  TOBACCO. 


After  the  food  of  the  KaiBr  tribes,  we 
naturally  come  to  their  luxuries.  One  of 
these  luxuries,  namely,  beer,  is  scarcely 
considered  as  such  by  them,  but  is  reck- 
oned as  one  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  There 
is.  however,  one  gratification  in  which  the 
Kaffir  indulges  whenever  he  can  do  so,  and 
that  is  the  use  of  tobacco,  either  in  the  form 
of  smoke  or  snutf.  The  love  of  tobacco,  which 
is  universally  prevalent  over  the  world,  is 
fully  developed  in  the  Kaffir,  as  in  all  the 
savage  tribes  of  Africa.  For  tobacco  the 
native  undergoes  exertions  which  no  other 
reward  would  induce  him  to  undertake.  He 
is  not  at  all  particular  about  the  quality, 
provided  that  it  be  strong,  and  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  produce  tobacco  that  can  be  too 
coarse,  rough,  or  powerful  for  his  taste. 
He  likes  to  feel  its  effects  on  his  .system, 
and  would  reject  the  finest  flavored  cigar 
for  a  piece  of  rank  stick  tobacco  that  an 
English  gentleman  would  be  unaljle  to 
smoke.  He  uses  tobacco  in  two  forms, 
namely,  smoke  and  snutf,  and  in  both  cases 
likes  to  feel  that  he  has  the  full  flavor  of 
the  narcotic. 

His  snutf  is  made  in  a  very  simple  man- 
ner, and  is  mostly  manufactured  by  the 
women.  The  first  process  is  to  grind  the 
tobacco  to  powder  between  two  stones,  and 
when  it  is  p.artially  rubbed  down  a  little  water 
is  added,  so  as  to  convert  it  into  a  paste. 
Meanwhile,  a  number  of  twigs  are  being 
carefully  burnt  to  ashes,  a  pure  white  feath- 
ery ash  being  one  of  the  chief  ingredients. 


The  leaf  of  the  aloe,  previously  dried,  is  often 
used  for  this  purpose,  and  by  connoisseurs 
is  preferred  to  any  other  material.  When 
the  snutf  maker  judges  that  the  tobacco  is 
sufficiently  ground,  she  spreads  the  paste 
upon  a  flat  stone,  and  places  it  in  the  rays 
of  the  sun.  The  great  heat  soon  dries  up 
the  caked  tobacco,  which  is  then  rubbed 
until  it  becomes  a  very  fine  powder.  A 
certain  proportion  of  wood-ash  is  then 
added  and  carefully  mixed,  and  the  snufl 
is  made.  The  etfect  of  the  ashes  is  to  give 
pungency  to  the  snutf,  such  as  cannot  be 
obtained  from  the  pure  tobacco.  Of  this 
snutf  the  K'llTn-s  are  immoderately  fond, 
and  even  European  snutf  takers  often  pre- 
fer it  to  any  snuff  that  can  be  purchased. 
I  know  one  African  traveller,  who  acquired 
the  habit  of  snutf  taking  among  the  Kaffirs, 
and  who,  having  learned  to  make  snufi'  in 
Kaffir  fashion,  continues  to  manufacture  his 
own  snufl",  thinking  it  superior  to  any  that 
can  be  obtained  at  the  tobacconists'  shops. 

The  manner  of  taking.snuff  is,  among  the 
Kaffirs,  by  no  means  the  simple  process  in 
use  among  ourselves.  Snuff  taking  almost 
assumes  the  character  of  a  solemn  rit«,  and 
is  never  performed  with  the  thoughtless 
levity  of  an  European  snufl'  taker.  A  Kaffir 
never  thinks  of  taking  snufl'  while  standing, 
but  must  needs  sit  down  for  the  purpose,  in 
some  place  and  at  some  time  when  he  will 
not  be  disturbed.  If  he  happens  to  be  a  man 
tolerably  well  off,  he  will  have  a  snuft'  spoon 
ready  stuck  in  bis  hair,  and  will  draw  it  out. 


(159) 


160 


THE  IvAFPIR. 


These  snuff  spoons  are  very  similar  in  form, 
although  they  slightly  difler  in  detail.  They 
are  made  of  bone  or  ivory,  and  consist  of  a 
small  bowl  set. on  a  deeply  pronged  handle. 
Some  spoons  have  two  jirongs,  but  the  gen- 
erality liave  three.  The  bowl  is  mostl\- 
hemispherical,  but  in  some  specimens  it  is 
oblong.  I  possess  specimens  of  both  forms, 
and  also  a  snuft'  spoon  from  Madagascar, 
which  is  very  similar  both  in  shape  and  size 
to  that  which  is  used  by  tlie  Kaffir. 

Supposing  him  to  have  a  spoon,  he  takes 
his  suulf  box  out  of  his  ear,  or  from  his  belt, 
and  solemnly  tills  the  bowl  of  the  spoon. 
He  then  replaces  the  box,  inserts  the  bowl 
of  the  spoon  into  his  capacious  nostrils,  and 
with  a  powerful  inhalation  exhausts  the  con- 
tents. The  pungent  snuff  causes  tears  to 
pour  down  his  cheeks;  and  as  if  to  make 
sure  that  they  shall  follow  their  proper 
course,  the  taker  draws  the  edges  of  his 
thumbs  down  his  face,  so  as  to  make  a  kind 
of  groove  in  which  the  tears  can  run  from 
theinner  angle  of  the  eyes  to  the  corner  of 
the  mouth.  This  Hood  of  tears  constitutes 
the  Kaffir's  great  enjoyment  in  snuff  taking, 
and  it  is  contrary  to  all  etiquette  to  speak  to 
a  Kaffir,  or  to  disturb  him  in  any  way,  while 
he  is  taking  his  snuff. 

If,  as  is  often  the  case,  he  is  not  rich 
enough  to  possess  a  spoon,  he  manages  it  in 
another  fashion.  Taking  care  to  seat  him- 
self in  a  spot  which  is  sheltered  from  the 
wind,  he  pours  the  snuff  on  the  back  of  his 
hand,  making  a  little  conical  lieap  that  ex- 
actly coincides  with  his  wide  nostrils.  By 
putting  the  left  side  of  his  nose  on  the  snuft 
heap,  and  closing  the  other  nostril  with  his 
forefinger,  he  contrives  to  absorb  it  all  with- 
out losing  a  grain  of  the  precious  substance 
—  an  act  which  he  would  consider  as  the 
very  acme  of  folly. 

The  rules  of  etiquette  are  especially  mi- 
nute as  regards  snuff  taking. 

It  is  considered  bad  manners  to  offer  snuff 
to  another,  because  to  offer  a  gift  implies 
superiority;  the  principal  man  in  each  as- 
sembly being  always  called  upon  to  give 
snuff  to  the  others.  There  is  an  etiquette 
even  in  asking  for  snuff.  If  one  Kaffir  sees 
another  taking  snuff,  lie  does  not  ask  directlj' 
for  it,  but  puts  a  sidelong  question,  saying, 
"  What  are  you  eating  ?  "  The  first  answer 
to  this  question  is  always  to  the  effect  that 
he  is  not  eating  anything,  which  is  the  polite 
mode  of  refusing  the  request  —  a  refusal  to 
the  first  application  being  part  of  the  same 
singular  code  of  laws.  When  a  second  re- 
quest is  made  in  the  same  indirect  manner 
as  the  former,  he  pours  a  quantity  of  snuff 
into  the  palm  of  his  left  hand,  and  holds  it 
out  for  the  other  to  help  himself,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  looks  carefully  in  another  direc- 
tion, so  that  he  may  not  seem  to  watch  the 
quantity  which  is  taken,  and  to  appear  to 
grudge  the  gift.  Or,  if  several  be  present, 
and  he  is  a  rich  man,  he  helps  himself  first, 


and  then  throws  the  box  to  his  guests, 
abstaining,  as  before,  from  looking  at  them 
as  they  help  themselves.  When  a  chief  has 
summoned  his  dependants,  he  calls  a  ser- 
vant, who  holds  his  two  open  hands  together, 
so  as  to  form  a  cup.  The  chief  then  tills  his 
hands  with  snulf,  and  the  servant  carries  the 
valued  gift  to  tlie  guests  as  thej'  sit  around. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  when 
a  Kaffir  takes  snuff,  he  sits  on  the  ground. 
This  is  one  of  the  many  small  points  of  eti- 
quette which  the  natives  observe  with  the 
minutest  care.  Its  infringement  is  looked 
upon  not  only  as  an  instance  of  Ijad  man- 
ners, but  as  a  tacit  acknowledgment  tliat  the 
man  who  stands  up  while  he  is  engaged  with 
his  snuff  with  another  is  trying  to  take 
advantage  of  him.  Mr.  Shooter  remarks 
that  many  a  man  has  been  murdered  by 
being  entrapjied  into  snuff  taking,  and  then  ' 
stabbed  while  in  a  defenceless  position. 
The  very  act  of  holding  out  one  hand  filled 
with  snuti"  while  the  other  is  occuiiied  with 
the  snuTl'box,  prevents  the  donor  from  using 
his  weapons,  so  that  he  might  be  easily  over- 
powered by  any  one  who  was  inclined  to  be 
treacherous. 

The  reader  will  probably  have  observed 
the  analogy  between  this  custom  and  an 
ancient  etiquette  of  England,  a  relic  of 
which  still  survives  in  the  "  grace  cup " 
handed  round  at  municipal  banquets.  There 
are  few  points  in  Kaffir  life  more  remarkable 
than  the  minute  code  of  etiquette  concern- 
ing the  use  of  tobacco.  It  must  have  been 
of  very  recent  growth,  because  tobacco, 
although  much  cultivated  in  Aii-ica,  is  not 
indigenous  to  that  country,  and  has  been 
introduced  from  America.  It  almost  seems 
as  if  some  spirit  of  courtesy  were  inherent 
in  the  plant,  and  thus  the  African  black  man 
and  the  American  red  man  are  perforce 
obliged  to  observe  careful  ceremonial  in  its 
consumption. 

It  might  naturally  be  thought  that  the 
constant  inhalations  of  such  quantities  of 
snuff,  and  that  of  so  pungent  a  character, 
would  injure  the  olfactory  nerves  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  would  be  scarcely  able 
to  perform  their  office.  Such,  however,  is 
not  the  case.  The  Kaffir's  nose  is  a  wonder- 
ful organ.  It  is  entirely  unaffected  by  the 
abominable  scent  proceeding  from  the  ran- 
cid grease  with  which  the  natives  plente- 
ously  besmear  themselves,  and  suffers  no 
inconvenience  from  the  stifling  atmosjdiere 
of  the  hut  where  many  inmates  are  assem- 
bled. But,  notwithstanding  all  these  as- 
saults upon  it,  conjoined  with  the  continual 
snuff  taking,  it  can  detect  odors  which  are 
quite  imperceptible  to  European  nostrils, 
and  appears  to  be  nearly  as  sensitive  as  that 
of  the  bloodhound. 

Being  so  fond  of  their  snuff,  the  Kaffirs 
lavish  all  their  artistic  powers  on  the  boxes 
in  which  they  carry  so  valuable  a  sulistance. 
They  make  their  snuff  boxes  of  various  ma- 


SNUFF  BOXES. 


101 


terials,  such  as  wood,  bone,  ivory,  horn;  and 
just  as  Europeans  employ  gems  and  the 
precious  metals  in  the  manufacture  of  their 
snutf  boxes,  so  do  the  Kaffirs  use  for  the 
same  purpose  the  materials  they  most  value, 
and  exhaust  upon  them  the  utmost  resources 
of  their  simple  arts. 

One  of  the  commonest  forms  of  snuff  box 
is  a  small  tube,  about  three  inches  in  length, 
and  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  This  is  merely 
a  joint  of  reed,  with  its  open  end  secured  by 
a  plug.  The  natural  color  of  the  reed  is 
shining  yellow;  but  the  Kaffir  mostly  deco- 
rates it  with  various  patterns,  made  by  par- 
tially charring  the  surface.  Tlieso  patterns 
are  differently  disposed;  but  in  general  form 
they  are  very  similar,  consisting  of  diamonds 
and  triangles  of  alternate  Ijlack  and  yellow. 
This  box  answei-s  another  purpose  besides 
that  of  holding  the  snuff,  and  is  used  as  an 
ornament.  The  correct  method  of  wearing 
it  is  to  make  a  hole  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  and 
push  the  snuff  box  into  it.  In  (hat  position 
it  is  always  at  hand,  and  the  bold  bltick  and 
yellow  pattern  has  a  good  effect  against  the 
dark  chei-k  of  the  wearer.  This  box  is  seen 
at  fig.  6  of  "  dress  and  ornaments,"  on  page 
49. 

Another  form  of  snuff  box  is  shown  at 
fig.  5  on  the  same  page.  This  is  a  small 
article,  and  is  cut  out  of  solid  ivory.  Much 
skill  is  shown  in  the  external  shaping  of  it, 
and  very  great  patience  must  have  been 
shown  in  scraping  and  polishing  its  surlace. 
But  this  is  mere  child's  play  contrasted  with 
the  enormous  labors  of  hollowing  it  with 
the  very  imperfect  tools  possessed  by  a  Kaf- 
fir workman.  The  common  bottle  gourd  is 
largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  snuff 
boxes.  Sometimes  it  is  merely  hollowed, 
and  furnished  with  a  plaited  leathern  thong, 
whereby  it  may  be  secured  to  the  person  of 
the  owner.  The  hollowing  process  is  very 
simple,  and  consists  of  boring  a  hole  in  the 
end  as  the  gourd  hangs  on  the  tree,  and 
leaving  it  to  itself.  In  process  of  time  the 
whole  interior  decomposes,  and  the  outer 
skin  is  baked  by  the  sun  to  a  degree  of 
hardness  nearly  equal  to  that  of  earthen- 
ware. This  form  of  snuff  box  is  much 
used.  As  the  bottle  gourd  attains  a  large 
size,  it  is  generally  employed  as  a  store  box, 
in  which  snuff  is  kept  in  stock,  or  by  a  chief 
of  liberal  ideas,  who  likes  to  hand  round  a 
large  supply  among  his  followers.  In  the 
generality  of  cases  it  is  ornamented  in  some 
way  or  other.  Sometimes  the  Kaffir  deco- 
rates the  whole  exterior  with  the  angular 
charred  pattern  which  has  already  been 
mentioned;  but  his  great  delight  is  to 
cover  it  with  beads,  the  ornaments  which 
his  soul  loves.  These  beads  are  most  in- 
geniously attached  to  the  gourd,  and  fit  it 
as  closely  as  the  protective  envelope  covers 
a  Florence  oil  flask. 

One  favorite  kind  of  snuff  box  is  made 
from  the  bone   of  a  cow's  leg.    The  part 


which  is  preferred  is  that  just  above  the 
fore  foot.  The  foot  being  removed,  the 
Kaffir  measures  a  piece  of  the  leg  some 
four  inches  in  length,  and  cuts  it  off.  From 
the  upper  part  he  strips  the  skin,  but  takes 
care  to  leave  a  toleral:ily  broad  belt  of  hide 
at  the  wider  end.  The  bone  is  then  pol- 
ished, and  is  generally  decorated  with  a 
rudely  engraved  but  moderately  regular 
pattern,  somewhat  similar  to  that  which 
has  been  already  described  as  placed  upon 
the  gourd.  The  natural  hollow  is  much 
enlarged,  and  the  opening  being  closed  with 
a  stopper,  the  snulf  l)ox  is  complete. 

Sometimes  the  Kaffir  makes  his  snuff  box 
out  of  the  horn  of  a  young  ox;  but  he  will 
occasionally  go  to  the  trouble  of  cutting  it 
out  of  the  horn  of  a  rhinoceros.  Such  a 
box  is  a  valuable  one,  for  the  bone  of  the 
rhinoceros  is  solid,  and  therefore  the  hollow 
must  be  made  by  sheer  labor,  whereas  that 
of  the  ox  is  already  hollow,  and  only  needs 
to  be  polished.  Moreover,  it  is  not  so  easy 
to  procure  the  horn  of  a  rhinoceros  as  that 
of  an  ox,  inasmuch  as  (he  former  is  a  power- 
ful and  dangerous  animal,  and  can  only  be 
obtained  at  the  risk  of  life,  or  by  the  labo- 
rious plan  of  digging  a  pitfall. 

There  is  one  tbrm  of  snuff  box  which  is, 
as  far  as  I  know,  peculiar  to  the  tribes  ol 
Southern  Afi'ica,  both  in  shape  and  mate- 
rial. The  Kaffir  begins  liy  making  a  clay 
model  of  some  animal,  and  putting  it  in  the 
sun  to  dry.  He  is  very  expert  at  this  art, 
and,  as  a  general  rule,  can  imitate  the  va- 
rious animals  with  such  truth  that  they  can 
be  immediately  recognized.  Of  course  he 
has  but  little  delicacy,  and  does  not  aim  at 
any  artistic  effect;  but  he  is  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  salient  points  of  the  ani- 
mal which  he  is  modelling,  and  renders 
them  with  a  force  that  frequently  passes 
into  rather  ludicrous  exaggeration. 

The  next  process  is  a  very  singular  one. 
When  a  cow  is  killed,  the  Kaffir  removes 
the  hide,  and  lays  it  on  the  ground  with  the 
hair  downward.  With  the  sharp  blade  of 
his  assagai  he  then  scrapes  the  interior  of 
the  hide,  so  as  to  clean  off  the  coagulated 
blood  which  adheres  to  it,  and  collects  it  all 
in  one  place.  With  this  blood  he  mixes 
some  powdered  earth,  and  works  the  blood 
and  the  powder  into  a  paste.  Of  course  a 
small  quantity  of  animal  fibre  is  scraped 
from  the  hide  and  mixed  with  the  paste, 
and  aids  to  bind  it  more  closely  together. 
The  paste  being  ready,  the  Kaffir  rubs  it 
over  the  clay  model,  taking  care  to  lay  it 
on  of  a  uniform  thickness.  A  few  minutes 
in  the  burning  sunshine  suffices  to  harden 
it  tolerably,  and  then  a  second  coat  is  added. 
The  Kaffir  repeats  this  process  until  he  has 
obtained  a  coating  aliout  the  twelfth  of  an 
inch  in  thickness.  Just  before  it  has  be- 
come quite  hard,  he  takes  his  needle  or  a 
very  tinely  pointed  assagai,  and  rai-^es  a 
kind  of  coarse  najj  on  the  surface,  so  as  to 


162 


THE  K.\JFIE. 


bear  a  rude  resemblance  to  hair.  When 
it  is  quite  dry,  the  KatHr  cuts  a  round  liole 
in  the  toj)  ot  Uie  head,  and  with  his  needle 
aided  by  sundry  implements  made  of  thorns, 
picks  out  the  whole  of  the  clay  model,  leav- 
ing only  the  dry  coating  of  paste.  By  this 
time  the  plastic  paste  has  hardened  into  a 
peculiar  consistency.  It  is  very  heavy  in 
proportion  to  its  bulk,  partly  on  account  of 
tlie  earthy  matter  incorporated  with  it,  and 
partly  on  account  of  it.s  extremely  compact 
nature.  It  is  wonderfully  strong,  resisting 
considerable  violence  without  suffering  any 
damage.  It  is  so  hard  that  contact  with 
sharp  stones,  spear  heads,  or  a  knife  blade 
is  perfectly  innocuous,  and  so  elastic,  that 
if  it  were  dropped  from  the  clouds  upon  the 
earth,  it  would  scarcely  sustain  any  injury. 

My  own  specimen  represents  an  elephant, 
the  leathern  thong  by  which  the  plug  is  re- 
tained being  ingeniously  contrived  to  play 
the  part  of  the  proboscis.  But  the  Kaffirs 
are  singularly  ingenious  in  their  manufac- 
ture of  these  curious  snutf  boxes,  and  imi- 
tate the  foi'm  of  almost  every  animal  in 
their  own  country.  The  ox  and  the  ele- 
phant are  their  favorite  models:  but  they 
will  sometimes  make  a  snuft'  box  in  the 
form  of  a  rhinoceros;  and  the  very  best 
specimen  that  I  have  as  yet  seen  was  in 
the  shape  of  a  hartebcest,  the  peculiar  re- 
curved horns,  and  shape  of  the  head,  being 
rendered  with  wonderful  truth. 

Modelling  must  naturally  imply  a  mind 
with  some  artistic  powers;  and  it  is  evident 
that  any  one  ^vho  can  form  in  clay  a  recog- 
nizable model  of  any  oliject,  no  matter  how 
rude  it  may  be,  has  within  him  some  modi- 
cum of  tlie  sculptor's  art.  This  implies  a 
portion  of  the  draughtsman's  art  also,  be- 
cause in  the  mind  of  the  modeller  there 
must  exist  a  tolerably  accurate  conception 
of  the  various  outlines  that  bound  the  oli- 
ject which  he  models.  He  can  also  carve 
very  respectably  in  wood;  and,  as  we  have 
seen  ■ —  when  we  came  to  the  question  of  a 
Kaffir's  food  and  how  he  eats  it  —  he  can 
carve  hi.s  spoons  into  very  artistic  forms, 
and  sometimes  to  the  shape  of  certain  ob- 
jects, whether  artificial  or  natural.  There 
is  now  before  me  an  admirably  executed 
model  of  the  head  of  a  bufl'alo,  carved  by  a 
Kaffir  out  of  a  rhinoceros  horn,  the  peculiar 
sweep  and  ciu've  of  the  bufialo's  enormous 
liorn  being  given  with  a  truth  and  freedom 
that  are  really  wonderful. 

Yet  it  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that  a 
Kaffir,  as  a  general  rule,  is  wholly  incajiable 
of  understanding  a  drawing  that  includes 
perspective.  An  ordinary  outline  he  can 
understand  well  enough,  and  will  recognize 
a  sketch  of  an  animal,  a  house,  or  a  man, 
and  will  sometimes  succeed  in  identifj'ing 
the  individual  who  is  represented.  Yet 
even  this  amount  of  artistic  recognition  is 
by  no  means  universal;  and  a  Kaffir,  on 
being  shown  a  well-executed  portrait  of  a 


man,  has  been  known  to  assert  that  it  was  a 
lion. 

But  when  perspective  is  included,  the 
Kaffir  is  wholly  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  it. 
One  of  my  friends,  who  was  travelling  in 
South  Africa,  lialted  at  a  well-known  spot, 
and  while  there  received  a  copy  of  an  illus- 
trated newspaper,  in  which  was  an  engrav- 
ing of  the  identical  spot.  He  was  delighted 
at  the  opportunity,  and  called  the  Katiirs  to 
come  and  look  at  the  print.  Xot  one  of 
them  could  form  the  slightest  concejition  of 
its  meaning,  although,  by  a  curious  coinci- 
dence, a  wagon  had  been  represented  in 
exactly  the  situation  whicli  was  occupied  by 
that  in  which  they  were  travelling.  In  vain 
did  he  explain  the  print.  Hen-  was  the 
wagon  —  there  was  that  clump  of  trees  — 
there  was  that  flat-topped  hill  —  down  in 
that  direction  ran  that  ravine  —  and  so 
forth.  They  listened  very  attentively,  and 
then  began  to  laugh,  thinking  that  he  was 
joking  with  them.  The  wagon,  which 
happened  to  be  in  the  foreground,  they 
recognized,  liut  the  landscape  they  ignored. 
•■  That  clump  of  trees,"  .said  they,  ■'  is  more 
than  a  mile  distant;  how  can  it  be  on  this 
Hat  piece  of  paper?"  To  their  minds  the 
argument  was  ended,  and  there  was  no 
room  for  further  discussion. 

I  have  another  snutf  box,  which  is  re- 
markable as  being  a  combination  of  two 
arts;  namely,  modelling  and  bead  work. 
The  author  of  this  composition  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  a  man  of  original  gen- 
ius, or  to  have  possessed  any  contidence  in 
his  power  of  modelling.  Instead  of  mak- 
ing a  clay  model  of  some  animal,  he  has 
contented  himself  with  imitating  a  gourd, 
one  of  the  easiest  tasks  that  a  child  of  four 
years  old  could  perform.  There  is  nothing 
to  do  but  to  make  a  tall  of  clay,  for  the  body 
of  the  box,  and  fix  to  it  a  small  cylinder  of 
clay  for  the  neck.  The  maker  of  this  snuff 
box  has  been  scarcely  more  successful  in 
the  ornamental  cover  than  in  the  box  itself 
With  great  labor  he  has  woven  an  envelope 
ntade  of  beads,  and  up  to  a  certain  point 
has  been  successful.  He  has  evidently 
possessed  beads  of  several  sizes,  and  has 
disposed  them  with  some  ingenidty.  The 
larger  are  made  into  the  cover  for  the  neck 
of  the  box,  a  number  of  the  very  largest 
beads  being  reserved  to  mark  the  line 
where  the  neck  is  worked  into  the  body  of 
the  bottle.  All  the  beads  are  strung  upon 
threads  made  of  sinews,  and  are  managed 
so  ingeniously  that  a  kind  of  close  network 
is  formed,  which  fits  almost  tightly  to  the 
box.  But  the  maker  has  committed  a  slight 
error  in  his  measurements,  and  tlie  conse- 
quence is  that,  although  the  cover  fits 
closely  over  the  greater  part  of  the  box,  it 
forms  several  tingainly  wrinkles  here  and 
there;  the  maker  having  forgotten  that, 
owing  to  the  globular  shape  of  the  l>ox,  the 
diameter  of   the   bead  envelope   ought   to 


THE  KAFFIR  AND  HIS  PIPE. 


163 


hare    been    contracted  with  each  row  of 
beads. 

The  colors  of  the  beads  are  only  three  — 
namely,  chalk- white,  garnet,  and  blue;  the 
two  latter  being  translucent.  The  ground- 
work is  formed  of  the  opaque  white  beads, 
while  those  of  the  other  two  colors  are  dis- 
]iosed  in  bands  running  in  a  slightly  spiral 
direction. 

There  is  now  before  me  a  most  remark- 
able snuff  box,  or  "iquaka,"  as  the  Kaffirs 
call  it,  which  perplexed  me  exceedingly. 
The  form  is  that  of  a  South  African  gourd, 
and  it  is  furnished  with  a  leathern  thong, 
after  the  pure  African  fashion.  But  the 
carving  with  which  it  is  almost  entirely 
covered  never  was  designed  by  a  Kaffir 
artist.  The  upper  portion  is  cut  so  as  to 
resemble  the  well-known  concentric  ivory 
balls  which  the  Chinese  cut  with  such  infi- 
nite labor,  and  a  similar  pattern  decorates 
the  base.  But  the  body  of  the  gourd  is 
covered  with  outline  carvings,  one  of  which 
represents  a  peacock,  a  bird  which  does  not 
belong  to  Kaffirland,  and  the  rest  of  which 
are  very  fair  representations  of  the  rose, 
thistle,  and  shamrock.  The  peacock  is 
really  well  drawn,  the  contrast  between  the 
close  plumage  of  the  body  and  the  loose, 
discomposed  feathers  of  the  train  being 
very  boldly  marked;  while  the  attitude  of 
the  bird,  as  it  stands  on  a  branch,  with 
reverted  head,  is  very  natural.  (See  page 
167.)  Major  Ross  King,  to  whose  collec- 
tion it  belongs,  tells  me  that  if  he  had  not 
seen  it  taken  from  the  body  of  a  slain  wai'- 
rior,  he  coidd  hardly  have  believed  that  it 
came  from  Southern  Africa.  He  thinks 
that  it  must  have  been  carved  by  a  partially 
civilized  Hottentot,  or  Kaffir  of  exceptional 
intelligence,  and  that  the  design  must  have 
been  copied  from  some  English  models,  or 
have  been  furnished  by  an  Englishman  to 
the  Kaffir,  who  afterward  transferred  it  to 
the  gourd. 

The  same  gentleman  has  also  forwarded 
to  me  another  gourd  of  the  same  shape,  but 
of  much  larger  size,  which  has  been  used 
for  holding  amasi,  or  clotted  milk.  This 
specimen  is  chiefly  remarkalde  from  the 
fact  that  an  accident  has  befixllen  it,  and  a 
hole  made  in  its  side.  The  owner  has  evi- 
dently valued  the  gourd,  and  has  ingen- 
iously filled  up  the  hole  with  a  patch  of  raw 
hide.  The  stitch  much  resembles  that 
which  has  already  been  described  when 
treating  of  Kaffir  costum?.  A  row  of  small 
holes  has  been  drilled  tlirough  the  fracture, 
and  by  means  of  a  sinew  thread  the  patch 
has  been  fastened  over  the  hole.  The  piece 
of  hide  is  rather  larger  than  the  hole  which 
it  covers,  and  as  it  has  been  put  on  when 
wet,  the  junction  has  become  quite  water- 
tight, and  the  patch  is  almost  incorporated 
with  the  gourd. 

The  gourd  is  prepared  in  the  very  simple 
manner'  that  is  in  use  among  the  Kaffirs  — • 


namely,  by  cutting  off  a  small  portion  of  the 
neck,  so  as  to  allow  the  air  to  enter,  and 
thus  to  cause  the  whole  of  the  soft  sub- 
stance of  the  interior  to  decay.  The  severed 
portion  of  the  neck  is  carefully  preserved, 
and  the  stopper  is  fixed  to  it  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  when  the  gourd  is  closed  it  seems 
at  first  sight  to  be  entire.  These  gourds 
are  never  washed,  but  fresh  milk  is  contin- 
ually added,  in  order  that  it  may  be  con- 
verted into  amasi  by  that  which  is  left  in 
the  vessel. 

Next  to  his  snuffbox,  the  Kaffir  values  his 
pipe.  There  is  quite  as  much  variety  in 
pipes  in  Kaffirland  as  there  is  in  Europe,  and, 
if  possible,  the  material  is  even  more  varied. 
Reed,  wood,  stone,  horn,  and  bone  are  the 
principal  materials,  and  the  reader  will  see 
that  from  them  a  considerable  variety  can 
be  formed.  The  commonest  pipes  are  made 
out  of  wood,  and  are  formed  on  the  same 
jirinciple  as  the  well-known  wooden  pipes  of 
Europe.  But  the  Kaffir  has  no  lathe  in 
which  he  can  turn  the  bowl  smooth  on  the 
exterior,  and  gouge  out  the  wood  to  make 
its  cavity.  Neither  has  he  the  drills  with 
which  the  European  maker  pierces  the  stem, 
nor  the  delicate  tools  which  give  it  so  neat  a 
finish.  He  has  scarcely  any  tools  but  his 
ass.agai  and  his  needle,  and  yet  with  these 
rude  implements  he  succeeds  in  making  a 
very  serviceable,  though  not  a  very  artistic 
pipe. 

One  of  the  principal  points  in  pipe  mak- 
ing, among  the  Kaffirs,  is,  to  be  liberal  as 
regards  the  size  of  the  bowl.  The  smallest 
Kaffir  pipe  is  nearly  three  times  as  large  as 
the  ordinary  pipe  of  Europe,  and  is  rather 
larger  than  the  great  porcelain  pipes  so 
prevalent  in  Germany.  But  the  tobacco 
used  by  the  Germans  is  very  mild,  and  is 
employed  more  for  its  delicate  flavor  than 
ifs  ])0tency;  whereas  the  tobacco  which  a 
Kaffir  uses  is  rough,  coarse,  rank,  and  ex- 
tremely strong.  Some  of  the  pipes  used  by 
these  tribes  are  so  large  that  a  casual  ob- 
server might  easily  take  them  for  ladles, 
and  they  are  so  heavy  and  unwieldy,  espe- 
cially toward  the  bowl,  that  on  an  emergency 
a  smoker  might  very  eftectually  use  his  pipe 
as  a  club,  and  beat  off  either  a  wild  beast  or 
a  human  foe  with  the  improvised  weapon. 

Generally,  the  bowl  is  merely  hollowed, 
and  then  used  as  soon  as  the  wood  is  dry; 
but  in  some  cases  the  dusky  manufacturer 
improves  his  pipe,  or  at  least  thinks  that  he 
.does  so,  by  lining  it  with  a  very  thin  plate 
of  sheet  iron.  Sometimes,  though  rather 
rarely,  a  peculiar  kind  of  stone  is  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  pipes.  This  stone  is  of 
a  green  color,  with  a  wavy  kind  of  pattern, 
not  unlike  that  of  mal.achite.  Many  of  the 
natives  set  great  store  by  this  stone,  and 
have  almost  superstitious  ideas  of  its  value 
and  properties. 

The  Kaffir  possesses  to  the  full  the  love  of 
his  own  especial  pipe,  which  seems  to  dis- 


164 


THE  KAFFIR. 


tinguish  everv  smoker,  no  matter  what  his 
country  may  be.  The  Turk  has  a  plain 
earthen  bowl,  but  incrusts  the  stem  with 
jewels,  and  forms  the  mouthpiece  of  the 
purest  amber.  The  German  forms  the  Ijowl 
of  the  finest  porcelain,  and  adorns  it  with 
his  own  coat  of  arms,  or  with  the  portrait  of 
some  bosom  friend,  while  the  stem  is  deco- 
rated with  silken  cords  and  tassels  of  brilliant 
and  symbolical  colors.  Even  the  English- 
man, plain  and  simple  as  are  the  tastes  on 
which  he  values  himself,  takes  a  special 
pride  in  a  good  meerschaum,  and  decorates 
his  favorite  pipe  with  gold  mounting  and 
amber  mouthpiece.  Some  persons  of  simple 
taste  prefer  the  plain  wooden  or  clay  pipe  to 
the  costliest  specimen  that  art  can  furnish ; 
but  others  pride  themselves  either  upon  the 
costly  materials  witli  which  the  pijie  is  made, 
or  the  quantity  of  gold  .and  silver  wherewith 
it  is  decorated.  Others,  again,  seem  to  pre- 
fer forms  as  grotesque  and  fantastic  as  any 
that  are  designed  by  the  Western  Afri- 
can negro,  as  is  shown  by  the  variety  of 
strangely-shaped  jiipes  exhibited  in  the  to- 
bacconists' windows,  which  would  not  be  so 
abundantly  produced  if  the}-  did  not  meet 
with  a  correspondingly  large  sale. 

The  North  American  Indian  lavishes  all 
his  artistic  powers  upon  his  pipe.  As  a 
warrior,  upon  a  campaign  he  contents  him- 
self with  a  pipe  "  contrived  a  double  debt  to 
pay,"  his  tomahawk  l)eing  so  fashioned  that 
the  pipe  bowl  is  sunk  in  the  head,  while 
the  handle  of  the  weapon  is  hollowed,  and 
becomes  the  stem.  But,  as  a  man  of  peace, 
he  expends  his  wealth,  his  artistic  jiowers, 
and  his  time  upon  his  pipe.  He  takes  a 
journey  to  the  far  distant  spot  in  which  the 
sacred  redstone  is  quarried.  He  utters  in- 
vocations to  the  Great  Spirit;  gives  oft'er- 
ings,  and  humbly  asks  permission  to  take 
some  of  the  venerated  stone.  He  returns 
home  with  his  treasure,  carves  the  bowl 
with  infinite  pains,  makes  a  most  elaborate 
stem,  and  decorates  it  with  the  wampum 
and  feathers  which  are  the  jewelry  of  a 
savage  Indian.  The  inhabitant  of  Vancou- 
ver's Island  shajies  an  entire  ]iipe,  Ijowl 
and  stem  included,  out  of  solid  stone,  cov- 
ering it  with  an  infinity  of  grotesque  images 
that  must  take  nearly  a  lifetime  of  labor. 
The  native  of  India  forms  the  water-pipe, 
or  "hubble-bubble,"  out  of  a  cocoa-nut  shell 
and  a  piece  of  bamboo  and  a  cl.ay  liowl;  and 
as  long  as  he  is  a  mere  laborer,  living  on 
nothing  but  rice,  he  contents  himself  witU 
this  simple  arrangement.  But,  in  propor- 
tion as  he  becomes  rich,  he  indicates  his 
increasing  wealth  by  the  appearance  of  his 
pipe;  so  that  when  he  has  attained  afflu- 
ence, the  cocoa-nut  .shell  is  incased  in  gold 
and  silver  filagree,  while  the  stem  and 
mouthpiece  are  covered  with  gems  and  the 
precious  metals. 

It  is  likely,  therefore,  that  the  Kaffir  will 
expend  both  time  and  labor  upon  the  deco- 


ration of  his  pipe.  Of  artistic  beauty  he  has 
very  little  idea,  and  is  unalih^  to  give  to  his 
pipe  the  flowing  curves  which  are  found  in 
the  handiwork  of  the  American  Indian,  or 
to  produce  the  rude  yet  vigorous  designs 
which  ornament  the  pipe  of  New  Caledonia. 
The  form  of  the  Kaffir's  pipe  seldom  varies, 
and  the  whole  energies  of  the  owner  seem 
to  be  concentrated  on  inlaying  the  IjowI 
with  lead.  The  patterns  which  he  produces 
are  not  remarkable  either  for  beauty  or 
variety,  and,  indeed,  are  little  more  than 
repetitions  of  the  zig-zag  engravings  upon 
the  snuff  boxes. 

There  is  now  before  me  a  pipe  which  has 
evidently  belonged  to  a  Kaffir  who  was  a 
skilful  smith,  and  on  which  the  owner  has 
expended  all  his  metallurgic  knowledge. 
The  entire  stem  and  the  base  of  the  bowl 
are  made  of  lead,  and  the  edge  of  the  bowl 
is  furnished  with  a  rim  of  the  same  metal. 
The  pattern  which  is  engraved  upon  it  is 
composed  of  lead,  and  it  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  the  lead  is  not  merely  let  into  the 
wood,  but  that  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  is  cut 
completely  through,  so  that  the  pattern  is 
seen  in  the  insiders  well  as  on  the  exterior. 
The  pipe  has  never  been  smoked,  and  the 
pattern  seems  to  be  unfini.shed.  The  skill 
which  has  been  employed  in  making  this 
pijje  is  very  great,  for  it  must  require  no 
small  amount  of  proficiency  both  in  wood 
carving  and  metal  working,  to  combine  the 
two  materials  together  so  perfectly  as  to  be 
air-tight. 

The  hookah,  or  at  least  a  modification  of 
this  curious  pii^e,  is  in  great  use  among  the 
Kaffir  tribes,  and  is  quite  as  ingenious  a  piece 
of  art  as  the  "  hubble-bubl)le ''  of  the  Indian 
peasant.  It  is  made  of  three  distinct  parts. 
First,  there  is  the  bowl,  which  is  generally 
carved  out  of  stone,  and  is  often  orna- 
mented with  a  deejily  engraved  pattern. 
The  commonest  bowls,  however,  are  made 
from  earthenware,  and  are  very  similar  in 
shape  to  that  of  the  Indian  pipe.  Their 
form  very  much  resembles  that  of  a  liarrel, 
one  end  having  a  large  and  the  other  a  small 
aperture. 

The  next  article  is  a  reed  some  four  or 
five  inches  in  length,  which  is  fitted  tightly 
into  the  smaller  aperture  of  the  bowl;  the 
last,  and  most  important  jiart,  is  the  body 
of  the  pipe,  which  is  always  made  of  the 
horn  of  some  animal,  that  of  the  ox  being 
most  usually  found.  The  favorite  horn, 
however,  and  that  which  is  most  costly,  is 
that  of  the  koodoo,  the  magnificent  spiral- 
horned  antelope  of  Southern  Africa.  A 
hole  is  bored  into  the  horn  at  some  little 
distance  from  the  point,  and  the  reed,  which 
has  been  already  attached  to  the  bowl,  is 
thrust  into  it,  the  junction  of  the  reed  and 
born,  being  made  air-tight.  (See  illustration 
No.  4,  page  155.) 

The  bowl  is  now  filled  with  tobacco,  or 
with  another  mixture  that  will  be  described, 


THE  POOR  MAN'S  PIPE. 


165 


and  the  horn  ne.irlj'  filled  with  water.  In 
order  to  smoke  this  pipe,  the  native  places 
his  mouth  to  the  broad,  open  end  of  the 
horn,  presses  the  edge  of  the  openint;  to  his 
cheeks,  so  as  to  exclude  the  air,  and  then 
inhales  vigorously.,  The  smoke  is  thus 
obliged  to  pass  through  the  water,  and  is 
partially  freed  from  impurities  liefore  it 
reaches  the  lips  of  the  smoker.  During  its 
passage  through  the  water,  it  causes  a  loud 
bubbling  sound,  which  is  thought  to  aid  the 
enjoyment  of  the  smoker.  Pure  tol)acco  is, 
however,  seldom  smoked  in  this  pipe,  and, 
especially  among  the  Damara  tribe,  an 
exceedingly  potent  mixture  is  employed. 
Tobacco  is  used  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
the  accustomed  flavor,  but  the  chief  ingre- 
dient is  a  kind  of  hemp,  called  "  dagha," 
which  possesses  intoxicating  powers  like 
those  of  the  well-known  Indian  hemp. 
Smoking  this  hemp  is  exalted  into  an  im- 
portant ceremony  among  this  people,  and  is 
conducted  iu  the  following  manner:  — 

A  number  of  intending  smokers  assemble 
together  and  sit  in  a  circle,  having  only  a 
single  water  pipe,  together  with  a  supply  of 
the  needful  tobacco  and  the  prepared  hemp, 
called  "  dagha  "  by  the  natives.  The  first  in 
rank  fills  the  pipe,  lights  it,  and  inhales  as 
much  smoke  as  his  lungs  can  contain,  not 
permitting  any  of  it  to  escape.  He  then 
hands  the  pipe  to  the  man  nearest  him,  and 
closes  his  mouth  to  prevent  the  smoke  from 
escaping.  The  result  of  this  proceeding  is 
not  long  in  manifesting  itself.  Convulsions 
agitate  the  Ijody,  froth  issues  from  the  mouth, 
the  eyes  seem  to  start  from  the  head,  while 
their  brilliancy  dies  away,  and  is  replaced 
hy  a  dull,  film-like  aspect,  and  the  features 
are  contorted  like  those  of  a  person  attacked 
with  epilepsy. 

This  stage  of  excitement  is  so  powerful 
that  the  human  frame  cannot  endure  it  for 
any  length  of  time,  and  in  a  minute  or  two 
the  smoker  is  lying  insensible  on  the  ground. 
As  it  would  be  dangerous  to  allow  a  man  to 
I'emain  in  this  state  of  insensibility,  he  is 
roused  by  his  still  sober  comrades,  who 
employ  means,  not  the  most  gentle,  to  bring 
him  to  his  senses.  They  pull  his  woolly 
hair,  they  box  his  ears,  and  they  throw  water 
over  him,  not  in  the  most  delicate  manner, 
and  thus  awake  him  from  his  lethargy. 
There  are,  however,  instances  where  these 
remedial  means  have  failed,  and  the  sense- 
less smoker  has  never  opened  his  eyes  again 
in  this  world.  Whence  the  gratification 
arises  is  hard  to  say,  and  the  very  fact  that 
there  should  be  any  gratification  at  all  is 
quite  inexplicalile  to  an  European.  These 
dusky  smokers,  however,  regard  the  pipe  as 
supplying  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries  of  life, 
and  will  sacrifice  almost  everything  to  pos- 
sess it. 

Although  the  Damara  tribe  are  special 
victims  to  this  peculiar  mode  of  smoking,  it 
is  practised  to  some  extent  by  the  Kaffirs. 


These,  however,  are  not  such  slaves  to  the 
pipe  as  the  Damaras,  neither  do  they  em- 
ploy the  intoxicating  hemp  to  such  an 
extent,  but  use  tobacco.  Their  water  pipes 
are  mostly  made  of  an  ox  horn.  They 
sometimes  fasten  the  bowl  permanently  iii 
its  place  by  means  of  a  broad  strap  of  ante- 
lope hide,  one  part  of  which  goes  round  the 
bowl,  and  the  other  round  the  stem,  so  as  to 
brace  them  firmly  together  by  its  contrac- 
tion. The  hair  of  the  antelope  is  allowed  to 
remain  on  the  skin,  and,  as  the  dark  artist 
has  a  natural  eye  lor  color,  he  alwaj's  chooses 
some  part  of  the  skin  where  a  tolerably 
strong  contrast  of  hue  exists. 

There  is  a  very  singular  kind  of  pipe  which 
seems  to  be  in  use  over  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  Southern  Africa.  The  native  of  this 
country  is  never  at  a  loss  for  a  pipe,  and  if 
he  does  not  happen  to  possess  one  of  the 
pipes  in  ordinary  use,  he  can  make  one  in  a 
few  minutes,  wherever  he  may  be.  For 
this  purpose  he  needs  no  tools,  and  requires 
no  wood,  stone,  or  other  material  of  which 
pipes  are  generally  made.  There  is  a  cer- 
tain grandeur  about  Ids  notion  of  a  pipe,  for 
he  converts  the  earth  into  that  article,  and 
the  world  itself  becomes  his  tobacco  pipe. 

The  method  of  making  this  pipe  is  per- 
fectly simple.  First,  he  pours  some  water 
on  the  ground,  and  makes  a  kind  of  mud 
pie.  The  precise  manner  in  which  this  |)ie 
is  made  is  depicted  in  Hogarth's  well-known 
plate  of  the  "  Enraged  Musician."  He  now 
lays  an  assagai  or  a  knob-kerrie  on  the 
ground,  and  kneads  the  mud  over  the  end  of 
the  shaft  so  as  to  form  a  ridge  some  few 
inches  in  length,  having  a  rather  large  lump 
of  mud  at  the  end.  This  mud  ridge  is  the 
element  of  the  future  jujie.  The  next  pro- 
ceeding is  to  push  the  finger  into  the  lump 
of  mud  until  it  reaches  the  spear  shaft,  and 
then  to  work  it  aljout  until  a  cavity  is  made, 
which  answers  the  purpose  of  the  bowl. 
The  assagai  is  then  carefully  withdrawn, 
and  the  pipe  is  complete,  the  perforated 
mud  ridge  doing  duty  for  the  stem.  A  few 
minutes  in  the  burning  sunbeams  suffices  to 
bake  the  mud  into  a  hard  mass,  and  the  pipe 
is  ready  for  use.  The  ingenious  manufac- 
turer then  fills  the  bowl  with  tobacco  and 
proceeds  to  smoke.  This  enjoyment  he 
manages  to  secure  by  lying  on  his  face,  put- 
ting his  lips  upon  the  small  orifice,  and  at 
the  same  time  applying  a  light  to  the  to- 
bacco in  the  bowl. 

,In  some  places  the  pipe  is  made  in  a 
slightly  different  manner.  A  shallow  hole 
is  scooped  in  the  ground,  some  ten  or  twelve 
inches  in  diameter,  and  two  or  three  deep, 
and  the  earth  that  has  Ijeen  removed  is  then 
replaced  in  the  hole,  moistened  and  kneaded 
into  a  compact  mud.  A  green  twig  is  then 
taken,  bent  in  the  form  of  a  half  circle,  and 
the  middle  of  it  pressed  into  the  hole,  leav- 
ing the  ends  projecting  at  either  side.  .Just 
before  the  mud  has  quite  hardened,  the  twig 


166 


THE  KAFFIR. 


is  carefully  withdrawn,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  bowl  is  made  by  pushing  tlie  finger  after 
the  twig  and  widening  the  iiole.  In  sucli 
case  the  pijie  is  of  sueli  a  nature  that  an 
European  could  not  smoke  it,  even  if  he 
could  overcome  the  feeling  of  repugnance  in 
using  it.  His  projecting  nose  would  be  in 
the  way,  and  his  small  thin  lips  could  not 
take  a  proper  hold.  But  the  broad  nose, 
and  large,  projecting  lips  of  the  South  Afri- 
can native  are  admirably  adajjted  for  the 
purpose,  and  enal:)le  him  to  perform  with 
ease  a  task  which  would  be  physically  im- 
practicable to  the  European.  (See  engrav- 
ing No.  3,  on  opi)osite  page.) 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  in  some  parts 
of  Asia  the  natives  construct  a  pipe  on  the 
same  principle.  This  pipe  will  be  described 
in  its  proper  place.  , 

When  the  Katiirs  can  assemble  for  a  quiet 
smoke,  they  have  another  curious  custom. 
Tlie  strong,  rank  tobacco  excites  a  copious 
flow  of  saliva,  and  this  is  disposed  of  in  a 
rather  strange  manner.  The  smokers  are 
furnished  with  a  tube  about  a  j'ard  in  length, 
and  generally  a  reed,  or  straight  branch, 
from  which  the  pith  has  been  extracted.  A 
peculiarly  handsome  specimen  is  usually 
covered  with  the  skin  of  a  bullock's  tail. 
Through  this  tube  the  smokers  in  turn  dis- 
cliarge  tlie  superabundant  moisture,  and  it 
is  thought  to  be  a  delicate  compliment  to 
select  the  same  spot  that  has  been  previously 
used  by  anotlier.  Sometimes,  instead  of  a 
hole,  a  circular  trench  is  employed,  but  the 
mode  of  usmg  it  is  exactly  the  same. 

The  illustration  No.  4,  same  page,  repre- 
sents a  couple  of  well-bred  gentlemen  —  a 
married  man  and  a  "boy" — indulging  in  a 
pipe  in  the  cool  of  the  evening.  The  man 
has  taken  his  turn  at  the  pipe,  and  lianded 
it  to  his  comrade,  who  inhales  the  smoke 
while  he  liimself  is  engaged  witli  the  tube 
above-mentioned.  Wishing  to  give  some 
little  variety  to  the  occupation,  lie  lias 
drawn  an  outlined  figure  of  a  kraal,  and  is 
just  going  to  form  one  of  the  huts.  Pres- 
ently, the  boy  will  hand  the  pipe  back 
again,  exchange  it  for  the  tube,  and  take  his 
tm'u  at  the  manufacture  of  the  kraal,  which 
will  be  completed  by  the  time  that  the  pipe 
is  finished. 

Major  Ross  King  describes  this  curious 
proceeding  in  a  very  amusing  manner. 
'■  Retaining  the  last  draught  of  smoke  in  liis 
mouth,  which  he  fills  with  a  decoction  of 
bark  and  water  from  a  calabash,  he  squirts 
it  on  the  ground  by  liis  side,  through  a  long 
ornamented  tube,  performing  thereon,  by 


the  aid  of  a  reserved  portion  of  the  liquid, 
a  sort  of  boatswain's  whistle,  complaci-ntly 
regarding  the  soajj-like  bubbles,  the  joint 
production  of  himst-lf  and  neiglibor. 

'■  On  tills  occasion,  finding  a  blanketed 
group  sitting  apart  in  a  circle,  smoking  the 
dagha  before  described,  at  their  iuvitalion  I 
squatted  down  cross-legged  in  the  ling,  and 
receiving  the  rude  cow-horn  pipe  in  my 
turn,  took  a  pull  at  its  cajiacious  mouth, 
coughing  viokntly  at  the  sufi'ocatiug  fumes, 
as  indeed  the}'  all  did  more  or  less,  aud  after 
tasting  the  nast}'  decoction  of  bark  which 
followed  round  in  a  calabash,  took  the 
politely  offered  spitting-tube  of  my  next 
neighbor,  signally  failing,  however,  in  the 
ortiiodox  whistle,  to  the  unbounded  delight 
of  the  Fingoes,  whose  heart}-,  ringing 
laughter  was  most  contagious." 

Tobacco  is  cultivated  by  several  of  the 
tribes  inhabiting  Southern  Africa,  and  is 
prepared  in  nearly  the  same  method  as  is 
employed  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  the 
leaves  being  gathered,  "  sweated,"  and 
finally  dried.  Still,  they  appreciate  the 
tobacco  which  they  obtain  from  Europeans, 
aud  prefer  it  to  that  whicli  is  manufactured 
by  themselves. 

Some  of  tlie  Kaffirs  are  very  successful  in 
their  cultivation  of  tobacco,  and  find  that  a 
good  crop  is  a  very  valuable  property.  A 
Kaffir  witliout  tobacco  is  a  miserable  being, 
and,  if  it  were  only  for  his  own  sake,  the 
possession  of  a  supply  which  will  last  him 
throughout  the  year  is  a  suliject  of  congrat- 
ulation. But  any  tobacco  that  is  not  needed 
for  the  use  of  himself  or  his  household  is  as 
good  as  money  to  the  owner,  as  there  are 
tew  tilings  which  a  Kaffir  loves  tliat  tobacco 
cannot  buy.  If  he  sees  a  set  of  beads  that 
particularly  pleases  him,  and  the  owner 
should  happen  to  be  poorer  than  himself,  he 
can  jnirchase  the  finery  by  the  sacrifice  of 
a  little  of  his  fragrant  store.  Also,  he  can 
gain  the  respect  of  the  "  boys,"  who  seldom 
possess  property  of  any  kind  except  their 
shield  and  spears,  and,  by  judicious  gifts  of 
tobacco,  can  often  make  tliem  liis  followers, 
this  being  the  first  jstep  toward  chieftain- 
ship. Generally,  a  Kaffir  makes  up  the 
crop  of  each  garden  into  a  single  bundle, 
sometimes  weighing  fifty  or  sixty  pounds, 
and  carefully  incases  it  with  reeds,  much 
after  the  fashion  that  naval  tobacco  is 
sewed  up  in  canvas.  lie  is  sure  to  place 
these  rolls  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  the 
house,  in  order  to  extort  the  envy  and 
admiration  of  his  companions. 


(1.)   NECKLACE    MADE  OF   HUMAN    EINGEU  UUNES. 
(See  page  198.) 


(4.)  KAFFIfi  GENTLEMEN  SMOKING.    (See  page  166.) 
(167) 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


EELIGIOiN'  AND   SUPEESTITION. 


nrPEKFECT  REUGIOUS  SYSTEM  OF  THE  KAFFIR  —  HIS  IDEA  OF  A  CREATOK  —  HOW  DEATH  CAME  TSTO 
THE  WORLD  —  LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS  —  BELIEF  IN  THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL  —  THE 
SPIRITS  OF  THE  DEAD,  AND  THEIR  SUPPOSED  INELtrENCE  —  TCH.UvA'S  VISION — A  KAFFIR  SEER 
AND  HIS  STORY  —  PUnWHTS  OF  DEPARTED  SPIRITS  —  THE  LIJIITS  OF  THEIR  POWER  —  ANIMALS 
USED  FOR  SACRIFICE  TO  THEM  —  TE5IPORARY  TRANSMIGRATION  —  VARIOUS  OMENS,  AND  MEANS 
FOR  AVERTING  THEM  —  WHY  SACRIFICES  ARE  MADE  —  A  NATIVE'S  HISTORY  OF  A  SACRIFICE,  AND 
ITS  OBJECTS  —  THE  FEAST  OF  FIRST-FRVTITS  —  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  BULL,  AND  THE  STRANGE  CERE- 
MONIES WHICH  ATTEND  IT  —  KAFFIR  PROPHETS  AND  THEIR  OFFICES  —  HEREDITARY  TRANSMISSION 
OP  PROPHECY — PROGRESS  OF  A  PROPHET  —  THE  CHANGE  —  INTERVIEW  WITH  AN  OLD  PROPHET 
—  THE  PROBATION.UtY  STAGES  OF  PROPHECY  —  A  PROPHET'S  RETURN  TO  HIS  FAMILY'  —  SCHOOL 
OF  THE  PROPHETS  —  SEARCH  FOR  THE  SPIRITS  —  THE  GREAT  SACRIFICE,  AND  RECEPTION  INTO 
THE  COMPANY  OF  PROPHETS  —  THE  WAND  OF  OFFICE  —  DRESS  OF  A  PROPHET. 


It  is  not  very  easy  to  say  whether  a  Kaffir 
possesses  any  religion  at  all,  in  our  sense  of 
the  word.  With  superstition  lie  is  deeply 
imbued,  and  passes  his  lifetime  in  consider- 
able dread  of  witchcraft  and  of  evil  spirits. 
But  religion  which  conveys  any  sense  of 
moral  responsibility,  seems  to  be  incompre- 
hensible to  the  ordinary  KatHr,  and  even  his 
naturally  logical  n;ind  inclines  him  to  tjrac- 
tical  atheism.  As  far  as  is  known,  the  Kaffir 
tribes  have  a  scit  of  tradition  concerning  a 
Creator,  whom  they  call  by  a  compound 
word  that  may  be  translated  as  the  Great- 
Great,  and  to  whom  they  attribute  the  first 
origin  of  all  things.  But  it  is  certain  they 
offer  him  no  worship,  and  make  no  prayers 
to  him,  and  have  no  idea  that  they  are  per- 
sonally responsible  to  him  for  their  acts. 
Moreover  many  of  the  tribes  do  not  even 
possess  this  imperfect  knowledge;  and  even 
in  those  cases  where  it  does  exist,  its  origin 
is  very  uncertain,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
ascertain  whether  the  tradition  may  not  be 
a  corrupted  recollection  of  instruction  re- 
ceived from  some  European.  Such,  indeed, 
lias  been  known  to  be  the  case  among  the  Kaf- 
firs, and  it  is  probable  that  the  knowledge  of 
a  Creator  is  really  derived  from  European 
sources.  At  all  events,  such  knowledge  is 
by  no  means  universal,  and  exercises  such 
email  influence  on  the  people  that  it  is 
scarcely  worthy  of  mention. 
There  are,  indeed,  one  or  two  legendary 


stories  concerning  the  Great-Great,  relating 
to  the  creation  of  man,  and  to  the  duration 
of  human  life.  The  man  is  supposed  to  have 
been  created  by  .splitting  a  reed,  from  which 
the  first  p.arents  of  the  human  race  pro- 
ceeded. This  legend  is  probably  due  to  a 
double  meaning  of  the  word  signifying 
"  origin "  and  "  create,"  which  also  signify 
"  reed"  and  "  splitting."  Another  form  of 
the  tradition  deprives" the  Great-Great  of  all 
creatorship,  and  makes  him  to  be  one  of  the 
two  who  issued  from  the  split  reed,  so  that 
he  is  rather  the  great  ancestor  of  the  human 
race  than  its  creator. 

The  tradition  concerning  the  affliction  of 
death  upon  the  human  race  is  a  very  curious 
one,  and  was  related  to  the  missionaries  by 
a  native  who  had  been  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity. 

Wlien  mankind  had  increased  upon  the 
earth,  the  Great-Great  took  counsel  with 
himself,  and  sent  two  messengers  to  them, 
one  the  giver  of  life,  the  other  the  herald  of 
death.  The  first  messenger  was  the  chame- 
leon, who  was  ordered  to  go  and  utter  the 
proclamation,  "Let  not  the  people  die!" 
The  chameleon  set  off  on  its  mission,  luit 
lingered  on  the  road,  stopping  occasionally 
to  eat  by  the  way,  and  walking  leisurely 
instead  of  running.  The  second  messenger 
was  the  salamander,  who  was  commanded  to 
proclaim,  "Let  the  people  die!"  But  the 
latter  was  the  mora  obedient,  and  ran  tho 


(169; 


170 


THE  KAFFIK. 


whole  of  the  journey,  until  he  I'cached 
the  hahitatlon  of  men,  when  he  prochiiined 
his  message  of  deatli.  Shortly  afterward,  the 
ehameleou  arrived  and  delivered  his  mes- 
sage, when  the  salamander  beat  him  and 
drove  him  away,  as  having  failed  in  his  duty 
to  his  Master.  Then  the  people  lamented 
because  they  had  received  the  message  of 
death  before  that  of  life,  and  from  that  time 
men  have  been  subject  to  the  power  of 
death.  The  consequence  is,  that  both  ani- 
mals are  detested  by  the  Kaffirs,  who  kill 
the  chameleon  when  they  find  it,  because  it 
lingered  on  the  way,  and  lost  them  the  gift 
of  immortality.  And  they  are  equally  sure 
to  kill  the  salamander,  because,  when  it  was 
charged  with  such  a  dread  message,  it  has- 
tened on  its  journey,  and  autieijiated  the 
ehameleou  in  its  message  of  life.  Tiiere  are 
many  variations  of  this  story,  but  in  its 
main  points  it  is  current  throughout  many 
parts  of  Southern  Africa. 

Although  the  Kaffir's  ideas  of  the  Creator 
are  so  vague  and  undefined,  he  has  at  all 
events  a  very  firm  belief  in  the  existence  of 
the  soul  aud  its  immortality  after  death. 
Tchaka  once  made  use  of  this  belief  in  a 
very  ingenious  manner.  The  people  had 
become  rather  tired  of  war,  and  required 
some  inducement  to  make  them  welcome 
the  order  for  battle  as  heretofore.  Where- 
upon, Tchaka  had  a  vision  of  Umbia,  a  well- 
known  chief,  who  had  served  under  his 
father,  and  who  appeared  to  Tchaka  to  tell 
him  that  his  father  was  becoming  angry  with 
the  Zulu  trilje  because  they  had  "become 
lazy,  and  had  not  gone  to  war  against  the 
remaining  uncouquercd  tribes.  This  lazi- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  Zulus  who  still 
inhabited  the  e.arth  was  displeasing  to  the 
spirits  of  the  dead,  who  would  be  very  com- 
fortable below  ground  witli  a  jilenty  of  wives 
and  cattle,  as  soon  as  they  saw  their  tribe  in 
supreme  authority  over  the  whole  land, 
from   the   Draakensberg   to   the   sea. 

In  honor  of  this  messenger  from  the 
shades,  Tchaka  ordered  numbers  of  cattle 
to  be  slaughtered  in  all  his  military  kraals, 
gave  sumptuous  feasts,  and  raised  the  de- 
scendants of  Umbia  to  the  rank  of  Indunas. 
Of  coiu'se,  the  name  of  Umbia  was  in  all 
mouths,  and,  while  the  excitement  was  at  its 
height,  an  old  man  suddenly  disappeared 
from  his  hut,  having  been  dragged  away, 
according  to  his  wife's  account,  by  a  lion. 
The  affair  was  reported  to  Tchaka  in  coun- 
cil, but  he  aflccted  to  take  no  notice  of  it. 
After  the  lapse  of  three  months,  when  the 
immediate  excitement  had  died  away,  the 
old  man  reappeared  before  Tchaka  with 
his  head-ring  torn  off,  and  clothed  in  a  wild 
and  fantastic  manner. 

He  said  that  the  lion  had  dragged  him 
away  to  its  den,  when  the  earth  suddenly 
opened  and  swallowed  them  both  up.  The 
lion  accompanied  him  without  doing  him 
any  harm,  aud  brought  him  to  a  place  where 


there  was  some  red  earth.  This  also  gave 
^^■ay,  and  he  fell  into  another  abyss,  where 
he  lay  stunned  l)y  the  fall.  On  recovering, 
he  found  himself  in  a  pleasant  country,  and 
discovered  that  it  was  inhabited  by  the  spir- 
its of  Zulus  who  had  died,  and  whom  he  had 
known  in  life.  There  was  Senzangakona, 
the  father  of  Tchaka,  with  his  councillors,  his 
chiefs,  his  soldiers,  his  wives,  and  his  cattle, 
Umbia  was  also  there,  and  enjoyed  himself 
very  much.  Since  his  departure  into  the 
shades,  he  had  become  a  great  doctor,  and 
was  accustomed  to  stroll  about  at  night, 
instead  of  staying  at  home  quietly  with  his 
familj-.  No  one  seemed  to  know  where  he 
had  gone,  but  he  told  the  narrator  that  he 
used  to  revisit  earth  in  order  to  see  his 
friends  and  relatives.  For  three  months 
the  narrator  was  kept  in  the  shades  below, 
and  was  then  told  to  go  back  to  his  tribe 
and  n.arrate  what  he  had  seen. 

Tchaka  pretended  to  disbelieve  the  nar- 
rative, and  publicly  treated  with  contempt 
the  man,  denouncing  him  as  a  liar,  and  send- 
ing tor  prophets  who  should  "  smell  "  him, 
and  discover  whether  he  had  told  the  truth. 
The  seers  arrived,  performed  their  conjura- 
tions, "  smelt "  the  man,  and  stated  that  he 
had  told  the  truth,  that  he  had  really  visited 
the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  that  he  had  l)cen 
fetched  by  the  lion  because  the  people  did 
not  believe  the  vision  that  had  apjieared  to 
Tchaka.  It  is  needless  to  observe  that  the 
whole  business  had  been  previously  arranged 
by  that  wily  chief,  in  order  to  carry  out  his 
ambitious   purposes. 

Unljounded  as  is  in  one  respect  their  rev- 
erence for  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors,  they 
attribute  to  those  same  spirits  a  very  limited 
range  of  power.  A  Kaffir  has  the  very  high- 
est respect  for  the  spirits  of  his  own  ances- 
tors, or  those  of  his  chief  but  pays  not  the 
least  regard  to  those  which  belong  to  other 
families.  The  spirit  of  a  departed  Kaffir  is 
supposed  to  have  no  .sympathy  except  with 
relations  and  immediate  descendants. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that,  after 
the  death  of  a  Kaffir,  his  spirit  is  supposed 
to  dwell  in  the  shade  below,  and  to  ha\e  the 
power  of  influencing  the  survivors  of  his  own 
family,  whether  for  good  or  evil.  He  likes 
cattle  to  be  sacrificed  to  his  name,  because, 
in  that  case,  he  adds  the  spirits  of  the  deatl 
cattle  to  his  herd  Ijclow,  while  his  friends 
above  eat  the  flesh,  so  that  Ijotli  parties  are 
well  pleased.  Sometimes,  if  he  thinks  tliat 
he  has  been  neglected  by  them,  he  visits  his 
displeasure  by  afflicting  them  with  various 
diseases,  froni  ^vhieh  the)'  seldom  expect  to 
recover  without  the  sacrifice  of  cattle.  If 
the  ailment  is  comparatively  trifling,  the 
sacrifice  of  a  goat  is  deemed  sufficient;  but 
if  the  malady  be  serious,  nothing  but  an  ox, 
or  in  some  cases  several  oxen,  are  required 
before  the  offended  spirits  will  relent. 
Sheep  seem  never  to  be  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. 


LEGENDS  AND  TRADITIONS. 


171 


If  the  reader  will  refer  to  page  78,  he  will 
see  that  the  sacrifice  of  cattle  in  case  of 
sickness  forms  part  of  a  guardian's  duty 
toward  a  j-oung  girl,  and  that,  if  her  tem- 
porary guardian  should  have  com])lied 
with  this  custom,  her  relatives,  should  they 
he  discovered,  are  bound  to  refund  such 
cattle. 

That  the  spirits  of  the  dead  are  allowed 
to  quit  their  shadowy  home  below  and  to 
revisit  their  friends  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. In  some  instances,  as  in  the  case  of 
Umbia,  they  are  supjjosed  to  present  tliem- 
selves  in  their  own  form.  But  the  usual 
plan  is,  for  them  to  adopt  the  shape  of  some 
animal  which  is  not  in  the  habit  of  entering 
human  dwellings,  and  so  to  appear  under  a 
borrowed  form."  The  serjjent  or  the  lizard 
shape  is  sujiposed  to  be  the  favorite  mark 
under  which  the  spirit  conceals  its  identity, 
and  the  man  whose  house  it  enters  is  left  to 
exercise  his  ingenuity  in  guessing  the  par- 
ticular spirit  that  may  be  enshrined  in  the 
sti'ange  animal.  In  order  to  ascertain  pre- 
cisely the  character  of  the  visitor,  he  lays  a 
stick  gently  on  its  back;  and  if  it  shows  no 
sign  of  auger,  he  is  quite  sure  that  he  is 
favored  with  the  presence  of  one  of  his  dead 
ancestors.  There  are  few  Kaffirs  that  will 
make  such  a  discovery,  and  will  not  otter  a 
sacrifice  at  once,  for  the  prevalent  idea  in 
their  mind  is,  that  an  ancestor  would  not 
liave  taken  the  trouble  to  come  on  earth, 
except  to  give  a  warning  that,  unless  he 
were  treated  with  more  respect,  some  evil 
consequence  would  follow.  In  consequence 
of  this  belief,  most  of  the  Kaffirs  have  a 
great  dislike  to  killing  serpents  ami  lizards, 
not  knowing  whether  they  may  not  be  act- 
ing rudely  toward  some  dead  ancestor  who 
will  avenge  himself  upon  them  for  their 
want  of  respect. 

Should  a  cow  or  a  calf  enter  a  hut,  the 
Kaffir  would  take  no  notice  of  it,  as  these 
animals  are  in  the  habit  of  entering  human 
dwellings;  but  if  a  sheep  were  to  do  so,  he 
would  immediately  fimcy  that  it  was  inspired 
with  the  shade  of  one  of  his  ancestors.  The 
same  would  be  the  case  with  a  wild  animal 
of  any  kind,  unless  it  were  a  beast  of  prey, 
in  which  case  it  might  possibly  have  made 
its  way  into  the  hut  in  search  of  food.  A 
similar  exception  would  be  made  with  re- 
gard to  antelopes  and  other  animals  which 
had  been  hunted,  and  had  rushed  into  the 
kraal  or  crept  into  the  hut  as  a  refuge  from 
their  foes. 

Sacrifices  are  often  made,  not  only  to 
remove  existing  evils,  but  to  avert  impend- 
ing danger.  In  battle,  for  example,  a  soldier 
who  finds  that  the  enemy  are  getting  the 
upper  hand,  will  make  a  vow  to  his  ances- 
tors that  if  he  comes  safely  out  of  the  fight, 
he  will  make  a  sacrifice  to  them,  and  this 
vow  is  always  kept.  Even  if  the  soldier 
should  be  a ''boy,"  who  has  no  cattle,  his 
father  or  nearest  relation  would  think  him- 


self bound  to  fulfil  the  vow.  Now  and  then, 
if  he  should  find  that  the  danger  was  not  so 
great  as  was  auticijiated,  he  will  compromise 
the  matter  by  ottering  a  goat.  Unless  a 
sacrifice  of  some  kind  were  made,  the  ven- 
gence  of  the  (tftended  spirits  would  be  terri- 
ble, and  no  Kaffir  would  willingly  run  such 
a  risk. 

Sacrifices  are  also  offered  for  the  pin-pose 
of  obtaining  certain  favors.  For  example, 
as  has  been  already  mentioned,  when  an 
army  starts  on  an  expedition,  sacrifices  are 
made  to  the  spirits,  and  a  similar  rite  is  per- 
f  jrmed  when  a  new  kraal  is  built,  or  a  new 
field  laid  out.  Relatives  at  home  will  otter 
sacrifices  in  behalf  of  their  absent  friends; 
and  when  a  chief  is  away  from  home  in 
command  of  a  war  expedition,  the  sacrifices 
for  his  welfare  occur  almost  daily.  Sacri- 
fices or  thank-ofterings  ought  also  to  be 
made  when  the  spirits  have  been  propitious; 
and  if  the  army  is  victorious,  or  the  chief 
returned  in  health,  it  is  thought  right  to  add 
another  sacrifice  to  the  former,  in  token  ot 
acknowledgment  that  the  previous  ottering 
has  not  been  in  vain. 

The  Kaffir  generally  reserves  the  largest 
and  finest  ox  in  his  herd  for  .sacrifice  under 
very  important  circumstances,  and  this  ani- 
mal, which  is  distinguished  b}'  the  name  of 
''  Ox  of  the  Spirits,"'  is  never  sold  except  on 
pressing  emergency.  Mr.  Shooter,  who  has 
given  great  attention  to  the  moral  culture 
of  the  Kaffir  tribes,  remarks  with  much 
truth,  that  the  Kaffir's  idea  of  a  sacrifice  is 
simply  a  present  of  food  to  the  spirit.  For 
the  same  reason,  when  an  ox  is  solemnly 
sacrificed,  the  prophet  in  attendance  calls 
upon  the  spirits  to  come  and  eat,  and  adds 
to  the  inducement  by  placing  baskets  of  beer 
and  vessels  of  snuff  by  the  side  of  the  slaugh- 
tered animal.  Indeed,  when  a  man  is  very 
poor,  and  has  no  cattle  to  sacrifice,  he  con- 
tents himself  with  these  latter  offerings. 

The  account  of  one  of  these  sacrifices  has 
been  translated  by  Mr.  Grout,  from  the 
words  of  a  native.  After  mentioning  a  great 
variety  of  preliminary  rites,  he  proceeds  to 
say,  '•  Now  some  one  person  goes  out,  and 
when  he  has  come  abroad,  without  the  kraal, 
all  who  are  within  their  houses  keep  silence, 
while  he  goes  round  the  kraal,  the  outer 
enclosure  of  the  kraal,  and  says,  'Honor  to 
thee,  lord!'  (inkosi.)  Offering  prayers  to 
the  shades,  he  continues,  '  A  blessing,  let  a 
blessing  come  tlien,  since  you  have  really 
demanded  your  cow;  let  sickness  depart 
utterly.     Thus  we  offer  your  animal.' 

"  And  on  our  part  we  "say,  '  Let  the  sick 
man  come  out,  come  forth,  I)e  no  longer  sick, 
and  slaughter  your  animal  then,  since  we 
have  now  consented  that  he  may  liave  it  for 
his  own  use.  Glory  to  thee,  lord;  good 
news;  come  then,  letus  see  him  going  about 
like  other  people.  Now  then,  we  have  given 
you  what  you  want;  let  us  therefore  see 
whether  or  not  it  was  enjoined  in  order  that 


172 


THE  KAFFIE. 


he  might  recover,  and  that  the   sickness 
might  pass  by.' 

'■  And  then,  coming  out,  spear  in  liand,  he 
enters  the  cattle  fold,  comes  up  and  stabs  it. 
The  cow  cries,  says  yeh !  to  which  he  replies, 
'  An  animal  for  the  gods  ought  to  show  signs 
of  distress ';  it  is  all  right  then,  just  what  you 
required.  Then  they  skin  it,  eat  it,  fini.sh 
it."  Sometimes  the  gall  is  eaten  by  the  sac- 
rificer,  and  sometimes  it  is  rubbed  over  the 
body. 

Another  kind  of  sacrifice  is  that  which  is 
made  by  the  jirinripal  man  of  a  kraal,  or 
even  by  the  king  himself,  about  the  first  of 
January,  the  time  when  the  pods  of  the 
maize  are  green,  and  are  in  a  fit  state  for 
food.  No  kaftir  will  venture  to  eat  the  pro- 
duce of  the  new  year  until  after  the  festival, 
which  may  be  called  the  Feast  of  First- 
fruits.  The  feast  lasts  for  several  days,  and 
in  order  to  celebrate  it,  the  whole  army 
assembles,  together  with  the  young  recruits 
who  have  not  yet  been  entrusted  with  shields. 
The  prophets  also  assemble  in  great  force, 
their  business  being  to  invent  certain  modes 
of  preparing  food,  ^vhieh  will  render  the 
body  of  the  consumer  strong  throughout  the 
j'ear.  At  this  festival,  also,  the  veteran  sol- 
diers who  have  earned  their  dischai'ge  are 
formally  released  from  service,  while  the 
recruits  are  drafted  into  the   ranks. 

The  first  business  is,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
bull.  For  this  purpose  a  bull  is  given  to 
the  warriors,  who  are  obliged  to  catch  it  and 
strangle  it  with  their  naked  hands.  They 
are  not  even  allowed  a  rope  with  which  to 
bind  the  animal,  and  the  natural  conse- 
quence is,  that  no  small  amount  of  torture 
is  inflicted  upon  the  poor  animal,  while  the 
warriors  are  placed  in  considerable  jeopardy 
of  their  lives.  When  the  bull  is  dead,  the 
chief  jirophet  opens  it,  and  removes  the 
gall,  which  he  mixes  with  other  medicines 
and  gives  to  the  king  and  his  councillors. 
The  dose  thus  prepared  is  always  as  unsa- 
vory a  mixture  as  can  well  be  conceived, 
but"  the  Kaffir  palate  is  not  very  delicate, 
and  sutlers  little  under  the  infliction.  The 
body  of  the  bull  is  next  handed  over  to  the 
" boj'S,"  who  eat  as  much  as  they  can,  and 
are  obliged  to  burn  the  remainder.  As  a 
general  rule,  there  is  very  little  to  be 
burned.  The  men  do  not  eat  the  flesh  of 
this  animal,  but  they  feast  to  their  heart's 
content  on  other  cattle,  which  are  slaugh- 
tered in  the  usual  manner.  Dancing,  drink- 
ing, and  taking  snuft'  now  set  in,  and  con- 
tinue in  full  force  for  several  days,  until 
not  even  Kaffir  energy  can  endure  more 
exertion. 

Then  comes  the  part  of  the  king.  The 
subjects  form  themselves  into  a  vast  ring, 
into  which  the  king,  dressed  in  all  the 
bravery  of  his  dancing  apparel,  enters  with 
a  bound,  amid  shouts  of  welcome  from  the 
people.  He  ])roceeds  to  indulge  in  one  of 
tlie  furious  dances  which  the  Kaffirs  love, 


springing  high  into  the  air,  flourishing  his 
stick  of  office,  and  singing  songs  in  his  own 
praises,  until  he  can  dance  and  sing  no 
longer.  Generally,  this  dance  is  not  of  very 
long  duration,  as  the  king  is  almost  invari- 
al)ly  a  fat  and  unwieldy  man,  and  cannot 
endure  a  iirolonged  exertion.  The  crowning 
incident  of  the  feast  now  takes  place.  The 
king  stands  in  the  midst  of  his  people  — 
Diugan  always  stood  on  a  small  nK>und  of 
earth  —  takes  a  young  and  green  calabash 
in  his  hands,  and  dashes  it  upon  the  ground, 
so  as  to  break  it  in  pieces;  by  this  act  de- 
claring the  harvest  begun,  and  the  people  at 
liberty  to  eat  of  the  fruits  of  the  new  year. 
A  very  similar  ceremony  takes  place  among 
the  tribes  of  American  Indians,  the  conse- 
quence of  which  is  frequently  that  the  peo- 
ple abuse  the  newly  granted  permission, 
and  in  a  few  days  consume  all  the  maize 
that  ought  to  have  served  them  for  the 
cold  months  of  winter. 

The  Katiir  has  a  strong  belief  in  omens; 
though  perhaps  not  stronger  than  similar 
credulity  in  some  parts  of  our  own  laud. 
He  is  always  on  the  look-out  for  omens, 
and  has  as  keen  an  eye  for  them  and  their 
meaning  as  an  ancient  augur.  Anything 
that  happens  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of 
events  is  an  omen,  either  for  good  or  evil, 
and  the  natural  constitution  of  a  Kaflir's 
mind  always  inclines  him  to  the  latter  feel- 
ing. As  in  the  ancient  days,  the  modern 
KatHr  finds  most  of  his  omens  in  the  ac- 
tions of  animals.  One  of  the  worst  of 
omens  is  the  bleating  of  a  sheep  as  it  is 
being  slaughtered.  Some  years  ago  this 
omen  occurred  in  the  kraal  belonging  to 
one  of  Panda's  "  indunas,"  or  councillors. 
A  prophet  was  immediately  summoned,  and 
a  numlier  of  sacrifices  offered  to  avert  the 
evil  omen.  Panda  himself  was  so  uneasy 
that  he  added  an  ox  to  the  sacrifices,  and 
afterward  came  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
man  whose  kraal  could  be  visited  by  such 
an  infliction  could  not  be  fit  to  live.  Ho 
accordingly  sent  a  party  of  soldiers  to  kill 
the  induna",  Init  the  man,  knowing  the  char- 
acter of  his  chief,  took  the  alarm  in  time, 
and  escaped  into  British  territory  in  Xatal. 
If  a  goat  were  to  leap  on  a  hut,  nothing 
would  iie  thought  of  it;  but  if  a  dog  or  a 
sheep  were  to  do  so,  it  would  be  an  omen. 
It  is  rather  remarkable  that  among  the 
North  American  tribes  the  roofs  of  houses 
form  the  usual  resting-place  of  the  dogs 
which  s^varm  in  every  village.  If  a  cow 
were  to  eat  grain  that  had  been  spilled  on 
the  ground,  it  would  be  no  omen;  but  if  she 
were  to  push  oft'  the  cover  of  a  vessel  con- 
taining grain,  and  eat  the  contents,  the  act 
would  be  considered  ominous. 

IklKXTiON  has  been  made  once  or  twice 
of  the  prophets,  sometimes,  but  errone- 
ouslv,  called  witch  doctors.  These  person- 
ages play  .  a  most  important  part  in    the 


(1.)  Till-:  I'liUl'HET'S  SCHOOL, 
(See  pages  175, 176.) 


(■,:.)   Tllli    ruOI'lIET'S  KETUKN. 
(See  page  175.) 


(174) 


PREPAEATIOXS  FOR  PROPIIETSHIP. 


religions  system  of  the  KafBr  tribes  ;  and 
altliough  their  ofiice  varies  slightly  in  de- 
tail, ael-ording  to  the  locality  to  which  they 
belong,  their  general  ch.aracteristics  are  the 
same  throughout  the  country.  Their  chief 
olftces  are, communicating  with  the  spirits  of 
the  departed,  and  ascertaining  their  wishes; 
discovering  the  perpetrators  of  crimes;  re- 
versing spells  thrown  by  witchcraft;  and 
lastly,  and  most  important,  rain-making. 

The  office  of  prophet  cannot  be  assumed 
by  any  one  who  may  be  ambitious  of  such  a 
distinction,  but  is  hedged  about  with  many 
rites  and  ceremonies.  In  the  (irst  place,  it 
is  not  every  one  who  is  entitled  even  to 
become  a  candidate  for  the  office,  which  is 
partly  hereditary.  A  prophet  must  be  de- 
scended from  a  prophet,  though  he  need  not 
be  a  prophet's  son.  Indeed,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  sons  of  ])rophets  do  not  attain  the 
office  which  their  lathers  held,  the  supernat- 
ural afflatus  generally  jiassing  over  one  gen- 
eration, and  sometimes  two.  In  the  next 
place,  a  very  long  and  arduous  preparation 
is  made  for  the  office,  and  the  candidate, 
if  he  passes  successfully  through  it,  is  sol- 
emnly admitted  into  the  order  by  a  council 
of  seers,  who  meet  for  the  purpose. 

When  first  the  spirit  of  prophecy  mani- 
fests itself  to  a  Kalfir,  he  begins  by  losing 
all  his  interest  in  the  events  of  every-day 
life.  He  becomes  depressed  in  mind;  pre- 
fers solitude  to  comjiany;  often  has  tainting 
fits;  and,  what  is  most  extraordinary  of  all, 
loses  his  appetite.  He  is  visited  by  dreams 
of  an  extraordinary  character,  mainly  rela- 
ting to  serpents,  lions,  hvtenas,  leopards, 
and  other  wild  beasts.  Day  by  day  he 
becomes  more  and  more  possessed,  until 
the  perturbations  of  the  spirit  manifest 
themselves  openly.  In  this  stage  of  his 
novitiate,  the  future  prophet  utters  terrible 
yells,  leaps  here  and  there  with  astonishing 
vigor,  and  runs  about  at  full  speed,  leaping 
and  shrieking  all  the  time.  When  thus 
excited  he  will  dart  into  the  bush,  catch 
snakes  (which  an  ordinary  Kaffir  will  not 
touch),  tie  them  round  his  neck,  boldly  tling 
himself  into  the  water,  and  perform  all  kinds 
of  insane  feats. 

This  early  stage  of  a  prophet's  life  is 
called  by  the  Kaffirs  Tioasa,  a  word  which 
signifies  the  change  of  the  old  moon  to  the 
new,  and  the  change  of  winter  to  spring  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year.  During  its  prog- 
ress, the  head  of  his  house  is  supposed  to 
feel  great  pride  in  the  fiict  that  a  prophet  is 
to  be  numbered  among  the  family,  and  to 
offer  sacrifices  for  the  success  of  the  novice. 
When  the  preliminary  stage  is  over,  the 
future  prophet  goes  to  some  old  and  re- 
spected seer,  gives  him  a  goat  as  a  fee,  and 
remains  under  his  charge  until  he  has  com- 
pleted the  necessary  course  of  instruction. 
He  then  assumes  the  dress  and  character  of 
a  prophet,  and  if  he  succeeds  in  his  office  he 
will  rise  to  unbounded  power  among  his 


tribe.  But  should  his  first  essay  be  unsuc- 
cessful, he  is  universally  contemned  as  one 
whom  the  spirits  of  tlie  departed  think  to 
be  unworthy  of  their  confidence. 

Mr.  Shooter  gives  a  very  grapfiic  account 
of  file  preparation  of  a  prophet,  who  was 
father  to  one  of  liis  own  servants.  The 
reader  will  not  fail  to  notice  that  the  man  in 
question  was  entitled  by  birth  to  assume  the 
prophet's  office. 

"  Some  of  the  particulars  may  be  peculiar 
to  his  trilie,  and  some  due  to  the  caprice 
of  the  individual.  A  married  man  (whose 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  a  prophet) 
had  manifested  the  symptoms  of  inspira- 
tion when  a  youth;  but  his  father,  not 
willing  to  slaughter  his  cattle  as  custom 
would  have  required,  employed  a  seer  of 
reputation  to  check  the  growing  'change.' 
The  dispossession  was  not,  however,  perma- 
nent; and  when  the  youth  became  a  man,  the 
inspiration  returned.  He  professed  to  have 
constantly  recurring  dreams  about  lions, 
leopards,  elephants,  boa-constrictors,  and  all 
manner  of  wild  beasts;  he  dreamed  about 
the  Zulu  country,  and  (strangest  thing  of 
all)  tkat  he  had  a  vehement  desire  to  return 
to  it. 

"After  awhile  he  became  very  sick;  his 
wives,  thinking  he  was  dying,  poured  cold 
water  over  his  prostrate  person;  and  the 
chief,  whose  induna  he  was,  sent  a  messen- 
ger to  a  prophet.  The  latter  declared  that 
the  man  was  becoming  inspired,  and  directed 
the  chief  to  supply  an  ox  for  sacrifice.  This 
was  disagreeable,  but  that  personage  did 
not  dare  to  refuse,  and  die  animal  was  sent; 
he  contrived  however  to  delay  the  sacrifice, 
and  prudently  ordered  that,  if  the  patient  died 
in  the  mean  time,  the  ox  should  lie  returned. 
Having  begun  to  recover  his  strength,  our 
growing  prophet  cried  and  raved  like  a 
delirious  being,  suflering  no  one  to  enter  his 
hut,  except  two  of  his  younger  children  — 
a  girl  anil  a  boy.  Many  of  the  tribe  came 
to  see  him,  but  he  did  not  permit  them 
to  approach  his  person,  and  impatiently 
motioned  them  away.  In  a  few  days  he 
rushed  out  of  his  hut,  tore  awaj-  through 
the  fence,  ran  like  a  maniac  across  the 
gi-ass,  an<l  disappeared  in  the  bush.  The 
two  chihlren  went  after  him;  and  the  boy 
(his  sister  having  tired)  eventually  discov- 
ered him  on  the  sea-shore.  Befori^  the  child 
could  apiiroach,  the  real  or  afleeted  madman 
disappeared  again,  and  was  seen  no  more 
for  two  or  three  days.  He  then  returned 
home,  a  strange  and  frightful  spectacle: 
sickness  and  fasting  had  reduced  him  al- 
most to  a  skeleton;  his  eyes  glared  and 
stood  out  from  his  shrunken  face;  the  ring 
had  been  torn  from  his  head,  which  he  had 
covered  with  long  shaggy  grass,  while,  to 
complete  the  hideous  picture,  a  living  ser- 
pent was  twisted  round  his  neck.  Having 
entered  the  kraal,  where  his  wives  were  in 
tears,  and  all  the   inmates  in   sorrow,  he 


176 


THE  KAFFIR. 


saluted  them  with  a  wild  now!  to  this  effect : 
'  People  call  me  mad,  I  know  they  say  1  am 
mad;  that  is  nothing;  the  spirits  are  inliu- 
encing  me  —  the  sijirits  of  Majolo,  of  Uu- 
lilovu,  and  of  my  father.'  (See  the  illustra- 
tions on  page  17;i.) 

••  Alter  tills  a  sort  of  dance  took  place,  in 
which  he  sung  or  chanted,  '  I  thought  I  was 
dreaming  while  I  was  asleep,  but,  to  my 
surprise,  I  was  not  asleep.'  The  women 
(previously  instructed)  broke  forth  into  a 
siu'ill  chorus,  referring  to  his  departure  from 
home,  his  visit  to  the  sea,  and  his  wander- 
ing from  river  to  river;  while  the  men  did 
their  part  by  singing  two  or  three  nnraeau- 
iug  syllables.  The  dance  and  the  accompa- 
nying chants  were  several  times  repeated, 
the  chief  actor  conducting  liimself  consist- 
ently with  his  previous  behavior. 

"His  dreams  continued,  and  the  people 
were  told  that  he  had  seen  a  boa-constrictor 
in  a  vision,  and  could  point  out  the  spot 
where  it  was  to  be  found.  They  accom- 
panied him;  and,  when  he  had  indicated 
the  place,  they  dug,  and  discovered  two  of 
the  reptiles.  He  endeavored  to  seize  one, 
but  the  jieople  held  him  back,  and  his  son 
struck  the  animal  with  suflicient  force  to 
disable  but  not  to  kill  it.  lie  was  then 
allowed  to  take  the  serpent,  which  he  placed 
round  his  neck,  and  the  party  returned 
home.  Subsequently  having  (as  he  alleged) 
dreamed  about  a  leopard,  the  people  accom- 
panied him,  and  found  it.  The  beast  was 
slain,  and  carried  in  triumpli  to  the  kraal. 

"  When  our  growing  prophet  returned 
home  after  his  absence  at  the  sea,  he  began 
to  slaughter  his  cattle,  according  to  ctistom 
and  continued  doing  so  at  intervals  until  the 
whole  were  consumed.  Some  of  them  were 
offered  in  sacrifice.  As  the  general  rule, 
when  there  is  beef  at  a  kraal  the  neighbors 
assemble  to  eat  it;  but,  when  an  embryo- 
seer  slays  his  cattle,  those  who  -wish  to  eat 
must  previously  give  him  something.  If 
however  the  chief  were  to  give  him  a  cow, 
the  people  of  the  tribe  would  be  free  to  go. 
In  this  case  the  chief  had  not  done  so,  and 
the  visitors  were  obliged  to  buy  their  enter- 
tainment, one  man  giving  a  knife,  another  a 
shilling.  An  individual,  who  was  tmable  or 
unwilling  to  \in\,  having  ventiu'ed  to  present 
himself  with  empty  hands,  our  neophyte  was 
exceedingly  ^\Totll,  and,  seizing  a  stick,  gave 
the  intruder  a  signifleant  hint,  which  the 
latter  was  not  slow  to  comprehend.  During 
the  consumption  of  his  cattle,  the  neophyte 
disappeared  again  for  two  days.  When  it 
was  finished  he  went  to  a  prophet,  with  whom 
he  resided  two  moons  —  his  children  taking 
him  food;  and  afterward,  to  receive  further 
instruction,  visited  another  seer.  He  was 
then  considered  qualified  to  iira.ctise." 

The  reader  may  remember  that  the  novi- 
tiate prophet  occasionally  flings  himself  into 
water.  He  chooses  the  clearest  and  deepest 
pool  that  he  can  find,  and  the  object  of  doing 


so  is  to  try  whether  any  of  the  spirits  will 
reveal  themselves  to  him  at  the  bottom  of 
the  water,  though  they  would  not  do  so  on 
dry  laud.  In  the  foregoing  story  of  a  proph- 
et's preparation,  the  narrator  does  not  touch 
upon  the  space  that  intervenes  between 
the  novitiate  and  the  admissitm  into  the 
prophetic  order.  This  omission  can  be  sup- 
jdied  by  an  account  given  to  Mr.  Grout,  by 
a  native  who  was  a  firm  believer  in  the 
supernatural  powers  of  the  prophets. 

The  state  of  "  change  "  lasts  for  a  long 
time,  and  is  generally  terminated  at  the 
begimiing  of  the  new  year.  He  then  rubs 
himself  all  over  with  white  clay,  bedecks  him- 
self with  living  snakes,  and  goes  to  a  council 
of  seers.  They  take  him  to  the  water 
—  the  sea,  if  they  should  be  ^vithin  reach 
of  the  coast  —  throw  him  into  the  water,  and 
there  leave  him.  He  again  goes  off  into 
solitude,  and,  when  he  returns,  he  is  accom- 
panied by  the  people  of  his  kraal,  bringing 
oxen  and  goats  for  sacrifice.  He  does  not 
sacrifice  sheep,  because  they  are  silent  when 
killed,  whereas  an  ox  lows,  and  a  goat  Ijleats, 
and  it  is  needful  that  any  animal  which  is 
slaughtered  as  a  sacrifice  must  cry  out. 

As  they  are  .successively  sacrificed,  he 
takes  out  "the  bladders  and  g,all-bags,  inflates 
them  with  air,  and  hangs  them  about  his 
body,  as  companions  to  the  snakes  which  he 
is  already  wearing.  "  He  enters  pools  of 
water,  abouitding  in  serpents  and  alligators. 
And  now,  if  he  catches  a  snake,  he  has 
power  over  that;  or  if  he  catches  a  leopard, 
he  has  power  over  the  leopard;  or  if  he 
catches  a  deadly-poisonous  serpent,  he  has 
power  over  the  most  poisonous  serpent. 
And  thus  he  takes  his  degrees,  the  degree  of 
leopard,  that  he  may  catch  leopards,  and 
of  serpent,  that  he  may  catch  serpents." 
Jfot  until  lie  has  completed  these  prepara- 
tions does  he  begin  to  practise  his  profes- 
sion, and  to  exact  payment  from  those  who 
come  to  ask  his  advice. 

I  have  in  my  possession  a  photograph 
which  represents  a  Zulu  prophet  and  his 
wife.  It  is  particularly  valualile,  as  show- 
ing the  singular  contrast  in  stature  between 
the  two  sexes,  the  husband  and  wife  —  so 
small  is  the  latter  —  scarcely  seeming  to 
lielong  to  the  same  race  of  mankind.  This, 
indeed,  is  generally  the  case  throughout  the 
Kafilr  tribes.  The  Kaffir  prophet  always 
carries  a  wand  of  office  —  generally  a  cow's 
tail,  fiistened  to  a  wooden  handle  —  and  in 
his  other  hand  he  bears  a  miniatm-e  shield 
and  an  assagai. 

The  engraving  opposite  represents  two 
]irophets,  in  the'fuU  costume  of  their  pro- 
fession. These  were  both  celebrated  men, 
and  had  attained  old  age  when  their  por- 
traits were  taken.  One  of  them  was 
peculiarly  noted  for  his  skill  as  a  rain- 
maker, and  the  other  was  famous  for  his 
knowledge  of  medicine  and  the  properties 
of  herbs.    Each  is  arrayed  in  the  garments 


OLD    PUOE'HETS. 
(See  page  176.) 


(17'D 


DEESS  OF  A  PROPHET. 


179 


suitable  to  the  business  in  wliicli  lie  is 
engaged.  Although  the  same  man  is  geu- 
ei'ally  a  rain-maker,  a  witch-tiuder,  a  uecro- 
niancer,  and  a  physician,  he  does  not  wear 
the  same  costume  on  all  occasions,  but 
indues  the  official  dress  which  belongs  to 
the  department,  aud  in  many  cases  the 
change  is  so  great  that  the  man  can 
scarcely  be  recognized.  In  one  case,  he 
will  be  dressed  merely  in  the  ordinary  Kaf- 
fir kilt,  with  a  few  intiated  gall-bladders  in 
his  hair,  and  a  snake-skin  wound  over  his 
shoulders.  In  another,  he  will  have  rubl;)ed 
his  face  and  body  with  white  earth,  covered 
his  head  with  such  quantities  of  charms  that 
his  face  can  liardly  be  seen  under  them,  and 
fringed  his  limbs  with  the  tails  of  cows,  the 
long  hair-tufts  of  goats,  skins  of  birds,  and 
other  wild  and  savage  adornments;  while  a 
perpetual  clanking  sound  is  made  at  every 
movement  by  numbers  of  small  tortoise- 


shells  strung  on  leathern  thongs.  His 
movements  are  equally  changed  with  his 
clothing;  and  a  man  who  will,  when  invok- 
ing rain,  invest  every  gesture  with  solemn 
and  awe-struck  grace,  will,  when  acting  as 
witch-finder,  lasli  himself  into  furious  ex- 
citement, leap  high  in  the  air,  tlourish  his 
legs  and  arms  about  as  if  they  did  not 
belong  to  him,  fill  the  air  with  his  shrieks, 
and  foam  at  the  mouth  as  if  he  had  been 
taken  with  an  epileptic  fit.  It  is  rather 
curious  that,  while  in  some  Kaffir  tribes  a 
man  who  is  lialile  to  fits  is  avoided  and 
repelled,  among  others  he  is  thought  to  be 
directly  inspired  by  the  souls  of  departed 
chiefs,  and  is  ipso  facto  entitled  to  become  a 
prophet,  even  though  he  be  not  of  prophet- 
ical descent.  He  is  one  who  has  been 
specially  chosen  by  the  spirits,  and  may 
transmit  the  jirophetical  office  to  his  de- 
scendants. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 


EELIGION  AND  SUPEESTITIOX  —  ConJJimecI. 


DUTIES  OF  THE  PROPHET  —  A  PROPHET  AND  HIS  CLIENTS  —  PROBABLE  RESULT  OF  THE  INQCIKT  —  A 
KAFFIR'S  BELIEF  IN  CHARMS  —  CHARM-STICKS  AND  THEIR  VARIOUS  PROPERTIES  —  COURAGE  AND 
THUNDER  CHARMS  —  A  SOUTH  AFRICAN  THUNDERSTORM  —  LOVE,  LION,  AND  FATIGUE  CHARMS  — 
THE  K.\FFIR  CATTLE  DOCTOR  —  ILLNESS  OF  A  CHIEF  —  THE  WIZARD  SUMMONED  —  SMELLING 
THE  WIZARD  —  A  TERRIBLE  SCENE  —  KONA'S  ILLNESS  AND  ITS  RESULTS  —  A  FEMALE  PROPHET 
AND  HER  PROCEEDINGS  —  INGENIOUS  MODE  OF  EXTORTION^ THE  IMPOSTURE  DETECTED  —  HERED- 
ITARY CHARACTER  OF  PROPHECY  —  A  PROPHETESS   AT  HOJLE  —  DEMEANOR  OF  FEMALE  PROPHETS 

—  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE — A  PROIITIVE   MODE   OF  CUPPING  —  A  FALSE  PROPHET  AND  HIS   FATE 

—  A  SINGULAR  SUPERSTITION  —  KAFFIR    VAMPIRES  —  THE  NIGHT  CRY"  —  PROCURING  EVIDENCE. 


The  object  for  which  the  Kaffir  prophet  is 
generally  consulted  is  the  discovery  of 
witchcraft.  Now,  the  reader  must  under- 
stand that  the  belief  in  witchcraft  is  univer- 
sal throughout  Africa,  and  in  no  part  of  that 
continent  is  it  so  strong  as  in  Kaffirland. 
There  is  scarcely  an  ill  that  can  befall  man- 
kind which  is  not  believed  to  be  caused  by 
witchcraft,  and,  consequently,  the  prophet 
has  to  find  out  the  author  of"  the  evil.  The 
most  harmless  discovery  that  he  can  make 
is,  that  the  charm  has  not  been  wrought  b_v 
any  individual,  but  has  been  the  work  of 
oft'ended  spirits.  All  illness,  for  example,  is 
thought  to  be  caused  by  the  spirits  of  the 
departed,  either  because  they  are  offended 
with  the  sulferer,  or  because  they  have  been 
worked  upon  by  some  necromancer. 

Mr.  Shooter  has  so  well  described  the 
course  of  proceeding  in  such  a  case  that  his 
own  words  must  be  given:  — 

"  When  people  consult  a  prophet,  they  do 
not  tell  him  on  what  subject  they  wish  to 
be  enlightened.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
acquainted  with  their  thoughts,  and  they 
merely  intimate  that  they  wish  to  have  the 
benefit  of  his  knowledge.  Probably  he  will 
'  take  time  to  consider,'  and  not  give  his 
responses  at  once.  Two  young  men  visiting 
him,  in  consequence  of  their  l)rother"s  ill- 
ness, found  the  prophet  squatting  by  his 
hut,  and  saluted  him.  He  then  invited 
them  to  sit  down,  and,  retiring  outside  the 
kraal,  squatted  near  the  gate,  to  take  snulf 
and  meditate.    This  done  to  his  satisfaction. 


he  sends  a  boy  to  call  the  visitors  into  his 
presence;  when  they  immediatelj'  join  him, 
and  squat. 

"The  prophet  asks  for  his  'assagai'  —  a 
figurative  expression  for  his  fee  —  when  the 
applicants  reply  that  they  lia\e  nothing  to 
give  at  present;  after  a  while,  they  will  seek 
something  to  pay  him  with.  '  No,'  answers 
the  prophet,  not  dis]wsed  to  give  credit; 
you  want  to  cheat  me  —  evei'ybody  tries 
to  do  so  now.  Why  don't  you  give  me  two 
shillings':' '  They  ofl'er  him  a  small  assagai; 
but  he  is  not  satisfied  with  the  weapon,  and, 
pointing  to  a  larger  one,  says,  '  That  is 
mine.'  The  man  who  had  brought  this 
excuses  himself  by  saying  that  it  does  not 
belong  to  him;  but  ("he  prophet  persists, 
and  it  is  given.  Having  no  hope  of  extort- 
ing a  larger  fee,  the  prophet  says,  '  Beat  and 
hear,  my  people.'  Each  of  tlie  apjdicants 
snaps  his  fingers,  and  replies,  '  I  hear.'  The 
beating  is  sometimes,  and  perhaps  more 
regularly,  performed  by  beating  the  ground 
with  sticks.  The  prophet  now  pretends 
to  have  a  vision,  indistinct  at  first,  but 
becoming  eventually  clearer,  until  he  sees 
the  actu.al  thing  which  has  occurred.  This 
vision  he  professes  to  describe  as  it  appears 
to  him.  We  may  imagine  him  saying,  for 
instance,  '  A  cow  is  sick  —  no,  I  see  a  man; 
a  man  has  been  hurt'  While  he  runs  on  in 
this  way,  the  applicants  reply  to  every  asser- 
tion by  beating,  as  at  first,  and  saying.  '  I 
hear.'  Tliey  carefully  abstain  from  saying 
whether  he  is  right  or  wrong ;  but  when  he 


(180) 


THE  PROPHET  AND   HIS   CLIENTS. 


181 


approaches  the  truth,  the  simple  creatures 
testify  their  joy  by  beating  aud  replying 
with  increased  vigor. 

The  prophet's  simulated  vision  is  not  a 
series  oi  guesses,  in  which  he  may  possibly 
hit  upon  the  trutli,  but  a  systematic  enume- 
ration of  particulars,  in  which  he  can  scarcely 
miss  it.  Thus,  he  may  begin  by  saying  that 
the  thing  which  the  applicants  wisli  to  know 
relates  to  some  animal  with  hair,  and,  going 
through  each  division  of  that  class,  suggests 
whatever  may  be  likely  to  occur  to  a  cow,  a 
calf,  a  dog.  If  he  find  no  indication  that 
the  matter  relates  to  one  of  this  class,  he 
takes  another,  as  human  beings,  and  pro- 
ceeds through  it  in  the  same  manner.  It  is 
obvious  that  a  tolerably  clever  practitioner 
may,  in  this  way,  discover  from  the  appli- 
cants whatever  may  have  happened  to  them, 
and  send  them  away  with  a  deep  impres- 
sion of  his  prophetic  abilities,  especially  if 
he  have  any  previous  knowledge  of  their  cir- 
cumstances. The  following  sketch  will  give 
the  reader  a  general  idea  of  the  projihefs 
manner  of  proceeding.  A  few  particulars 
onlj',  as  being  sufficient  for  illustration,  are 
given:  — 

"  '  Beat  and  hear,  my  people.' 

"  They  snap  their  fingers,  and  say,  '  I 
hear.' 

" '  Attend,  my  people.' 

"  They  beat,  and  sa}',  '  I  hear.' 

" '  I  don't  know  what  you  want;  you  want 
to  know  something  about  an  animal  'with 
hail'.  A  cow  is  sick;  what's  the  matter 
with  her  ?  I  see  a  wound  on  her  side  —  no; 
I'm  wrong.  A  cow  is  lost;  I  see  a  cow  in 
the  bush.  Nay,  don't  beat,  my  people;  I'm 
wrong.  It's  a  dog;  a  dog  has  ascended  a 
hut.*  Nay,  that's  not  it.  I  see  now;  beat 
vigorously;  the  thing  relates  to  people. 
Somebody  is  ill  —  a  man  is  ill  —  he  is  an 
old  man.  No;  I  see  a  woman  —  she  has 
been  married  a  3rear :  where  is  she"?  I'm 
wrong  ;  I  don't  see  yet.' 

"Perhaps  he  takes  snulT,  and  rests  a 
while. 

" '  Beat  and  hear,  my  people.  I  see  now: 
it's  a  boy  —  beat  vigorously.  He  is  sick. 
Where  is  he  sick?  "  Let  me  see  —  there  ' 
(placing  his  hand  on  some  part  of  his 
own  person).  'No — beat  and  attend,  my 
people  —  I  see  now.  There!  (indicating 
the  actual  place).  'Where  is  he?  Not 
at  his  kraal;  he  is  working  with  a  white 
man.  How  has  he  been  hurt?  I  see 
him  going  to  the  bush  —  he  has  gone  to 
fetch  wood;  a  piece  of  wood  tails  upon  him; 
he  is  hurt;  he  cannot  walk.  I  see  water; 
what's  the  water  for?  They  are  pouring  it 
over  him;  he  is  fainting —  he  is  very  "ill. 
The  spirits  are  angry  with  him  —  his  father 
is  angry;  he  wants  beef.  The  boy  received 
a  cow  for  his  wages;  it  was  a  black  cow. 
No;    I  see  white.     Where  is  the  white?  a 


*  Tliis,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  one  of  the  evil 
omens  which  a  Kaffir  fears. 


little  on  the  side.  The  spirit  wants  that 
cow;  kill  it,  and  the  boy  will  recover.'" 

Fortunate  indeed  are  the  spectators  of 
the  scene  if  the  necromancer  makes  such 
an  announcement,  and  any  one  of  these 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  compound  for  the 
sacrifice  of  a  cow,  if  he  could  be  sure  of 
escaping  accusation  as  a  wizard.  In  the 
case  of  a  "boy,"  or  even  of  a  married 
man  of  no  great  rank  or  wealth,  such  will 
probably  be  the  result  of  the  inquiry  —  tlie 
prophet  will  get  his  fee,  the  spectators  will 
get  a  feast,  and  the  patient  may  possibly  get 
better.  But  when  a  chief  is  ill,  the  proba- 
bility is  that  some  one  will  be  accused  of 
witc'licraft,  and  if  the  king  is  ailing  such  au 
accusation  is  a  matter  of  certainty. 

In  the  eye  of  a  Katlir,  any  one  may  be  a 
witch  or  a  wizard  —  both  sexes  being  equally 
liable  to  the  impeachment — and  on  that  sub- 
ject no  man  can  trust  his  neighbor.  A  hus- 
iiaud  has  no  faith  in  his  own  wife,  and  the 
father  mistrusts  his  children.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  the  faith  in  charms  is  coex- 
tensive with  the  belief  in  witchcraft,  and 
there  is  scarcely  a  Kaffir  who  does  not  carry 
with  him  a  whole  series  of  charms,  each 
being  destined  to  avert  some  particular  evil. 
The  charms  are  furnished  to  them  by  the 
prophets,  and  as  they  never  are  of  the  least 
intrinsic  value,  and  are  highly  paid  for,  the 
I)usiness  of  a  prophet  is  rather  a  lucrative 
one.  Anything  will  serve  as  a  charm, — 
liits  of  bone,  scraps  of  skin,  feathers,  claws, 
teeth,  roots,  and  bits  of  wood.  A  Kaffir 
will  often  have  a  whole  string  of  such 
charms  hung  round  his  neck,  and,  to  a 
European,  a  superstitious  Kaffir  has  often 
a  very  ludicrous  aspect.  One  man,  who 
seems  to  have  been  peculiarly  impressible 
to  such  observances,  had  bedecked  his  head 
with  pigs'  bristles  set  straight,  so  as  to 
stand  out  on  all  sides,  like  the  quills  of  a 
hedgehog,  while  round  his  neck  he  had 
strung  a  quantity  of  charms,  the  principal 
of  which  were  ))ieces  of  bone,  the  head  of 
a  snake,  the  tooth  of  a  young  hippopotamus, 
and  a  brass  door-handle.  Sometimes  the 
charms  are  strung  on  the  same  thong  with 
the  beads,  needles,  knives,  snuft"  iKjxes,  and 
other  decorations  of  a  Kaffir's  toilet,  but 
generally  they  are  considered  worthy  of  a 
string  to  themselves. 

But  the  generality  of  charms  are  made 
of  various  roots  and  bits  of  wood,  which 
are  hung  round  the  neck,  and  nibliled  when 
the  wearer  feels  a  need  of  their  influence. 
One  powerful  set  of  charms  is  intended  for 
the  pin-jiose  of  securing  the  wearer  against 
the  feeling  of  fear,  and  the  prophets  have 
very  ingeniously  managed  to  invent  a  sepa- 
rate charm  for  every  kind  of  fear.  For 
example,  if  a  Kaffir  has  to  go  out  at  night, 
and  is  afraid  of  meeting  ghosts,  he  lias  re- 
course to  his  ghost-charm,  which  he  iiilililes 
slightly,  and  then  sallies  out  in  bold  defiance 
of  the  shades  below.    When  he  has  come 


182 


THE  KAFFIR. 


to  his  journey's  end,  he  finds  that  he  h;is 
met  no  ghosts,  and,  consequently,  he  has 
unhmited  faith  in  his  charm.  If  he  should 
go  into  action  as  a  soldier,  he  takes  care  to 
have  his  enemy-charm  ready  for  use,  and 
just  Ijefore  he  "enters  the  battle  bites  off  a 
Ijortiou  of  the  wood,  masticates  it  thor- 
oughly, and  then  blows  the  fragments  to- 
ward the  foe,  confident  that  he  is  thus  tak- 
ing away  from  the  courage  of  the  enemy, 
and  adding  the  subtracted  amount  to  his 
own.  The  onl}'  misgiving  which  disturlis 
his  mind  is,  that  the  enemy  is  doing  exactly 
the  same  thing,  and  he  cannot  be  quite  sure 
that  the  opposing  charm  may  not  be  more 
potent  than  his  own.  The  prophet  rather 
fosters  than  discourages  this  feeling,  because 
the  soldier  —  knowing  that,  if  he  retreats, 
lie  will  be  executed  as  a  coward — is  so 
anxious  to  ])ossess  a  double  share  of  courage 
that  he  will  pay  largely  in  order  to  securer 
powerful  charm. 

Frequently,  when  a  soldier  has  been  thus 
disgraced,  his  friends  abuse  the  prophet 
for  furnishing  so  impotent  a  charm.  His 
reply,  however,  is  always  easy  :  "  He  only 
gave  me  a  goat,  and  could  only  expect 
goat-charms;  if  he  wanted  ox-charms,  he 
ought  to  have  given  me  a  cow,  or  at  least 
a  calf.''  Even  if  an  adequate  fee  has  been 
paid,  the  answer  is  equally  ready  —  the  man 
was  a  wizard,  and  the  spirits  of  his  ances- 
tors were  angi'y  with  him  for  troubling  them 
so  much  with  his  conjurations. 

Very  few  Kaffirs  will  venture  out  during 
the  stormy  season  without  a  thunder-charm 
as  a  preservative  against  lightning.  This 
object  looks  just  like  any  other  charm,  and 
is,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than  a  small  piece 
of  wood  or  root.  The  Kaffir's  faith  in  it  is 
unbounded,  and,  in  consequence  of  the  awful 
severity  of  thunderstorms,  the  sale  of  such 
charms  is  a  very  lucrative  part  of  tlie  proi)h- 
et's  business.  We  can  scarcely  wonder  that 
the  Katlir  has  recourse  to  such  preserva- 
tives, for  he  well  knows  that  no  art  of  man 
can  avail  against  the  terrific  storms  of  that 
country.  Even  in  our  own  country  we  often 
witness  thunderstorms  that  fill  the  boldest 
witli  awe,  while  tlie  weaker-minded  of  lioth 
sexes  cower  in  abject  fear  at  the  crashing 
thunder  and  the  vivid  lightning  streaks. 
But  the  worst  storm  that  has  been  known 
in  England  or  the  United  States  is  as  noth- 
ing compared  to  the  ordinary  thunderstorms 
of  Southern  Africa  —  storms  in  which  the 
native,  who  has  been  accustomed  to  them 
all  his  life,  can  do  nothing  but  crouch  to  the 
ground,  and  lay  his  hand  on  his  ntouth  in 
silence.  What  an  African  storm  can  tie 
may  be  imagined  from  the  following  account 
by  Mr.  Cole^:  — 

"  Emerging  after  a  few  days  from  these 
freezing  quarters,  I  found  myself  in  the 
plains  of  the  Graaf-TJeinet  district.  It  was 
pleasant  to  feel  warm  again,  but  what  I 
gained  in  caloric  I  decidedly  lost  m  the  pic- 


turesque :  never-ending  plains  of  burnt  grass, 
treeless,  riverless,  houseless  —  such  were  the 
attractions  that  greeted  my  eyes.  How  any- 
thing in  the  vegetable  or  animal  kingdom 
could  exist  there  seemed  a  perfect  mystery. 
Yet  the  mystery  is  soon  explained.  'l  was 
there  when  there  had  been  a  long-continued 
drought  —  one  of  those  visitations  to  which 
these  districts  are  especially  subject.  One 
day  the  clouds  began  to  gather,  the  wind 
fell,  the  air  became  oppressively  sultry,  and 
all  gave  notice  of  an  approaching  storm. 
My  horses  became  restive  and  uneasy,  and 
for  myself  I  felt  faint  and  weary  to  excess. 
My  aiter-rider  looked  alarmed,  "for  truly  the 
heavens  Ijore  a  fearful  as])ect.  I  can  con- 
ceive nothing  more  dismal  than  the  deep, 
thick,  black,  impenetralile  masses  of  clouds 
that  .surrounded  us.  It  might  have  been 
the  entrance  to  the  infernal  regions  them- 
.selves  that  stood  before  us.  Suddenly  we 
saw  a  stream  of  light  so  vivid,  so  intensely 
bright,  and  of  such  immense  lieight  (appar- 
ently), that  for  a  moment  we  were  half 
blinded,  while  our  horses  snorted  and  turned 
sharp  round  from  the  glare.  Almost  at  the 
same  instant  burst  forth  a  peal  of  thunder, 
like  the  artillery  of  all  the  universe  dis- 
charged at  once  in  our  ears. 

"  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost:  we  struck 
spurs  to  our  horses'  flanks,  and  galloped  to 
a  mountain  side,  a  little  way  behind  us, 
where  the  quick  eye  of  my  Hottentot  had 
observed  a  cave.  In  a  few  minutes — mo- 
ments rather  —  we  were  within  it,  but  not 
before  the  storm  had  burst  forth  in  all  its 
fury.  One  moment  the  country  round  us 
was  black  as  ink — the  next  it  was  a  sheet 
of  living  flame,  whiter  than  the  white  heat 
of  the  furnace.  One  long-continued,  never- 
ceasing  roar  of  thunder  (not  separate  claps 
as  we  hear  them  in  this  country)  deafened 
our  ears,  and  each  moment  we  feared  destruc- 
tion; for,  more  than  once,  huge  masses  of 
rock,  detached  by  the  lightning  blast  from 
the  mountain  al)ove  us,  rolled  down  past  our 
cavern  with  the  roar  of  an  avalanche.  The 
Hottentot  lay  on  his  fece,  shutting  out  the 
sight,  though  he  could  not  escajjc  the  sound. 
At  length  iho  rain-spouts  burst  forth,  and  to 
describe  how  the  water  deluged  the  earth 
would  be  impossible ;  suffice  it,  that  though 
we  had  entered  the  cave  from  the  road  with- 
out passing  anv  stream,  or  apparently  any 
bed  of  onc'when  we  again  ventured  forth 
from  our  place  of  shelter,  three  hours  later, 
a  broad  and  impassable  torrent  flowed  be- 
tween ourselves  and  the  road,  and  we  had 
to  crawl  along  the  mountain  sides  on  foot, 
with  great  diflicuUv,  and  in  the  momen- 
tary danger  of  losing  our  footing  on  its 
slip]iery  surface,  and  being  dashed  into  the 
roaring  torrent,  for  about  two  miles  ere  we 
could  find  a  fordabie  spot.  Two  days  later 
these  plains  were  covered  with  a  lovely  ver- 
dure." 

Other  charms  are  intended  for  softening 


A  KAFFIR'S  BELIEF  IN"  CHARMS. 


183 


the  heart  of  a  girl  whom  a  man  -wants  to 
marry,  or  of  her  father,  in  order  to  induce 
him  to  be  moderate  in  his  demand  for  cows, 
or  of  the  eliief  if  he  should  have  to  prefer  a 
request.  All  these  charms  are  exactly  alike 
to  the  look,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that 
they  do  not  possess  the  least  efficacy  in  one 
way  or  another. 

There  are  some  charms  which  undoubt- 
edly do  possess  some  power,  and  others 
which  owe  their  force  to  the  imagination  of 
the  user.  The  many  charms  wliicli  they 
possess  against  various  kinds  of  fear  belong 
to  this  class.  For  example,  if  a  man  meets 
a  lion  or  a  leopard,  and  niljbles  a  little  scrap 
of  wood,  it  is  plain  that  the  ctHciency  of 
these  charms  is  wholly  imaginary.  In  many 
instances  this  is  undoubtedly  the  case.  If  a 
man,  meeting  a  lion,  nibbles  a  little  piece  of 
lion-oharin,  and  the  auim:xl  moves  otT,  leav- 
ing him  unmolested,  his  fears  are  certainly 
allayed  b\'  the  use  of  the  charm,  though  his 
escape  is  due  to  the  natural  dread  of  man 
implanted  in  the  nature  of  the  inferior  ani- 
mal, and  not  to  the  power  of  the  charm.  In 
battle,  too,  a  man  who  thinks  that  his  charms 
will  render  the  enemy  afraid  of  him  is  much 
more  likely  to  tight  with  douliled  valor,  and 
so  to  bring  about  the  result  attributed  to  tlie 
charm.  In  cases  of  illness,  too,  we  all  know 
how  powerful  is  the  healing  etfect  of  the 
imagination  in  restoration  of  health. 

But  there  are  many  instances  where  the 
material  used  as  a  charm  possesses  medi- 
cinal properties,  of  which  the  prophet  is 
perfectly  aware.  There  is,  for  example,  one 
charm  against  weariness,  the  elfii;acy  of 
which  clearly  depends  upon  the  properties 
of  the  material.  One  of  my  friends,  who  was 
quite  weary  after  a  day's  hard  huncing,  was 
persuaded  by  one  of  his  Kaftir  servants  to 
eat  a  little  of  his  fatigue-charm.  It  was  evi- 
dently made  from  the  root  of  some  tree,  and 
was  very  bitter,  though  not  unpleasantly  so. 
He  tried  it,  simply  from  curiosity,  and  was 
agreeably  surprised  to  tind  that  in  a  few 
minutes  lie  felt  his  muscular  powers  won- 
derfully restored,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to 
resume  his  feet,  and  proceed  briskly  home- 
ward, the  extreme  exhaustion  having  passed 
away.  Imagination  in  this  case  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  success  of  the  charm,  and  it 
is  evident  that  the  prophet  who  sold  it  to 
the  Katfir  was  aware  of  its  medicinal  prop- 
erties. 

So  deeply  rooted  in  the  Kaffir  mind  is  the 
idea  that  all  sickness  is  caused  by  witch- 
ci-aft  of  some  kind  or  other,  that  even  if 
cattle  are  ill,  their  sickness  is  supposed  to 
have  been  caused  by  some  supernatural 
power.  The  first  course  that  is  taken  is 
necessarily  the  propitiation  of  the  spirits,  in 
order  that  they  may  overrule  the  machi- 
nations of  the  evil-doer,  and  preserve  the 
cattle,  which  constitute  the  wealth  and 
strength  of  the  kraal.  One  of  the  best  oxen 
is  therefore  sacrificed  to  them  with  the  usual 


ceremonies,  and,  when  it  is  dead,  the  gall 
and  contents  of  the  stomach  are  scattered 
over  the  cattle  pen,  and  the  spirits  are  sol- 
emnly invoked. 

Here  is  one  of  these  curious  prayers,  which 
was  obtained  from  a  KatHr.  "Hail!  friend! 
thou  of  this  kraal,  grant  us  a  blessing,  be- 
holding what  we  have  done.  You  see  this 
distress;  remove  it,  since  we  have  given  you 
an  animal.  We  know  not  what  more  you 
want,  whether  you  still  require  anything 
more  or  not.  Grant  us  grain  that  it  may  be 
abundant,  that  we  may  eat,  and  not  be  in 
want  of  anything,  since  we  have  given  you 
what  you  want.  This  kraal  was  built  by 
yourself,  father,  and  now  why  do  you  dimin- 
ish your  own  kraal?  Build  on,  as  you  have 
begun,  let  it  be  larger,  that  your  olfspring, 
still  hereabout,  may  increase,  increasing 
knowledge  of  you,  whence  cometh  great 
power." 

The  flesh  of  the  slaughtered  ox  is  then 
taken  into  a  hut,  the  door  is  closed,  and  no 
one  is  allowed  to  enter  for  a  considerable 
time,  during  which  period  the  spirits  are 
supposed  to  be  eating  the  beef.  The  door  is 
then  opened,  the  l^eef  is  cooked,  and  all  who 
are  present  partake  of  it.  If  the  projiitia- 
tory  sacrifice  fails,  a  prophet  of  known  skill 
is  summoned,  and  the  herd  collected  in  the 
isi-baya,  or  central  enclosure,  in  readiness 
against  his  arrival.  His  first  proceeding  is 
to  light  a  tire  in  the  isi-baya  and  burn  medi- 
cine upon  it,  taking  care  that  tlie  smoke 
shall  pass  over  the  cattle.  He  next  proceeds 
to  frighten  the  evil  .spirit  out  of  them  by  a 
simpie  tliough  remarkalale  proceeding.  He 
takes  a  fireln-and  in  his  hand,  puts  a  lump 
of  fat  in  his  mouth,  and  then  walks  up  to 
one  of  the  afflicted  oxen.  The  animal  is 
flrmly  held  while  he  proceeds  to  masticate 
the  fat,  and  then  to  eject  it  on  the  firebrand. 
The  mixed  fat  and  water  make  a  great  sput- 
tering in  the  face  of  the  ox,  which  is  greatly 
terrified,  and  bursts  away  from  its  tor- 
mentors. 

This  process  is  repeated  upon  the  entire 
herd  until  they  are  all  in  a  state  of  furi- 
ous excitement,  and,  as  soon  as  they  have 
reached  that  stage,  the  gate  of  the  enclosure 
is  thrown  open,  and  the  frightened  animals 
dash  out  of  it.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the 
kraal  rush  after  them,  the  men  beating  their 
shields  with  their  knob-kerries,  the  women 
rattling  calabashes  with  stones  in  them,  and 
all  yelling  and  shouting  at  the  top  of  their 
voices.  "The  cattle,  which  are  generally 
treated  with  peculiar  kindness,  are  quite 
beside  themselves  at  such  a  proceeding,  and 
it  is  a  consider.able  time  before  they  can 
recover  their  equanimity.  This  may  seem 
to  be  rather  a  curious  method  of  treating  the 
cattle  disease,  but,  as  the  fee  of  the  prophet 
is  forfeited  if  the  animals  are  not  cured,  it  is 
to  be  presumed  that  the  remedy  is  mors 
eflicacious  than  it  appears  to  be. 
When  a  chief  of  rank  happens  to  be  ill, 


184 


THE  ICiFFIR. 


and  especially'  if  the  kins;  himself  should  be 
ailing,  no  one  has  the  least  doubt  that  sor- 
cery Vas  the  cause  of  the  evil.  And,  as  the 
chiefs  are  given  to  eating  and  drinking,  and 
smoking  and  sleeping,  until  they  are  so  fat 
that  they  can  hardly  walk,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  they  are  very  fre(iuently  ill.  It  thus 
becomes  the  business  of  the  prophet  to  tind 
out  the  wizard,  or  "  evil-doer,"  as  he  is 
called,  by  whom  the  charm  was  wrought. 

To  doulit  that  the  illness  was  caused  by 
■witchcraft  would  be  a  sort  of  high  treason, 
and  atford  good  grounds  for  Ix'lieving  that 
the  doubter  is  himself  the  wizard.  For  a 
Kaffir  chief  always  chooses  to  think  himself 
above  the  common  lot  of  humanity  —  that 
he  is  superior  to  others,  and  that  he  cannot 
die  like  inferior  men.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  any  ailment  which  may  attack  him 
must  be  caused  by  witchcraft,  and  that,  if 
the  evil-doer  can  be  detected,  the  spell  will 
lose  its  ])oteucy,  and  the  suft'erer  be  restored 
to  health. 

Charms  which  cause  ill-health  are  usually 
roots,  tufts  of  hair,  feathers,  bits  of  bone,  or 
simiLar  objects,  which  have  been  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  victim,  or  at  least  have  been 
touched  lay  him.  These  are  buried  in  some 
secret  spot  by  the  wizard,  who  mutters  spells 
over  them,  by  means  of  which  the  victim 
droops  in  health  in  proportion  as  the  buried 
charm  decaj-s  in  the  ground.  The  ol)ject  of 
the  prophet,  therefore,  is  twofold;  first,  to 
point  out  the  wizard,  and,  secondly,  to  dis- 
cover the  buried  charms,  dig  them  up,  and 
reverse  the  spell. 

The  "  evil-doer  "  is  discovered  by  a  process 
which  is  technically  named  "  smelling."  A 
large  circle  is  formed  of  spectators,  all  of 
whom  squat  on  the  ground,  after  the  usual 
manner  of  Kaffirs.  AVhen  all  is  ready,  the 
prophet  clothes  himself  in  his  full  otlicial  cos- 
tume and  proceeds  into  the  circle,  where  he 
is  received  with  a  great  shout  of  .welcome. 
Though  every  one  knows  that  before  an 
hour  has  elapsed  one  at  least  of  their  number 
will  be  accused  of  witchcraft,  and  though  no 
one  knows  whether  he  himself  may  not  be 
the  victim,  no  one  dares  to  omit  the  shout 
of  welcome,  lest  he  should  be  suspected  as 
the  wizard.  The  prophet  then  liegins  to 
pace  sl<3wly  in  the  circle,  gradually  increas- 
ing his  speed,  until  at  last  he  breaks  into  a 
dance,  accompanjing  his  ste])s  with  a  meas- 
ured chant.  Louder  and  louder  peals  the 
chant,  quicker  and  wilder  become  the  steps 
of  the  magic  dancer,  until  at  last  the  man 
lashes  himself  into  a  state  of  insane  fury,  his 
eyes  rolling,  tears  streaming  down  his  cheeks, 
and  his  chant  interrupted  by  shrieks  and 
sobs,  so  that  tlie  spectators  may  well  believe, 
as  they  most  firmly  do,  that  he  is  possessed 
by  the  spirits  of  departed  chiefs. 

Then  comes  the  anxious  part  of  the  cere- 
mony. The  proiihet  leaps  in  great  bounds 
over  the  arena,  first  rushing  to  one  part  and 
then  to  another,  inhaling  his  breath  vio- 


lently, like  a  dog  trying  to  discover  a  lost 
scent,  and  seeming  to  be  attracted  to  or 
repelled  from  certain  individuals  by  a  power 
not  his  own.  Each  Kaffir  sits  in  trembling 
awe,  his  heart  sinking  when  he  sees  the  ter- 
rible prophet  coming  toward  him,  and  his 
courage  returning  as  the  seer  turns  off  in 
another  direction.  At  last  the  choice  is 
made.  The  ])rophet  stops  suddenly  opposite 
one  portion  of  the  circle,  and  begins  to  sniS" 
violently,  as  if  trying"  to  discover  by  the 
sense  of  smell  who  the  ofl'endcr  may  be. 
The  vast  assembly  look  on  in  awe-struck 
silence,  wdiile  the  projihet  draws  nearer  and 
nearer,  as  if  he  were  suiiernaturally  attracted 
to  the  object  of  which  he  is  in  search.  Sud- 
denly he  makes  a  dash  forward,  snatches  his 
wand  of  office  out  of  his  belt,  touches  the 
doomed  man  with  it  and  nnis  off.  The  hap- 
less victim  is  instantly  seiz(al  by  the  execu- 
tioners, and  hurried  off  before  the  chief  in 
order  to  be  examined. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  prophet  is  followed 
by  a  numlier  of  peo])le  who  wish  to  see  him 
discover  the  buried  charm.  This  part  of  the 
proceeding  is  verj'^similar  to  that  which  has 
been  mentioned.  He  dances  through  the 
kraal,  entering  hut  after  hut,  and  i)]-etcnding 
to  be  satisfied  by  the  sense  of  smell  that  the 
charm  is  not  to  be  found  in  each  i)laee.  By 
degrees  he  approaches  nearer  the  right  spot, 
on  which  he  throws  his  assagai,  and  tells  the 
people  to  dig  and  find  the  charm,  which,  of 
course,  he  has  jireviously  taken  care  to  place 
there.  How  this  part  oi'  the  perlbrmance  is 
sometimes  managed  will  be  presently  nar- 
rated. 

The  wretched  man  who  is  once  accused 
openly  as  being  accessory  to  the  illness  of 
his  king  has  no  hope  of  mercy,  and  yields 
to  the  "dreadful  fate  that  awaits  him.  The 
nominal  examination  to  which  he  is  sub- 
jected is  no  examination  at  all,  but  merely 
a  succession  of  the  severest  tortures  tliat 
human  ingenuity  can  suggest,  prolonged  as 
long  as  life  is  left  in  him.  He  is  asked  to 
confess  that  he  has  used  witchcraft  against 
his  king,  but  invariably  denies  his  guilt, 
though  "he  well  kno^xs  the  result  of  his 
answ'er.  Torture  after  torture  is  inflicted 
upon  him,  fire  applied  in  various  ways  being 
the  principal  instrument  cmidoyed.  The 
concluding  torture  is  generally  the  same, 
namely,  breaking  a  hole  in  an  ant's  nest, 
tying  him  hand  and  foot  and  thrusting  him 
into  the  interior,  or  fastening  him  in  the 
ground,  and  breaking  upon  him  a  nest  of 
large  ants,  noted  for  the  fierceness  of  their 
tempers,  and  the  agonizing  vcncni  of  their 
stings.  How  ruthlessly  cruel  a  Kaffir  can 
be  when  he  is  excited  by  the  fear  of  witch- 
craft can  be  imagined  from  the  following 
account  of  the  trial  and  execution  of  a  su])- 
jiosed  wizard.  The  reader  must,  moreover, 
be  told  that  the  whole  of  the  details  are  not 
mentioned.  The  narrative  is  taken  from 
Major  W.  Ross  King's  interesting    "  Cam- 


KAFFIE  CRUELTY. 


185 


paigning  in  Kafflrland,"  a  work  which  de- 
scribes tlie  Kaffirs  of  1851-2  :  — 

"  Tlie  same  Koiia,  some  years  before, 
having  fallen  sick,  a  '  witch  doctor '  was 
consulted,  according  to  custom,  to  ascertain 
ohe  individual  under  whose  evil  influence 
he  was  guttering;  and,  as  usual,  a  man  of 
propertj'  was  selected,  and  condemned  to 
forfeit  ills  life  for  his  alleged  crime.  To 
prevent  his  being  told  of  his  fate  by  his 
friends,  a  party  of  men  left  Macomo's  ki-aal 
early  in  the  morning  to  secure  the  recovery 
of  the  sick  young  chief  by  murdering  one 
of  his  father's  subjects.  'The  day  selected 
for  the  sacrifice  afipeared  to  have  been  a 
«ort  of  gala  day  with  the  unconscious  vic- 
tim; he  was  in  his  kraal,  had  just  slaugh- 
tered one  of  his  cattle,  and  was  merrily 
contemplating  the  convivialities  of  the  day 
before  him,  over  which  ha  was  about  to  pre- 
Yiide.  The  arrival  of  a  party  of  men  from 
the  '  great  place '  gave  him  no  other  concern 
than  as  to  what  part  of  the  animal  he  should 
otter  them  as  his  guests.  In  a  moment,  how- 
ever, the  ruthless  party  seized  him  in  his 
kraal;  when  he  found  himself  secured  with 
a  rheim  round  his  neck,  he  calmly  said,  '  It 
is  ray  misfortune  to  be  caught  unarmed,  or 
it  should  not  be  thus.' 

"  He  was  then  ordered  to  produce  the  mat- 
ter with  which  he  had  bewitched  the  son  of 
his  chief  He  replied,  '  I  have  no  liewitch- 
iug  matter;  but  destroy  mo  quickly,  if  my 
chief  has  consented  to  my  death.'  His  exe- 
cutioners said  they  must  torture  him  until 
he  produced  it,  to  which  he  answered, '  Save 
yourselves  the  trouble,  for  torture  as  you 
will  I  cannot  produce  what  I  have  not.'  He 
was  then  held  down  on  the  ground,  and  sev- 
eral men  proceeded  to  pierce  his  body  all 
over  with  long  Kaffir  needles.  The  miser- 
able victim  bore  this  with  extraordinary 
resolution;  his  tormentors  tiring,  and  com- 
plaining of  the  pain  it  gave  tlieir  hands,  and 
of  the  needles  or  skewers  bending. 

"During  this  time  afire  had  been  kindled, 
in  which  large  flat  stones  were  placed  to  he:it; 
the  man  was  then  directed  to  rise,  they 
pointed  out  to  him  the  fire,  telling  him  it 
was  for  his  further  torture  unless  he  pro- 
duced the  bewitching  matter.  He  answered, 
'  I  told  you  the  truth  when  I  said,  Save  your- 
.selves  the  trouble;  as  for  the  hot  stones,  I 
can  bear  them,  for  I  am  innocent;  I  would 
pray  to  be  strangled  at  once,  but  that  you 
would  say  I  fear  your  torture.'  Here  his 
wife,  who  had  also  been  seized,  was  stripped 
perfectly  naked,  and  cruelly  beaten  and  ill- 
treated '  before  his  eyes.  The  victim  was 
then  led  to  the  fire,  where  he  was  thrown  on 
his  back,  stretched  out  with  his  arms  and 
legs  tied  to  strong  pegs  driven  into  the 
ground,  aud  the  stones,  now  red-hot,  were 
taken  out  of  the  fire  and  placed  on  his  naked 
body  —  on  the  groin,  stomach,  and  chest, 
supported  by  others  on  each  side  of  him, 
also  heated  and  jjressed  against  his  body.    It 


it  impossible  to  describe  the  awful  eflect  of 
this  barbarous  process,  tne  stones  slipping  ' 
olf  the  scorched   and  broiling  flesh,  Ijeing 
onlv  kept  in  their  places  by  the  sticks  of  the 
fiendish  executioners. 

"  Through  all  this  the  heroic  fellow  still 
remained  perfectly  sensiljlc,  and  when  asked 
if  he  wished  to  be  released  to  discover  his 
hidden  charm,  said,  '  Release  me.'  They  did 
so,  fully  expecting  they  had  vanquished  his 
resolution,  when,  to  the  astonishment  of  all, 
ho  stood  up  a  ghastly  spectacle,  broiled 
alive!  his  smoking  flesh  hanging  in  pieces 
from  his  body!  and  composedly  asked  his 
tormentors,  '  What  do  you  wish  me  to  do 
now?'  They  repeated  their  demand,  but 
he  resolutely  asserted  his  innocence,  and 
begged  them  to  put  him  out  of  his  misery; 
and  as  they  were  now  getting  tired  of  their 
labor,  they  made  a  running  noose  on  the 
rheim  around  his  neck,  jerked  him  to  the 
ground,  and  savagely  dragged  him  about  on 
the  sharp  stones,  then  placing  their  feet  on  the 
back  of  his  neck,  they  drew  the  noose  tight, 
and  strangled  him.  His  mangled  coi'pse  was 
taken  into  his  own  hut,  which  was  set  on  fire 
and  burnt  to  ashes.  His  sutt'erings  com- 
menced at  ten  a.m.  and  only  ended  at  sun- 
set." 

Kona,  whose  illness  was  the  cause  of  this 
fearful  scene,  was  a  son  of  Macomo,  the 
well-known  Kaffir  chief,  who  resisted  the 
English  forces  for  so  long  a  time. 

it  seems  strange  that  the  Kaffir  should 
act  in  this  manner;  naturally,  he  is  by  no 
means  of  a  vindictive  <n-  cruel  nature,  tlot- 
tempered  he  is,  and  likely  enough  to  avenge 
himself  when  oftendcd,  by  a  blow  of  a  club 
in-  the  point  of  an  assagai.  But,  after  the 
heat  of  the  moment  has  passed  away,  his 
good-humor  returns,  and  he  becomes  as 
cheerful  and  lively  as  ever.  Even  in  war, 
as  has  already  been  mentioned,  he  is  not 
generally  a  cruel  soldier,  when  not  excited 
by  actual  combat,  aud  it  seems  rather 
strange  that  when  a  man  toward  whom  he 
has  felt  no  enmity,  and  who  may,  jH-rhaps, 
be  his  nearest  relative,  is  accused  of  a  crime 
—  no  matter  what  it  may  be  —  he  should  be 
guilty,  in  cold  blood,  of  deliberate  cruelty 
too  terrible  to  be  described.  The  fiict  is, 
this  conduct  shows  how  great  is  his  fear  of 
the  intangible  power  of  witchcraft.  Fear  is 
ever  the  parent  of  cruelty,  and  the  simple 
fact  that  a  naturally  kind-hearted  and  good- 
tempered  man  will  lose  all  sense  of  ruth, 
and  inflict  nameless  tortures  on  his  fellow, 
shows  the  abject  fear  of  witchcraft  which 
fills  a  Kaffir's  mind. 

Sometimes  the  prophet  is  not  able  to  hide 
a  charm  in  a  convenient  place,  and  is 
obliged  to  have  recourse  to  other  means. 
If,  for  example,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
show  that  the  "  evil-doer  "  had  buried  the 
charm  in  his  own  hut,  the  prophet  would 
not  be  able  to  gain  access  t(i  the  spot,  and 
would  therefore  have  the  earth  dug  up,  and 


186 


THE   KAFFIR. 


try  to  convey  surreptitiously  some  pieces  of 
root  or  bone  into  the  hole.  Mr.  Isaacs  once 
detected  a  notable  prophetess  in  this  pro- 
ceedinsc,  and  exiwsed  the  trick  before  the 
assembled  people. 

Some  of  his  immediate  followers  were  ill, 
and  they  sent  for  a  ju-ophetess  who  knew 
that  the  white  man  did  not  believe  in  her 
powers.  So  she  sent  him  a  message,  saying 
that,  if  he  would  give  her  a  coav,  she  would 
detect  the  charms  that  were  destroying  his 
people,  and  would  allow  him  to  be  "present 
when  she  dug  up  the  enchanted  roots.  So 
he  sent  a  cow,  and  two  days  afterward  had 
another  message,  stating  that  the  cow  was 
too  small,  and  she  must  have  a  larger  one, 
or  that  the  diilerence  must  be  made  up  in 
calico.  At  the  same  time  she  asked  for  the 
services  of  one  of  his  men,  named  Mas- 
lamfu.  He  sent  the  calico,  but  declined  the 
latter  portion  of  the  request,  knowing 
that  the  man  was  only  wanted  as  a  means 
of  gaining  information.  The  expected  day 
arrived,  and,  on  account  of  the  celebrity 
of  the  prophetess,  vast  numbers  of  men 
belonging  to  various  tribes  came  in  bodies, 
each  headed  by  a  chief  of  a  kraal.  Messen- 
ger after  messenger  came  to  announce  her 
advance,  but  she  did  not  make  her  appear- 
ance, and  at  last  a  courier  came  to  say  that 
the  spirit  would  not  allow  her  to  proceed 
any  further  until  some  beads  were  sent  to 
her.  The  chiefs,  of  whose  arriv.il  she  had 
heard,  and  on  whose  liberality  she  doulit- 
lessly  depended,  made  a  collection  straight- 
way, got  together  a  parcel  of  beads,  and 
sent  the  present  by  the  messenger. 

The  beads  having  softened  her  heart,  she 
made  her  solemn  entry  into  the  kraal,  fol- 
lowed by  a  guard  of  fitty  warriors,  all  in  full 
panoply  of  war.  The  procession  moved  in 
solemn"  march  to  the  centre  of  the  isi-baya, 
and  then  the  warriors  formed  themselves 
in  a  line,  their  large  shields  resting  on  the 
ground  and  covering  the  body  as  high  as 
the  chin,  and  their  assagais  grasped  in  their 
right  hands.  She  was  also  accompanied  by 
Maslamfu,  the  very  man  whom  she  had 
asked  for,  and  who  was  evidently  an  old 
attendant  of  her  own.  The  prophetess  was 
decorated  in  the  usual  wild  and  extravagant 
manner,  and  she  had  improved  her  com- 
plexion by  painting  her  nose  and  one  eyelid 
with  charcoal,  and  the  other  eyelid  with  red 
earth.  She  had  also  allowed  all  her  hair  to 
grow,  and  had  jilastered  it  together  with  a 
mixture  of  charco.il  and  fat.  The  usual 
tufted  wand  of  office  was  in  her  hand. 

Having  now  made  her  appearance,  she 
dem.anded  more  beads,  which  were  given 
to  her,  in  order  that  she  should  have  no 
excuse  for  declining  to  proceed  any  further 
tn  her  incantations.  She  then  began  her 
work  in  earnest,  leaping  and  bounding 
from  one  side  of  the  enclosure  to  the  other, 
and  displaying  tho  most  wonderful  agility. 
During  this  part  i^f  the  proceedings  she 


sang  a  song  as  an  accompaniment  to  her 
dance,  the  words  of  the  song  itself  either 
having  no  meaning,  or  being  quite  incom- 
prehensiljle  to  the  hearers.  The  liurden  of 
each  stanza  was,  however,  simjile  enough, 
and  all  the  assembled  host  of  Kaffirs  joined 
in  it  at  the  ftill  stretch  of  their  lungs.  After 
rushing  to  several  huts,  and  pretending  to 
smell  them,  she  suddenly  stopped  Ijefore 
the  white  men,  who  were  carefully  watch- 
ing her,  and  demanded  another  cow,  on  the 
plea  that  if  the  noxious  charm  were  dug  up 
without  the  sacrifice  of  a  second  cow,"  the 
spirits  would  be  offended.  At  last  she 
received  the  promise  of  a  cow,  under  the 
proviso  that  the  rest  of  the  performance 
was  to  be  satisfactory. 

After  a  variety  of  strange  performances, 
she  suddenly  turned  to  her  audience,  and 
appointed  one  of  them  to  dig  up  the  fatal 
soil.  The  man  was  a  great  muscular  Kaffir, 
but  he  trembled  like  a  child  as  he  ap- 
proached the  sorceress,  and  Avas  evidently 
so  terrified  that  she  was  obliged  to  lay  a 
spell  upon  him  which  would  counteract  the 
e\'il  influence  of  the  buried  charm.  She 
gave  him  an  assagai  by  way  of  a  spade,  a 
pot  for  the  roots,  and  directed  him  succes- 
sively to  three  huts,  making  him  dig  in 
each,  but  was  baffled  by  the  vigilant  watch 
which  was  kept  upon  all  her  movements. 
ITa\'ing  vainl}-  searched  the  three  huts,  she 
suddenly  turned  and  walked  quickly  out  of 
the  kraal,  followed  by  the  still  terrified  ex- 
cavator, her  husband,  and  Maslamfu,  and 
proceeded  to  a  garden,  into  which  she  flung 
an  assagai,  and  told  her  man  to  dig  up  the 
spot  on  which  the  spear  fell.  "  Being  now 
outdone,  and  closely  followed  by  us,  and 
finding  all  her  efforts  to  elude  our  vigilance 
were  vain,  for  we  examined  into  all  her 
tricks  with  the  most  persevering  scrutiny, 
she  suddenly  turned  round,  and  at  a  quick 
pace  proceeded  to  the  kraal,  where  she  very 
sagaciously  called  for  her  snuft"  box.  Her 
husband  ran  to  her,  and  presented  one. 
This  attracted  my  notice,  as  Maslamfu  had 
hitherto  performed  the  office  of  snulf  Ijox 
bearer,  and  I  conjectured  that,  instead  of 
snuff  in  the  box,  her  husband  had  presented 
her  with  roots.  I  did  not  fail  in  ray  iiredic- 
tion ;  for,  as  she  proceeded  to  the  ujiper  part 
of  the  kraal,  she  took  the  spear  from  the 
man  .ajipointed  to  dig,  and  dug  herself  in 
front  of  the  hut  where  the  people  had  been 
sick,  took  some  earth,  and  added  it  to  that  in 
the  pot;  then  proceeded  as  rapidly  as  possi- 
ble to  the  calf  kraal,  where  she  clug  about 
two  inches  deep,  and  applied  two  fingers  of 
the  left  hand  to  scoop  a  little  earth  out,  at 
the  same  time  holding  the  roots  with  her 
other  two  fingers;  then,  in  a  second,  closed 
her  hand,  mixing  the  roots  with  the  earth, 
and  putting  them  into  the  pot,  saying  to  the 
man, 'These  are  the  things  you" have  been 
looking  for.' " 

The  natural  end  of  this   exposure  was, 


(2.)   UNFAVORABLE    PROPHECY.     {See  payi;  lU'J.) 
(188) 


DEMEAXOE  OF  FEMALE   PROPHETS. 


18£ 


that  she  was  obliged  to  escape  out  of  the 
turmoil  which  was  caused  by  her  manifest 
imposture;  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that 
she  did  not  ask  for  the  cows. 

The  female  professors  of  the  art  of  witch- 
craft go  through  a  series  of  ceremonies 
exactly  similar  to  those  which  have  been 
already  described,  and  are  capable  of  trans- 
mitting to  any  of  their  descendants  the 
privilege  of  being  admitted  to  the  same 
rank  as  themselves.  As  may  be  gathered 
from  the  preceding  account,  they  perform 
the  ordinary  duties  of  life  much  as  do  other 
women,  whether  married  or  single;  and  it 
is,  perhaps,  remarkable  that,  so  far  from 
celibacy  being  considered  a  necessary  quali- 
fication for  the  office,  neither  men  nor  wo- 
men seem  to  be  eligible  for  it  unless  they 
are  married.  When  once  admitted  into  the 
college  of  prophets,  the  members  of  it 
alw.ays  endeavor  to  inspire  awe  into  the 
public  by  the  remarkable  style  of  adorn- 
ment which  they  assume;  and  they  are  con- 
sidered at  liberty  to  depart  from  the  usual 
sumptuary  laws  which  are  so  strictly  en- 
forced among  the  Kaffir  tribes,  and  to  dress 
according  to  their  individual  caprice.  One 
of  the  female  prophets  was  visited  l)y  Cap- 
tain Gardiner,  and  seems  to  have  made  a 
powerful  impression  upon  him,  both  by  her 
dress  and  her  demeanor. 

"This  woman  may  be  styled  a  queen  of 
witches,  and  her  appearance  bespeaks  her 
cr.aft.  Large  coils  of  entrails  stulfed  witli 
fat  were  suspended  round  her  neck;  while 
lier  thick  and  tangled  hair,  stuck  over  in  all 
directions  with  the  gall-bladders  of  animals, 
gave  to  her  tall  figure  a  very  singularly  wild 
and  grotesque  appearance.  One  of  her  devi- 
ces, which  occurred  about  six  months  ago,  is 
too  characteristic  to  be  omitted.  Tpai  had 
assembled  his  army,  and  was  in  the  act  of 
going  out  to  war,  a  project  which,  for  some 
reason,  she  thought  it  necessary  to  oppose. 
Finding  that  all  her  dissuasions  were  inef- 
fectual, she  suddenly  quitted  the  place,  and, 
accompanied  on!}-  by  a  little  girl,  entirely 
concealed  herself  from  observation.  At  the 
expiration  of  three  or  four  days,  she  as  mys- 
teriously returned;  and  holding  her  side, 
apparently  bleeding  from  an  assagai-wound, 
pretended  to  have  been  received,  in  her 
absence,  from  the  spirit  of  her  late  husband 
Maddegan,  she  presented  herself  before 
Tpai.  '  Your  brother's  spirit,'  she  ex- 
claimed, '  has  met  me,  and  here  is  the 
wound  he  has  made  in  my  side  with  an 
assagai;  he  reproached  me  for  remaining 
with  people  who  had  treated  me  so  ill.' 
Tpai,  either  willingly  or  actually  imposed 
upon  by  this  strange  occurrence,  counter- 
manded the  army;  and,  if  we  are  to  credit 
the  good  people  in  these  parts,  the  wound 
immediately  healed!  For  several  months 
subsequent  to  this  period,  she  took  it  into 
her  head  to  crawl  about  upon  her  hands 
and  knees;  and  it  is  only  latelj',  I  under- 

10 


stand,  that  she  has  resumed  her  station  in 
society  as  a  biped." 

One  of  the  female  prophets  had  a  curious 
method  of  discovering  an  "  evil-doer."  She 
came  leaping  into  the  ring  of  assembled 
Kaffirs,  with  great  bounds  of  which  a  woman 
seems  hardly  capable.  It  is  possible  that 
she  previously  made  use  of  some  preparation 
which  had  aii  exciting  eflect  on  the  brain, 
and  assisted  in  working  herself  up  to  a  pitch 
of  terrible  frenzy.  With  her  j^erson  deco- 
rated with  snakes,  skulls,  heads  and  claws 
of  birds,  and  other  strange  objects  —  with 
her  magic  rattle  in  one  hand,  and  her  staff 
of  office  in  the  other  —  she  Hew  about  the 
circle  with  such  erratic  rapidity  that  the  eye 
could  scarcely  fullow  her  movements,  and 
no  one  could  "in  the  least  anticipate  what  she 
would  do  next.  Her  eyes  seemed  starting 
from  her  head,  foam  flew  from  her  clenched 
jaws,  while  at  intervals  she  uttered  frantic 
shrieks  and  yells  that  seemed  scarcely  to 
belong  to  humanity.  In  short,  her  appear- 
ance was  as  terrible  as  can  well  be  imagined, 
and  sure  to  inspire  awe  in  the  simiile-minded 
and  superstitious  audience  which  surrounded 
her.  She  did  not  go  through  the  usual  pro- 
cess of  smelling  and  crawling,  luit  pursued 
her  erratic  course  about  the  ring,  striking 
with  her  wand  of  office  the  man  who  hap- 
pened to  be  within  its  reach,  and  running 
oft"  with  an  incredible  swiftness. 

The  illustration  No.  1,  on  page  188,  rep- 
resents her  engaged  in  her  dread  office. 
She  has  been  summoned  by  a  rich  chief, 
who  is  seen  in  the  distance,  lying  on  his 
mat,  and  attended  liy  his  wives.  The  ter- 
rified culprit  is  seen"  in  the  foreground,  his 
immediate  neighbors  shrinking  from  him 
as  the  prophetic  wand  touches  him,  while 
others  are  pointing  him  out  to  the  execu- 
tioners. 

There  is  very  marked  distinction  between 
the  Kaffir  prophetess  and  an  ordinary 
woman,  and  this  distinction  lies  principally 
in  the  gait  and  general  demeanor.  As  has 
already  been  observed,  the  women  and  the 
men  seem  almost  to  belong  to  ditferent 
races,  the  former  being  timid,  humble,  and 
subdued,  while  the  latter  are  bold,  confident, 
and  almost  haughty.  The  prophetess,  how- 
ever, having  assumed  so  high  an  office,  takes 
upon  herself  a  demeanor  that  shows  her 
appreciation  of  her  own  powers,  and  walks 
about  with  a  bold,  free  step,  that  has  in  it 
something  almost  regal. 

In  one  point,  both  sexes  are  alike  when 
they  are  elevated  to  prophetical  rank.  They 
become  absolutely  ruthless  in  their  profes- 
sion, and  lost  to  all  sense  of  mercy.  No 
one  is  safe  from  them  except  the  king  him- 
self; and  his  highest  and  most  trusted  coun- 
cillor never  knows  whether  the  projjhetic 
finger  may  not  be  pointed  at  him,  and  the 
lirophetic  voice  denounce  him  as  a  wizard. 
Should  this  be  the  case,  his  rank,  wealth, 
and  character  will  avail  him  nothing,  and 


190 


THE  KAFFIR. 


he  will  be  seized  and  tortured  to  death  as 
mercilessly  as  if  he  were  one  of  the  lowest 
(if  the  people. 

Mixed  up  with  these  superstitious  decep- 
tions, there  is  amoucj  the  prophets  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  skill  both  iu  surgery  and 
medicine.  Partly  from  the  constant  slaugh- 
ter and  cutting-up  of  cattle,  and  partly  from 
experience  in  warfare  and  executions,  every 
Kaffir  has  a  tolerable  notion  of  anatomy  — 
far  greater,  indeed,  than  is  possessed  by  the 
generality  of  educated  persons  in  our  own 
country.  Consequently,  he  can  undertake 
various  surgical  operations  with  confidence, 
and  in  some  branches  of  the  art  he  is  quite 
a  proficient.  For  example,  a  Kaflir  prophet 
has  been  known  to  operate  successfully  in  a 
case  of  dropsy,  so  that  the  patient  recovered; 
while  in  the  reducing  of  dislocated  joints, 
the  setting  of  fractured  bones,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  wounds,  he  is  an  adept. 

A  kind  of  cupping  is  much  practised  by 
the  Kaffirs,  and  is  managed  in  much  the 
same  way  as  among  ourselves,  though  with 
ditterent  and  ruder  instruments.  Instead  of 
cupping  glasses,  they  use  the  horn  of  an  ox 
with  a  hole  bored  through  the  smaller  end. 
The  operator  begins  liis  work  by  pressing 
the  large  end  of  the  horn  against  the  part 
which  is  to  be  relieved,  and,  applying  his 
mouth  to  the  other  end,  he  sucks  vigorously 
until  he  has  produced  the  required  effect. 
A  few  gashes  are  then  made  with  the  sharp 
blade  of  an  assagai,  the  horn  is  again  applied, 
and  suction  employed  until  a  sufficient 
amount  of  blood  has  been  extracted. 

As  the  Kaffirs  are  acquainted  with  poi- 
sons, so  are  they  aware  of  the  medicinal 
properties  possessed  by  many  vegetable 
productions.  Their  chief  medicines  are 
obtained  from  the  castor-oil  plant  and  the 
male  fern,  and  are  administered  for  the 
same  complaints  as  are  treated  by  the  same 
medicines  in  Europe  and  America.  Some- 
times a  curious  mixture  of  surgery  and  med- 
icine is  made  by  scarifying  the  skin,  and 
rubbing  medicine  into  it.  It  is  probable  the 
"  witch  doctors "  have  a  very  much  wider 
.acquaintance  with  herbs  and  their  properties 
than  they  choose  to  make  public;  and  this 
conjecture  is  partly  carried  out  by  the  effi- 
cacy which  certain  so-called  charms  have 
on  those  who  use  them,  even  when  imagi- 
nation does  not  lend  her  potent  aid.  Pos- 
sessing such  terrible  powers,  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  the  prophets  will  some- 
times use  them  for  the  gratification  of 
personal  revenge,  or  for  the  sake  of  gain. 
In  the  former  case  of  action,  they  are  only 
impelled  by  their  own  feelings;  but  to  the 
Latter  they  are  frequently  tempted  by  others, 
and  an  unprincipled  prophet  will  sometimes 
accumulate  much  wealth  by  taking  bribes 
to  accuse  certain  persons  of  witchcraft. 

How  Tchaka  contrived  to  work  upon  the 
feelings  of  the  people  by  means  of  the 
prophets  has  already  been  mentioned.    Mr. 


Shooter  narrates  a  curious  instance  where 
a  false  accusation  was  made  by  a  corrupt 
prophet.  One  man  cherished  aViolent  jeal- 
ousy against  another  named  Umpisi  {i.  e. 
The  liyrena),  and,  after  many  attempts, 
succeeded  in  bribing  a  prophet  to  accuse  his 
enemy  of  witchcraft.  This  he  did  in  a  very 
curious  manner,  namely,  by  pretending  to 
have  a  vision  iu  which  he  had  seen  a  wizard 
scattering  poison  near  the  hut.  The  wiz- 
ard's name,  he  said,  was  Nukwa.  Now, 
Nukwa  is  a  word  used  by  women  when  they 
speak  of  the  hytena,  and  therefore  signified 
the  same  as  Umpisi.  Panda,  however,  de- 
clined to  believe  the  accusation,  and  no 
direct  indictment  was  made.  A  second 
accusation  was,  however,  more  successful, 
and  the  unfortunate  man  w.as  put  to  death. 
Afterward,  Panda  discovered  the  plot,  and 
in  a  rude  kind  of  way  did  justice,  by  depriv- 
ing the  false  prophet  of  all  his  cattle,  for- 
bidding him  to  practise  his  art  again,  and 
consigning  the  accuser  to  tlie  same  fate 
which  he  had  caused  to  be  inflicted  on  liis 
victim. 

The  Kaffirs  very  firmly  believe  in  one 
sort  of  witchcraft,  which  is  singularly  like 
some  of  the  superstitions  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  They  fancy  that  the  wizards  have 
the  power  of  transforming  the  dead  body  of 
a  human  being  into  a  familiar  of  their  own, 
which  will  do  all  their  w  ork,  and  need  nei- 
ther pay  nor  keep. 

The  "  evil-doer "  looks  out  for  funerals, 
and  when  he  finds  that  a  body  has  been 
interred  upon  which  he  can  work  his 
spell  without  fear  of  discovery,  he  prepares 
his  charms,  and  waits  until  after  sunset. 
Shielded  by  the  darkness  of  midnight,  he 
digs  up  the  bod}-,  and,  by  means  of  liis 
incantations,  breathes  a  sort  of  life  into  it, 
which  enables  the  corpse  to  move  and  to 
speak;  the  spirit  of  some  dead  wizard  being 
supposed  to  have  entered  into  it.  He  then 
heats  stones  or  iron  in  the  fire,  burns  a  liole 
in  the  head,  and  through  this  aperture  he 
extracts  the  tongue.  Further  spells  are  then 
cast  around  the  revivified  body,  which  have 
the  effect  of  changing  it  into  the  form  of 
some  animal,  such  as  a  hyasna,  an  owl,  or  a 
wild-cat;  the  latter  being  the  form  most 
in  favor  with  such  spirits.  This  mystic  ani- 
mal then  becomes  his  servant,  and  obeys  all 
his  behests,  whatever  they  be.  By  day,  it 
hides  in  darkness;  but  at  night  it  comes 
forth  to  do  its  master's  bidding.  It  cuts 
wood,  digs  and  plants  the  garden,  builds 
houses,  makes  baskets,  pots,  spears,  and 
clubs,  catches  game,  and  runs  errands. 

But  the  chief  use  to  which  it  is  put  is  to 
inflict  sickness,  or  even  death,  upon  persons 
who  are  disliked  by  its  master.  In  the  dead 
of  night,  when  the  Kaffirs  are  all  at  home, 
the  goblin  servant  glides  toward  a  doomed 
house,  and,  standing  outside,  it  cries  out, 
"Woe!  woe!  woe!  to  this  house!"  The 
trembling  inmates  hear  the  dread  voice:  but 


THE  NIGHT-CRY. 


191 


none  of  them  dares  to  go  out  or  to  answer,  for 
they  beheve  that  if  they  so  much  as  utter  a 
sound,  or  move  hand  or  foot,  they  will  die,  as 
well  as  the  person  to  whom  the  message  is 
sent.  Should  the  wizard  be  disturbeii  in 
his  incantations,  before  he  has  had  time  to 
transform  the  resuscitated  body,  it  wanders 
through  the  country,  powerful,  a  messenger 
of  evil,  but  an  idiot,  uttering  cries  and 
menaces,  but  not  knowing  their  import. 

In  consequence  of  this  belief,  no  Kaffir 
dares  to  be  seen  in  communication  with  any 
creature  except  the  recognized  domestic 
animals,  such  as  cattle  and  fowls.  Any 
attempt  to  tame  a  wild  animal  would  assur- 
edly cause  the  presumptuous  Kaffir  to  be 
put  to  death  as  an  "  evil-doer."  xV  rather 
curious  case  of  this  kind  occurred  in  Natal. 

A  woman  who  was  passing  into  the  busli 
in  order  to  cut  wood,  saw  a  man  feeding  a 
wild-cat  —  the  animal  which  is  thought  to 
be  specially  devoted  to  the  evil  spirit.    Ter- 


rified at  the  sight,  she  tried  to  escape  unseen; 
but  the  man  perceived  her,  pushed  the  ani- 
mal aside,  and  bribed  her  to  be  silent  about 
what  she  had  seen.  However,  she  \vent 
home,  and  straightway  told  the  chief's  head 
wife,  who  told  her  husband,  and  from  that 
moment  the  man's  doom  was  fixed.  Evi- 
dence against  a  supposed  wizard  is  always 
plentiful,  and  on  this  occasion  it  was  fur- 
nished liberally.  One  person  had  overheard 
a  domestic  quarrel,  in  which  the  man  had 
beaten  his  eldest  wife,  and  she  threatened 
to  accuse  him  of  witchcraft;  but  he  replied 
that  she  was  as  bad  as  himself,  and  that  if 
he  was  executed,  she  would  suft'er  the  same 
fjite.  Another  person  had  heard  him  say 
to  the  same  wife,  that  they  had  not  been 
found  out,  and  that  the  accusers  only  wanted 
their  corn.  Both  man  and  wife  were  sum- 
mimed  before  the  council,  examined  after 
the  usual  method,  and,  as  a  necessary  con- 
sequence, executed  on  the  spot. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


SUPEKSTITION—  Co?icZitc7c(2. 


RATN-MAKING — EFFECTS  OF  A  DROUGHT  —  THE  HIGHEST  OFFICE  OF  A  KAFFIR  PROPHET,  ITS  REWARDS 
AND  ITS  PERILS  —  HOW  THE  PROPHET  "MAKES  RAIN"  —  INGENIOUS  EVASIONS — MR.  MOFFATT'S 
ACCOUNT  OF  A  RAIN-MAKER,  AND  HIS  PROCEEDINGS  —  SUPPOSED  POWERS  OF  EUROPEANS  —  KAF- 
FIR PROPHETS  IN  1857 — PROGRESS  OF  THE  W^VR,  AND  GRADUAL  REPULSE  OF  THE  IvAFFIRS  — 
KRELI,  THE  KAFFtR  CHIEF,  AND  HIS  ADVISERS  —  STRiVNGE  PROPHECY  AND  ITS  RESULTS  —  THE 
prophets'  belief  in  THEIR  OWN  POWERS  —  MORAL  INFLUENCE  OF  THE  PROPHETS — THE  CELE- 
BRATED PROPHET  SIAKANNA  AND  HIS  CAREER  —  HIS  RISE,  CULMINATION,  AND  FALL  —  MAKANNA'S 
GATHERING  SONG  —  TALISMANIC  NECKLACE — THE  CHARJI-STICK  OF  THE  KAFFIRS  —  WHY  THE 
PROPHETS  ARE  ADVOCATES  OF  WAR  —  A  PROPHET  WHO  TOOK  ADVICE. 


The  highest  and  most  important  duty 
wliich  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  prophets  is 
that  of  rain-making.  In  Southern  Africa, 
rain  is  the  very  life  of  the  country  ;  and, 
sliould  it  be  delayed  beyond  the  usual  time, 
the  dread  of  famine  runs  through  the  land. 
The  Kaffirs  certainly  possess  storehouses, 
hut  not  of  sufficient  size  to  hold  enough 
grain  for  the  subsistence  of  a  tribe  through- 
out the  year  —  nor,  indeed,  could  the  Kaf- 
firs be  able  to  grow  enough  food  for  such  a 
purpose. 

During  a  drought,  the  pasture  fails,  and 
the  cattle  die  ;  thus  cutting  off  the  supply 
of  milk,  which  is  almost  the  staff  of  life  to 
a  Kaflir  —  certainly  so  to  his  children.  The 
very  idea  of  such  a  calamity  makes  every 
mother  in  Kaffirland  tremble  with  aftright, 
and  there  is  nothing  which  they  would  not 
do  to  avert  it,  even'to  the  sacrifice  of  their 
own  lives.  Soon  the  water-pools  dry  up, 
then  the  wells,  and  lastly  the  springs  begin 
to  fall ;  and  consequently  disease  and  death 
soon  make  dire  h.avoc  among  the  tribes.  In 
this  country,  we  can  form  no  conception  of 
such  a  state  of  things,  and  are  rather  apt  to 
sufler  from  excess  of  rain  than  its  absence  ; 
but  the  miseries  which  even  a  few  weeks' 
drought  in  the  height  of  summer  can  inflict 
upon  this  well-watered  land  may  enable  us 
to  appreciate  some  of  the  horrors  which 
accompany  a  drought  in  Southern  Africa. 

Among  the  prophets,  or  witch  doctors, 
there  are  some  who  claim  the  power  of 
forcing  rain  to  fall  by  their  incantations. 
Kain-makiug  is  the  very  highest  office  which 

(1 


a  Kaffir  prophet  can  perform,  and  there  are 
comparatively  few  who  will  venture  to  at- 
tempt it,  because,  in  case  of  failure,  the 
wrath  of  the  disappointed  people  is  some- 
times known  to  exhibit  itself  in  perforating 
the  unsuccessful  projjhet  with  an  assagai, 
knocking  out  his  brains  with  a  knob-kerrie, 
or  the  more  simple  process  of  tearing  him 
to  pieces.  Those,  however,  who  do  succeed, 
are  at  once  raised  to  the  very  summit  of 
their  profession.  They  exercise  almost  un- 
limited sway  over  their  own  tribe,  and  over 
any  other  in  which  there  is  not  a  rain-maker 
of" equal  celebrity.  The  king  is  the  only 
man  who  pretends  to  exercise  any  authority 
over  these  all-powerful  beings  ;  and  even 
the  king,  irresponsible  despot  though  he 
be,  is  obliged  to  be  submissive  to  the  rain- 
maker while  he  is  working  his  incanta- 
tions. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  at  all  strange  that  the 
Kaffirs  should  place  implicit  faith  in  the 
power  of  the  rain-makers  ;  but  it  is  a 
strange  fact  that  the  operators  themselves 
believe  in  their  own  powers.  Of  course 
there  are  many  instances  where  a  rain- 
maker knowingly  practises  imposture  ;  but 
in  those  cases  he  is  mostly  driven  to  such  a 
course  by  the  menaces  of  those  who  are 
employing  him  ;  and,  as  a  general  fact,  the 
wizard  believes  in  the  efficacy  of  his  own 
charms  quite  as  firmly  as  any  of  his  fol- 
lowers. 

A  prophet  who  has  distinguished  himself 
as  a  rain-maker  is  soon  known  far  and  wide, 
and  does  not  restrict  his  practice  to  his  own 
i»2) 


HOW   THE   PROPHET  MAKES  RAIN. 


193 


district.  Potentates  from  all  parts  of  the 
country  send  for  hira  when  the  drought  con- 
tinues, and  their  own  prophets  fail  to  pro- 
duce rain.  In  this,  as  in  otlier  countries, 
the  prophet  has  more  honor  in  another  land 
than  in  his  own,  and  the  contideuce  placed 
in  him  is  boundless.  This  confidence  is 
grounded  on  the  fact  that  a  rain-maker  from 
a  distant  land  will  often  produce  raiu  when 
others  at  home  have  failed.  The  reason  is 
simple  enough,  though  the  Kaffirs  do  not 
see  it.  By  the  time  that  the  whole  series 
of  native  prophets  have  gone  through  their 
incantations,  the  time  of  drought  is  com- 
paratively near  to  a  close;  and,  if  the 
prophet  can  only  manage  to  stave  oft"  the 
actual  production  of  rain  for  a  few  days, 
he  has  a  reasonable  chance  of  success,  as 
every  hour  is  a  positive  gain  to  him. 

It  is  needless  to  mention  that  the  Kaffirs 
are  well  acquainted  with  the  signs  of  the 
weather,  as  is  always  tlie  case  with  those 
who  live  much  in  the  open  air.  The 
prophets,  evidently,  are  more  weather-wise 
than  the  generality  of  their  race,  and,  how- 
ever much  a  rain-maker  may  believe  in  liim- 
self,  he  never  willingl}'  undertakes  a  com- 
mission when  the  signs  of  the  sky  portend  a 
continuance  of  drought.  Should  he  be  abso- 
lutely forced  into  undertaking  the  business, 
his  only  hope  of  escape  from  the  dilemma  is 
to  procrastinate  as  much  as  possilde,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  keeps  the  people  amused. 
The  most  common  mode  of  procrastination 
is  by  requesting  certain  articles,  wdiich  he 
knows  are  almost  unattainable,  and  saying 
that  until  he  has  them  his  incantations  will 
have  no  eftect.  Mr.  Molfatt  narrates  a  very 
amusing  instance  of  the  shitts  to  which  "a 
prophet  is  sometimes  put,  when  the  rain  will 
not  tall,  and  when  he  is  forced  to  invoke  it. 

'  The  rain-maker  found  the  clouds  in  our 
country  rather  harder  to  manage  than  those 
lie  had  left.  He  complained  that  secret 
rogues  were  disobeying  his  proclamations. 
When  urged  to  make  repeated  trials,  he 
would  reply, '  You  oidy  give  me  sheep  and 
goats  to  kill,  therefore  I  can  only  make  goat- 
rain;  give  me  for  slaughter  oxen,  and  I  shall 
let  you  see  ox-rain.'  One  day,  as  he  was 
taking  a  sound  sleep,  a  shower  fell,  on  which 
one  of  the  principal  men  entered  his  house 
to  congratulate  him,  but  to  his  utter  amaze- 
ment found  him  totally  insensiljle  to  wliat 
was  transpiring.  'Helaka  rare!'  (Hallo, 
by  my  father!)  'I  thought  you  were  making 
rain,'  said  the  intruder,  when,  arising  from 
his  slumbers,  and  seeing  his  wife  sitting  on 
the  floor  shaking  a  milk-sack  in  order  to 
obtain  a  little  butter  to  anoint  her  hair,  he 
replied,  pointing  to  tlie  operation  of  churn- 
ing, '  Do  you  not  see  my  wife  churning  rain 
as  fast  as  she  can?'  This  reply  gave  entire 
satisfaction,  and  it  presently  spread  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  town,  that  the 
rain-maker  had  churned  the  shower  out  of  a 
milk-sack. 


"  The  moisture  caused  by  this  shower  was 
dried  up  liy  a  scorching  sun,  and  many  long 
weeks  followed  without  a  single  cloud,  and 
when  these  did  appear  they  might  some- 
times be  seen,  to  the  great  mortification  of 
the  conjurer,  to  discharge  their  watery 
treasures  at  an  immense  distance.  This 
disappointment  was  increased  when  a  heavy 
cloud  would  pass  over  with  tremendous 
thunder,  but  not  one  drop  of  raiu.  There 
had  been  several  successive  years  of  drought, 
during  wliich  water  had  not  been  seen  to 
flow  upon  the  ground;  and  in  that  climate, 
if  rain  does  not  fixll  continuously  and  iu  con- 
siderable quantities,  it  is  all  exhaled  iu  a 
couple  of  hours.  In  digging  graves  we 
have  found  the  earth  as  dry  as  dust  at  four 
or  five  feet  depth,  when  the  surface  was 
saturated  with  rain. 

"  The  women  had  cultivated  extensive 
fields,  but  the  seed  was  lying  in  the  soil  as 
it  had  been  thrown  from  the  hand  ;  the 
cattle  were  dying  for  want  of  pasture,  and 
hundreds  of  living  skeletons  were  seen  going 
to  the  fields  in  quest  of  unwholesome  roots 
and  reptiles,  while  many  were  dying  with 
hunger.  Our  sheep,  as  before  stated,  were 
soon  likely  to  be  all  devoured,  and  finding 
their  number  daily  diminish,  wo  slaugh- 
tered the  remainder  and  put  the  meat  in 
salt,  whiclr  of  course  was  far  from  being 
agreeable  in  such  a  climate,  and  where 
vegetables  were  so  scarce. 

"All  these  circumstances  irritated  the  rain- 
maker very  mucli;  but  he  was  oflen  puzzled 
to  find  something  on  which  to  lay  tlie  blame, 
for  he  had  exhausted  his  skill.  One  night, 
a  small  cloud  passed  over,  and  the  only  tlash 
of  lightning,  from  which  a  heavy  peal  of 
thunder  burst,  struck  a  tree  in  the  town. 
Next  day,  the  rain-maker  and  a  number  of 
people  assembled  to  perform  the  usual  cere- 
mony on  such  an  event.  It  was  ascended, 
and  ropes  of  grass  and  grass  roots  were 
bound  round  ditterent  parts  of  the  trunk, 
wliich  in  the  Acacia  giraffa  is  seldom  much 
injured.  A  limb  may  be  torn  oil',  but  of 
numerous  ti'ees  of  that  species  which  I  have 
seen  struck  Ijy  lightning,  the  trunk  appears 
to  resist  its  power,  as  the  fluid  jiroduces 
only  a  stripe  or  groove  along  the  bark  to 
the  ground.  When  these  bandages  were 
made  he  deposited  some  of  his  nostrums, 
and  got  quantities  of  water  handed  up, 
which  he  poured  with  great  solemnity  on 
the  wounded  tree,  while  the  assembled  mul- 
titude shouted  '  Pida  pkla.^  This  done  the 
tree  was  hewn  down,  dragged  out  of  the 
town,  and  burnt  to  ashes.  Soon  after  this 
unmeaning  ceremony,  he  got  large  bowls  of 
water,  with  which  was  mingled  an  infusion 
of  bulbs.  All  the  men  of  the  town  then 
came  together,  and  passed  in  succession 
before  him,  when  he  sprinkled  each  with  a 
zebra's  tail  which  he  dipped  in  the  water. 

"As  all  this  and  much  more  did  not  suc> 
ceed,  he  had  recourse  to  another  stratagem. 


194 


THE   KAFFIK. 


He  knew  well  that  baboons  were  not  very 
easily  caught  among  the  rocky  glens  and 
shelving  precipices,  therefore,  in  order  to 
gain  time,  he  informed  the  men  that,  to 
make  rain,  lie  must  have  a  balloon  ;  that 
the  animal  must  be  without  a  blemish,  not 
a  liair  was  to  be  wanting  on  its  body. 
One  would  have  thought  any  simpleton 
might  have  seen  through  his  tricks,  as 
their  being  able  to  present  liim  with  a 
baboon  in  that  state  was  impossilile,  even 
thougli  tliey  caught  him  asleep.  Forth  sal- 
lied a  baud  of  chosen  runners,  who  as- 
cended the  neighboring  mountain.  The 
baboons  from  their  lofty  domiciles  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  looking  down  on  the  plain 
beneath  at  the  natives  encircling  and  pur- 
suing the  quaggas  and  antelopes,  little 
dreaming  that  one  day  they  would  them- 
selves be  objects  of  pursuit.  They  hobbled 
otf  in  consternation,  grunting,  and  scream- 
ing and  leaping  from  rock  to  rock,  occasion- 
ally looking  down  on  their  pursuers,  grinning 
and  gnashing  their  teetli.  After  a  long  pur- 
suit, with  wounded  limljs,  scratched  bodies, 
and  In'okeu  toes,  a  young  one  was  secured, 
and  brouglit  to  the  town,  the  captors  exult- 
ing as  if  they  had  obtained  a  great  spoil. 
The  wily  rogue,  on  seeing  the  animal,  put 
on  a  countenance  exhibiting  the  most  in- 
tense sorrow,  exclaining,  '  My  heart  is  rent 
in  pieces;  I  am  dumb  with  grief;  and 
pointing  to  the  ear  of  the  baboon,  which 
was  scratched,  and  the  tail,  which  had  lost 
some  hairs,  added,  '  Did  I  not  tell  you  1 
could  not  make  rain  if  there  was  one  hair 
wanting?' 

"After some  daj's  another  was  obtained; 
but  there  was  still  some  imperfection,  real 
or  alleged.  He  had  often  said  that,  if  they 
would  procure  him  the  heart  of  a  lion,  lie 
would  show  them  that  he  could  make  rain 
so  aljundant  that  a  man  raiglit  tliink  liinisolf 
well  oft"  to  be  under  shelter,  as  when  it  fell 
it  might  sweep  whole  towns  away.  He  had 
discovered  that  the  clouds  required  strong 
medicine,  and  tliat  a  lion's  heart  would  do 
the  business.  To  obtain  this  the  rain-maker 
well  knew  was  no  joke.  One  day  it  was 
announced  that  a  lion  had  attacked  one  of 
the  cattle  out-posts,  not  far  from  the  town, 
and  a  party  set  otT  for  the  twofold  purpose  of 
getting  a  key  to  the  clouds  and  disposing  of 
a  dangerous  enemy.  The  orders  were  im- 
perative, whatever  the  consequences  might 
be,  which,  in  this  instance,  might  have  been 
very  serious,  had  not  one  of  our  men  shot 
the  terrific  animal  dead  with  a  gun.  Tliis 
was  no  sooner  done  than  it  was  cut  up  for 
roasting  and  boiling;  no  matter  if  it  had  pre- 
viously eaten  some  of  their  relations,  they 
ate  it  in  its  turn.  Nothing  could  exceed 
their  enthusiasm  when  they  returned  to  the 
town,  bearing  the  lion's  heart,  and  singing 
the  conqueror's  song  in  full  chorus;  the  rain- 
maker prepared  his  medicines,  kindled  his 
fires,  and  might  be  seen  upon  the  top  of  the 


hill,  stretching  forth  his  puny  hands,  and. 
beckoning  the  clouds  to  draw  near,  or  even 
shaking  liis  spear,  aud  threatening  tliat,  if 
they  disobeyed,  they  should  feel  his  ire. 
The  deluded  populace  believed  all  this,  and 
wondered  the  rains  would  not  fall. 

"Asking  an  experienced  and  judicious 
man,  the  king's  uncle,  how  it  was  that  so 
great  an  operator  on  the  clouds  could  not 
succeed,  '  Ah,'  he  replied,  with  apparent 
feeling,  '  there  is  a  cause  for  the  hardheart- 
edness  of  the  clouds  if  the  rain-maker  could 
only  find  it  out.'  A  scrutinizing  ^^•atch  was 
kept  upon  everything  done  by  the  mission- 
aries. Some  weeks  after  my  return  fi'om  a 
visit  to  Griqua  Town,  a  grand  discover}'  was 
made,  that  tlie  rain  )iad  been  prevented  by 
my  bringing  a  bag  of  salt  from  that  place  in 
my  wagon.  The  charge  was  made  by  the 
king  and  his  attendants,  with  great  gravity 
and  form.  As  giving  the  least  oflence  by 
laughing  at  their  puerile  actions  ought 
always  to  be  avoided  when  dealing  with  a 
people  who  are  sincere  though  deluded,  the 
case  was  on  my  part  investigated  witli  more 
than  usual  solemnity.  Mothibi  and  his  aid- 
de-canip  accompanied  me  to  the  storehouse, 
where  the  identical  bag  stood.  It  was  open, 
with  the  white  contents  full  in  view.  '  Tliere 
it  is,'  he  exclaimed,  with  an  air  of  satisiac- 
tion.  But  finding,  on  examination,  that  the 
reported  salt  was  only  white  clay  or  chalk, 
they  could  not  help  laughing  at  their  own 
incredulit}'." 

An  unsuccessful  KafHr  prophet  is  never 
very  sorry  to  have  white  men  in  tlie  counti-y, 
because  he  can  always  lay  the  blame  of  flxil- 
ure  upon  them.  Should  thej-  be  missiona- 
ries, the  sound  of  the  hymns  is  quite  enough 
to  drive  away  the  clouds;  and  should  they 
be  laymen,  any  haliit  in  wliicli  they  indulged 
would  be  considered  a  sufticient  reason  for 
the  continuance  of  drought.  The  Kaffir 
always  acknowledges  the  superior  powers 
of  the  white  man,  and,  though  he  thinks  his 
own  race  far  superior  to  any  that  inhabit 
the  earth,  he  fancies  that  the  spirits  which 
help  him  are  not  so  powerful  as  those  who 
aid  the  white  man,  and  that  it  is  from  their 
patronage,  and  not  from  any  mental  or  phys- 
ical superiority,  that  he  has  obtained  his 
pre-eminence.  Fully  believing  in  liis  own 
rain-making  powers,  he  fancies  that  the 
white  men  are  as  superior  in  this  art  as  in 
others,  and  invents  the  most  extraordinary 
theories  in  order  to  account  for  tlie  fact. 
Alter  their  own  proiihets  have  fiiiled  to  pro- 
duce rain,  tlie  Kaffirs  are  tolerably  sure  to 
wait  u]ion  a  missionary,  and  ask  liim  to  per- 
form the  office.  The  "process  of  reasoning 
by  wliich  tliey  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  missionaries  can  make  rain  is  rather 
a  curious  one.  As  soon  as  the  raw,  cold 
winds  begin  to  blow  and  to  threaten  rain, 
the  missionaries  were  naturally  accustomed 
to  put  on  their  overcoats  when  they  left  their 
houses.     Tliese  coats  were  usually  of  a  darW 


KAFFIR  PROPHETS  IN   1857. 


195 


color,  and  nothing  could  persuade  the  na- 
tives but  that  tlie  assumption  of  dark  cloth- 
ins;  was  a  spell  by  which  rain  was  compelled 
to' tail 

It  has  just  been  mentioned  that  the  proph- 
ets fully  believe  in  their  own  supernatural 
powers.  Considering  the  many  examples  of 
manifest  imposture  which  continually  take 
place,  some  of  which  liave  already  been 
described,  most  Europeans  would  fancy  that 
the  prophets  were  intentional  and  consistent 
deceivers,  and  their  opinion  of  themselves 
was  something  like  that  of  the  old  Roman 
augurs,  wlio  could  not  even  look  in  each 
other's  faces  witliout  smiling.  This,  however, 
is  not  the  case.  Deceivers  they  undoubtedly 
are,  and  in  many  instances  wilfully  so,  but  it 
is  equally  certain  that  they  do  believe  that 
they  are  the  means  of  communication  be- 
tween the  spirits  of  the  dead  and  their 
living  relatives.  No  better  proof  of  this 
fact  can  be  adduced  than  the  extraordinary 
series  of  events  which  took  place  in  1857,  in 
which  not  only  one  prophet,  l)ut  a  consider- 
able number  of  them  took  part,  and  in  which 
their  action  was  unanimous.  In  that  year, 
the  Kaffir  tribes  awoke  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  had  been  gradually  but  surely 
yielding  before  the  European  settlers,  and 
they  organized  a  vast  conspiracy  by  which 
they  hoped  to  drive  every  white  man  out  of 
Southern  Africa,  and  to  re-establish  their 
own  supremacy.  The  very  existence  of  the 
colony  of  Natal  was  a  thorn  in  tbeir  sides, 
as  that  country  was  almost  daily  receiv- 
ing reinforeements  from  Europe,  and  was 
becoming  gradually  stronger  and  less  likely 
to  be  conquered.  Moreover,  there  were  con- 
tinual defections  of  their  own  race;  wliole 
families,  and  even  the  population  of  entire 
villages,  were  escaping  from  the  despotic 
sway  of  the  native  monarch,  and  taking  ref- 
uge in  the  country  protected  by  the  white 
man's  rifle.  Several  attempts  had  been 
previously  made  under  the  celebrated  chief 
Sandilli,  and  the  equally  famous  in-ophet- 
warricn-  Makanna,  to  dispossess  the  colo- 
nists, and  in  every  case  the  Kaffir  tribes  had 
been  repulsed  with  great  loss,  and  were  at 
last  forced  to  offer  their  submission. 

In  1S57,  however,  a  vast  meeting  was 
convened  by  Kreli,  in  order  to  organize  a 
regularly  planned  campaign,  and  at  this 
meeting  a  celeljrated  prophet  was  expected 
to  be  present.  He  did  not  make  his  appear- 
ance, but  sent  a  messenger,  saying  that  the 
spirit  had  ordered  the  Kaffirs  to  kill  all 
their  cattle.  This  strange  mandate  was 
obeyed  by  many  of  the  people,  but  others 
refused  to  obey  the  prophet's  order,  and 
saved  their  cattle  alive.  Angry  that  his 
orders  had  been  disobeyed,  the  prophet 
called  another  meeting,  and  had  a  private 
interview  with  Kreli,  in  wliich  he  said  that 
the  disobedience  of  the  people  was  the  rea- 
son why  the  white  men  had  not  been  driven 
out  of  the  land.    But,  if  they  would  be  obe- 


dient, and  slay  every  head  of  cattle  in  the 
country,  except  one  cow  and  one  goat,  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  would  be  propitiated  by 
their  muniflceuce,  and  would  give  their  aid. 
Eight  days  were  to  be  allowed  for  doing  the 
murderous  work,  and  on  the  eighth  —  at 
most  on  the  ninth  day  —  by  means  of  spells 
thrown  upon  the  surviving  cow  and  goat, 
the  cattle  would  all  rise  again,  and  they 
would  repossess  the  wealth  which  they  had 
freely  offered.  They  were  also  ordered  to 
throw  away  all  the  corn  in  their  granaries 
and  storehouses.  As  a  sign  that  the  proph- 
ecy would  be  fulfilled,  the  sun  u'onld  not 
ri.se  until  half-past  eight,  it  would  then  turn 
red  and  go  back  on  its  course,  and  darkness, 
rain,  thunder,  and  lightning  would  warn  tlie 
people  of  the  events  that  were  to  follow. 

The  work  of  slaughter  then  began  in 
earnest;  the  goats  and  cattle  were  extermi- 
nated throughout  the  country,  and,  except 
the  two  which  were  to  be  the  reserve,  not  a 
cow  or  a  goat  was  left  alive.  Witli  curious 
inconsistency,  the  Kaffirs  took  the  hides  to 
the  trading  stations  and  sold  them,  and  so 
fast  did  they  pour  in  that  they  were  pur- 
chased for  the  merest  trifle,  and  many  thou- 
sands could  not  be  sold  at  all,  and  were  left 
in  the  interior  of  the  country.  The  eighth 
day  arriveil,  and  no  signs  were  visible  in  tlie 
heavens.  This  did  not  (Usturb  the  Kaffirs 
very  much,  as  they  relied  on  the  promised 
ninth  day.  On  that  morning  not  a  Kaffir 
moved  from  his  dwelling,  but  sat  in  the 
kraal,  anxiously  watching  the  svni.  From 
six  in  the  morning  until  ten  they  watched 
its  course,  but  it  did  not  change  color  or 
alter  its  course,  and  neither  the  thunder, 
lightning,  nor  rain  came  on  in  token  that 
the  prophecy  was  to  be  fulfilled. 

The  deluded  Kaffirs  then  repented  them- 
selves, but  too  late,  of  their  credulity.  They 
had  killed  all  their  cattle  and  destroyed  all 
their  corn,  and  without  these  necessaries  of 
life  they  knew  that  they  must  starve.  And 
they  did  indeed  starve.  Famine  in  its  worst 
form  set  in  throughout  the  country;  the 
children  died  by  hundreds;  none  but  those 
of  the  sti-ongest  constitutions  survived,  and 
even  these  were  mere  skeletons,  worn  away 
by  privations,  and  equally  unable  to  work 
or  to  fight.  By  this  self-inflictecl  blow  the 
Kaffirs  suft'ered  far  more  than  they  would 
have  done  in  the  most  prolonged  war,  and 
rendered  themselves  incapable  of  resistance 
for  many  years. 

That  the  prophets  who  uttered  such 
strange  mandates  must  have  been  believers 
in  the  truth  of  their  art  is  evident  enough, 
for  they  sacrificed  not  only  the  property  of 
others,  but  their  own,  and  we  have  already 
seen  how  tenaciou.sly  a  Kaffir  clings  to  his 
flocks  and  herds.  Moreover,  in  thus  de- 
stroying all  the  food  in  the  country,  they 
knew  that  they  were  ccandemuing  to  starva- 
tion not  only  the  country  in  general,  but 
themselves  and  their  families,  and  a  man  is 


196 


THE   KAFFIR. 


uot  likel_y  to  utter  prophecies  wliich,  if  false, 
would  reduce  him  from  wealth  to  poverty, 
and  condemn  himself,  his  family,  and  all 
the  country  to  the  miseries  of  famine,  diil 
lie  not  believe  those  prophecies  to  be  true. 
Although  the  influence  exercised  by  the 
liro)ihets  is,  in  many  cases,  wielded  in  an 
inJLU-ious  manner,  it  is  not  entirely  an  un- 
mi.xed  evil.  Imperfect  as  their  religious 
system  is,  and  disastrous  as  are  too  often 
the  consequences,  it  is  better  than  no  reli- 
gion at  all,  and  at  all  events  it  has  two 
advantages,  the  one  being  the  assertion  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  second 
the  acknowledgment  that  there  are  beings 
in  the  spiritual  world  possessed  of  far 
greater  powers  than  their  own,  whether  for 
good  or  evil. 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  of  these 
prophets  was  the  celelirated  Makanna,  who 
united  in  his  own  person  tlie  offices  of 
projjhet  and  general,  and  who  ventured  to 
oppose  the  English  forces,  and  in  person 
to  lead  an  attack  on  (irahamstown.  This 
remarkable  man  laid  his  jilans  with  great 
care  and  delilieralion,  and  did  not  strike  a 
blow  until  all  his  plots  were  fully  developed. 
In  the  first  place  he  contrived  to  obtain 
considerable  military  information  )jy  con- 
versation with  the  soldiers,  and  especially 
the  officers  of  the  regiments  who  were  quar- 
tered at  CTrahamstown,  and  in  this  manner 
contrived  to  learn  much  of  the  English  mil- 
itary system,  as  well  as  of  many  mechanical 
arts. 

The  object  which  he  proposed  to  himself 
is  not  precisely  known,  but  as  far  as  can  be 
gathered  froni  his  actions,  he  seems  to  have 
intended  to  i)uvsue  a  similar  course  to  that 
which  was  taken  by  Tchaka  among  the 
more  modern  Zulus,  and  to  gather  together 
the  scattered  Amakosa  tribes  and  to  unite 
them  in  one  great  nation,  of  which  he 
should  be  sole"  king  and  priest.  But  his 
ambition  was  a  nobler  one  than  that  of 
Tchaka.  whose  only  oliject  was  personal  ag- 
grandizement, and  who  shed  rivers  of  blood, 
even  among  his  own  subjects,  in  order  to 
render  himself  supreme.  Makanna  was  a 
man  of  ditl'erent  mould,  and  although  per- 
sonal ambition  had  much  to  do  with  his 
conduct,  he  was  clearly  inspired  with  a  wish 
to  raise  his  people  into  a  southern  nation 
that  should  rival  the  great  Zulu  monarchy 
of  the  north,  and  also,  by  the  importation  of 
European  ideas,  to  elevate  the  character 
of  his  subjects,  and  to  assimilate  them  as  far 
as  jjossibie  with  the  white  men,  their  ac- 
knowledged superiors  in  every  art. 

That  he  ultimately  failed  is  no  wonder, 
because  he  was  one  of  those  enthusiasts 
who  do  not  recognize  their  epoch.  Most 
people  fail  in  being  behind  their  day,  Ma- 
kanna failed  in  being  before  it.  Enjoying 
constant  intercourse  with  Europeans,  and 
invariably  choosing  for  his  companions  men 
of  eminence   among   them,  his   own  mind 


had  become  sufficiently  enlarged  to  perceive 
the  infinite  superiority  of  European  civili- 
zation, and  to  know  that  if  he  could  only 
succeed  in  infusing  their  ideas  into  the 
minds  of  his  subjects,  the  Kosa  nation 
would  not  oulj'  be  the  equal  of,  but  be  far 
superior  to  the  Zulu  empire,  which  was 
erected  by  violence  and  preserved  by  blood- 
shed. Conscious  of  the  superstitious  char- 
acter of  his  countrymen,  and  knowing  that 
he  would  not  be  able  to  gain  sufficient  in- 
fluence over  them  unlesshe  laid  claim  to 
supernatural  powers,  Makanna  announced 
himself  to  be  a  propliet  of  a  new  kind.  In 
this  part  of  his  line  of  conduct,  he  .showed 
the  same  deep  wisdom  that  had  character- 
ized his  former  proceedings,  and  gained 
much  religious  as  well  as  practical  knowl- 
edge from  the  white  men,  whom  he  ulti- 
mately intended  to  destroy.  He  made  a 
l)oint  of  conversing  as  much  as  possible 
with  the  clergy,  and,  with  all  a  Kaffir's 
inborn  love  of  argument,  delighted  in  get- 
ting into  controversies  resjjecting  the  belief 
of  the  Christians,  and  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures. 

Keen  and  subtle  of  intellect,  and  possessed 
of  wonderful  oratorical  powers,  he  would  at 
one  time  ask  question  after  question  ibr  the 
purpose  of  entangling  his  instructor  in  a 
sophism,  and  at  another  would  burst  into 
a  torrent  of  eloquence  in  which  he  would 
adroitly  make  use  of  any  unguarded  expres- 
sion, and  carry  away  his  audience  by  the  spirit 
and  fire  of  his  oratory.  In  the  mean  while 
he  was  quietly  working  upon  the  minds  of 
his  countrymen  so  as  to  i)repare  them  for 
his  final  step;  and  at  last,  when  he  had 
thoroughly  matured  his  plans,  he  boldly 
announced  himself  as  a  prophet  to  whom 
had  been  given  a  .special  commission  from 
Uhlanga,  the  Great  Spirit. 

Unlike  the  ordinary  prophets,  whose  utter- 
ances were  all  of  blood  and  sacrifice,  either 
of  men  or  animals,  he  imported  into  his 
new  system  of  religion  many  ideas  that  he 
had  oljtained  from  the  Christian  clergy, 
and  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  Kaffir 
prophet  who  ever  denounced  vice  and  en- 
forced morality  on  his  followers.  jSTot  only 
did  he  preach  against  vice  in  the  abstract, 
but  he  had  the  courage  to  denounce  all 
those  who  led  Aicious  lives,  and  was  as 
unsparing  toward  the  most  powerful  chiefs 
as  toward  the  humblest  servant. 

One  chief,  the  renowned  Gaika,  was  dire- 
fully  oft'ended  at  the  prophet's  boldness, 
whereupon  Makanna,  finding  that  spiritual 
weapons  were  wasted  on  such  a  man,  took 
to  the  spear  and  shield  instead,  led  an  ex- 
temporized force  aganist  Gaika,  and  del'eated 
him. 

Having  now  cleared  away  one  of  the  ob- 
stacles to  the  course  of  his  ambition,  he 
thought  that  the  time  had  come  when  he 
might  strike  a  still  greater  blow.  The  Eng- 
lish had  taken  Qaika  under  their  protection 


ATTACK  ON  GERMANSTOWN. 


197 


after  his  defeat,  and  Makanna  thought  that 
he  could  conquer  the  British  forces  as  he 
had  tliose  of  his  countrjrnan.  Accordingly, 
he  redoubled  liis  ettbrts  to  make  himself 
revered  by  the  Kathr  tribes.  He  seldom 
showed  himself,  passing  the  greater  part  of 
his  time  in  seclusion;  and  when  he  did 
appear  in  public,  he  always  maintained  a 
reserved,  solemn,  and  abstracted  air,  such 
as  befitted  the  character  which  he  assumed, 
namely,  a  prophet  inspired,  not  by  the 
spirits  of  the  dead,  but  by  the  Uhlanga,  the 
Great  Spirit  himself.  Now  and  then  he 
vk^ould  summon  the  people  about  him,  and 
pour  out  torrents  of  impetuous  eloquence,  in 
which  he  announced  his  mission  from  above, 
and  uttered  a  series  of  prophecies,  wild  and 
extravagant,  but  all  having  one  purport; 
namely ,"that  the  spirits  of  their  fathers  would 
fight  for  the  Kaffirs,  and  drive  the  inhab- 
itants into  the  sea. 

Suddenly  he  called  together  his  ti'oops, 
and  made  a  descent  upon  Grahamstown. 
the  whole  attack  being  so  unexpected  that 
the  little  garrison  were  taken  bj'  surprise; 
and  the  commander  was  nearly  taken  pris- 
oner as  he  was  riding  with  some  of  his  offi- 
cers. More  than  10,000  Kaffir  warriors  were 
engaged  in  the  assault,  while  the  defenders 
numbered  barely  350  Europeans  and  a  few 
disciplined  Hottentots.  The  place  w^as  very 
imperfectly  fortified,  and,  although  a  few 
field-guns  were  in  Grahamstown,  they  were 
not  in  position,  nor  were  they  ready  for 
action. 

Nothing  could  be  more  gallant  than  the 
conduct  of  assailants  and  defenders.  The 
Kaffirs,  fierce,  warlike,  and  constitutionally 
brave,  rushed  to  the  attack  with  wild  war 
cries,  hurling  their  assagais  as  they  ad- 
vanced; and  when  they  came  to  close  quar- 
ters, breaking  their  last  weapon,  and  using 
it  as  a  dagger.  The  defenders  on  the  other 
hand  contended  with  disciplined  steadiness 
against  such  fearful  odds,  but  the  battle 
might  have  gone  against  them  had  it  not 
been  for  a  timely  succor.  Finding  that  the 
place  could  not  be  taken  by  a  direct  assault, 
Makanna  detached  several  columns  to  attack 
it  both  in  Hank  and  rear,  while  he  kept  the 
garrison  fully  employed  by  assailing  it  in 
front.  Just  at  that  moment,  an  old  expe- 
rienced Hottentot  captain,  named  Boezak, 
happened  to  arrive  at  Grahamstown  with  a 
party  of  his  men.  Without  hesitation  he 
led  his  little  force  against  the  enemy,  and, 
being  familiar  with  KatHr  warfare,  and  also 
practised  marksmen,  he  and  his  followers 
neglected  the  rank  and  file  of  the  enemy, 
and  directed  their  fire  upon  the  leaders  who 
were  conducting  the  final  charge.  In  a  few 
seconds  a  number  of  the  most  distinguished 
chiefs  were  shot  down,  and  the  onset  re- 
ceived a  sudden  check. 

The  Amakosa  warriors  soon  recovered 
themselves  and  returned  to  the  charge,  but 
the  English  had  taken  advantage  of  the 


brief  respite,  and  brought  their  field-guns 
to  bear.  Volley  after  A'olley  of  grape-shot 
was  poured  into  the  thickest  columns  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  front  ranks  fell  like  grass 
before  the  mower's  scythe.  Still,  the  courage 
of  the  Kaffirs,  stimulated  by  the  mystic 
utterances  of  their  prophet-general,  was  not 
quelled,  and  the  undaunted  warriors  charged 
up  to  the  very  mouths  of  the  guns,  stabbing 
with  their  last  spears  at  the  artillerymen. 
But  brave  as  they  might  be,  they  could  not 
contend  against  the  deadly  hail  of  grape-shot 
and  musketry  that  ceaselessly  poured  into 
their  ranks,  while  as  soon  as  a  leader  made 
himself  conspicuous,  he  was  shot  by  Boezak 
and  his  little  body  of  marksmen.  Makanna 
rallied  his  forces  several  times,  but  at  last 
they  were  put  to  flight,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  accompany  his  discomfited  soldiers. 

Short  as  was  this  battle,  it  was  a  terri- 
ble one  for  the  Kaffirs.  Fourteen  hundred 
bodies  were  found  dead  on  tlie  field,  while 
at  least  as  many  more  died  of  their  wounds. 
After  this  decisive  repulse,  Makanna  sur- 
rendered himself  to  the  English,  and  was 
sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Robben  Island.  Here 
he  remained  for  a  year,  with  a  few  followers 
and  slaves  whom  he  was  permitted  to  retain. 
One  day  he  disarmed  the  guard,  and  tried 
to  escape  in  a  boat,  but  was  di-owned  in  the 
attempt. 

The  subjoined  spirited  rendering  of  Ma- 
kanna's  gathering  song  is  by  Mr.  Priugle, 
the  poet-traveller  in  Southern  Africa. 

makanna's  gathering. 

''Wake!  Amalrosa,  wiike! 

And  arm  yourselves  for  war, 
.    As  coming  winds  the  forest  shake, 
I  hear  a  sound  from  far: 
It  is  not  thunder  in  tlic  sky. 

Nor  lion's  roar  upon  tlie  hill, 
But  the  voice  of  him  who  sits  on  high, 
And  bids  me  speak  his  will ! 

"He  hids  me  call  yon  forth, 

Bold  sons  of  Kaliabee, 
To  sweep  the  White  Man  from  the  earth, 

And  drive  them  to  the  sea: 
The  sea,  which  heaved  them  up  at  first, 

For  Amakosa's  curse  and  bane, 
Howls  for  the  progeny  she  nursed, 

To  swallow  them  again. 

'■Then  come,  ye  chieftains  hold. 

With  war-plumes  waving  high; 
Come,  every  warrior  young  and  old, 

With  clui)  and  assagai. 
Eemeniber  how  the  spoiler's  host 

Did  through  the  land  like  locusts  range! 
Your  herds,  your  wives,  your  comrades  lost,  — 

Kememher,  and  revenge ! 

"Fling  yonr  broad  shields  away, 

Bootless  against  such  foes ; 
But  hand  to  hand  we'll  fight  to-day. 

And  witii  the  bayonets  close. 
Grasp  eacli  man  short  his  stabbing  spear, 

And,  when  to  battle's  edge  we  come, 
Kush  on  tlieir  ranks  in  full  career. 

And  to  their  hearts  strike  home! 


198 


THE   KAPFm. 


"Wake!  Amakosa,  wake! 

Anil  muster  for  the  war: 
Tile  wiziinl-wiilves  from  Keisi's  brake, 

The  vultures  from  afar, 
Are  gathering  at  Uhlanga's  call, 

And  follow  fast  our  westwaril  way  — 
For  well  they  know,  ere  evening  fall, 

They  shall  have  glorious  prey! " 


There  is  now  before  me  a  remarkable 
necklace,  which  was  taken  from  the  neck  of 
a  Katfir  who  was  killed  in  the  attack  of  the 
74th  Ilijihlanders  on  the  Iron  Mount.  (See 
illustration  JsTo.  1,  on  p.  1(57.)  This  strong- 
hold of  the  dark  enemies  was  peculiarh' 
well  adapted  for  defence,  and  the  native's 
had  therefore  used  it  as  a  place  wherein 
they  could  deposit  their  stores;  but,  by  a 
false  move  on  their  part,  they  jjut  themselves 
between  two  fires,  and  after  severe  loss  had 
to  abandon  the  post.  The  necklace  belongs 
to  the  collection  of  Major  Ross  King,  who 
led  the  74th  in  the  attack.  It  has  evidently 
been  used  for  superstitious  purposes,  and  has 
belonged  to  a  Kaffir  who  was  either  one  of 
the  prophets,  or  who  intended  to  join  that 
order.  It  is  composed  of  humaii  tinger- 
bones,  twenty-seven  in  number,  aud  as 
only  the  last  joint  of  the  finger  is  used, 
it  is  evident  that  at  least  three  men  must 
have  supplied  the  hemes  in  question.  From 
the  nature  of  the  ornament,  it  is  likely  that 
it  once  belonged  to  that  class  of  which  doc- 
tors make  a  living,  by  pretending  to  detect 
the  evil-doers  who  have  caused  the  death  of 
chiefs  and  persons  of  rank. 

As  another  example  of  the  superstitious 
ideas  of  the  Kaflirs,  I  may  here  describe  one 
of  the  small  bags  which  are  sometimes  called 
knapsacks,  and  sometimes  ''  daghasacs,"'  the 
latter  name  being  given  to  them  because 
their  chief  use  is  to  hold  the  "  dagha,"  or 
preparation  of  hemp  which  is  so  extensively 
used  for  smoking,  and  which  was  probably 
the  only  herb  that  was  used  before  the 
introduction  of  tobacco  from  America. 

Sometimes  the  daghasae  is  made  of  the 
skin  of  some  small  animal,  taken  ofi"  entire; 
but  in  this  instance  it  is  made  of  small 
pieces  of  antelope  skin  neatly  I'oined  to- 
gether, and  having  some  of  the' hair  still  left 
in  the  interior.  The  line  of  junction  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  pieces  of  skin  is 
ingeniously  concealed  l)y  the  strings  of  black 
and  white  beads  which  are  attached  to  it; 
and  the  same  beads  serve  also  to  conceal  a 
patch  which  is  let  in  in  one  side.  The  bag  is 
suspended  over  the  shoulders  of  the  wearer 
by  means  of  a  long  chain  formed  of  iron 
wire,  the  links  of  ■i\-hich  are  made  so  neatly 
that,  but  for  a  few  irregularities,  they  would 
be  taken  for  the  handiwork  of  an  European 
wire-worker. 

From  the  end  of  the  bag  hang  two  thongs, 
each  of  which  bears  at  the  extremity  a  val- 
ued charm.  One  of  these  articles  is'a  piece 
of  stick,  about  three  inches  in  length,  and 


about  as  thick  as  an  artist's  pencil;  and  the 
other  is  a  small  sea-shell.  The  bone  neck- 
lace, which  has  just  been  described,  does 
really  look  like  a  charm  or  an  anudet;  but 
these  two  olijects  are  so  perfectly  harmless 
in  appearance  that  no  one  would  detect  their 
character  without  a  previous  acc]uaintance 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  natives. 
The  stick  in  question  is  formed  of  a  sort  of 
creeper,  which  seems  to  be  invarialily  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  certain  charn'is.  It 
has  small  dark  leaves  and  pale-blue  flowers, 
and  is  found  jilentifully  at  the  Cape,  grow- 
ing among  the  "  Boerbohne,"  and  other 
bushes,  and  twining  its  flexible  shoots  among 
their  branches. 

Major  King,  to  whose  collection  the  da- 
ghasae belongs,  possesses  a  large  specimen 
of  the  same  stick,  five  feet  in  length  and 
perfectly  straight.  It  was  taken  from  the 
centre  of  a  bundle  of  assagais  that  had  fallen 
from  the  grasp  of  a  Kaffir,  who  was  killed  in 
a  skirmish  by  the  Highlanders.  This  .stick 
was  employed  as  a  war  charm,  and  prol^ably 
was  sujiposed  to  have  the  douljle  effect  of 
making  certain  the  aim  of  the  assagais  and 
of  guarding  the  owner  from  harm.  Vast 
numbers  of  those  wooden  charms  were 
issued  to  the  soldiers  by  the  celelirated 
prophet  Umlangeni,  who  prophesied  that  by 
his  incantations  the  bullets  of  the  white  man 
would  turn  to  water  as  soon  as  they  were 
fired.  As  the  charm  cost  nothing  except  the 
trouble  of  cutting  the  stick  to  the  proper 
length,  and  as  he  never  issued  one  without 
a  fee  of  some  kind,  it  is  evident  that  the 
sacred  office  became  in  his  hands  a  very 
profitable   one. 

As  war  occupies  so  much  of  the  Kaffir's 
mind,  it  is  to  he  expected  that  the  prophets 
encourage  rather  than  suppress  the  warlike 
spirit  of  the  nation.  During  times  of  peace, 
the  objects  for  which  the  prophet  will  be 
consulted  are  comparatively  few.  Anxious 
parents  may  come  to  the  proi)het  lor  the 
piu-pose  of  perlnrming  some  ceremony  over 
a  sick  child;  or,  with  much  apparent  an.xiety, 
a  deputation  from  the  tribe  may  call  him  to 
attend  upon  the  chief,  who  has  made  him- 
self ill  by  eating  too  much  beef  and  drinking 
too  much  lieer;  or  he  may  be  summoned  in 
ease  of  sickness,  which  is  ahvays  a  toleraldy 
profitable  business,  and  in  which  his  course 
of  treatment  is  sure  to  be  successful;  or  if  he 
should  enjoy  the  high  but  perilous  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  rain-maker,  he  may  be  called 
upon  to  perform  his  incantations,  and  will 
consequently  receive  a  goodly  number  of 
presents. 

These,  however,  are  the  sum  of  the  proph- 
et's duties  in  times  of  peace,  and  he  is  natu- 
rally inclined  to  foster  a  warlike  disposition 
among  the  peo]ile.  The  reader  will  remem- 
ber that  when  Tchaka  found  that  his  subjects 
were  in  danger  of  settling  down  to  a  quiet 
agricultural  life,  he  induced  one  of  the 
prophets   to  stir  up  a  renewal   of  the   old 


UNFAVOKABLE  rROPHECY. 


199 


martial  spirit.  And  we  may  be  sure  that  lie 
found  no  unwilling  agents  in  the  prophets, 
at  least  three  of  whom  must  have  been 
engaged  in  the  deception. 

In  war,  however,  the  prophet's  services 
are  in  constant  demand,  and  his  influence 
and  his  wealth  are  equally  increased.  lie 
retains  all  the  privileges  which  he  enjoyed 
m  time  of  peace,  in  addition  to  those  which 
belong  to  him  as  general  adviser  in  time  of 
war.  "From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the 
war  every  one  consults  the  prophet.  When 
the  king  forms  the  conception  of  making 
war,  he  is  sure  to  send  for  the  prophet,  and 
ask  him  to  divine  the  result  of  the  coming 
contest,  and  whatever  his  advice  may  be  it 
is  implicitly  followed.  Then,  after  war  has 
been  announced,  another  ceremony  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  propitiate  the  spirits  of 
ancestors,  and  cause  them  to  fight  for  their 
descendants,  who  sacrifice  so  many  oxen  to 
them,  and  thus  enrich  their  cattle  pen  in  the 
shades  below.  Next  comes  the  grand  series 
of  ceremonies  when  the  troops  are  mustered, 
and  another,  scarcely  less  grand,  when  they 
march  oft'. 

In  the  mean  time  almost  every  soldier  will 
want  a  charm  of  some  kind  or  other,  and 
will  pay  for  it.  Moreover,  he  will  generally 
owe  the  sacrifice  of  a  cow,  or  at  least  a  goat, 
if  he  return  home  safely  at  the  end  of  a  cam- 
paign, and  of  all  sacrifices  the  prophet  gets 
his  share.  The  old  men  and  wives  wlio 
remain  at  home,  and  are  sure  to  feel  anxious 
aljout  their  husbands  and  children  who  are 
with  the  army,  are  equally  sure  to  offer  sac- 
rifices as  propitiations  to  the  spirits.  When 
the  army  returns  the  prophet  is  still  in 
request,  as  he  has  to  superintend  the  various 
sacrifices  that  have  been  vowed  by  the  sur- 
vivors and  their  friends.    As  to  those  who 


fell  they  have  already  paid  their  fees,  and 
for  the  failure  of  the  charm  there  is  always 
some  excuse,  which  the  simple  people  are 
quite  ready  to  believe. 

Mr.  Baines  has  kindly  sent  me  an  account 
of  one  of  these  prophets,  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  performed  his  office.  Besides  the 
snakes,  skins,  feathers,  and  other  strange 
ornaments  with  which  a  Kaffir  prophet  is 
wont  to  bedeck  himself,  he  had  hung  round 
his  neck  a  strinsj  of  bones  and  skulls,  an 
amulet  of  which  he  evidently  was  exceed- 
ingly proud.  He  was  consulted  by  some  of 
the  "soldiers  about  the  result  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  straightway  proceeded  to  work. 
Taking  otl'  the  necklace  he  fiung  it  on  the 
ground,  and  then  squatted  down  beside  it, 
scanning  carefully  the  attitude  assumed  by 
every  bone,  and  drawing  therefrom  his  con- 
clusions. (See  the  engraving  No.  2,  on  page 
189.)  At  last  he  rose,  and  stated  to  his  awe- 
struck clients  that  before  the  war  was  over 
many  of  them  would  eat  dust,  i.  e.  be  killed. 

This  announcement  had  a  great  effect 
upon  the  dark  soldiers,  and  their  spirits 
were  sadly  depressed  by  it.  The  com- 
mander, however,  was  a  man  who  was  inde- 
pendent of  such  actions,  and  did  not  intend 
to  have  his  men  disheartened  by  any 
prophet.  So  he  sent  for  the  seer  in  ques- 
tion, and  very  plainly  told  him  that  his 
business  was  to  foretell  success,  and  not 
failure;  and  that,  if  he  did  not  alter  his  line 
of  prophecy,  he  must  he  prepared  to  take 
the  consequences.  Both  the  seer  and  the 
spirits  of  departed  chiefs  took  this  rather 
strong  hint,  and  after  that  intimation  tlie 
omens  invariably  proved  to  be  favorable, 
and  the  soldiers  recovered  their  lost  equa- 
uimity. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


FUNEEAL  RITES. 


BUEIAL  OF  THE  DEAD  —  LOCALITIES  OP  THB  TOMBS  —  THE  CHIEF'S  LAST  RESTINO-PLACE  —  SACRIFICES 
AND  LUSTRATION  —  BODIES  OF  CRIMLNALS  —  REPUGNANCE  TOWARD  DEAD  BODIES  —  ORDLNAKT 
RITES — FUNERAL  OF  A  CHILD  —  THE  DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  MNANDE  —  HER  GENERAL  CHARAC- 
TER, AND  SUSPICIOUS  NATURE  OF  HER  ILLNESS — TCHAKA'S  BEHAVIOR  —  ASSEMBLAGE  OF  THE 
PEOPLE  AND  TERRIBLE  MASSACRE  —  MNANDE'S  COMPANIONS  IN  THE  GRAVE  —  THE  YEAK  OP 
WATCHING — A  STRANGE  ORDINANCE  —  HOW  TCHAKA  WENT  OUT  OF  MOURNING  —  A  SUMMARY 
MODE   OF  SEPULTURE — ABANDONMENT  OF  THE  AGED  SICK  —  SIB.    GALTON'S  STORT. 


Closely   connected  with  the  religion  of  the  funeral,  and  there  is  a  humane  custom 


any   country   is    the    mode    in   which    the 
bodies  of  the  dead  are  disposed  of. 

Burial  in  the  earth  is  the  simplest  and 
most  natm-al  mode  of  disposing  of  a  dead 
body,  and  this  mode  is  adopted  by  the  Kaf- 
firs. There  are  slight  variations  in  the 
method  of  interment  and  the  choice  of  a 
grave,  but  the  general  s_vstem  prevails 
throughout  Kafflrland.  The  body  is  never 
laid  prostrate,  as  among  ourselves;  but  a 
circular  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground,  and  the 
body  is  placed  in  it  in  a  sitting  position, 
the  knees  being  brought  to  the  chin,  and 
the  head  bent  over  them.  Sometimes,  and 
especially  if  there  should  be  cause  for  haste, 
the  Kaffirs  select  for  a  grave  an  ant-hill, 
■which  has  been  ransacked  by  the  great  ant- 
bear  or  aard-vark,  and  out  of  which  the 
animal  has  torn  the  whole  interior  with  its 
powerful  claws,  leaving  a  mere  oven-shaped 
shell  as  hard  as  a  brTck.  Generally,  how- 
ever, a  circular  hole  is  dug,  and  thebody  is 
placed  in  it,  as  has  been  already  mentioned. 
As  to  the  place  of  burial,  that  depends  upon 
the  rank  of  the  dead  person.  If  he  be  the 
head  man  of  a  kraal  he  is  always  buried  m 
the  isi-baya,  or  cattle  enclosure,  and  the 
funeral  is  conducted  with  much  ceremony. 
During  the  last  few  days  of  illness,  when  it 
is  evident  that  recovery  is  impossible,  the 
people  belonging  to  the  kraal  omit  the 
usual  care  of  the  toilet,  allowing  their  hair 
to  grow  as  it  likes,  and  abstaining  from  the 
use  of  grease  or  from  washing.  'The  worst 
clothes  are  worn,  and  all  ornaments  are 
removed.    They  also  are  bound  to  fast  until 


that  the  children  are  first  supplied  with  an 
abundant  meal,  and  not  imtil  they  have 
eaten  are  thej'  told  of  their  father's  death. 

The  actual  burial  is  performed  by  the 
nearest  relatives,  and  on  such  an  occasion  it 
is  not  thought  below  the  dignity  of  a  man 
to  assist  in  digging  the  grave.  The  body  is 
then  placed  in  the  grave;  his  spoon,  mat, 
pillow,  and  spears  are  laid  beside  him:  the 
shafts  of  the  latter  are  always  broken,  and 
the  iron  heads  bent,  perhaps  from  some 
vague  idea  that  the  spirit  of  the  deceased 
will  come  out  of  the  earth  and  do  mischief 
with  them.  Should  he  be  a  rich  man,  oxen 
are  also  killed  and  placed  near  him,  so  that 
he  may  go  into  the  land  of  spirits  well  fur- 
nished with  cattle,  implements,  and  weap- 
ons. If  the  person  interred  should  not  be 
of  sufficient  rank  to  be  entitled  to  a  grave  in 
the  isi-baya,  he  is  buried  outside  the  kraal, 
and  over"  the  grave  is  made  a  strong  fence 
of  stones  or  thorn-bushes,  to  prevent  the 
corpse  from  being  disturbed  liy  wild  beasts 
or  wizards.  As  soon  as  the  I'uneral  party 
returns,  the  prophet  sends  the  inhabitants 
of  the  kraal  to  the  nearest  stream,  and  after 
they  have  washed  therein  he  administers 
some  medicine  to  them,  and  then  they  are 
at  liberty  to  eat  and  drink,  to  milk  their 
cattle,  and  to  dress  their  hair.  Those,  how- 
ever, who  dug  the  grave  and  handled  the 
body  of  the  dead  man  are  obliged  to 
undergo  a  double  course  of  medicine  and 
lustration  before  they  are  permitted  to 
break  their  fast. 

It  is  not  every  Kaffir  who  receives  the 


(200) 


DEATH  AND  BURIAL  OF  MNANDE. 


201 


funeral  rites.  Those  who  have  been  killed 
bj'  order  of  the  kins;  are  considered  unwor- 
th_y  of  receiving  honorable  sepulture,  and  no 
matter  what  may  be  the  crime  of  which  they 
are  accused,  or  whether  indeed  they  have 
not  been  killed  through  some  momentary 
caprice  of  the  despot,  their  bodies  are  merely 
dragged  away  by  the  heels  into  the  bush, 
and  allowed  to  become  the  prey  of  the  vul- 
tures aud  hyajuas.  Except  wlien  heated  by 
conflict,  the"  Kaffir  has  an  invincible  repug- 
nance to  touching  a  dead  body,  and  nothing 
can  show  greater  respect  for  the  dead  than 
the  fact  that  the  immediate  relatives  con- 
quer this  repugnance,  and  perform  the  last 
office  in  spite  of  their  natural  aversion  to 
such  a  duty,  and  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
long  and  painful  fast  which  they  must  un- 
dergo. 

The  friends  of  the  family  then  assemble 
near  the  principal  hut,  and  loudly  bewail 
the  loss  which  the  kraal  has  sustained.  An 
ox  is  killed,  and  its  ilesh  cooked  as  a  feast 
for  the  mourners,  the  animal  itself  being 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  departed  chief. 
Having  finished  their  banquet,  and  ex- 
hausted all  their  complinaentary  iihrases 
toward  the  dead,  they  generally  become 
anything  but  complimentary  to  the  li\'ing. 
Addressing  the  eldest  son,  who  has  now 
succeeded  to  his  father's  place,  they  bewail 
his  inexperience,  condole  with  the  wives 
upon  their  hard  lot  in  being  under  the 
sway  of  one  so  inferior  in  every  way  to  the 
deceased,  and  give  the  son  plenty  of  good 
advice,  telling  him  not  to  lieat  any  of  his 
mothers  if  he  can  keep  theni  in  order  with- 
out manual  correction,  to  be  kind  to  all  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  to  be  consider- 
ate towards  the  dependants.  They  enforce 
their  arguments  by  copious  weeping.  Tears 
always  come  readily  to  a  Kaffir,  Ijut,  if  there 
should  be  any  ditticulty  in  shedding  them,  a 
liberal  use  of  pungent  snuff  is  sure  to  pro- 
duce the  desired  result. 

Such  is  the  mode  in  which  ordinary  men 
and  chiefs  are  buried.  The  funerals  of  chil- 
dren are  conducted  in  a  much  quicker  and 
simpler  manner,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  Gardiner's  work  on 
Southern  Africa.  He  is  describing  the 
funeral  of  a  child  belonging  to  a  Kaffir  with 
whom  he  was  acquainted :  — 

"  After  threading  an  intricate  path,  and 
winding  about  for  some  little  distance,  they 
stopped.  Inquiring  if  that  was  the  spot  they 
had  chosen,  Kolelwa  replied,  '  You  must 
show  us.'  On  being  again  told  that  it  was 
left  entirely  for  his  decision,  they  proceeded 
a  few  paces  further,  and  then  commenced 
one  of  the  most  distressing  scenes  I  ever 
witnessed,  a  father  with  his  own  hand  open- 
ing the  ground  with  his  hoe,  and  scooping 
out  a  grave  for  his  own  child,  assisted  only 
by  one  of  his  wives  —  while  the  bereaved 
mother,  in  the  bittei'ness  of  her  grief,  seated 
under   some    bushes   like    another  Hagar, 


watched   every   movement,   but   dared   not 
trust  herself  nearer  to  the  mournful  spot. 

"  When  all  was  prepared  Kolelwa  re- 
turned, with  the  wife  who  had  assisted  him, 
for  the  body  —  Nomlnma,  the  mother,  still 
remaining  half  concealed  among  the  trees. 
Everything  was  conducted  so  silently  that 
I  did  not  perceive  their  return,  until  sud- 
denly turning  to  the  spot  I  observed  the 
woman  supporting  the  body  so  naturally 
upon  her  lap,  as  she  sat  on  the  ground,  that 
at  first  I  really  supposed  it  had  been  a  living 
child.  Dipping  a  bundle  of  leafy  boughs 
into  a  calabash  of  water,  tlie  body  was  first 
washed  by  the  father,  and  then  laid  by  him 
in  the  grave ;  over  which  I  read  a  selection 
from  the  Burial  Service  (such  portions  only 
as  were  strictly  applicable) ;  concluding  with 
a  short  exhortation  to  those  who  were  pres- 
ent. The  entire  opening  was  then  filled  in 
with  large  fagots,  over  which  earth  was 
thrown,  and  above  all  a  considerable  pile  of 
thorny  boughs  and  branches  heaped,  in 
order  to  render  it  secure  from  tho  approach 
of  wild  animals." 

In  strange  contrast  with  this  touching  and 
peaceful  scene  stand  the  terrible  rites  by 
which  Tchaka  celebrated  the  funeral  of  his 
mother  Mnande.  It  has  already  been  men- 
tioned, on  page  124,  that  Tchaka  was  sus- 
pected, and  not  without  reason,  of  having 
been  accessory,  either  actively  or  passively, 
to  his  mother's  death;  and  it  was  no  secret 
that  she  was  a  turbulent,  quarrelsome,  bad- 
tempered  woman,  and  that  Tchaka  was  very 
glad  to  he  rid  of  her.  Now,  although  a 
Kaffir  is  much  despised  if  ho  allows  his 
mother  to  exercise  the  least  authority  over 
him  when  he  has  once  reached  adult  age, 
and  though  it  is  thought  rather  a  praise- 
worthy act  than  otherwise  for  a  young  man 
to  beat  his  mother,  as  a  jiroof  that  he  is  no 
more  a  child,  the  murder  of  a  parent  is 
looked  upon  as  a  crime  for  which  no  excuse 
could  be  oftered. 

Irresponsible  despot  as  was  Tchaka,  he 
was  not  so  utterly  independent  of  public 
opinion  that  he  could  allow  himself  to  be 
spoken  of  as  a  parricide,  and  accordingly, 
as  soon  as  his  mother  was  beyond  all  chance 
of  recovery,  he  set  himself  to  work  to  make 
his  people  believe  that  he  was  really  very 
sorry  for  his  mother's  illness.  In  the  first 
place,  he  cut  short  a  great  elephant-hunting 
party  at  which  he  was  enga.ged;  and  al- 
though he  was  fully  sixty  miles  from  the 
kraai  in  which  his  "mother  was  residing,  he 
set  oft' at  once,  and  arrived  at  home  in  the 
middle  of  the  followmg  day.  At  Tchaka's 
request,  Mr.  Fynn  wont  to  "see  the  patient, 
and  to  report  whether  there  was  any  chance 
of  her  recovery.  His  account  of  the  inter- 
view and  the  subsequent  ceremonies  is  as 
follows :  — 

"  I  went,  attended  by  an  old  chief,  and 
found  the  hut  filled  with  mourning  women, 
and  such  clouds  of  smoke  that  I  was  obliged 


202 


THE   KAFFIR. 


to  bid  them  retire,  to  enable  me  to  breathe 
witliin  it.  Iler  eoinplaiut  was  dysentery,  and 
I  reported  at  onee  to  Tchaka  that  her  case 
was  liopeless,  and  tliat  I  did  not  exi)eet  tliat 
she  would  live  tliroutjh  the  day.  The  regi- 
ments which  were  llien  sitting  in  a  semi- 
circle around  him  were  ordered  to  their 
barracks:  while  Tchaka  himself  sat  for  about 
two  hours,  in  a  contemplative  mood,  with- 
out a  word  escaping  his  lips;  sever.al  of  the 
elder  chiefs  sitting  also  before  him.  When 
the  tidings  ■were  brought  that  she  had  ex- 
pired, Tchaka  immediately  ai'osc  and  entered 
his  dwelling;  and liaving ordered  the  princi- 
pal chiefs  to  put  on  their  war  dresses,  lie  in 
a  few  minutes  appeared  in  his.  As  soon  as 
the  death  was  publicly  announced,  the 
women  and  all  the  men  who  were  present 
tore  instantly  from  their  persons  every  de- 
scription of  ornament. 

"  Tchaka  now  appeared  before  the  hut  in 
■which  the  body  lay,  surrounded  by  his  prin- 
cipal chiefs,  ill  their  war  attire.  For  about 
twenty  minutes  he  stood  in  a  silent,  mourn- 
ful attitude,  with  his  head  bowed  upon  his 
shield,  on  which  I  saw  a  few  large  tears  foil. 
After  two  or  three  deep  sighs,  his  feelings 
becoming  ungovernable,  he  broke  out  into 
frantic  .yells,  which  fearfully  contrasted  ■with 
the  silence  that  had  hitherto  prevailed. 
This  signal  ■was  enough:  the  chief  and 
people,  to  the  number  of  about  tifteen 
thousand,  commenced  the  most  dismal  and 
horrid  lamentations.  .  .  . 

"  The  people  from  the  neighboring  kraals, 
male  and  female,  came  pouring  in;  each 
body,  as  they  appeared  in  sight,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  lialf  a  mile,  joining  to  swell  the 
terrible  cry.  Through  the  whole  night  it 
continued,  none  daring  to  take  rest  or 
refresh  themselves  with  water;  while,  at 
sliort  intervals,  fresh  bursts  were  heard  as 
more  distant  regiments  approached.  The 
morning  dawned  without  any  relaxation, 
and  before  noon  the  number  had  increased 
to  about  sixty  thousand.  The  cries  became 
now  indescribalily  horrid.  Hundreds  were 
lying  faint  from  excessive  fatigue  and  want 
of  nourishment;  while  the  carcasses  of 
forty  oxen  lay  in  a  lieap,  which  had  been 
slaughtered  as  an  otfering  to  the  guardian 
spirits  of  the  tribe. 

"  At  noon  the  whole  force  formed  a  circle, 
with  Tchaka  in  their  centre,  and  sang  a  war 
song,  which  afforded  them  some  relaxation 
during  its  continuance.  At  the  close  of  it, 
Tchaka  ordered  several  men  to  be  executed 
on  the  spot,  and  the  cries  became,  if  possi- 
ble, more  violent  than  ever.  No  further 
orders  were  needed ;  but,  as  if  bent  on  con- 
vincing their  chief  of  their  extreme  grief, 
the  multitude  coiiinienced  a  general  massa- 
cre—  many  of  them  received  the  blow  of 
death  while  intlictiug  it  on  others,  eacli 
taking  the  oiiportunity  of  revenging  liis 
injuries,  real  or  imaginary.  Those  who 
could  no  more  force  tears  from  their  eyes  — 


those  who  were  found  near  the  river,  pant- 
ing for  water — were  beaten  to  death  by 
others  mad  with  excitement.  Toward  the 
afternoon  I  calculated  that  not  fewer  than 
seven  thousand  people  had  fallen  in  this 
frightful,  indiscriminate  massacre.  The  ad- 
jacent stream,  to  which  many  had  fled 
exhausted  to  wet  their  parched  tongues, 
became  impassable  from  the  number  of 
dead  bodies  which  lay  on  each  side  of  it; 
while  the  kraal  in  which  the  scene  took 
place  was  flowing  with  blood." 

On  the  second  day  after  Mnande's  death 
her  body  was  placed  in  a  large  grave,  near 
the  spot  where  she  had  died,  and  ten  of  the 
best-looking  girls  in  the  kraal  were  enclosed 
alive  in  the  same  grave.  (See  the  illustra- 
tion opposite.)  Twelve  thousand  men,  all 
fully  armed,  attended  this  dread  ceremony, 
and  were  stationed  as  a  guard  over  the 
grave  for  a  whole  year.  They  were  main- 
tained liy  voluntary  contributions  of  cattle 
from  every  Zulu  who  possessed  a  herd,  liow- 
ever  small  it  might  be.  Of  course,  if 
Tchaka  could  celebrate  the  last  illness  and 
death  of  his  mother  with  such  magnificent 
ceremonies,  no  one  would  lie  likely  to  think 
that  he  had  any  hand  in  her  death.  Ex- 
travagant as  were  these  rites,  tliey  did  not 
quite  s.atisfy  the  people,  and  the  chiefs  unan- 
imously proposed  that  further  sacrifices 
should  be  made.  They  proposed  tliat  every 
one  should  be  killed  who  had  not  been 
present  at  Mnande's  funeral;  and  this  hor- 
rible suggestion  was  actually  carried  out, 
several  regiments  of  soldiers  being  sent 
through  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  exe- 
cuting it. 

Their  next  proposal  was  that  the  very 
earth  should  unite  in  the  general  mourn- 
ing, and  should  not  be  cultivated  for  a 
whole  year;  and  that  no  one  should  be 
allowed  either  to  make  or  eat  aniasi,  but 
that  the  milk  should  be  at  once  poured  out 
on  the  earth.  These  suggestions  were 
accepted;  but,  after  a  lapse  of  three  months, 
a  composition  was  made  by  large  numliers 
of  oxen  offered  to  Tchaka  liy  the  chiefs. 
The  last,  and  most  astounding,  suggestion 
was,  that  if  during  the  ensuing  year  any 
child  should  be  born,  or  even  if  such  an 
event  were  likely  to  occur,  both  the  parents 
and  the  child  should  be  summarily  exe- 
cuted. As  this  suggestion  was,  in  fact,  only 
a  carrying  out,  on  a  large  scale,  of  the  prin- 
ciple followed  by  Tchaka  in  his  own  house- 
holds, he  readily  gave  his  consent;  and 
during  the  whole  of  the  year  there  was 
much  innocent  blood  shed. 

After  the  year  had  expired,  Tchaka  deter- 
mined upon'  another  expiatory  sacrifice,  as 
a  preliminary  to  the  ceremony  liy  which  he 
went  out  of  mourning.  This,  however,  did 
not  take  place,  owing  to  the  remonstrances 
of  Mr.  Fynn,  who  succeeded  in  persuading 
the  despot  to  spare  the  lives  of  his  subjects. 
One    reason  why  Tchaka  acceded   to  the 


iiUlUAL  OF  TCIIAKA'S  MOTIIKU.    (Soe  page  ;;u:;.> 
(203) 


ABANDONMENT  OF   THE   AGED. 


205 


request  was  his  amusement  at  the  notion 
of  a  white  man  pleading  for  tlie  life  of 
"  dogs." 

The  whole  of  the  able-bodied  part  of  the 
population  had  taken  warning  by  the  mas- 
sacre of  the  previous  year,  and  presented 
themselves  at  the  ceremony.  They  were 
arranged  in  regiments,  and,  as  soou  as  the 
diief  made  his  appearance,  they  moved 
simultaneously  to  the  tops  of  the  hills  that 
surrounded  the  great  kraal  in  which  the 
ceremony  was  to  take  place.  Upward  of  a 
liundred"  thousand  oxen  were  brought  to- 
gether to  grace  the  ceremony,  their  bellow- 
ing being  tliought  to  be  a  grateful  sound  to 
the  spirits  of  the  dead.  Standing  amidst 
this  savage  accompaniment  to  his  voice, 
Tchaka  began  to  weep  and  sob  loudly,  the 
whole  assembly  echoing  the  sound,  as  in 
duty  bound,  and  making  a  most  hideous 
din.  This  noisy  rite  began  in  the  after- 
noon, and  closed  at  sunset,  when  Tchaka 
ordered  a  quantity  of  cattle  to  lie  killed  for 
a  feast.  Next  day  came  the  ceremony  by 
which  Tchaka  was  released  from  his  state  of 
mourning.  Every  man  who  owned  cattle 
had  brouglit  at  least  one  calf  with  him,  and 
when  tlie  king  took  his  place  in  the  centre 
of  the  kraal,  each  man  cut  open  the  right 
side  of  the  calf,  tore  out  the  gall-bladder, 
and  left  the  wretched  creature  to  die.  Each 
regiment  then  moved  in  succession  before 
Tchaka,  and,  as  it  marched  slowly  round 
him,  every  man  sprinkled  gall  over  him. 
After  he  had  been  thus  covered  with  gall, 
he  was  washed  by  the  prophets  with  certain 
preparations  of  their  own;  and  with  this 
ceremony  the  whole  proceedings  ended, 
and  Tchaka  was  out  of  mourning. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  in 
some  instances,  especially  those  where  the 
dead  have  been  murdered  by  command  of 
the  king,  or  have  been  tortured  to  death  as 
wizards,  the  bodies  are  merely  dragged  into 
the  bush,  and  are  left  to  be  devoured  by 
the  hyajnas  and  the  vultures.  Cases  are 
also  known  where  a  person  on  the  pf)int  of 
death  has  been  thrown  into  the  river  by  the 
relatives  before  life  was  quite  extinct.  The 
actors  in  these  strange  tragedies  seem  to 
have  thought  that  the  dying  person  need 
not  be  particular  about  an  hour  more  or 
less  in  the  world,  especially  as  by  such  a 
proceeding  they  freed  themselves  from  the 
hated  duty  of  handling  a  dead  body.  Some- 
times those  who  are  sick  to  death  receive 
even  a  more  horrible  treatment  than  the 
comparatively  merciful  death  by  drowning, 
or  by  the  jaws  of  crocodiles;  the  dying  and 
the  very  old  and  infirm  being  left  to  perish, 
with  a  small  supply  of  food  and  drink, 
enough  to  sustain  life  for  a  day  or  two. 
Mr.  Gallon  relates  one  such  instance  that 
occurred  within  his  own  experience. 

"  I  saw  a  terrible  sight  on  the  way,  which 
has  oftea  haunted  me  since.    We  had  taken 


a  short  cut,  and  were  a  day  and  a  half  from 
our  wagons,  when  I  observed  some  smoke 
in  front,  and  rode  to  see  what  it  was.  An 
immense  black-thorn  tree  was  smoulder- 
ing, and,  from  the  quantity  of  ashes  about, 
there  was  all  the  appearance  of  its  having 
burnt  for  a  long  time.  By  it  were  tracks 
that  we  could  make  nothing  of —  no  foot- 
marks, only  an  impression  of  a  hand  here 
and  there.  We  follov/ed  thon,  and  found  a 
wretched  woman,  most  horribly  emaciated; 
both  her  feet  were  burnt  quite  off,  and  the 
wounds  were  open  and  unhealed.  Her  ac- 
count was  that,  many  days  liack,  she  and 
others  were  encamping  there;  and  when 
she  was  asleep,  a  dry  but  standing  tree, 
wliich  they  had  set  tire  to,  fell  down  and 
entangled  her  among  its  lu'anches:  there 
she  was  burnt  before  she  could  extricate 
herself,  and  her  peojile  left  her.  She  had 
since  lived  on  gum  alone,  of  which  there 
were  vast  quantities  about:  it  oozes  down 
from  the  trees,  and  forms  large  cakes  in  the 
sand.  There  was  water  close  by,  for  she 
was  on  the  edge  of  a  river-bed.  I  did  not 
know  what  to  do  with  her;  I  had  no  means 
of  conveying  her  anywhere,  nor  any  place 
to  convey  her  to. 

"  The  Damaras  kill  useless  and  worn-out 
people  —  even  sons  smother  their  sick  fa- 
thers; and  death  was  not  far  from  her.  I 
had  tliree  sheep  with  me;  so  I  ott-packed, 
and  killed  one.  She  seemed  ravenous;  and, 
though  I  purposely  had  oft-packed  some 
two  hundred  yards  from  her,  yet  the  poor 
wretch  kept  crawling  and  dragging  herself 
up  to  me,  and  would  not  be  withheld, 
for  fear  I  should  forget  to  give  her  the 
food  I  promised.  When  it  was  ready,  and 
she  had  devoured  what  I  gave  her,  the  meat 
acted  as  it  often  does  in  such  cases,  and 
fairly  intoxicated  her;  she  attempted  to 
stand,  regardless  of  the  pain,  and  sang,  and 
tossed  her  lean  arms  about.  It  was  perfectly 
sickening  to  witness  the  spectacle.  I  did  the 
only  thing  I  could;  I  cut  the  rest  of  the 
meat  in  strips,  and  hung  it  within  her  reach, 
and  when.',  the  sun  would  jerk  (i.e.  dry  and 
preserve)  it.  It  was  many  days'  provision 
for  her.  I  saw  she  had  water,  firewood,  and 
gum  in  abundance,  and  then  I  left  her  to 
her  fate." 

This  event  took  place  among  the  Dama- 
ras; but  Captain  Gardiner  mentions  that 
among  the  Zulus  a  dying  woman  was  car- 
ried into  the  bush,  and  left  there  to  perish 
in  solitude.  That  such  a  custom  does  pre- 
vail is  evident,  and  it  is  likely  that  it  may 
be  more  frequently  practised  than  is  gen- 
erally supposed.  People  of  rank  are  tended 
cai'etully  enough  during  sickness;  but  men 
and  women  of  low  condition,  especially  if 
they  are  old  and  feeble,  as  well  as  prostrated 
with  sickness,  are  not  likely  to  have  much 
chance  of  being  nursed  in  a  counti-y  whese 
human  life  is  so  little  valued. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


DOifESTIC  LIFE. 


Bia;EPING  ACCOMMODATION— HOW  SOLDIERS  ON  THE  CAjrPAlGN  SLEEP  — THE  KAFFIR'S  BED  — IGNO- 
RANCE OF  WEAVING— PORTABLE  FURNITURE  — A  SLNGDLAR  PROJECTILE —THE  KAFFIR'S  PILLOW 
—  ITS  MATERIAL  AND  USUAL  SHAPE  —  A  KAFFIR'S  IDEAS  OF  ORNAMENT — MODE  OF  REPOSING  — 
DI-NGAN  AT  HOME  —  DOMESTIC  DISCIPLLNE  —  KAFFIR  MUSIC  —  ENERGETIC  PERFORMANCE  —  SOME 
NATIVE  MELODIES  — QUALITY  OP  VOICE —  MUSICAL  LNSTRUMENTS  —  THE  "  HARP  "  AND  MODE  OF 
PLAYING  IT  — PECULIAR  TONES  OF  THE  HARP  — THE  K.\FFm'S  FLUTE  —  EARTHENWARE  AMONG 
THE  K.^EFLRS- WOMEN  THE  ONLY  POTTERS  — HOW  THE  POTS  ARE  MADE— GENERAL  FORM  OP 
THE  POTS  AND  THEIR  USES— EARTHEN  GRAIN-STORES —  THRESHING  OUT  GRAtN  BEFORE  STOW- 
AGE—  THE  TREES  OF  AFRICA  —  THE  THORNS  AND  THEIR  PROPERTIES  —  THE  GRAPPLE-PLANT  — 
THE  WAIT-A-BIT,   AND  HOOK-AND-SPIKE   THORNS — MONKEV-ROPBS  —  VARIOUS  TISIBERS. 


The  sleeping  accommodation  of  a  Kaffir  is 
of  the  simplest  kind,  and  to  European  minds 
forms  about  as  nncomtbrtable  a  set  of  arti- 
cles as  can  be  imagined.  Indeed,  with 
many  of  the  young  unmarried  men,  the 
only  permanent  accommodation  for  sleeping 
is  that  which  is  furnished  by  the  floor  of  the 
hut,  or  the  ground  itself  if  they  should  be 
forced  to  sleep  in  the  open  air.  Soldiers  on 
a  campaign  always  sleep  on  the  ground,  and 
as  they  are  forced  to  leave  all  their  clothes 
behind  them,  they  seek  repose  in  the  most 
primitive  manner  imaginable.  It  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned  that,  in  oi-der  to 
secure  celerity  of  movement,  a  Kaffir  soldier 
carries  nothing  but  his  weapon,  and  is  not 
even  encumbered  by  dress.  Hence  he  has 
a  notable  advantage  over  European  soldiers, 
who  would  soon  perish  by  disease  were  they 
obliged  to  go  through  a  campaign  without 
beds,  tents,  kit,  or  commissariat. 

Our  Highland  soldiers  are  less  dependent 
on  accessory  comforts  than  most  European 
regiments,  and  will  contentedly  wrap  them- 
selves in  their  plaids,  use  their' knapsacks  as 
pillows,  and  betake  themselves  to  sleep  in 
the  open  air.  But  they  liave  at  all  events 
their  plaid,  while  the"  Kaffir  warrior  has 
nothing  but  his  shield,  which  he  may  use 
as  a  bed  if  he  likes,  and  it  is,  perhaps,  for- 
tunate for  him  that  long  training  in  hard 
marclies  renders  him  totally  indifferent  as 
to  the  spot  on  which  he  is  to  lie.  His  chief 
care  is  that  the  place  which  he  selects 
should  not  be  wet,  or  be  in  the  close  neigh- 


borhood of  ants'  nests  or  snakes'  haunts, 
and  his  next  care  is  to  arrange  his  body  and 
limbs  so  as  to  fit  the  inequalities  of'  the 
ground.  As  to  the  hardness  of  his  extem- 
porized couch,  he  tliinks  little  or  nothing 
of  it. 

But  when  our  Kaffir  lad  is  admitted  into 
the  ranks  of  men,  and  takes  to  himself  his 
first  wife,  he  indulges  in  the  double  luxury 
of  a  bed  and  a  pillow  —  the  former  being 
made  of  grass  stems  and  the  latter  of  wood. 
This  article  of  furniture  is  almost  the  same 
throughout  Southern  Africa,  and,  among 
the  true  Kaffir  tribes,  the  bed  of  the  king 
himself  and  that  of  his  meanest  subject  are 
identical  in  material  and  shape.  It  is  made 
of  the  stems  of  grasses,  some  three  feet  in 
length,  and  about  as  thick  as  crowquills. 
These  are  laid  side  by  side,  and  are  fastened 
together  by  means  of  double  strings  which 
pass  round  the  grass  stems,  and  are  continu- 
ally crossed  backward  and  forward  so  as  to 
form  them  into  a  mat  about  three  feet  in 
width  and  six  in  length.  This  method  of 
tying  the  grass  stems  together  is  almost 
identical  with  that  which  is  employed  by 
the  native  tribes  that  inhaliit  the  banks  of 
the  Essequibo  River,  in  tying  together  the 
slender  arrows  which  they  project  through 
their  blow-guns.  The  ends  of  the  grass 
stems  are  all  turned  over  and  flrmly  bound 
down  with  string,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of 
selvage,  which  protects  the  mat  from  being 
unravelled. 

On  looking  at  one  of  these  sleeping-mats, 


I 


(206) 


KAFFIR  BED   FURNITURE. 


207 


the  observer  is  apt  to  fancy  that  a  vast 
anioutit  of  needless  trouble  has  been  taken 
with  it  —  that  the  maker  would  have  done  his 
work  quicker  and  better,  and  that  the  article 
itself  would  have  looked  much  more  elegant, 
liad  he  woven  the  materials  instead  of  lash- 
inn;  them  with  string.  But  the  Kaffir  has 
not  the  faintest  idea  of  weaving,  and  even 
the  primitive  hand-loom,  which  is  so  preva- 
lent in  dirterent  parts  of  the  world,  is  not 
to  be  found  in  Southern  Africa. 

The  Kaffir  can  dress  skins  as  well  as  any 
European  furrier.  He  can  execute  basket- 
work  which  no  professional  basket-maker 
can  even  imitate,  much  less  rival.  He  can 
make  spear  blades  and  a.xes  which  are  more 
suitable  to  his  country  than  the  best  speci- 
mens of  European  manufacture.  But  he 
has  not  the  least  notion  of  the  very  simple 
operation  of  weaving  threads  into  cloth. 
This  ignorance  of  an  almost  universal  art  is 
the  more  remarkable  because  he  can  weave 
leather  thongs  and  coarse  hairs  into  elab- 
orate ornaments,  and  can  string  beads  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  fiat  belts  or  even  aprons. 
Still,  such  is  the  fact,  and  a  very  curious 
fact  it  is. 

AVhen  the  sleeper  awakes  in  the  morning, 
the  bed  is  rolled  into  a  cylindrical  form, 
lashed  together  with  a  hide  thong,  and  sus- 
pended out  of  the  way  in  the  hut.  The 
student  of  Scripture  will  naturally  be  re- 
minded of  the  command  issued  to  the  par- 
alytic man,  to  "  take  up  his  bed  and  walk," 
the  bed  in  question  being  the  ordinary  thin 
mattress  in  use  in  the  East,  which  is  spread 
flat  on  the  ground  when  in  use,  and  is  rolled 
up  and  put  away  as  soon  as  the  sleeper  rises 
from  his  couch.  If  a  Kaffir  moves  from  one 
residence  to  another,  his  wife  carries  his 
bed  with  her,  sometimes  having  her  own 
couch  Iialanced  on  the  top  of  her  head,  and 
her  husljand's  strapped  to  her  shoulders. 
This  latter  mode  of  carrying  fhe  bed  may  be 
seen  in  the  illustration  "  Dolls,"  on  page  33, 
where  the  woman  is  shown  with  the  bed 
partly  hidden  under  her  kaross. 

Should  the  Kaffir  be  a  man  of  rather  a 
hi.vurious  disposition,  he  orders  his  wife  to 
pluck  a  quantity  of  grass  or  fresh  leaves. 
and  by  strewing  them  thickly  on  the  ground 
and  spreading  the  mat  over  them,  he  pro- 
cures a  bed  which  even  an  ordinary  Euro- 
pean would  not  despise.  Although  the  bed 
is  large  enough  to  accommodate  a  full-sized 
man,  it  is  wonderfully  light.  My  own  spe- 
cimen, which  is  a  very  fair  example  of  a 
Kaffir  bed,  weighs  exactly  two  pounds  and 
one  ounce,  so  that  the  person  who  carries  it 
is  incommoded  not  so  much  by  its  weight  as 
by  its  bulk.  The  bulk  is,  however,  greatly 
diminished  by  the  firmness  with  which  it  is 
rolled  up,  so  that  it  is  made  into  a  cylinder 
only  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter.  The 
reader  may  remember  a  story  of  a  run- 
away bride,  named  Uzinto,  who  rather 
astonished  a  Kaffir  chief  by  pitching  her 

11 


bed  headlong  through  the  door  of  the  hut. 
By  reference  to  the  illustration  on  page  ;J09, 
it  is  easy  to  see  how  readily  the  bed  conic  I  be 
thrown  through  the  narrow  entrance,  and 
how  sharp  a  blow  could  be  struck  by  it  if 
thrown  with  any  force. 

The  pillow  used  by  the  Kaffir  is  even  less 
comfortable  than  his  bed,  inasmuch  as  it 
consists  of  nothing  but  a  block  of  wood. 
The  shape  and  dimensions  of  these  pillows 
are  extremely  variable.  The  specimens  that 
I  have  are  fifteen  inches  in  length  and  nearly 
six  in  height,  and,  as  they  are  cut  out  of 
solid  blocks  of  the  acacia  tree,  the  weight  is 
considerable. 

Upon  the  pillow  the  maker  has  bestowed 
great  pains,  and  has  carved  the  eight  legs  in 
a  very  elaliorate  manner,  cutting  tliem  into 
pyramidal  patterns,  and  charring  the  alter- 
nate sides  of  each  little  pyramid,  so  as  to 
produce  the  contrast  of  black  and  white 
which  seems  to  be  the  Kaffir's  ideal  of  beauty 
in  wood-carving.  It  may  here  be  noticed 
that  the  Kaffir  is  not  at  all  inventive  in  pat- 
terns, and  that  a  curious  contrast  exists 
lietween  his  architecture  and  his  designs. 
The  former,  it  may  be  remarked,  is  all  built 
upon  curved  lines,  while  in  the  latter  the 
lines  are  nearly  straight.  It  is  very  seldom 
indeed  that  au  uncivilized  Kaffir  draws  a 
pattern  which  is  not  based  upon  straight 
lines,  and  even  in  those  instances  where  he 
introduces  circular  patterns  the  circles  are 
small. 

Comfortless  as  these  pillows  seem  to  us, 
they  are  well  enough  suited  to  the  Kaffir; 
even  the  married  men,  whose  heads  are 
closely  shaven,  and  who  have  not  even  the 
protection  of  their  hair  against  the  hardness 
of  the  wood,  are  far  better  pleased  with  their 
pillow  than  they  would  be  with  the  softest 
cushion  that  could  be  manufactured  out  of 
down  and  satin.  Nor  is  this  taste  peculiar 
to  the  Kaffir,  or  even  to  the  savage.  No 
Englishman  who  has  been  accustomed  to  a 
hard  and  simple  mattress  would  feel  com- 
fortable if  obliged  to  sleep  in  a  feather-bed; 
and  many  travellers  who  have  been  long 
accustomed  to  sleep  on  the  ground  have 
never  been  able  to  endure  a  bed  afterward. 
I  have  known  several  such  travellers,  one  of 
whom  not  only  extended  his  dislike  of  Eng- 
lish sleeping  accommodations  to  the  be^l, 
l)ut  to  the  very  pillow,  for  which  article  he 
always  substituted  a  block  of  oak,  slightly 
rounded  at  the  top. 

The  illustration,  "Dingan  at  home,"  on 
page  209,  represents  the  mode  in  which  a 
Kaffir  reposes.  The  individual  who  is  re- 
clining is  the  great  Kaffir  monarch.  Dingan, 
and  the  reader  will  observe  that  his  bed  is 
a  mere  mat,  and  that  his  pillow  is  only  a 
block  of  wood.  The  hut  which  is  here  rep- 
resented is  the  celebrated  one  which  he 
built  at  his  garrison  town  Ukunginglove, 
and  it  was  specially  noted  because  it  was 
supported  by  twenty  pillars.    The  fireplace 


THE  KAFFIR. 


of  this  hut  was  remarkable  for  its  shape, 
wliich.  instead  of  beiufl;  tlie  simple  circle  in 
general  use  among  the  Kaftirs,  resembled  in 
form  that  ornament  which  is  l^nown  to  archi- 
tects by  the  name  of  quatrefoil.  A  few  of 
his  wives  are  seen  seated  round  the  apart- 
ment, and,  as  Dingan  was  so  great  a  man, 
they  were  not  ]iermitted  to  stand  upright,  or 
even  to  use  their  feet  in  any  way,  so  that,  if 
they  wished  to  move  from  one  part  of  the 
hut  to  another,  they  were  obliged  to  shuffle 
about  on  their  knees.  Tlie  illustration  is 
taken  ft-om  a  sketch  by  Captain  Gardiner, 
who  was  invited  liy  Dingan  to  an  interview 
in  the  house,  and  during  wdiich  interview 
he  rather  astonished  his  guest  by  retiring 
for  a  short  time,  and  then  presenting  him- 
self witli  his  face,  limbs,  and  body  entirely 
covered  with  red  and  white  spots,  like  those 
on  toy  horses. 

The  reader  can  form,  from  the  contem- 
plation of  this  drawing,  a  tolerably  accurate 
idea  of  the  lu.xuries  afforded  by  the  wild, 
savage  life  which  some  authors  are  so  fond 
of  praising. 

As  to  music,  the  Kaffir  has  rather  curious 
ideas  on  the  subject.    His  notion  of  melody 


ing  their  polished  bodies  backward  and  for- 
ward as  if  tliey  were  one  man,  and  aiding 
the  time  by  thumping  the  ground  with  their 
knob-kerries,  and  bringing  their  elbows  vio- 
lently against  their  ribs  so  as  to  expel  the 
notes  from  their  lungs  with  double  emphasis. 
Some  of  tlie  tunes  which  are  sung  by 
the  Kaffirs  at  their  dances  are  here  given, 
tlie  music  lieing  taken  from  the  Rev.  J. 
Shooter's  work.  The  reader  will  at  once 
see  how  boldly  the  time  is  marked  in  them, 
and  how  well  they  are  adapted  for  their 
purpose.  Neither  are  they  entirely  desti- 
tute of  tune,  the  last  especially  having  a 
wild  and  quaint  sort  of  melody,  which  is 
calculated  to  take  a  strong  hold  of  the  eai", 
and  to  haunt  the  memories  of  those  who 
have  heard  it  sung  as  only  Kaffirs  can  sing 
it.  Among  some  of  the  "Bosjesman  tribe.s 
a  sort  of  harmony — or  rather  sustained 
discord  —  is  employed,  as  will  be  seen  in  a 
succeeding  page,  but  the  Zulus  seem  to 
excel  in  unison  songs,  the  force  of  which 
can  he  imagined  by  those  who  are  familiar 
with  the  grand  old  hymns  and  Gregorian 
tunes  that  have  been  suffered  to  lie  so  long 
in  obscurity. 


sijfg^^] 


m^M 


IV. 


tSIow.  f 


'W- 


:«E^EHE^ES=EE^^^E^EEi 


■-zziz-  T 


is  but  very  slight,  while  his  timing  is  perfec- 
tion itself.  The  songs  of  the  Kaffir  tribes 
have  already  been  mentioned,  and  the  very 
fact  that  several  hundred  men  will  sing  tlie 
various  war  songs  as  if  they  were  animated 
with  a  single  spirit  shows  that  they  must 
all  keep  the  most  ex.act  time.  In  this  point 
they  aid  themselves  by  the  violent  gestures 
in  which  they  indulge.  A  Kaffir  differs 
from  an  European  vocalist  in  this  point, 
namely,  that  he  always,  if  possible,  sits 
down  when  he  sings.  "He  and  his  coni]ian- 
ions  will  squat  in  a  circle,  sometimes  three 
or  four  rows  deep,  and  will  shout  some  well- 
kuown  song  at  the  top  of  tlieir  voices,  sway- 


Of  course,  the  quality  of  a  Kaffir's  voice  is 
not  that  which  would  ple.ase  an  European 
vocalist.  Like  all  uncultivated  songsters, 
the  Kaffir  delights  in  strong  contrasts,  now 
using  a  high  falsetto,  and  now  dropping  sud- 
denly into  a  grutf  bass.  It  is  a  very  remark- 
able'tact  that  this  method  of  managing  the 
voice  is  tolerably  universal  throughout  the 
world,  and  that  the  accomplished  vocalist 
of  Kaffirland,  of  Cliina,  of  Japan,  of  Persia, 
and  of  Arabia,  sings  ^vith  exactly  that  fal- 
setto voice,  that  nasal  twang,  and  that  abrupt 
transition  from  the  highest  to  the  lo^yest 
notes,  which  characterize  our  uneducated 
singers  in  rural  districts.     Put  a  Wiltshire 


(a.)  WOMEN  QUARRELLING.    (See  page  213.) 
(209) 


MUSICAL  IXSTKUMEXTS. 


211 


laborer  and  a  Chinese  gentleman  into  dif- 
ferent rooms,  sliut  tlie  doors  so  as  to  exclude 
the  pronunciation  of  the  words,  ask  them  to 
sing  one  of  their  ordinary  songs,  and  the 
hearer  will  scarcely  be  able  to  decide  which 
room  holds  the  English  and  which  the 
Chinese  vocalist.  In  the  specimens  of  music 
which  have  been  given,  the  reader  will 
notice  in  several  places  the  sudden  rise  or 
drop  of  a  whole  octave,  and  also  the  curi- 
ously jerking  effect  of  many  passages,  botn 
eminently  characteristic  of  music  as  per- 
formed in  country  villages  where  modern 
art  has  not  modified  the  voice. 

The  musical  instruments  of  the  Kaffir  are 
ver}'  few,  and  those  of  the  most  simple  kind. 
One  is  the  whistle  that  is  often  diverted  from 
its  normal  duty  as  a  mere  whistle,  to  become 
a  musical  instrument,  which,  although  it  has 
no  range  of  notes,  can  at  all  events  make 
itself  heard  through  any  amount  of  vocal 
accompaniment.  And,  as  a  Kattir  thinks 
that  a  song  is  no  song  unless  it  is  to  be  sung 
with  the  whole  power  of  the  lungs,  so  does 
he  think  that  the  whistle  in  ipiestion  is  a 
valuable  instrument  in  his  limited  orchestra. 

There  is,  however,  one  musical  instru- 
ment which  is  singularly  soft  and  low  in  its 
tones,  and  yet  which  is  in  great  favor  with 
the  KaHir  musicians.  This  is  the  instru- 
ment which  is  sometimes  called  a  harp, 
sometimes  a  guitar,  and  sometimes  a  fiddle, 
aud  which  has  an  equal  right  to  either  title, 
inasmuch  as  it  has  not  the  least  reseml)lance 
to  either  of  those  instruments.  For  the 
sake  of  brevity,  we  will  take  the  first  of 
these  names,  and  call  it  a  harp.  At  first 
sight,  the  spectator  would  proljably  take  it 
for  an  ordinary  bow,  to  which  a  gourd  had 
been  tied  b}'  way  of  ornament,  and,  indeed, 
I  have  known  the  instrument  to  be  thus 
described  in  a  catalogue. 

The  instrument  which  is  represented  in 
the  illustration  entitled  "  Harp "  on  page 
1.55  is  taken  from  a  specimen  which  wa,s 
brought  from  the  Natal  district  by  the 
late  H.  Jackson,  Esq.,  to  whom  I  am  in- 
debted for  so  many  of  the  weapons  and  im- 
plements which  appear  in  this  work.  The 
bow  is  about  five  feet  in  length,  and  is  made 
exactly  as  if  it  were  intended  to  be  used  for 
propelling  arrows.  The  true  Kaffir,  how- 
ever, never  uses  the  bow  in  warfare,  or 
even  in  hunting,  thinking  it  to  be  a  cow- 
ardly sort  of  weapon,  unworthy  of  the  hand 
of  a  warrior,  and  looking  upon  it  in  much 
the  same  light  as  the  knights  of  old  looked 
first  on  the  cross-bows,  and  afterward  on 
fire-arms,  neither  of  which  weapons  give 
ftiir  play  for  a  warrior's  skill  and  strength. 
The  cord  is  made  of  twisted  hair,  and  is 
much  longer  than  the  bow,  so  that  it  can  be 
tightly  or  loosely  strung  according  to  the 
tone  which  the  "dusky  musician  desires  to 
produce.  Near  one  end  of  the  bow  a  round 
hollow  gourd  is  firmly  lashed  by  means  of  a 
rather  complicated  arrangement  of  leathern 


thongs.  When  the  gourd  is  in  its  place, 
and  the  string  is  tightened  to  its  proper 
tension,  the  instrument  is  complete. 

When  the  Kaffir  musician  desires  to  use 
it,  he  holds  it  with  the  gourd  upon  his  breast, 
and  strikes  the  cord  with  a  small  stick,  pro- 
ducing a  series  of  sounds  which  are  cer- 
tainly rather  musical  than  otherwise,  Imt 
which  are  so  faint  as  to  be  scarcely  audible 
at  the  distance  of  a  few  yards.  Although 
the  sound  is  so  feeble,  and  the  instrument 
is  intended  for  time  rather  than  tone,  the 
Kaffirs  are  very  fond  of  it,  and  will  play  on 
it  by  the  hour  together,  their  enthusiasm 
being  quite  unintelligible  to  an  European 
ear. 

Generally  the  performer  is  content  with 
the  tones  which  he  obtains  by  stringing  the 
bow  to  a  certain  note,  but  an  expert  jilayer 
is  not  content  with  such  an  arrangement. 
He  attaches  a  short  thong  to  the  stri'ng,  and 
to  the  end  of  the  thong  he  fostens  a  ring. 
The  forefinger  of  the  "left  hand  is  passed 
through  thering,  and  the  performer  is  able 
as  he  plays  to  vary  the  tone  by  altering  the 
tension  of  the  string.  The  object  of  the 
calabash  is  to  give  depth  and  resonance  to 
the  sound,  audit  is  remarkable  that  a  similar 
contrivance  is  in  use  in  many  parts  of  the 
world,  hollow  bamboo  tubes,  earthenw.are 
drums,  and  brass  vessels  being  used  for  the 
same  jjurpose. 

The  reader  may  perhaps  remember  that 
in  the  middle  ages,  and  indeed  in  some  dis- 
tricts up  to  a  comparatively  later  time,  a 
single-stringed  fiddle  was  used  in  the  coun- 
try. It  was  simply  a  bow,  with  a  blown 
bladder  inserted  between  the  string  and  the 
staff,  and  looked  very  much  like  the  Kaffir 
instrument  with  the  gourd  turned  inside,  so 
as  to  allow  the  string  to  pass  over  it.  In- 
stead of  being  merely  struck  with  a  small 
stick,  it  was  played  with  a  rude  kind  of 
flow;  but,  even  in  the  hands  of  the  most 
skilful  performer,  its  tones  must  have  been 
anj'thing  but  melodious.  The  Kafiir  harp 
is  used  both  by  men  and  women.  There 
is  also  a  kind  of  rude  fiageolet,  or  fiute, 
made  of  a  reed,  which  is  used  by  the  Kaffirs. 
This  instrument  is,  however,  more  general 
among  the  Becliuauas,  and  will  be  described 
in  a  future  page. 

In  the  course  of  the  work,  mention  has 
been  made  of  the  earthenware  jiots  used  by 
the  Kaffirs.  These  vessels  are  of  the  rudest 
imaginable  description,  and  aftbrd  a  curious 
contrast  to  the  delicate  and  elaborate  liasket- 
work  which  has  been  already  mentioned. 
When  a  Kaffir  makes  his  baskets,  whether 
he  be  employed  upon  a  small  milk-vessel  or 
a  large  store-house,  he  invents  tlie  most 
delicate  and  elaborate  patterns,  and,  out  of 
the  simplest  possible  materials,  produces 
work  which  no  European  basket-maker  can 
surpass.  But  when  vessels  are  to  be  made 
with  clay  the  inventive  powers  of  the  maker 


212 


THE  K^\JFIR. 


seem  to  cease,  and  the  pattern  is  as  inferior 
as  tlie  material.  Perhaps  this  inferiority 
may  be  tlie  result  of  the  fact  that  basket- 
making  belongs  to  the  men,  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  cut  jiatterns  of  various  kinds  ujjon 
their  spoons  and  gourds,  whereas  the  art  of 
pottery,  which  implies  really  hard  work,  such 
as  digging  and  kneading  clay,  is  handed 
over  to  the  women,  who  are  accustomed  to 
doing  drudgery. 

The  Katiu-  has  no  knowledge  of  ma- 
chinery, and,  just  as  he  is  ignorant  of  the 
rudest  form  of  a  loom  for  weaving  thread 
into  fabrics,  so  is  he  incapable  of  making 
the  simplest  kind  of  a  wheel  by  which  he 
may  aid  the  hand  in  the  shaping"  of  pottery. 
This  is  perhaps  the  more  remarkable,  as 
the  love  of  the  circular  form  is  so  strong  in 
the  Kafiir  mind  that  we  might  naturally 
imagine  him  to  invent  a  simple  kind  of 
wheel  like  that  which  is  employed  liy  the 
peasants  of  India.  But,  as  may  be  conjec- 
tured from  the  only  attempts  at  machinery 
which  a  Kattir  makes,  namely,  a  bellows 
whereby  he  saves  his  breath,  and  the  ex- 
tremely rude  mill  whereby  he  saves  his 
teeth,  the  construction  of  a  revolving  wheel 
is  far  beyond  him.  In  making  their  pots 
the  women  break  to  pieces  the  nests  of  the 
white  ant,  and,  after  pounding  the  material 
to  a  fine  powder,  mix  it  with  water,  and 
then  knead  it  until  it  is  of  a  proper  consist- 
ency. They  then  form  the  clay  into  rings, 
and  build  up  the  pots  by  degrees,  laying- 
one  ring  regularly  upon  another  until  the 
requisite  shape  is  olitained.  It  is  evident 
therefore,  that  the  manufacture  of  a  toler- 
ably large  pot  is  a  process  wliich  occupies  a 
consideraljle  time,  because  it  has  to  be  built 
up  very  slowly,  lest  it  should  sink  under  its 
own  weight. 

The  only  tool  which  is  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  KatHr  pcittery  is  a  piece  of  wood, 
with  which  the  operator  scrapes  the  clay 
rings  as  she  applies  them,  so  as  to  give  a 
tolerably  smooth  surface,  and  with  which 
she  can  apjily  little  pieces  of  clay  where 
there  is  a  deficiency.  The  shapes  of  these 
pots  and  pans  are  exceedingly  clumsy,  and 
their  ungainly  look  is  increased  by  the  fre- 
quency with  which  they  become  lop-sided 
in  consequence  of  impi-rfect  drying.  Ex- 
amples of  these  articles  may  be  seen  in 
several  parts  of  this  work.  At  the  farther 
end  of  the  illustration  I^o.  1,  on  page  63, 
may  be  seen  several  of  the  larger  pots, 
which  are  used  for  holding  grain  after  it 
has  been  husked. 

The  operation  of  husking,  by  the  way,  is 
rather  a  peculiar  one,  and  not  at  all  pleasant 
for  the  spectators  who  care  for  their  eyes 
or  faces.  The  dry  heads  of  maize  are 
thrown  in  a  heap  upon  the  hard  and  pol- 
ished floor  of  the  hut,  and  a  number  of 
Kaffirs  sit  in  a  circle  round  the  heap,  each 
being  furnished  with  the  ever-useful  knob- 
kerrie.    One  of  them  strikes  up  a  song,  and 


the  others  join  in  full  chorus,  beating  time 
with  their  clubs  upon  the  heads  of  maize. 
This  is  a  very  exciting  amusement  for  the 
performers,  who  shout  the  noisy  chorus  at 
the  highest  pitch  of  their  lungs,  and  beat 
time  by  striking  their  knob-iierries  upon 
the  grain.  With  every  blow  of  the  heavy 
club,  the  maize  grains  are  struck  from  their 
husks,  and  fly  about  the  hut  in  all  directions, 
threatening  injury,  if  not  absolute  destruc- 
tion, to  the  eyes  of  all  who  are  present  in 
the  hut.  Yet  the  threshers  appear  to  enjoy 
an  immunity  which  seems  to  lie  restricted 
to  themselves  and  blacksmiths;  and  while  a 
stranger  is  anxiously  shading  his  eyes  from 
the  shower  of  hard  maize  grains,  the  thresh- 
ers themselves  do  not  give  a  thought  to  the 
safety  of  their  eyes,  but  sing  at  the  top  of 
their  voice,  pound  away  at  the  corn  cobs, 
and  make  the  grains  fl}"  in  all  directions,  as 
if  the  chorus  of  the  song  were  the  chief 
object  in  life,  and  the  preservation  of  their 
eyesight  were  unworthy  of  a  thought. 

After  the  maize  has  been  thus  separated 
from  the  husk,  a  large  portion  is  hidden 
away  in  the  subterranean  granaries,  which 
have  already  been  mentioned,  while  a  con- 
sideraljle  quantity  is  placed  in  their  large 
earthen  jars  for  home  consumjilion.  In 
boiling  meat,  two  pots  are  employed,  one 
being  used  as  a  cover  inverted  over  the 
other,  and  the  two  are  luted  tightly  to- 
gether so  as  to  preserve  the  flavor  of  the 
meat.  Except  tor  the  three  purposes  of 
preserving  grain,  cooking  food,  and  boiling 
beer,  the  Kattir  seldom  uses  earthenware 
vessels,  his  light  baskets  answering  every 
purpose,  and  being  very  much  more  con- 
venient for  handling. 

From  the  preceding  pages,  tlie  reader 
may  form  a  tolerable"  idea  of  the  habits 
and  customs  of  the  tribes  which  inhabit  this 
portion  of  the  world,  and  of  whom  one  race 
has  been  selected  as  the  typical  exam- 
ple. Of  the  many  other  trilies  but  slight 
notice  will  be  taken,  and  only  the  most 
salient  points  of  their  character  will  be 
mentioned.  On  the  whole  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  life  of  a  South  African  savage  is 
not  so  repulsive  as  is  often  thought  to  be 
the  case,  and  that,  bating  a  few  particuhii's, 
a  Kattir  lives  a  tolerably  hajipy  and  peaceful 
life.  He  is  of  course  "called  n|ion  to  serve 
in  the  army  for  a  certain  time,  but  he 
shares  this  liability  with  inhabitants  of  most 
civilized  nations,  and  when  he  returns  alter 
the  campaign  he  is  rewarded  for  good  con- 
duct by  a  step  in  social  rank,  and  the  means 
whereby  to  maintain  it. 

Domestic  life  has,  of  course,  its  draw- 
hacks  among  savages  as  among  civilized 
nations;  and  there  are,  perhaps,  times  when 
the  gallant  soldier,  who  has  been  rewarded 
with  a  wife  or  two  for  his  courage  in  the 
field,  wishes  himself  once  more  engaged  on 
a  war  march.  The  natural  consequence  of 
the  low  esteem  in  which   the  women  are 


THORNS  OF   SOUTH  AFRICA. 


213 


viewed,  and  the  state  of  slavery  in  which 
they  ai-e  held,  is  that  tliey  are  apt  to  quar- 
rel fiercely  among  themselves,  and  to  vent 
upon  each  other  any  feelings  of  irritation 
that  they  are  forced  to  suppress  before  their 
lords  and  masters. 

Even  among  ourselves  we  see  how  this 
querulous  spirit  is  developed  in  proportion 
to  want  of  cultivation,  and  how,  in  the  most 
degraded  neighborhoods,  a  quarrel  starts  up 
between  two  women  on  the  very  slightest 
grounds,  and  spreads  in  all  directions  like 
tire  in  tow.  So,  in  a  Kaffir  kraal,  a  couple 
of  women  get  up  a  quarrel,  and  the  conta- 
gion immediately  spreads  around.  Every 
woman  within  hearing  must  needs  take  part 
in  the  quarrel,  just  like  dogs  when  they  hear 
their  companions  fighting,  and  the  scene  in 
the  kraal  becomes,  as  may  be  seen  by  the 
illustration  Xo.  2,  page  209,  more  lively  than 
pleasant.  Even  this  drawback  to  domestic 
life  is  not  without  its  remedy,  which  gener- 
ally takes  the  shape  of  a  stick,  so  that  the 
men,  at  least,  pass  tolerably  tranquil  lives. 
Their  chief  characteristics  are  the  absolute 
power  of  their  king,  and  their  singular  sub- 
servience to  superstition;  but,  as  they  have 
never  been  accustomed  to  consider  their 
lives  or  their  property  their  own,  they  are 
quite  happy  under  conditions  which  would 
make  an  Englishman  miserable. 

AlSTY  account  of  Southern  Africa  would  be 
imperfect  without  a  short  description  of  one 
or  two  of  the  conspicuous  trees,  especially 
of  the  thorns  which  render  the  "bush"  so 
impervious  to  an  European,  but  which  have 
no  effect  on  the  naked  and  well-oiled  skin  of 
a  Kaffir.  Frequently  the  traveller  will  pur- 
sue his  journey  for  many  days  together,  and 
will  see  scarcely  a  tree  that  does  not  possess 
thorns  more  or  less  formidable.  These 
thorns  may  be  roughly  divided  into  two 
groups,  namely,  the  straight  and  the  hooked. 

The  straiglit  thorns  are  produced  by  trees 
belonging  to  the  great  group  of  Acacias,  in 
which  Southern  Africa  is  peculiarly  rich. 
They  are  too  numerous  to  be  separately 
noticed,  and  it  is  only  needful  to  say  that 
the  two  chief  representatives  of  this  formi- 
dable tree  are  the  Kameel-dorn  {Acacia  gi- 
raffce)  and  the  Karroo-dorn  {Acacia  Caiien- 
sis).  The  former  tree  has  sharp  brown 
thorns,  very  thick  and  strong,  and  is  remark- 
able for  the  fact  that  its  pod  does  not  open 
like  that  of  most  trees  of  the  same  group. 
It  is  called  by  the  Dutch  colonists  the 
Kameel-dorn,  because  the  girafte,  or  kameel, 
grazes  upon  its  delicate  leaves;  but  its 
native  name  is  Mokaala,  and  by  that  title  it 
is  known  throughout  the  greater  imrt  of 
Southern  Africa.  The  wood  of  the  Kameel- 
dorn  varies  in  color,  being  p.ale-red  toward 
the  circumference  of  the  trunk,  and  deepen- 
ing toward  the  centre  into  dark  reddish- 
brown.  The  very  heart  of  the  tree,  which 
is  extremely  heavy,  and  of  a  very  dark  color, 


is  used  in  tlie  manufacture  of  knob-kerries, 
and  similar  articles,  the  chief  of  whicli  are 
the  handles  of  the  feather-headed  sticks, 
which  have  already  been  mentioned  in  the 
cliapter  upon  hunting.  The  tree  is  found 
almost  exclusively  on  rich  sandy  plains 
where  is  little  water. 

The  other  species,  which  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Karroo-dorn,  or  White-thorn,  is 
generally  found  on  the  'banks  of  rivers  or 
water-courses,  and  is  therefore  a  most  valu- 
able tree  to  the  tliirsty  traveller,  who  always 
looks  out  for  the  Karroo-thorn  tree,  know- 
ing that  it  is  generally  on  the  bank  of  some 
stream,  or  that  by  digging  at  its  foot  he  ma}' 
find  water.  The  leaves  of  this  tree  are 
extremely  plentiful;  but  they  are  of  so  small 
a  size  that  the  tree  attbrds  but  very  little 
shade,  and  the  eflect  of  the  sunlseams  pass- 
ing through  a  thick  clump  of  these  trees  is 
most  singular.  Several  stems  generally  rise 
from  the  same  root,  and  it  is  a  remarkable 
fact  that  the  older  trees  can  easily  be  known 
by  the  dead  branches,  which  snap  across, 
and  then  tall  downward,  so  that  their  tips 
rest  on  the  ground,  while  at  the  i)oint  of 
fracture  they  are  still  attached  to  the  tree. 
Insects,  especially  the  wood-devouring  bee- 
tles, are  supposed  to  be  the  cause  of  this 
phenomenon,  as  the  dead  branches  are  al- 
ways found  to  be  perforated  with  their 
burrows. 

Every  branch  and  twig  of  this  tree  is 
covered  with  the  sharp  white  thorns,  which 
grow  in  pairs,  and  vary  much  in  length, 
averaging  generally  from  two  to  four  inches. 
They  are  sometimes  even  seven  inches  in 
length  ;  and  deficiency  in  length  is  more 
tlian  compensated  by  great  thickness,  one  of 
them  in  some  cases  measuring  nearly  two 
inches  in  circumference.  They  are  white  in 
color,  and  are  hollow,  the  thickness  of  their 
walls  scarcely  exceeding  that  of  a  quill. 
They  are,  however,  exceedingly  strong,  and 
are  most  formidable  impediments  to  any 
who  encounter  them.  There  is  a  story  of  "a 
lion,  which  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  be- 
lieve until  I  had  seen  these  thorns,  but 
wliich  now  seems  perfectly  credible.  The 
lion  had  sprung  at  his  prey,  but  had  slipped 
in  his  spring,  and  fallen  into  a  thorn-bush, 
where  he  lay  impaled  among  the  sharp 
spikes,  and  so  died  from  the  ettects  of  his 
many  wounds.  If  the  bush  had  been  com- 
posed of  such  thorns  as  those  which  have 
Iseen  described,  it  would  have  been  a  much 
more  wonderful  thing  for  him  to  have  es- 
caped than  to  have  perished. 

The  danger,  as  well  as  anno3'ance,  which 
is  caused  by  these  thorns  may  be  imag- 
ined from  an  accident  which  befell  one  of 
Le  Vaillant's  oxen.  The  animal  happened 
to  be  driven  against  an  acacia,  and  some  of 
the  thorns  penetrated  its  breast,  of  course 
breaking  into  the  wound.  All  those  which 
could  be  seen  were  extracted  with  pincers; 
but  several  of  them  had  broken  beneath  the 


214 


THE  KAFFIR. 


skin,  and'  could  not  be  touched.  These 
caused  so  violent  an  inrtammation  that,  alter 
waiting  for  twenty-four  hours  in  hopes  of 
saving  its  life,  it  was  found  necessary  to  put 
it  to  death. 

This  thorn  is  very  useful  for  various  rea- 
sons. In  the  first  place,  its  bai'k  is  employed 
in  the  niauufacture  of  the  strings  with  which 
the  natives  weave  their  mats  together,  and 
which  they  often  use  in  tying  together  the 
flexible  sticks  which  form  the  framework  of 
their  huts.  From  the  tliorns  of  the  tree  the 
young  maidens  form  various  ornaments,  and 
with  these  thorns  they  decorate  their  heads, 
if  they  should  not  be  fortunate  enough  to 
procure  the  quills  of  the  porcupine  for  that 
purpose.  Moreover,  the  dried  wood  makes 
an  excellent  lire,  burning  easily  and  rapidly, 
and  throwing  out  a  brisk  and  glowing, 
though  rather  transient  heat. 

Several  of  the  acacias  are  useful  as  food- 
providers,  the  gum  which  exudes  from  them 
Ijeing  eaten  as  a  regular  article  of  diet.  The 
reader  may  remember  that  the  poor  Damara 
woman,  who  was  left  to  die  in  the  wilder- 
ness, was  supplied  with  gum  as  an  article  of 
food.  Several  of  the  trees  supply  the  gum 
in  very  large  quantities.  Mr.  Burchell,  the 
well-known  traveller,  thinks  that  the  gum 
which  exudes  from  these  trees  is  so  clear 
and  good  that  it  might  largely  take  the  place 
of  the  gum-arabic  of  commerce,  and  form  as 
regular  article  of  merchandise  as  the  ivory, 
liides,  and  feathers,  which  form  the  staple  of 
South  African  trade.  "  On  the  branches  of 
these  acacias,  which  have  so  great  a  resem- 
blance to  the  true  acacia  of  the  ancients,  or 
the  tree  which  yields  the  gum-arabic,  as  to 
have  been  once  considered  the  same  species, 
I  frequently  saw  large  lumps  of  very  good 
and  clear  gum. 

"  Wherever  they  had  been  wounded  by 
the  hatchets  of  the  natives,  there  most  com- 
monly the  gum  exuded;  and  by  some  sim- 
ilar operations  it  is  probable  tliat  the  trees 
might,  without  destroying  them,  be  made 
to  produce  annually  a  large  crop.  And  if  a 
computation  could  be  made  of  the  quantity 
that  might  be  obtained  from  those  trees 
only  which  line  the  banks  of  the  Gariep  and 
its  Ijranches,  amounting  to  a  line  of  wood 
(reckoning  both  sides)^  of  more  than  two 
thousand  miles,  one  would  feel  inclined  to 
suppose  that  it  might  be  worth  while  to 
teach  and  encourage  the  natives  to  collect 
it.  This  they  certainly  would  be  ready  to 
do,  if  they  heard  that  tobacco  could  always 
be  obtained  in  exchange. 

•'  But  if  to  the  acacias  of  the  river  are 
added  the  myriads  which  crowd  almost 
every  river  in  extra-tropical  Southern  Af- 
rica, or  even  between  the  Cape  and  the 
Gariep  only,  we  may  feel  satisfied  that  there 
are  trees  enough  to  supply  a  quantity  of  this 
drug  more  than  equal  to  the  whole  con- 
sumption of  Great  Britain.  Of  the  produc- 
tiveness of  the  Acacia  Capensis  as  compared 


with  that  of  the.4e«0!a  vera,  I  have  no  infor- 
mation that  enables  me  to  give  an  opinion; 
but  with  respect  to  the  quality,  I  think  we 
may  venture  to .  pronounce  it  to  be  in  no 
way  inferior." 

These  are  fxiir  representatives  of  the 
straight-thorned  plant  of  Southern  Africa. 
The  best  example  of  the  hook-thorned  vege- 
tation is  that  which  is  described  by  Bur- 
chell as  the  Grapple-plant;  but  it  is  better 
known  by  the  expressive  name  of  Hook- 
thorn.  The  scientific  title  of  this  plant  is 
Uncaria  procurnbens,  the  Ibrmer  name  Ijcing 
given  to  it  on  account  of  the  hooks  wiih 
which  it  is  armed,  and  the  latter  to  the  mode 
in  \vhich  it  grows  along  the  ground. 

When  in  blossom,  "this  is  a  singularly 
beautiful  plant,  the  large  flowers  being  of  a 
rich  purple  hue,  and  producing  a  most  lovely 
ettect  as  they  spread  themselves  over  the 
ground,  or  hang  in  masses  from  the  trees 
and  shruljs.  The  long,  trailing  Ijranches 
are  furnished  throughout  their  length  with 
sharp  barl:)ed  thorns,  set  in  pairs.  Unpleas- 
ant as  are  the  branches,  the}-  become  worse 
when  the  purple  petals  fall  and  the  seed- 
vessels  are  developed.  Then  the  experi- 
enced traveller  dreads  its  presence,  and,  if 
he  can  do  .so,  keeps  clear  of  the  ground 
which  is  tenanted  by  such  a  foe.  The  large 
seed-vessels  are  covered  with  a  multitude  of 
sharp  and  very  strong  hooked  thorns.  When 
the  seed  is  ripe,  the  vessel  splits  along  the 
middle,  and  the  two  sides  separate  widely 
from  each  other,  so  that  they  form  an  array 
of  hooks  which  reminds  the  observer  of  the 
complicated  devices  used  by  anglers  in  pike- 
fishing.  The  illustration  No.  1,  on  page  247, 
represents  a  still  closed  seed-vessel,  and, 
forraid.able  as  it  looks,  its  powers  are  more 
than  doubled  when  it  is  open  and  dry,  each 
half  being  covered  with  thorns  pointing  in 
opi)Osite  directions.  The  thorns  are  as  sharp 
as  needles,  and  nearly  as  strong  as  if  they 
were  made  of  the  same  material. 

The  reader  may  easily  iraagme  the  hor- 
rors of  a  bush  which  is  beset  with  such 
weapons.  No  one  who  wears  clothes  has 
a  chance  of  escape  from  them.  If  only  one 
hooked  thorn  catches  but  his  coat-sleeve,  he 
is  a  prisoner  at  once.  The  first  movement 
bends  the  long,  slender  branches,  and  hook 
after  hook  fixes  its  point  upon  him.  Strug- 
glinii'only  trebles  the  number  of  his  thorned 
enemies,  and  the  only  mode  by  which  he 
can  free  himself  is  to'  "  wait-a-bit,"  cut  oft' 
the  clinging  seed-vessels,  and,  when  he  is 
clear  of  thebu.sh,  remove  them  one  by  one. 
This  terrilile  plant  was  most  fatal  to  the 
English  soldiers  in  the  last  Katfir  wars,  the 
unwieldy  accoutrements  and  loose  clothing 
of  the  soldier  being  seized  by  the  thorns, 
and  holding  the  unfortunate  man  fast,  while 
the  naked"  Kaflir  could  glide  among  the 
thorns  unharmed,  and  deliver  his  assagai 
with  iminmity.  If  the  reader  would  like  to 
form  an  idea  of  the  power  of  these  thorns. 


PARASITIC  TREES. 


215 


he  can  do  so  by  thrusting  his  arm  into  the 
middle  of  a  tliich  rose-bush,  and  mentally 
multiplviug  the  number  of  thorns  by  a  hun- 
dred, aiid  their  size  by  fifty.  In  shape  the 
thorns  have  a  singular  resemblance  to  the 
fore-claws  of  the  lion,  and  they  certainly, 
though  inanimate,  are  scarcely  less  effica- 
cious. 

There  is  one  of  the  acacia  tribe  (Acacia 
cletinens)  which  is  nearly  as  bad  in  its  way 
as  the  grapple-plant.  In  Burchell's  "  Trav- 
els "  there  is  a  very  good  account  of  this 
shrub,  which  is  known  to  the  colonists  by 
the  title  of  Vacht-eeii-btdgt,  or  Wait-a-bit 
thorn.  "The  largest  shrubs  were  about 
five  feet  high  —  a  plant  quite  unknown 
to  me,  but  well  known  to  the  Klaarwater 
people  .  .  .  and  is  the  same  thorny  bush 
which  gave  us  so  much  annoyance  the 
night  before,  where  it  was  above  seven  feet 
high. 

"  I  was  preparmg  to  cut  some  specnnens 
of  it,  which  the  Hottentots  observing,  warned 
me  to  be  very  careful  in  doing  so,  otherwise 
I  should  be  certainly  caught  fast  in  its 
branches.  In  consequence  of  this  advice,  I 
proceeded  with  the  utmost  caution;  but, 
with  all  my  care,  a  small  twig  got  hold  of 
one  sleeve.  While  thinking  to  disengage  it 
quietly  with  the  other  hand,  both  arms  were 
seized  by  these  rapacious  thorns;  and  the 
more  I  tried  to  extricate  myself,  the  more 
entangled  I  became;  till  at  last  it  seized  my 
hat  also,  and  convinced  me  that  there  was 
no  possibility  for  me  to  free  myself  but  by 
main  force,  and  at  the  expense  of  tearing 
all  my  clothes.  I  therefore  called  out  for 
help,  and  two  of  my  men  came  and  released 
me  by  cutting  off  the  branches  by  which  I 
was  held.  In  revenge  for  the  ill-treatment, 
I  determined  to  give  to  the  tree  a  name 
which  should  serve  to  caution  future  trav- 
ellers against  allowing  themselves  to  ven- 
ture within  its  clutches."  The  monitory 
name  to  which  allusion  has  been  m.ade  is 
that  of  cletinens  as  applied  to  that  particular 
species  of  acacia. 

Besides  these  plants,  there  is  one  which 
deserves  a  brief  mention,  on  account  of  its 
remarkable  conformation.  This  is  the  Three- 
thorn,  a  species  of  Rhigozum,  which  is  very 
common  in  parts  of  Southern  Africa.  It  is 
a  low  shrub,  somewhere  about  three  or  four 
feet  in  height,  and  its  branches  divide  very 
regularly  into  threes,  giving  it  a  quaint  and 
altogether  singidar  aspect.  There  is  another 
remarkable  species,  called  the  Haak-eon- 
steek,  or  the  Hook-and-prick  thorn.  In  this 
species  the  thorns  are  very  curiously  ar- 
ranged. First  comes  a  short,  hooked  thorn; 
and  if  the  traveller  contrives  to  be  caught 
by  this  hook,  and  tries  to  pull  himself  away, 
he  forces  down  upon  himself  a  pair  of  long, 
straight  thorns,  two  inches  in  length,  and  as 
sharp  as  needles. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  variety  of  thorns 
Which  beset  the  traveller  is  very  great  in- 


deed. Dr.  Kirk  ingeniously  divides  them 
into  three  classes,  namely,  tliose  which  tear 
the  flesh,  those  which  tear  the  clothes,  and 
those  which  tear  both  —  this  last  class  being 
by  far  the  largest. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  the 
"  Stink- wood "  has  occasionally  been  men- 
tioned. This  same  tree  with  the  unsavory 
name  seems  to  have  been  rather  neglected, 
if  we  may  believe  the  account  written  by 
Le  Vaillant  nearly  a  century  ago.  He  re- 
marks of  this  tree,  that  it  grows  plentifully 
in  several  parts  of  Southern  Africa,  and  is 
found  near  Algoa  Bay,  whence  it  is  trans- 
ported to  the  "Cape,  and  there  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  furniture.  The  tree  is  a 
very  slow-growing  one,  and,  like  such  trees, 
produces  wood  of  a  very  hard  texture. 
When  freshly  cut  it  is  pale,  but  after  the 
lapse  of  time  it  gradually  darkens  into  a 
rich  chestnut  varied  with  black.  Like  the 
hard  woods,  it  is  susceptible  of  a  very  high 
polish,  and  possesses  besides  the  invaluable 
property  of  being  free  from  worms,  which 
seem  to  perceive  even  in  the  dried  wood  the 
unpleasant  odor  which  distinguishes  it  when 
green.  In  general  look  and  mode  of  growth 
this  tree  much  resembles  the  oak  of  our 
own  country. 

When  a  traveller  first  enters  a  South 
African  forest,  he  is  rather  surprised  by  two 
circumstances;  the  first  being  that  the  trees 
do  not  surpass  in  size  those  which  grace  an 
ordinary  English  copse,  and  that  in  many 
cases  tliey  are  far  inferior  both  in  size  and 
beauty.  "The  next  point  that  strikes  his 
attention  is,  the  vast  number  of  creepers 
which  spread  their  slender  branches  from 
tree  to  tree,  and  which,  in  some  instances, 
envelope  the  supporting  tree  so  completely 
that  they  wholly  hide  it  from  view.  They 
have  the  faculty  of  running  up  the  trunks 
of  trees,  pushing  their  Ijranches  to  the  very 
extremity  of  the  boughs,  and  then  letting 
drop  their  slender  filaments,  that  are  caught 
by  lower  boughs  and  hang  in  festoons  from 
them.  At  first  the  filaments  are  scarcely 
stronger  than  packthread,  but  by  degrees 
they  become  thicker  and  thicker,  until  they 
are  as  large  as  a  man's  arm.  These  creepers 
multiply  in  such  profusion  that  they  become 
in  many  places  the  chief  features  of  the 
scenery,  all  the  trees  being  bound  together 
by  the  festoons  of  creepers  which  hang  from 
branch  to  branch. 

The  Dutch  settlers  call  them  by  the  name 
of  Bavians-tow,  or  Baboon-ropes,  because 
the  balwons  and  monkeys  clamber  by  means 
of  them  to  the  extrem'ites  of  the  branches 
where  the  fruit  grows.  The  scientific  name 
for  the  plant  is  Cynanchum  ohtusifoUum. 
The  natives,  ever  watchful  for  their  own 
interests,  make  great  use  of  these  creepers, 
and  the  Kaftirs  use  them  largely  in  lashing 
together  the  various  portions  of  their  huts. 
The  fruit  of  the  Bavians-tow  is  only  found 
at  the  extremity  of  the  branches,  wliere  the 


216 


THE  K^iTFIK. 


young  filaments  shoot  out.  When  ripe  it  is 
something  like  a  cherry,  and  is  of  a  bright 
crimson  color.  It  goes  by  the  popular  name 
of  ''  wild  grape,"  and  is  much  liked  by  mon- 
keys, birds,  ami  men.  From  the  fruit  a  kind 
of  spirit  is  distilled,  and  a  very  good  pre- 
serve can  be  made  from  it. 

These  baboon-ropes  are  not  the  only  para- 
sitic growths  upon  trees.  In  many  parts  of 
the  country  there  is  a  kind  of  long,  fibrous 
moss  which  grows  upon  the  trees,  and  is 
often  in  such  profusion  that  it  completely 
covers  them,  hiding  not  only  the  trunk  and 
hranches,  but  even  the  twigs  and  leafiige. 
This  mossy  growth  extends  to  a  considerable 
length,  in  some  cases  attaining  as  much  as 
ten  or  twelve  feet.  It  is  yellow  in  color, 
and  when  short  is  very  soft  and  fine,  so  that 
it  can  be  used  for  most  of  the  purposes  to 
which  cotton  or  tow  are  applied.  But, 
when  it  reaches  the  length  of  six  or  seven 
feet,  it  becomes  hard  and  wiry,  and  is  com- 
paratively useless.    I  have  now  before  me  a 


quantity  of  this  tow-like  lichen,  which  had 
been  used  in  packing  a  large  box  fuU  of 
Kaffir  weapons  and  implements.  There  is  a 
tres  which  furnishes  a  very  useful  timljer, 
called  from  its  color,  "Geele-hout,"  a  yellow 
wood.  This  tree  is  a  species  of  Texus,  but 
there  are  at  least  two  species  which  produce 
the  wood.  The  timber  is  much  used  for 
beams,  planks,  and  building  purposes  gen- 
erally. 

Many  travellers  have  thought  that  these 
and  several  other  trees  would  form  valuable 
articles  of  merchandise,  and  that  they  might 
be  profitably  imported  to  Europe.  That 
they  artbrd  really  valuable  woods,  and  that 
some  of  them  would  be  extremely  useful  in 
delicate  and  fancy  work,  is  indisputable.  The 
only  difficulty  is,  that  to  cut  and  transport 
them  at  present  involves  so  much  expense 
that  the  arrangement  would  hardly  be  suffi- 
ciently profitable  for  the  investment  of  so 
much  capital. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


THE   HOTTENTOT  RACES. 


THE  CONTRASTED  RACES  —  MUTUAL  REPULSION  BETWEEN  THE  KAFFIR  AND  THB  HOTTENTOT  —  NATIVB 
ALLIES  —  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  HOTTENTOT  RACE;  THEIR  COMPLEXION  AND  FEATURES  —  RESEM- 
BLANCE TO  THE  CHINESE  —  THE  SUN  AND  ITS  SUPPOSED  EFFECT  ON  COLOR  —  THE  HOTTENTOT  IN 
YOUTH  AND  AGE  —  RAPID  DETERIORATION  OF  FORM  —  SINGULvVB  FORMATION  OF  HOTTENTOT 
WOMEN  —  PORTRAIT-TAKING  WITH  A  SEXTANT  —  GROWTH  OF  THE  HAIR  —  GENERAL  CHARACTER 
OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  —  DRESS  OF  THE  MEN  —  WOMEN'S  DRESS  AND  ORNAMENTS  —  OSTRICH  EGG 
SHELLS  USED  AS  AN  ORNAMENT  —  A  CURIOUS  FRONTLET  —  GREASE,  SIBILO,  AND  BUCHU  —  NATURE 
OF  THE  SIBILO,  AND  THE  MODE  IN  WHICH  IT  IS  PROCURED  —  USE  OF  THE  BUCHU  —  MODE  OF 
PREPARING  SKINS  —  THE  TANNING-VAT  —  ROPE-lLVKINa  —  BOWLS  AND  J.\RS  —  HIDE  ROPES  AND 
THEIR  MANUFACTURE — THE  HOTTENTOT  SPOON  —  A  NATIVE  FLY-TRAP — -MAT-MAKING  —  HOTTEN- 
TOT ARCHITECTURE  —  SI3LPLE  MODE  OF  AVOIDING  VERMIN  —  NOILAD  HABITS  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS 
—  THE  DIGGING-STICK. 


Before  proceeding  with  the  general  view 
of  the  remaining  tribes  whicli  inhabit  Africa, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  give  a  few  pages  to 
the  remarliable  race  which  has  lived  for  so 
long  in  close  contact  with  the  Kaffir  tribes, 
and  which  presents  the  curious  phenomenon 
of  a  pale  race  living  in  the  same  land  witli 
a  black  race,  and  yet  having  preserved  its 
individuality.  About  three  centuries  ago, 
the  whole  of  Southern  Africa  was  inhabited 
by  various  tribes  belonging  to  a  large  and 
powerful  nation.  This  nation,  now  known 
collectively  under  the  name  of  Hottentot, 
was  at  that  time  the  owner  and  master  of 
the  land,  of  wliicli  it  had  held  posses.sion 
for  a  considerable  period.  Whether  or  not 
the  Hottentots  were  the  aboriginal  iuhal)- 
itants  of  Southern  Africa,  is  rather  doubt- 
ful; but  the  probability  is,  that  they  came 
from  a  distant  source,  and  that  they  dispos- 
sessed the  aborigines,  exactly  as  they  them- 
selves were  afterward  ejected  by  the  Kafflrs, 
and  the  Katfirs  supplanted  by  the  Euro- 
peans. 

The  Hottentots  have  a  deadly  and  almost 
instinctive  hatred  of  the  Katflr  race.  The 
origin  of  this  feeling  is  evidently  attribu- 
table to  the  successive  defeats  which  they 
suflered  at  the  hands  of  tlie  Kartirs,  and 
caused  them  to  be  merely  tolerated  inhab- 
itants of  a  land  in  which  they  were  formerly 
the  masters.  The  parents  have  handed  down 
this  antipathy  to  their  children,  and,  as  is 


often  the  case,  it  seems  to  have  grown 
stronger  in  each  generation,  so  that  the 
semi-civilized  Hottentot  of  the  present  day, 
thougli  speaking  the  European  language, 
and  wearing  European  clothing,  hates  the 
Kafflrs  as  cordially  as  did  his  wild  ancestors, 
and  cannot  even  mention  their  name  with- 
out prefixing  some  opprobrious  epithet. 

In  consequence  of  this  feeling,  the  Hot- 
tentot is  an  invaluable  cow-herd,  in  a  land 
where  Kafflrs  are  professional  cow-stealers. 
He  seems  to  detect  the  presence  of  a  Kaffir 
almost  by  intuition,  and  even  on  a  dark 
night,  when  the  dusky  body  of  the  robber 
can  hardly  be  seen,  he  will  discover  the 
tliief,  work  his  stealthy  way  toward  him, 
and  kill  him  noiselessly  with  a  single  blow. 
In  the  late  South  African  war,  the  Hotten- 
tots became  most  useful  allies.  They  were 
docile,  easily  disciplined,  and  were  simply 
invaluable  in  bush-figliting,  where  the  Eng- 
lish soldier,  with  all  his  apparatus  of  belts 
and  accoutrements,  was  utterly  useless. 

It  is  rather  a  remarkable  fact  that,  in 
every  country  into  which  the  English  have 
carried  their  arms,  the  natives  have  become 
the  best  allies  against  their  own  countiy- 
men,  and  have  rendered  services  without 
which  the  English  could  scarcely  have  kept 
their  footing.  No  one  can  track  up  and  cap- 
ture the  Australian  native  rebel  so  eftectu- 
ally  as  a  native  policeman.  The  native 
African  assists  them  against  those  who  at 


(217) 


218 


THE   HOTTENTOT. 


all  events  inhabit  the  same  land,  tlu)uu;h  thfv 
may  not  hapjien  to  belong  to  the  same  race. 
The  natives  of  China  gave  them  great  as- 
sistance in  tlie  late  Chinese  war,  and  the 
services  which  were  rendered  them  by 
native  forces  during  the  great  Indian  mutiny 
can  hardly  be  overrated. 

However  mucli  the  Hottentot  may  dislike 
the  Kaftir,  tlie  feeling  of  antagonism  is 
reciprocal,  and  the  vindictive  hatred  l>orne 
by  the  defeated  race  toward  their  conquerors 
is  scarcely  less  intense  than  the  contemptu- 
ous repugnance  felt  by  the  victors  toward 
the  vanquished. 

Neither  in  color  nor  general  aspect  do  the 
Hottentots  resemble  the  dark  races  arounil 
them.  Their  complexion  is  sallow,  and 
much  like  that  of  a  very  dark  person  suffer- 
ing from  jaundice.  Indeed,  the  complexion 
of  the  Hottentots  much  resembles  that  of  the 
Chinese,  and  the  general  similitude  between 
the  two  nations  is  very  remarkable.  (See 
page  224.)  One  of  my  friends  who  lived  long 
in  South  Africa  had  a  driver  who  dressed  like 
a  Hottentot,  and  who,  to  all  appearance,  was  a 
Hottentot.  One  day,  however,  he  astonished 
his  master  by  declaring  himself  a  Chinese, 
and  proving  the  assertion  l)y  removing  his  liat 
and  sliowing  tlie  long  pig-tail  twisted  round 
his  head.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  Chinese  Coolie, 
who  had  been  imported  into  Soutliern  Africa. 
and  who,  after  the  fashion  of  his  people,  had 
accommodated  himself  to  the  manners  and 
customs  of  those  among  wliom  he  lived. 
Mr.  Moffatt,  the  missionary  autlior,  mentions 
that  he  saw  two  Chinese  children,  whom  lie 
would  have  taken  for  Hottentots  had  he  not 
been  informed  of  their  true  character. 

The  existence  of  this  light-colored  race  in 
such  a  locality  affords  a  good  proof  that 
complexion  is  not  entirely  caused  by  the 
sun.  Tliere  is  a  very  pojiular  idea  that  the 
hot  sun  of  tropical  countries  produces  the 
black  color  of  tlie  negro  and  other  races,  and 
that  a  low  temperature  bleaches  the  skin. 
Yet  we  have  the  Hottentots  and  their  kin- 
dred tribes  exhibiting  pale  skins  in  a  coun- 
try close  to  the  tropics,  while  the  Esquimaux, 
who  live  amid  eternal  ice,  are  often  so  dark 
that  they  might  almost  be  mistaken  for 
negroes,  but  for  the  conformation  of  their 
faces  and  the  length  of  their  hair. 

The  shape  of  the  Hottentot  face  is  very 
peculiar,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  any 
engravings  which  illustrate  scenes  in  Hot- 
tentot life.  The  cheek-bones  project  sharply 
from  the  face,  and  the  long  chin  is  narrow 
and  pointed.  These  ch.ara'cteristics  are  not 
so  visible  in  youth,  but  seem  to  grow 
stronger  with  age.  Indeed,  an  old  Hotten- 
tot, whether  man  or  woman,  seems  to  have 
scarcely  any  real  face,  but  to  be  furnished 
with  a  mere  skin  drawn  tightly  over  the 
skull. 

What  were  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  Hottentots  before  they  were  dispossessed 
by  the  Kaffirs,  or  deteriorated  by  contact 


with  bad  specimens  of  European  civilization, 
is  extremely  ditticult  to  say,  as  no  trust- 
w^orthy  historian  of  their  domestic  economy 
has  lived  among  them.  Kolben,  whose 
book  of  travels  has  long  been  accepted  as 
giving  a  true  account  of  the  Hottentot,  is 
now  known  to  be  utterly  unworthy  of  belief, 
insomuch  as  his  information  is  second-hand, 
and  those  from  whom  he  obtained  it  have 
evidently  amused  themselves  by  imposing 
upon  his  credulity. 

As  this  work  treats  only  of  the  normal 
habits  and  customs  of  the"  various  parts  of 
the  world,  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  tlie 
modifications  of  civilization,  the  account  of 
the  Hottentot  will  be  necessarily  brief 

In  shape  the  Hottentots  alter  strangely 
according  to  their  age.  When  children,  they 
are  not  at  all  agreeable  objects  —  at  least,  to 
an  unaccustomed  ej'e,  being  thin  in  the 
limbs,  with  an  oddly  projecting  stomach, 
and  a  corresponding  fall  in  the  back.  If  tol- 
erably well  fed,  they  lose  this  strange  shape 
when  they  approach  the  period  of  youth, 
and  as  young  men  and  girls  are  .almost 
models  of  perfcctiim  in  form,  though  their 
fiices  are  not  entitled  to  as  much  praise. 
But  they  do  not  retain  this  beauty  of  form 
for  any  long  peri(id,  some  few  years  gener- 
ally conqirehending  its  beginning  and  its 
end.  "  In  five  or  six  years  after  their  ar- 
rival at  womanhood,"  writes  Burchell,  "  the 
fresh  plumpness  of  youth  has  already  given 
way  to  the  wrinkles  of  age;  and,  unless  we 
viewed  them  with  the  eye  of  commiseration 
and  philanthropy,  we  .should  be  inclined  to 
pronounce  them  the  most  disgusting  of 
human  beings."  Their  early,  and,  it  may 
be  said,  premature  sj-mptoms  of  age,  m.ay 
perhaps,  with  much  probability,  be  ascribed 
to  a  hard  life,  an  uncertain  and  irregular 
supply  of  food,  exi)osure  to  every  inclemency 
of  weather,  and  a  want  of  cleanliness,  which 
increases  with  years.  These,  rather  than 
the  nature  of  the  climate,  are  the  causes  of 
this  quick  fading  and  decay  of  the  bloom 
and  grace  of  youth. 

The  apjiearance  of  an  ordinary  Hottentot 
woman  can  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
illustration  No.  2,  opposite,  taken  from  a 
sketch  by  the  author  whose  words  have  just 
been  quoted.  The  subject  of  the  drawing 
looks  as  if  she  were  sixty  years  old  at  the 
very  least,  though,  on  account  of  the  early  de- 
terioration of  form,  she  might  be  of  any  age 
from  twenty-seven  ujiward.  It  is  hardly 
possible  to  conceive  that  so  short  a  period 
would  change  the  graceful  form  of  the 
Hottentot  girl,  as  shown  on  the  same  jiage, 
into  the  withered  and  wrinkled  hag  who  is 
here  depicted,  but  such  is  reallv  the  case, 
and  the  strangest  part  is,  that  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  tell  whether  a  woman  is  thirty 
or  sixty  years  of  age  by  her  looks  alone. 

Not  tile  least  remarkable  jioiiit  in  the 
Hottentot  women  is  the  singular  moditie.a- 
tion  of  form  to  which  they  are  often,  though 


''•vmrnKmiil 


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f219i 


SCIENTIFIC  PORTRAITURE. 


221 


not  universally,  subject  —  a  development  of 
■which  the  celebrated  "Hottentot  Venus" 
afforded  an  excellent  example.  A  very 
amusing  description  of  one  of  these  women 
is  given  by  Mr.  Galton,  in  his  well-known 
work  on  Southern  Africa:  — 

"  Mr.  Halm's  household  was  large.  There 
■was  an  interpreter  and  a  sub-interpreter, 
and  again  others,  but  all  most  excellently 
■«'ell-behaved,  and  showing  to  great  advan- 
tage the  influence  of  their  master.  These 
servants  were  chiefly  Hottentots,  who  had 
migrated  with  Mr.  Halm  from  Ilottentot- 
land,  and,  like  him,  had  picked  up  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Damaras.  The  sub-interpreter 
was  married  to  a  charming  person,  not  only 
a  Hottentot  in  figure,  but  in  that  respect  a 
Venus  among  Hottentots.  I  was  perfectly 
aghast  at  her  development,  and  made  in- 
quiries upon  that  delicate  point  as  for  as  I 
clared  among  my  missionary  friends.  The 
result  is,  that  I  believe  Mrs.  Petrus  to  be 
the  lady  who  ranks  second  among  all  the 
Hottentots  for  the  beautiful  outline  that 
her  back  aflbrds,  Jonker's  wife  ranking  as 
the  first;  the  latter,  however,  was  slightly 
2)assce,  while  Mrs.  Petrus  was  in  full  embon- 
point. 

"  I  profess  to  be  a  scientific  man,  and  was 
exceedingly  anxious  to  obtain  accurate  mea- 
surement of  her  shape;  but  there  was  a 
difliculty  in  doing  this.  I  did  not  know  a 
word  oi  Hottentot,  and  could  never,  there- 
fore, explain  to  the  lady  what  the  object  of 
my  foot-rule  could  be;  and  I  really  dared 
not  ask  my  worthy  missionary  host  to  inter- 
pret for  me.  I  therefore  felt  in  a  dilemma 
as  I  gazed  at  her  form,  that  gift  of  boun- 
teous nature  to  this  favored  race,  which  no 
mantna-maker,  with  all  her  crinoline  and 
stufling,  can  do  otherwise  than  humbly  imi- 
tate. The  object  of  my  admiration  stood 
under  a  tree,  and  was  turning  herself  about 
to  all  points  of  the  compass,  as  ladies  who 
wish  to  be  admired  usually  do.  Of  a  sudden 
my  eye  fell  upon  my  sextant;  the  bright 
thought  struck  me,  and  I  took  a  series  of 
observations  upon  her  figure  in  every  direc- 
tion, up  and  down,  crossways,  diagonally, 
and  so  forth,  and  I  registered  them  care- 
fully upon  an  outline  drawing  for  fear  of 
any  mistake.  This  being  done,  I  boldly 
pulled  out  my  measuring  tape,  and  mea- 
sured the  distance  from  where  I  was  to  the 
place  where  she  stood,  and,  having  thus 
obtained  both  base  and  angles,  I  worked 
out  the  result  by  trigonometry  and  loga- 
rithms." 

This  remarkable  protuberance,  •svliich 
shakes  like  jelly  at  every  movement  of  the 
body,  is  not  soft  as  might  be  imagined,  but 
firm  and  hard.  Mr.  Christie,  who  is  rather 
above  the  middle  size,  tells  us  that  he  has 
sometimes  stood  upon  it  without  being  sup- 
ported by  any  other  part  of  the  person. 
The  scientific  name  for  this  curious  devel- 
opment is  Steatopyga.    It  does  not  cause 


the  least  inconvenience,  and  the  women  find 
it  rather  convenient  as  affording  a  support 
whenever  they  wish  to  carry  an  infant. 

Another  peculiarity  in  this  curious  race  is 
the  manner  in  which  tlie  hair  grows  on  the 
head.  Like  that  of  the  negroes  it  is  short, 
crisp,  and  woolly,  but  it  possesses  the  pecul- 
iarity of  not  covering  the  entire  head,  but 
growing  in  little  jiatches,  each  about  as 
large  as  a  pea.  These  patches  are  quite 
distinct,  and  in  many  instances  are  scattered 
so  sparingly  over  the  head,  that  the  skin  can 
be  plainly  seen  between  them.  Perhajis 
this  odd  growth  of  the  hair  aflbrds  a  rea- 
son for  the  universal  custom  of  ^\earing  a 
cap,  and  of  covering  the  head  thickly  with 
grease  and  mineral  powder.  The  original 
manners  and  customs  of  the  Hottentots 
have  entirely  vanished,  and,  unlike  the 
liercer  and  nobler  Kaffir  trilies,  they  have 
merged  their  own  individuality  in  that  of 
the  wdiite  settlers.  They  always  dress  in 
European  apparel,  but  it  has  been  noticed 
by  those  who  have  lived  in  the  country, 
that  the  Hottentot,  though  fully  clothed, 
is  far  less  modest  in  appearance  than  the 
Kaffir,  who  wears  scarcely  any  clothing  at 
all.  In  this  jjoint  seems  to  be  one  of  the 
great  distinctions  between  the  Hottentot 
and  other  races.  It  is  quite  true  that  Le 
Vaillant  and  travellers  antecedent  to  him 
have  written  of  the  Hottentots  in  the  most 
glowing  terms,  attributing  to  them  almost 
every  virtue  that  uncivilized  man  is  likely 
to  possess,  and  praising  them  for  the  ab- 
sence of  many  vices  that  disgrace  civilized 
humanity. 

Now,  the  fact  is,  that  Le  Vaillant  was  evi- 
dently a  man  of  exceptional  abilities  in  the 
management  of  inferiors,  and  that  he  pos- 
sessed an  intuitive  knowdedge  of  character 
that  is  very  seldom  to  be  found.  Conse- 
quently the  men  who  were  submissive,  docile, 
and  affectionate  under  his  firm,  yet  deter- 
mined sway,  might  have  been  captious,  idle, 
and  insubordinate  under  a  less  judicious 
leader.  Tho-s'  looked  upon  him  as  a  being 
infinitely  superior  to  themselves,  untouched 
by  the  impulsive  and  unreasoning  motives 
by  wdiich  these  children  of  nature  are  led, 
and  in  consequence  yielded  to  the  subtle 
and  all-powerful  influence  which  a  higher 
nature  exercises  over  a  lower. 

The  Hottentots  with  whom  our  author 
came  in  contact  were  free  from  the  many 
vices  which  degrade  the  Hottentot  of  the 
present  day,  but  it  is  clear  that  they  were 
innocent  simply  because  they  were  ignorant. 
Those  of  the  present  time  have  lost  all  their 
ancient  simplicity,  and  have  contrived  to 
imbue  themselves  with  the  vices  in  which 
the  advent  of  the  wdiite  men  enabled  them 
to  indulge,  without  at  the  same  time  im- 
proving their  intellectual  or  social  condi- 
tion. 

We  will  now  endeavor  to  see  the  Hotten- 
tot as  he  used  to  be  before  he  was  conquered 


222 


THE   HOTTENTOT. 


by  the  Kaffirs,  and  reduced  to  servitude  b)' 
the  European  colonists. 

Thi!  general  ajipearance  of  the  Hottentot 
may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  illustration 
No.  2,  opposite,  which  represents  a  young 
man  named  Klaas,  who  was  the  favorite 
attendant  of  Le  Vaillant,  and  of  whom  the 
traveller  speaks  in  the  highest  terms.  He 
has,  therefore,  been  selected  as  a  favorable 
specimen  of  his  nation.  The  reader  will 
understand  that  in  the  following  account  of 
the  Hottentot  tribes,  they  are  described  as 
they  used  to  be,  and  not  as  they  are  at  the 
present  day. 

The  ordinary  dress  of  a  Hottentot  man 
can  be  tolerably  imagined  from  the  portrait 
of  Klaas.  Over  his  shoulder  is  thrown  a 
large  mantle,  or  kaross,  made  of  cow-hide 
tanned  and  softened,  and  worn  with  the  fur 
inward.  This  mantle  is  most  in  fashion, 
and  when  engaged  in  his  ordinary  occupa- 
tions the  Hottentot  throws  it  oil"  so  as  to  be 
unencumbered.  Around  his  waist  are  a 
number  of  leathern  thongs,  mingled  with 
strings  of  beads  and  other  ornaments,  and 
to  one  of  these  thongs  are  fastened  two 
aprons,  one  in  front  and  the  other  beliiud 
That  one  in  front  is  called  the  '■jackal,"  be- 
cause it  is  generally  made  of  a  piece  of  jackal 
skin  or  similar  fur.  The  second  apron,  if  it 
may  be  so  named,  is  not  universally  worn, 
though  a  Hottentot  of  taste  does  not  consider 
himself  dressed  without  it.  It  is  simply  a 
triangular  flap  of  leather,  barely  a  foot  in 
length,  two  inches  in  width  at  the  top,  where 
it  joins  the  girdle,  and  widening  to  foiu- 
inches  at  the  bottom.  This  curious  append- 
age is  ornamented  with  bits  of  metal,  steel, 
beads,  and  other  decorations,  and  the  owner 
seems  to  take  a  great  pride  in  this  odd  arti- 
cle of  dress.  Of  course  it  is  not  of  the  least 
use,  and  may  be  compared  to  the  tails  of  a 
modern  dress-coat,  or  the  bag  attached  to 
the  collar  of  a  court  suit. 

Some  families  among  the  Hottentots  vary 
.  the  shape  of  the  "  staart-rheim,'"  as  the 
Dutch  colonists  call  it,  and  make  it  of  dif- 
ferent forms.  Some  have  it  square,  and 
others  circular  or  oblong,  while  some,  who 
are  ])ossessed  of  more  "than  ordinary  in- 
genuity, make  it  into  the  form  of  a  crescent 
or  a  cross.  This  article  of  dress  still  sur- 
vives among  some  of  the  African  tribes,  as 
will  be  seen  on  a  future  page. 

Round  the  ankles  are  fastened  thongs  of 
hide.  These  articles  gave  rise  to  the  absurd 
statement  that  Hottentots  wore  the  intes- 
tines of  animals  until  they  became  softened 
by  putridity,  and  then  ate  them,  carefully 
keeping  up  the  supply  by  adding  fresh 
thongs  in  the  place  of  those  which  were 
eaten.  The  real  fact  is,  that  these  leathern 
bands  act  as  a  defence  against  the  thorns 
among  which  the  Hottentots  have  to  walk, 
and  for  that  purpose  they  are  used  by  both 
sexes.  It  is  true  that,  in  some  cases,  the 
wearers  have  been  reduced  to  such  a  state 


of  starvation  that  they  have  been  obliged  to 
eat  the  hide  circlets  from  their  limbs,  and 
eat  them  with  the  aid  of  what  rude  cooking 
could  be  extemporized.  But  it  will  be 
remarked  that  the  Kaffir  soldiers  have  been 
reduced  to  eat  their  shields  and  the  leathern 
thongs  which  bound  the  assagai-heads  to 
the  shaft,  and  no  one  would  therefrom  infer 
that  the  Kaffirs  made  their  shields  an  ordi- 
nary article  of  diet. 

The  feet  are  protected  from  sharp  stones 
and  thorns  by  a  simple  kind  of  shoe,  or  san- 
dal, which  is  little  more  than  a  piece  of  stout 
leather,  larger  than  the  sole  of  the  foot,  and 
tied  on  by  thongs.  The  feet  of  the  card- 
players,  on  page  237,  show  this  sandal.  It  is 
not  worn,  however,  when  the  Hottentot 
is  engaged  in  his  ordinary  vocations,  and  is 
only  employed  when  he  is  on  a  journey,  and 
the  ground  which  he  has  to  traverse  is 
exceptionally  rough  and  thornj'.  These  san- 
dals are  in  use  throughout  a  large  portion 
of  Southern  Africa,  and  the  best  are  made 
by  the  Bachapins,  a  sub-tribe  of  the  Bechu- 
anas. 

The  dress  of  the  women  is  essentially  the 
same  as  that  of  the  men,  although  it  is  more 
complicated,  and  there  is  more  of  it.  As  is 
the  case  with  the  Kaffir,  the  children  of  both 
sexes  wear  no  clothing  at  all  until  they  are 
eight  or  nine  years  old,  and  then  the  girls 
assume  the  little  leathern  apron  called  the 
"  makkabi."  This  portion  of  dress  is  some- 
what similar  to  that  which  is  worn  by  the 
Kaffir  girls,  and  is  simply  a  flat  piece  of 
leather'  cut  into  thin  strips.  The  thongs 
are  generally  longer  than  those  worn  by  the 
Kaffir,  and  sometimes  reach  nearly  to  the 
knee.  Over  this  is  sometimes,  but  not  uni- 
versally, worn  a  second  apron  of  skin,  orna- 
mented with  beads,  bits  of  shining  metal, 
and  similar  decorations.  The  beads  are 
arranged  in  patterns,  an  idea  of  which 
can  be  gained  from  the  illustration  No.  1, 
page  219,  which  represents  a  Gonaqua  Hot- 
tentot girl,  about  sixteen  years  of  age.  This 
girl  was  a  special  favorite  of  Le  Vaillanfs, 
and  certainly  seems  from  his  account  to  liave 
been  a  singularly  favorable  instance  of  un- 
sophisticated human  nature.  The  attitude 
in  which  she  is  dejiicted  is  a  very  character- 
istic one,  being  that  which  the  Hottentot 
girls  are  in  the  habit  of  assuming.  It  is 
remarkable,  by  the  way,  that  the  jileasing 
liveliness  for  which  the  Hottentot  youth 
are  notable  departs  together  with  j-outh, 
the  demeanor  of  the  men  and  women  lieing 
sedate  and  almost  gloomy. 

Around  the  loins  is  fastened  a  much 
larger  apron  without  any  decoration.  This 
is  of  variable  size  and  shape,  but  the  usual 
form  is  that  which  is  shown  in  the  illustra- 
tion. Its  name  is  "  musesi,"  and,  like  the 
"staart-rheim"  of  the  men,  is  not  thought 
to  be  a  necessary  article  of  clothing,  being 
put  on  more  for  ceremony  than  for  use. 
This  apron  is  also  variable  in  size,  some- 


mrn 


(223) 


DRESS  AND   ORNAMESTT. 


225 


times  being  so  long  as  nearly  to  touch  the 
ground,  and  sometimes  barely  reaching  to 
the  knee.  The  Dutch  settlers  called  these 
aprons  the  "  fore-kaross,"  and  "  himl-kaross," 
words  whicli  sufflcieutly  explain  themselves. 

The  leather  thongs  which  encircle  the  leg 
are  mostly  ornamented  with  wire  twisted 
round  them,  and  sometimes  a  woman  will 
wear  on  her  legs  one  or  two  rings  entirely 
composed  of  wire.  Sometimes  there  are  so 
many  of  these  rings  that  the  leg  is  covered 
with  tlieni  as  high  as  the  knee,  while  in  a 
few  instances  four  or  five  rings  are  even 
worn  above  the  knee,  and  must  be  ex- 
tremely inconvenient  to  the  wearer.  Beads 
of  various  colors  are  also  worn  profusely, 
sometimes  strung  together  on  wire,  and 
hung  round  the  neck,  waist,  wrists,  and 
ankles,  and  sometimes  sewed  upon  different 
articles  of  apparel. 

Before  beads  were  introduced  from  Eu- 
rope, the  natives  had  a  very  ingenious 
method  of  making  ornaments,  and,  even 
after  the  introduction  of  beads,  the  native 
ornament  was  much  prized.  It  was  made 
by  lal_)oriously  cutting  ostrich  shells  into 
thin  circular  disks,  varying  in  size  from  the 
sixth  of  an  inch  to  nearly  half  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  pierced  tlirough  the  middle. 
Many  hundreds  of  these  disks  are  closely 
strung  together,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  cu-- 
cular  rope,  white  as  if  made  of  ivory.  Some- 
times this  rope  is  long  enough  to  pass  sev- 
eral times  round  the  body,  against  which 
the  shining  white  disks  produced  a  very 
good  etfect. 

Burchell  mentions  a  curious  kind  of  orna- 
ment which  was  worn  by  a  young  Hottentot 
girl,  and  which  seemed  to  be  greatly  prized 
by  her.  It  consisted  of  three  pieces  of  ivory 
about  the  size  and  shape  of  sparrow's  eggs, 
each  tied  to  the  end  of  a  thong,  and  so  ar- 
ranged that  one  of  them  hung  over  the  nose 
and  another  on  each  cheek.  As  she  moved 
her  head  in  conversation  these  ivory  beads 
swung  about  from  side  to  side,  and  in  her 
estimation  produced  a  verj-  telling  effect.  I 
have  in  my  collection  a  good  specimen  of  a 
similar  frontlet.  It  consists  of  a  leathern 
thong  three  feet  in  length,  at  each  end  of 
which  is  a  cowrie  shell.  One  foot  in  length 
of  its  centre  is  composed  of  a  double  row  of 
the  ostrich  egg-rope  which  has  just  been 
descriljed,  so  that,  when  the  frontlet  is  tied 
on  tlie  head,  the  white  egg-shell  ropes  cross 
the  forehead.  From  the  exact  centre  fall 
six  short  thongs,  at  the  end  of  each  of  which 
is  an  ornament  of  pearly-shell  or  tortoise- 
shell.  Four  of  these  thongs  are  covered 
with  native  beads,  made  from  the  bone  of 
the  ostrich,  and  are  further  ornamented 
with  a  large  scarlet  seed  in  the  middle.  At 
each  end  of  the  egg-shell  rope  are  two  shell- 
clad  thongs,  exactly  like  those  which  have 
been  described,  and,  when  the  frontlet  is  in 
its  place,  these  ornaments  hang  upon  each 
cheek.    The  illustration  No.  5  upon  page 


247  shows  the  frontlet  as  it  appears  when 
bound  upon  the  head  of  a  Hottentot  belle. 
The  dress  of  the  married  woman  is,  of 
course,  more  elaborate  than  that  of  the 
young  girl.  Although  they  sometimes  ap- 
pear with  a  very  slight  costume,  they  usually 
prefer  to  be  tolerably  well  clad.  With 
married  women  both  the  aprons  are  larger 
than  \\'ith  the  girls,  and  they  wear  besides  a 
shorter  apron  over  the  breast.  Their  kaross, 
too,  is  of  comi^aratively  large  size.  The  Hot- 
tentot females  always  wear  a  cap  of  some 
kind,  the  usual  material  being  leather,  which 
is  dressed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  skin 
of  which  the  kaross  and  the  aprons  are 
made. 

The  hair  is  plentifully  imbued  with  grease, 
in  which  has  been  mixed  a  quantity  of  the 
metallic  powder  of  which  the  Hottentots 
are  inmioderately  fond,  and  which  is  called 
l)y  the  Dutch  colonists  "  Black-klip,"  or 
Shining  Rock,  on  account  of  its  glittering 
a]ipearance.  Tlie  natives  call  it  l\v  the  name 
of  Sibilo,  which  is  jironounced  as  if  it  were 
written  Sibeelo.  The  sibilo  is  extremely 
local,  being  only  known  to  exist  in  one  i)art 
of  Africa,  and  is  dug  from  a  rock  called 
Sensavan.  It  seems  to  be  a  very  friable 
kind  of  iron  ore,  plentifully  interspersed  with 
minute  jiarticles  of  mica,  the  union  of  these 
two  substances  giving  it  the  appearance 
which  is  so  much  admired  by  the  natives. 
This  substance  is  a  "  shining,  powdery  iron 
ore,  of  a  steel-gray  or  bluish  lustre,  soft  and 
greasy  to  the  touch,  its  particles  adhering  to 
the  hands  or  clothes,  and  staining  them  of  a 
dark-red  or  ferruginous  lustre.  The  skin  is 
not  easily  freed  from  these  glossy  particles, 
even  lay  repeated  washings,  and  whenever 
this  substance  is  used  everything  becomes 
contaminated,  and  its  glittering  nature  be- 
trays it  on  every  article  which  the  wearer 
handles.''  Burchell  goes  on  to  say  that 
oxidization  gives  to  the  iron  ore  that  pecul- 
iar rust-red  of  which  the  Hottentots  are  so 
fond,  wliile  the  micaceous  particles  impart 
to  it  that  sparkling  glitter  which  is  scarcely 
less  prized. 

To  the  Sensavan  rock  come  all  the  sur- 
rounding trilies  for  a  supply  of  tliis  precious 
substance,  and  those  who  are  nearest  are  in 
the  habit  of  digging  it,  and  using  it  as  a 
means  of  barter  with  more  distant  tribes. 
By  degrees  the  rock  has  been  quarried  so 
deeply  that  a  series  of  caverns  have  been 
worked  into  it,  some  penetrating  for  a 
considerable  distance.  Burchell  relates  an 
anecdote  of  a  party  of  Hottentots  who  were 
engaged  in  digging  the  sibilo,  and  who  were 
overwhelmed  by  the  lall  of  the  cavi-ru  in 
which  they  were  working.  Tlie  various 
caverns  are  never  without  inhaliitants,  for 
by  day  they  are  full  of  bats,  and  by  night 
they  form  the  resting-place  of  pigeons. 

Besides  the  sibilo,  another  substance 
called  Buchu  is  in  universal  use  among  the 
Hottentots.    This  is  also  a  powder,  but  it  is 


226 


THE  HOTTEXTOT. 


of  vegetable,  and  not  of  mineral  origin.    It 

is  not  nearly  as  valuable  as  the  sibilo, 
althougli  considered  to  be  nearly  as  neces- 
sary an  article  of  adornment,  so  tliat  any 
one  who  is  not  bedaiilieil  with  sibilo,  and 
perfumed  with  buchu,  is  considered  unwor- 
thy of  entrance  into  polite  society.  Sibilo, 
as  the  reader  may  remember,  is  to  be  ob- 
tained only  from  one  spot,  and  is  tlierefore 
a  peculiarly  valuable  material,  whereas  the 
buchu  can  be  obtained  from  several  sources, 
and  is  accordingly  held  in  lower  esteem. 

Buchu  (pronounced  Bookoo)  is  mostly 
obtained  from  a  species  of  Diosma,  and  is 
made  by  reducing  the  plant  to  a  powder. 
It  possesses  a  strong  odor,  which  to  the  nos- 
trils of  a  Hottentot  is  extremely  agreeable, 
but  which  has  exactly  the  opposite  etfect 
upon  the  more  sensitive  organs  of  an  Euro- 
pean. "Wlien  a  number  of  Hottentots  are 
assemliled  in  one  of  their  rude  huts,  the 
odor  of  the  buchu,  with  which  the  karosses 
as  well  as  the  hair  of  the  natives  are  plenti- 
fully imbued,  is  so  exceedingly  powerful, 
that  no  one  except  a  native  can  breathe  in 
such  an  atmosphere.  The  Hottentots  have 
a  wonderful  veneration  for  this  plant,  and 
use  it  for  various  purposes.  It  is  thought 
to  form  an  admiralile  application  to  a  wound, 
and  f()r  this  purpose  the  leaves  of  the  plant 
are  infused  iu  strong  vinegar,  and  are  gen- 
erally steeped  for  so  long  a  time  that  they 
form  a  kind  of  mucilage. 

There  are  several  species  of  plants  from 
which  the  indispensable  buchu  is  made,  and 
one  of  them  is  a  kind  of  frasraut  croton, 
named  by  Burchell  Croton  grati.'isimum.  from 
its  pleasant  aromatic  odor.  It  is  a  hand- 
some bushy  shrub,  from  four  to  seven  feet 
ill  height.  Both  flowers  and  leaves  possess 
an  agreeable  scent,  and  the  buchu  is  made 
by  drying  and  pounding  the  latter,  which 
are  lauce-shaped,  green  above,  and  whitish 
below.  The  powder  is  used  as  a  perfume, 
which  to  the  nostrils  of  the  Hottentot  is 
highly  agreeable,  but  to  the  European  is 
simnly  abominable,  especially  when  miusled 
with  the  odor  of  rancid  grease  and  long- 
worn  skin  dresses. 

Skins  are  prepared  in  some  places  after  a 
different  manner  to  that  which  has  been 
described  when  treating  of  the  Kaffirs,  and 
undergo  a  kind  of  tanning  process.  When 
a  Hottentot  wishes  to  make  a  leathern  robe, 
or  other  article  of  dress,  he  deprives  the  skin 
of  its  hair  liy  rolling  it  up  with  the  furry 
side  inward,  and  a!lowin<;  it  to  undergo  a 
partial  ]iufrefaction.  In  the  mean  while  he 
prepares  his  tanning-vat,  by  fixing  four 
stakes  into  the  ground,  connecting  their 
tops  with  cross-bars,  and  l.Tshing  a  tolerably 
large  hide  loosely  to  them,  so  as  to  form  a 
rude  kind  of  basin  or  tub.  A  quantity  of 
the  astringent  bark  of  the  karroo  thorn  is 
placed  in  the  vat  together  with  the  skin, 
and  a  sufficient  (juantify  of  ley  is  poured 
over  them  until  the  vessel  is  full.    The  bark 


of  this  acacia  not  only  possesses  a  powei'fiil 
tanning  jiriuciijlc,  but  at  the  same  time  im- 
parts to  the  leather  that  reddish  hue  which 
is  so  much  admired  Ijy  Hottentots,  and 
which  is  afterward  heightened  by  the  sibilo 
and  buchu  which  are  ruljbed  upon  it. 

Mr.  Baines  is,  however,  of  opiuion  that 
this  mode  of  preparing  skins,  [irimitive  as 
it  may  appear,  is  not  the  invention  of  the 
Hottentot  race,  but  is  due  to  the  superiority 
of  the  white  settler.s.  The  tnuning-vat  of 
hide  appears  simple  enough  to  have  been 
invented  l>y  a  savage  race,  but,  as  it  is  only 
used  near  European  settlements,  the  idea 
has  proljaljly  been  borrowed  by  the  Hotten- 
tots. In  places  remote  from  the  white  set- 
tlers, and  where  their  influence  is  not  felt, 
the  Hottentots  do  not  tan  the  hides  by  steep- 
ing them  in  ley,  but  prepare  them  by  manual 
labor  in  a  manner  somewhat  similar  to  that 
which  is  used  by  the  Kaffir.  AVhen  a  large 
cow-hide  is  to  be  prepared,  several  men  take 
part  in  the  proceeding,  and  make  quite  a 
festival  of  if.  They  sit  in  a  circle,  with  the 
hide  ill  their  midst,  and  work  if  with  their 
hands,  occasionally  rubbing  in  some  butter 
or  other  grease.  They  sing  songs  the  while, 
and  at  regular  intervals  they  grasp  the  hide 
with  both  hands,  and  give  "it  a  violent  pull 
outward,  so  as  to  stretch  it  equally  in  every 
direction. 

The  cord  or  sti'ing  of  which  the  Hotten- 
tots make  so  much  use  is  twisted  in  a  very 
simple  manner.  The  bark  of  the  ever-use- 
ful acacia  is  stripped  from  the  branches,  and 
divided  into  fibres  by  being  steeped  in  wa- 
fer, and  then  pounded  between  two  stones. 
Sometimes  the  rope-maker  prefers  to  sepa- 
rate the  fibres  by  chewing  the  bark,  which  is 
thought  to  have  an  agreeable  riav(n\  When 
a  sufficient  quantify  of  fibre  has  been  pre- 
pared, the  workwoman  seats  herself  on  the 
ground,  fakes  two  yarns  of  filire,  and  rolls 
them  with  the  palm  of  her  hand  uj  on  the 
thigh.  She  then  In'ings  them  together, 
gives  them  a  quick  roll  iu  the  opjiosife  direc- 
tion, and  thus  makes  a  two-stranded  rope 
with  a  rapidity  that  could  hardly  be  con- 
ceived, seeing  that  no  tools  of  any  kind  are 
used.  If  any  of  my  readers  should  happen 
to  be  skilled  in  nautical  aflairs,  they  will  see 
that  this  two-stranded  rope  made  by  the 
Hottentots  is  fn-med  on  exactly  the  same 
principle  as  the  "knittles"  which  are  so 
important  in  many  of  the  nautical  knots 
and  splices. 

Rope-making  is  entirely  a  woman's  liusi- 
ness,  and  is  not  an  agreeatile  one.  Probably 
it  is  remitted  to  flie  women  for  that  very 
reason.  The  friction  of  the  rope  against 
the  skin  is  apt  to  abrade  it,  and  makes  if  so 
sore  that  the  women  are  oljliged  to  relieve 
themselves  by  rolling  the  rope  upon  the  calf 
of  the  leg  instead  of  the  thigh,  and  liy  the 
time  that;  the  injured  portion  has  recovered 
the  other  is  sore  ;  and  so  the  poor  women 
have  to  continue    their  work,  alternating 


NATIVE  FLY-TRAP. 


227 


between  one  portion  and  another,  until  b.y 
long  practice  tlie  skiu  becomes  quite  liard, 
and  can  endure  tlie  friction  without  being 
injured  Ijy  it. 

Among  all  the  tribes  of  Southern  Africa 
the  taste  for  hide  ropes  is  universal.  Ropes 
of  some  kind  are  absolutely  necessary  in  any 
country,  and  in  this  part  of  the  world,  as 
well  as  in  some  others,  ropes  made  of  hide 
are  very  much  preferred  to  those  which  are 
formed  from  any  other  material.  The  rea- 
son for  tliis  preference  is  evidently  owing  to 
the  peculiarities  of  the  country.  There  are 
plenty  of  fibrous  plants  in  Southern  Africa 
which  would  furuish  ropes  quite  equal  to 
those  which  are  in  use  in  Europe,  but  ropes 
formed  of  vegetable  fibre  are  found  to  be 
unsuitable  to  the  climate,  and,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  they  have  been  abandoned 
even  by  European  colonists. 

The  mode  of  preparing  the  liide  ropes 
varies  but  little,  except  in  unimportant  de- 
tails, and  is  briefly  as  follows  :  —  Tlie  first 
process  is  to  prepare  a  vessel  full  of  ley, 
which  is  made  by  steeping  the  ashes  of  sev- 
eral plants,  known  under  the  generic  title  of 
Salsola.  The  yoimg  shoots  of  tliese  plants 
are  collected  for  the  purpose,  burned,  and 
the  ashes  carefully  collected.  When  an  ox  is 
killed,  the  hide  is  cut  into  narrow  strips,  and 
these  strips  are  placed  in  the  tub  of  ley  and 
allowed  to  soak  for  some  four-and-twenty 
hours.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time,  a 
sufficient  number  of  the  strips  are  joined 
together,  loosely  twisted,  and  passed  over 
the  horizontal  branch  of  a  tree,  a  heavy 
weight  being  suspended  from  each  end,  so 
as  to  keep  the  thongs  always  on  the  stretch. 
A  couple  of  natives  then  set  to  work,  one 
stationing  himself  at  each  end  of  the  rope, 
and  twisting  it  by  means  of  a  short  stick 
passed  between  the  strands,  while  by  the  aid 
of  the  sticks  tliey  drag  the  rope  backward 
and  forward  over  the  bough,  never  allowing 
it  to  rest  on  the  same  spot  for  any  length  of 
time,  and  alvvays  twisting  the  sticks  in  oppo- 
.site  directions.  The  natural  consequence  is, 
that  the  rope  becomes  very  pliant,  and  at 
the  same  time  is  equally  stretched  through- 
out its  length,  the  regularity  of  the  twist 
depending  on  the  skill  of  the  two  rope- 
makers.  No  other  treatment  is  required, 
as  the  powerful  liquid  in  which  the  raw 
thongs  have  been  steeped  enacts  the  part  of 
the  tanning  "fat,"  and  the  continually  drag- 
ging over  the  branch  serves  to  make  it  pli- 
ant, and  to  avoid  the  danger  of  "kinking." 

The  use  of  tlie  rope  among  the  European 
settlers  affords  a  good  example  of  the  reac- 
tion tliat  takes  place  when  a  superior  race 
mingles  with  an  inferior.  Tlie  white  men 
have  taught  the  aborigines  many  useful  arts, 
but  at  the  same  time  have  been  obliged  to 
them  for  instruction  in  m'lny  otiiers,  witli- 
out  which  they  could  not  nnintain  their 
hold  of  the  countrj-.  The  reader  will  notice 
that  the  hide  ropes  are  made  by  men,  be- 


cause they  are  formed  from  that  noble  ani- 
mal, the  ox,  whereas  ropes  made  of  ignoble 
vegetable  fibre  are  handed  over  to  the 
women. 

A  remarkable  substitute  for  a  spoon  is 
used  by  this  people.  It  consists  of  the  stem 
of  a  fibrous  plant,  called  Umphombo,  and  is 
made  in  the  following  manner.  The  stem, 
which  is  rtattish,  and  aliout  an  inch  in 
width,  is  cut  into  suitable  lengths  and 
soaked  in  water.  It  is  then  beaten  between 
two  stones,  until  the  fibres  separate  from 
each  other,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  brush 
This  is  dipped  in  the  liquid,  and  conveys  a 
tolerable  portion  to  the  mouth.  The  men- 
tion of  this  brush-spoon  recalls  a  curious 
metliod  of  catching  files.  The  reader  may 
remember  that  in  Southern  Africa,  as  well 
as  in  other  hot  parts  of  tlie  world,  the  flies 
are  so  numerous  as  to  become  a  veritable 
plague.  They  come  in  swarms  into  the 
houses,  and  settle  upon  every  article  of 
food,  so  that  the  newly-arrived  traveller 
scarcely  knows  how  to  eat  his  meals.  Being 
thirsty  creatures,  they  especially  affect  any 
liquid",  and  will  plunge  into  the  cup  while 
its  owner  is  in  the  act  of  drinking.  The 
natives  contrive  to  lessen  this  evil,  though 
they  cannot  entirely  rid  themselves  of  it, 
and  mostly  do  so  by  the  following  ingen- 
ious contrivance:  — 

They  first  shut  the  doors  of  the  hut,  and 
then  dip  a  largo  wisp  of  hay  in  milk,  and 
hang  it  to  the  roof.  All  the  flies  are  at- 
tracted to  it,  and  in  a  few  seconds  nothing 
can  be  seen  but  a  large,  seething  mass  of 
living  creatures.  A  bag  is  then  gently 
passed  over  them,  and  a  smart  shake  given 
to  tlie  trap,  which  causes  all  the  flies  to  fall 
in  a  mass  to  the  ))ottom  of  the  bag.  The 
bag  is  then  removed,  so  as  to  allow  a  fresh 
company  of  flies  to  settle  on  the  hay  wisp, 
and  by  tlie  time  that  the  first  batch  "of  flies 
is  killed,  another  is  ready  for  immolation. 
Sometimes  nearly  a  bushel  of  flies  will  be 
thus  taken  in  a  "day.  It  is  most  likely  that 
the  natives  were  led  to  this  invention  by 
seeing  the  flies  cluster  round  their  brush- 
spoons  wlien  they  had  been  laid  aside  after 
use. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country,  the  flies  are 
captured  by  means  of  the  branches  of  a 
bush  belonging  to  the  genus  Roridula. 
This  is  covered  with  a  glutinous  secretion, 
and,  wlienever  the  flies  settle  upon  it,  they 
are  held  fast  and  cannot  escape.  Branchet 
of  this  useful  plant  are  placed  in  different 
parts  of  the  hut,  and  are  very  effective  in 
clearing  it  of  the  little  pests.  Many  of 
these  flies  are  identical  with  the  common 
house-fly  of  England,  but  there  are  many 
other  species  indigenous  to  the  country. 

The  Hottentot  is  a  tolerably  good  carver 
in  wood,  not  because  lie  has  much  idea  of 
art,  but  because  he  has  illimitable  patience, 
and  not  the  least  idea  of  the  value  of  time. 
Bowls    and   jars    are    carved    from    wood, 


228 


THE   HOTTENTOT. 


mostly  that  of  the  willow  tree,  and  the  car- 
ver prefers  to  work  while  the  sap  is  still  in 
the  wood.  A  kind  of  willow  grows  by  the 
water-side,  as  is  the  case  in  this  country, 
and  this  is  cut  down  with  the  odd  little 
hatchets  which  are  used  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  These  hatchets  are  made  on  exactly 
the  same  principle  as  the  hoes  which  have 
been  so  often  mentioned,  and  which  are 
represented  on  page  57.  The  head,  how- 
ever, is  very  much  smaller,  and  the  blade  is 
set  in  a  line  with  the  handle  instead  of 
transversely.  Thej'  are  so  small  and  feeble, 
that  the  labor  of  several  men  is  required  to 
cut  down  a  tree  only  eighteen  inches  or  so 
in  diameter;  and  the  work  which  an  Amer- 
ican axeman  would  complete  in  a  few  min- 
utes occupies  them  a  day  or  two.  When 
the  trunk  has  been  at  last  severed,  it  is  cut 
into  convenient  lengths  by  the  same  labori- 
ous process,  and  the  ditferent  portions  are 
mostly  shaped  by  the  same  axe.  If  a  bowl 
is  the  article  to  be  made,  it  is  partly  hol- 
lowed by  the  axe,  and  the  remainder  of  tlie 
work  is  done  with  a  knife  bent  into  a  hook- 
like shape.  These  bo'vls  are.  on  the  aver- 
age, a  foot  or  eighteen  inches  in  diameter. 

Making  bowls  is  a  comparatively  simple 
business,  but  the  carving  of  a  Jar  is  a  most 
laborious  task.  In  making  jars,  the  carver 
is  forced  to  depend  almost  entirely  upon  the 
bent  knife,  and  from  the  shape  of  the  article 
it  is  evident  that,  when  it  is  hollowed,  the 
carver  must  work  in  a  very  constrained 
manner.  Still,  as  time  is  of'no  value,  the 
jar  is  at  last  completed,  and,  like  the  bowl, 
is  well  rubbed  with  fat,  in  order  to  prevent 
it  from  splitting.  Generally,  these  jars  hold 
about  a  gallon,  but  some  of  them  are  barelv 
a  quarter  of  that  size,  while  others  are  larg'e 
enough  to  contain  five  gallons.  An  Euro- 
pean, with  similar  tools^  would  not  be  able 
to  make  the  smaller  sizes  of  these  jars,  as 
he  would  not  be  able  to  pass  his  hand  into 
the  interior.  The  hand  of  the  Hottentot  is, 
however,  so  small  and  delicate,  that  he  finds 
no  difBculty  in  the  tisk.  The  jar  is  called 
Bambus  in"  the  Hottentot  language. 

Unlike  the  KafBrs,  the  Hottentots  are 
rather  a  nomad  race,  and  their  huts  are  so 
made  that  they  can  be  taken  to  pieces  and 
packed  for  transportation  in  less  than  an 
hour,  while  a  couple  of  hours'  labor  is 
all  that  is  required  for  putting  them  up 
afresh,  even  when  the  architect  works  as 
deliberately  as  is  always  the  case  among 
uncivilized  natives.  Consequently,  when  a 
horde  of  Hottentots  travels  from"  one  place 
to  another,  a  village  seems  to  spring  up 
almost  as  if  by  magic,  and  travellers  who 
liave  taken  many  Hottentots  in  their  train 
have  been  very  nnich  astonished  at  the  sud- 
den transformation  of  the  scene. 

In  general  construction,  the  huts  are 
made  on  the  same  principle  as  those  of  the 
Kaffir,  being  formed  of  a  cage-like  frame- 
work, covered  with  lighter  "material.     A 


Hottentot  kraal  is  illustrated  opposite.  The 
Kafiir,  however,  interweaves  the  withes  and 
reeds  of  which  the  hut  is  made  among  the 
framework,  and  lainds  them  together  with 
ropes,  when,  if  he  is  going  to  settle  de- 
terminately  in  one  spot,  or  if  he  builds  a 
hut  in  a  well-established  kraal,  he  plasters 
the  interior  with  clay,  so  as  to  make  (he 
structure  flrni  and  impervious  to  weather. 
The  Hottentot,  on  the  contrary,  covers  his 
hut  with  reed  mats,  which  look  very  much 
like  the  sleeping-mats  of  the  Kaftirs,  and 
can  be  easily  laslied  to  the  framework,  and 
as  easily  removed.  These  mats  are  made  of 
two  .species  of  reed,  one  of  which  is  soft, 
and  can  be  easily  manipulated,  while  the 
other  is  hard,  and  gives  some  trouble  to  the 
maker.  But  the  former  has  the  disadvan- 
tage of  being  very  liable  to  decay,  and  of 
lasting  but  a  short  time,  whereas  the  latter 
is  remarkable  for  its  powers  of  endurance. 
These  plants  are  called  respectively  the  iSoft 
Reed  and  the  Hard  Reed,  and  their  scien- 
tific titles  are  Cyjyerus  tcxtilis  and  Scnpius 
tegetalis. 

The  method  of  making  the  mats  is  some- 
what similar  to  that  which  is  employed  by 
the  Kaffirs.  The  reeds  are  cut  so  as  to 
measure  six  feet  in  length,  and  are  placed 
in  a  heap  by  the  side  of  the  mat-maker, 
together  with  a  quantity  of  the  bark  string 
which  has  already  been  mentioned.  He 
pierces  them  with  a  bone  or  metal  needle, 
or  with  a  mimosa  thorn  if  he  does  not  pos- 
sess a  needle,  and  passes  the  string  through 
the  holes,  so  as  to  fasten  the  reeds  together. 
Even  considering  the  very  slow  and  delib- 
erate manner  in  which  the'Hottentot  works, 
the  mats  can  be  made  with  considerable 
rapidity,  and  it  is  needless  to  observe  that 
three  Hottentots  do  not  get  through  nearly 
as  much  work  as  an  average  Englishman. 

In  some  cases,  the  Hottentot  substitutes 
the  skins  of  sheep  or  oxen  for  mats,  but  the 
latter  are  most  generally  in  use  —  probably 
because  the  skins  are  too  valuable  as  arti- 
cles of  apparel  to  be  employed  for  the 
mere  exterior  of  a  house.  Owing  to  the 
manner  in  which  these  huts  are  made,  thej' 
are  more  impervious  to  weather  than  those 
of  the  Kaffir,  and,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, are  less  capable  of  letting  out  the 
smoke.  An  European  can,  on  a  pinch, 
exist  in  a  Kaffir  hut,  luit  to  do  so  in  a  skin- 
covered  Hottentot  house  is  almost  impossi- 
ble. To  a  restless  and  ever-moving  people 
like  the  Hottentots,  these  mats  are  absolute 
necessaries.  A  hut  of  ordinary  size  can  be 
packed  on  the  back  of  an  ox,  while  another 
ox  can  carry  all  the  simple  furniture  and 
utensils,  together  with  the  young  children; 
and  thus  a  whole  family  can  be  moved  at  a 
few  minutes'  notice,  without  much  incon- 
venience. The  huts  are,  in  fact,  nothing 
but  tents  made  of  mats,  and  resemble,  in 
many  particulars,  the  camel-hair  tents  of 
the  equally  nomad  Arabs. 


HOTTENTOT  KKAAL. 

(See  page  228.) 


(229) 


NOMiVD   HABITS   OF  THE  HOTTENTOT. 


231 


No  one  —  not  even  the  owner  —  knows, 
on  seeing  a  Hottentot  hut,  whether  he  will 
find  it  in  the  same  place  after  a  few  hours 
have  elapsed.  Sometimes,  a  Hottentot  wife 
will  set  to  work,  pull  the  hut  to  pieces,  but, 
instead  of  packing  it  on  the  back  of  an  ox, 
rebuild  her  liouse  within  twenty  or  thirty 
yards  of  its  original  locality.  The  object  of 
this  strange  conduct  is  to  rid  herself  and 
family  from  the  fleas,  which,  together  with 
other  vermin,  swarm  exceedingly  in  a  Hot- 
tentot's house,  and  drive  the  inmates  to 
escape  in  the  manner  related.  These  un- 
pleasant parasites  are  generally  attacked  in 
the  early  morning,  the  mantles,  sheepskins, 
mats,  and  other  articles,  being  taken  out- 
side the  hut,  and  beaten  soundly  with  a 
stick.  Sufficient,  however,  remain  to  per- 
petuate the  breed,  and  at  last,  as  lias  been 
seen,  they  force  the  Hottentot  fairly  to  re- 
move the  house  altogether. 

As  to  the  Hottentots  themselves,  they 
sutler  but  comparatively  little  inconvenience 
from  the  bites  of  tliese  creatures,  against 
which  the  successive  coatings  of  grease, 
buchu,  and  sibilo  act  as  a  partial  defence. 
But,  whenever  the  insects  are  fortunate 
enough  to  attack  a  clean-skinned  Euro- 
pean, they  take  full  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  drive  him  half  mad.  Gordon 
Gumming  relates  an  amusing  account  of  a 
small  adventure  which  happened  to  him- 
self in  connection  with  these  insects.  He 
•was  extremely  tired,  and  fell  asleep  among 
his  followers,  one  of  whom  compassionately 
took  otf  the  kaross  which  he  was  wearing, 
and  spread  it  over  him.  Presently  the 
sleeper  started  up  in  a  state  of  unbearable 
irritation  from  the  bites  of  the  numerous 
parasites  with  which  the  kaross  was  stocked. 
He  was  obliged  instantly  to  remove  every 
single  article  of  apparel,  and  have  them  all 
beaten  and  searched  before  he  could  again 
resume  them. 

As  may  be  seen  by  inspection  of  the 
illustration,  the  huts  are  not  of  quite  the 
same  shape  as  those  belonging  to  the  Kattirs, 
the  ends  being  flattened,  ami  the  apertures 
square  instead  of  rounded,  the  door,  in  fact, 


being  simply  made  by  the  omission  of  one 
mat.  The  nomad  life  of  the  Hottentots  is 
necessitated  by  their  indolent  habits,  and 
their  utter  want  of  forethought.  The  Kattir 
is  not  remarkable  for  the  latter  quality,  as 
indeed  is  the  case  with  most  savage  nations. 
But  the  Kaffir  is,  at  all  events,  a  tolerable 
agriculturist,  and  raises  enough  grain  to 
supply  his  family  with  food,  besides,  in 
many  cases,  enclosing  patches  of  ground  in 
which  to  plant  certain  vegetables  and  fruit. 
The  Hottentot,  however,  never  had  much 
notion  of  agriculture,  and  what  little  he 
attempts  is  of  the  rudest  description. 

The  unwieldy  hoe  with  which  the  Kaffir 
women  break  up  the  ground  is  a  sutticiently 
rude  and  clumsy  instrument,  but  it  is  per- 
fection itself  when  compared  with  the  dig- 
ging stick  of  the  Hottentot.  This  is  nothing 
more  than  a  stick  of  hard  wood  sharpened 
at  one  end,  and  weighted  by  means  of  a  per- 
forated stone  through  which  it  is  passed, 
and  which  is  held  in  its  place  by  a  wedge. 
With  this  rude  instrument  the  Hottentot 
can  break  up  the  ground  faster  than  might 
be  imagined,  but  he  ofteuer  uses  it  for  dig- 
ging up  wild  plants,  and  unearthing  sundry 
burrowing  animals,  than  for  any  agricul- 
tural  purposes. 

The  life  of  a  Hottentot  does  not  tie  Mm 
to  any  particular  spot.  A  sub-tribe  or 
horde,  which  tolerably  corresponds  with  the 
kraal  of  the  Kaffir,  settles  down  in  some- 
locality  which  they  think  will  supply  nour- 
ishment, and  which  is  near  water.  Here, 
if  the  spot  be  favorable,  they  will  sometimes 
rest  for  a  considerable  time,  occasionally  for 
a  space  of  several  years.  Facility  for  hunt- 
ing has  much  to  do  with  the  length  of  time 
that  a  horde  remains  in  one  spot,  inasmuch 
as  the  Hottentots  are  admirable  hunters, 
and  quite  rival  the  Kaffirs  in  this  respect, 
even  if  they  do  not  excel  them.  They  are 
especially  notable  for  the  persevering  obsti- 
nacy with  which  they  will  pursue  their 
game,  thinking  a  whole  day  well  bestowed 
if  they  succeed  at  last  in  bringing  dowij 
their  prey. 


U 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


"WEAPONS. 


■WEAPONS  OF  THE  HOTTENTOT  AND  THEIR  USE  —  HIS  VORACITY,  AND  CAPABILITY  OF  BEARING  HCITGEB 
—  MODE  OF  COOKING  —  POWER  OF  SLEEP  —  DISTINCTION  BETWEEN  HOTTENTOTS  AND  KAFlrIRS  — 
CATTLE  AND  THEIR  USES  —  THE  BAKELEYS  OR  FIGHTING  OXEN  —  A  HOTTENTOT'S  MEMORY  FOR  A 
COW — MARRIAGE  —  POLYG.AMY  NOT  OFTEN  PRACTISED  —  WANT  OF  RELIGION  —  LANGUAGE  OF  THE 
HOTTENTOTS — THE  CHARACTERISTIC  "CLICKS" — AMUSEMENTS  OF  THE  HOTTENTOTS  —  SINGING 
AND  DANCING — SUBJECT  OF  THEIR  SONGS — THE  MjVN'S  DANCE — ALL  AMUSEMENTS  RESTRICTED 
TONIGHT — THE  MELON  DANCE — "  CARD-PLAYING  " — LOVE  OF  A  PRACTICAL  JOKE  —  mABILITY 
TO  MEASURE  TIME  —  WARFARE  —  SICKNESS,    DEATH,    AND  BURIAL. 


The  weapons  which  the  Hottentots  use  fire 
mostly  the  bow  and  arrow.  These  weapons 
are  ahiiost  identical  with  those  employed  by 
the  Bosjesmaus,  and  will  be  described  in  a, 
future  page.  They  also  employ  the  assagai, 
but  do  not  .seem  to  be  particularly  fond  of 
it,  lacking  the  muscular  strengtli  which  en- 
ables the  Kaffir  to  make  such  terrilile  use  of 
it.  Moreover,  the  Hottentot  does  not  carry 
a  sheaf  of  these  weapons,  but  contents  him- 
self with  a  single  one,  which  he  does  not 
throw  until  he  is  at  tolerably  close  quar- 
ters. 

He  is,  however,  remarkable  for  his  skill  in 
throwing  the  knob-kerrie,  which  is  always  of 
the  short  form,  so  that  he  can  carry  several 
of  them  in  his  belt.  In  fact,  he  uses  the 
kerrie  much  as  the  Kafflr  uses  the  assagai, 
having  always  a  quantity  of  them  to  "his 
hand,  and  hurling  them  one  after  the  other 
with  deadly  accuracy  of  aim.  With  these 
weapons,  so  useless  in  the  hands  of  an  ordi- 
nary European,  he  can  match  himself  against 
most  of  the  ordinary  animals  of  Southern 
Africa,  excepting,  of  course,  the  larger  ele- 
phants, rhinoceros,  and  hippopotamus,  and 
the  predaceous  felidre,  such  as  the  lion  or 
leopard.  These,  however,  he  can  destroy 
by  means  of  pitfalls  and  other  ingenious 
devices,  and  if  a  Hottentot  hunter  sets  him- 
self determinedly  to  kill  or  capture  any  given 
animal,  that  creature's  chances  of  life  are 
but  small. 

When  he  has  succeeded  in  killing  game, 
his  voracity  is  seen  to  equal  his  patience. 
Hunger  he  can  endure  with  wonderful  indif- 


contriving  to  support  existence  on  an  almost 
inappreciable  quantity  of  food.  But,  when 
ho  can  only  procure  meat,  he  eats  with  a  con- 
tinued and  sustained  voracity  that  is  almost 
incredible.  For  quality  lie  cares  but  little, 
and  so  that  he  can  obtnin  unlimited  supplies 
of  meat,  he  does  not  troulile  himself  whether 
it  be  tough  or  tender.  Whenever  one  of  a 
horde  of  Hottentots  succeeds  in  killing  a 
large  animal,  such  as  an  elephant  or  hippo- 
liotamus,  and  it  happens  to  be  at  a  distance 
from  the  kraal,  the  inhabitants  prefer  to 
strike  their  tent-like  houses  and  to  remove 
them  to  the  animal  rather  than  trouble 
themselves  by  making  repeated  journeys  to 
and  fro.  The  chief  reason  for  tliis  strange 
conduct  is,  that,  if  they  took  the  latter  alter- 
native, they  would  deprive  themselves  of 
one  of  the  greatest  luxuries  which  a  Hotten- 
tot can  enjoy.  Seldom  tasting  meat,  they 
become  semi-intoxicated  under  its  influence, 
and  will  gorge  themselves  to  the  utmost 
limit  of  endurance,  sleeping  after  the  fashion 
of  a  boa-constrictor  that  "has  swallowed  a 
goat,  and  then  awaking  only  to  gorge  them- 
selves afresh,  and  fall  asleep  again. 

There  is  an  excuse  for  this  extraordinary 
exhibition  of  gluttony,  namely,  that  the  hot 
climate  causes  meat  "to  putrefy  so  rapidly 
that  it  must  be  eaten  at  once  if  it  is  eaten  at 
all.  Even  as  it  is,  the  Hottentots  are  often 
obliged  to  cat  meat  that  is  more  than  tainted, 
and  from  which  even  the  greatest  admirer 
of  high  game  would  recoil  with  horror. 
They  "do  not,  however,  seem  to  trouble 
themselves  about  such  trifles,  and  devour 


fereuGe,  tightening  his  belt  day  by  day,  and  '  the  tainted  meat  as  eagerly  as  if  it  were 

(232J 


A  HOTTENTOT'S  MEMOET  FOE  AN  OX. 


233 


perfectly  fresh.  "Whatever  may  be  the 
original  quality  of  the  meat,  it  owes  nothing 
to  the  mode  in  wliieh  it  is  dressed,  for  the 
Hottentots  are  perhaps  the  very  worst  cooks 
in  the  world.  They  take  an  earthen  pot, 
nearly  fill  it  with  water,  put  it  on  the  tire, 
and  allow  it  to  boil.  They  then  cut  up  their 
meat  into  lumps  as  large  as  a  man"s  fist, 
throw  them  into  the  pot,  and  permit  them 
to  remain  there  until  they  are  wanted. 
Sometimes,  when  the  feasters  are  asleei) 
themselves,  they  allow  the  meat  to  remain 
in  the  pot  for  half  a  day  or  so,  during  which 
time  the  women  are  obliged  to  keep  the 
■water  continually  boiling,  and  it  may  be  im- 
agined the  ultimate  result  of  their  cooking 
is  not  particularly  palatable. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
Hottentot  trilios  are  remarkable  for  their 
appetites.  They  are  no  less  notable  for 
their  power  of  sleep.  A  thorough-bred 
Hottentot  can  sleep  at  any  time,  and  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  place  him  under  condi- 
tions in  which  he  will  not  sleep.  If  he  be 
pinched  with  hunger,  and  can  see  no  means 
of  oljtaining  food  either  by  liuuting  or  from 
the  ground,  he  lies  down,  rolls  himself  up  in 
his  kaross,  and  in  a  few  moments  is  wrapped 
in  slumber.  Sleep  to  him  almost  answers 
the  purpose  of  food,  and  he  can  often  say 
with  trutli  that  "  he  who  sleeps  dines." 
"When  he  .sleeps  his  slumber  is  truly  remark- 
able, as  it  appears  more  like  a  lethargy  than 
sleep,  as  we  understand  the  word.  "A  gun 
may  be  fired  close  to  the  car  of  a  sleeping 
Hottentot  and  he  will  not  notice  it,  or,  at  all 
events,  will  merely  turn  himself  and  sink 
again  to  repose.  Even  in  sleep  there  is  a 
distinction  between  the  Kaffir  and  the  Hot- 
tentot. The  former  lies  at  full  length  on  his 
mat,  while  the  other  coils  himself  up  like  a 
human  hedgehog.  In  spite  of  the  evil 
atmosphere  of  their  huts,  the  Hottentots  are 
companionable  even  in  their  sleep,  and  at 
niglit  the  floor  of  a  hut  will  be  covered  with 
a  number  of  Hottentots,  all  lying  fast  a.sleep, 
and  so  mixed  up  together  that  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  distinguish  the  various  bodies  to 
which  the  limbs  belong.  The  illustration 
No.  3,  page  247,  gives  a  good  idea  of  this 
singular   custom. 

The  cattle  of  the  Hottentots  have  several 
times  been  mentioned.  These,  like  the 
Kaffir  oxen,  are  used  as  beasts  of  burden 
and  for  riding,  and  are  accoutred  in  the 
same  manner,  i.  e.  by  a  leathern  rope  passed 
several  times  round  the  body,  and  hauled 
.tight  by  men  at  each  end.  Perhaps  the 
reader  may  remember  that  in  days  long 
gone  by,  when  the  Hottentots  were  a  pow- 
erful nation  and  held  the  command  of  South- 
ern Africa,  their  kraals  or  villages  were 
defended  by  a  peculiar  breed  of  oxen,  which 
were  especially  trained  for  that  purpose, 
and  which  answered  the  same  jiurpose  as 
the  watch-dogs  which  now  beset  the  villages. 
These  oxeu  were  said  to  be  trained  to  guard 


the  entrance  of  the  kraal,  and  to  know  every 
inhal)itant  of  the  village,  from  the  oldest 
inhaliitant  down  to  the  child  which  could 
only  just  crawl  about.  Strangers  they  would 
not  permit  to  approach  the  kraal  except 
when  escorted  by  one  of  the  inhabitants,  nor 
would  they  sufier  him  to  go  out  again  except 
under  the  same  protection. 

This  story  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a 
mere  fabrication,  and  possibly  may  be  so. 
There  is,  however,  in  my  collection  an  ox- 
horn  which  was  lirought  from  Southern 
Africa  by  the  Eev.  Mr.  Shooter,  and  of  which 
no  one  could  give  an  account.  It  is  evi- 
dently very  old,  and,  although  the  horn  of  a 
domesticated  variety  of  cattle,  is  quite  unlike 
the  horns  of  the  oxen  which  belong  to  the 
native  triljes  of  the  present  day,  being  twice 
as  large,  and  having  altogether  a  dift'erent 
aspect.  It  is  just  such  a  horn  as  might  have 
belonged  to  the  oxen  aforesaid,  and,  although 
it  cannot  be  definitely  said  to  have  grown 
on  the  head  of  one  of  these  animals,  there  is 
just  a  possibility  that  such  may  have  been 
the  case.  , 

Like  the  Kaffir,  the  Hottentot  has  a  won- 
derful recollection  of  an  ox.  If  he  but  sees 
one  for  a  minute  or  two  he  will  remember 
that  ox  again,  wherever  it  may  be,  and 
even  after  the  lapse  of  several  years.  Pie 
will  recognize  it  in  the  midst  of  aherd,  even 
in  a  strange  place,  where  lie  could  have  no 
expectation  of  meeting  it,  and  he  will  re- 
member its  "  spoor,"  and  be  able  to  trace 
its  footsteps  among  the  tracks  of  the  whole 
henl.  He  has  even  been  known  to  discover 
a  stolen  cow  b}'  seeing  a  calf  which  she  had 
produced  after  she  was  stolen,  and  which  he 
recognized  from  its  likeness  to  its  mother. 

The  marriages  of  the  Hottentots  are  very 
simple  aftairs,  and  consist  merely  in  pajang 
a  certain  price  and  taking  the  bride  home. 
In  Kolben's  well-known  work  there  is  a 
most  elaborate  and  circumstantial  descri]i- 
tion  of  a  Hottentot  marriage,  detailing  with 
needless  precision  a  numlier  of  extraordi- 
nary rites  performed  by  the  priest  over  the 
newly-wedded  pair.  Now,  inasmuch  as  the 
order  of  priests  is  not  known  to  have  existed 
among  the  Hottentots,  and  certainly  did 
not  exist  in  Kolben's  time,  the  whole  narra- 
tive falls  to  the  ground.  The  fact  is,  that 
Kollien  found  it  easier  to  descrilie  second- 
hand than  to  investigate  for  himself,  and 
the  consequence  was,"that  the  Dutch  colo- 
nists, from  whom  he  gained  his  information, 
amused  themselves  by  imposing  upon  his 
credulity. 

Polygamy,  although  not  prohibited  among 
the  Hottentots,  is  Imt  rarely  practised.  Some 
men  have  several  wives,  but  this  is  the  ex- 
ception, and  not  the  rule. 

As  they  have  no  priests,  so  they  have  no 
professional  doctors.  They  an.'  all  adepts  in 
the  very  slight  amount  of  medical  and  sur- 
gical knowledge  which  is  required  by  them, 
and  have  no  idea  of  a  separate  order  of  men 


234 


THE   HOTTENTOT. 


who  practise  the  healing  art.  Unlike  the 
Kattirs,  who  are  the  most  superstitious  of 
numliiud,  the  Hottentots  are  entirely  free 
from  superstition,  inasmuch  as  they  have 
not  the  least  conception  of  any  religious 
sentiments  whatsoever.  The  present  world 
forms  the  limit  of  all  their  ideas,  and  they 
seem,  so  far  as  is  known,  to  be  equally  isjuo- 
rant  of  a  Creator  and  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul. 

The  language  of  the  Hottentot  races  is 
remarkable  for  a  peculiarity  which  is,  I  be- 
lieve, restricted  to  themselves  and  to  the 
surrounding  tribes,  who  have  evidently 
learned  it  from  them.  This  is  the  ]iresence 
of  the  "  click,"  which  is  found  in  almost  all 
the  tribes  that  inhabit  Southern  Africa, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Amazulu,  who 
are  free  from  this  curious  adjunct  to  their 
language,  and  speak  a  tongue  as  soft  as 
Italian.  There  are  tlu'ee  of  these  "  clicks," 
formed  by  the  tongue,  the  teeth,  and  the 
palate,  and  each  of  them  alters  the  signifi- 
cation of  the  word  with  which  it  is  used. 
The  first,  which  is  in  greatest  use,  is  made 
by  pressing  the  tip  of  the  tongue  against 
the  upper  front  teeth,  and  then  smartly  dis- 
engaging it.  The  sound  is  exactty  like  that 
which  is  produced  by  some  persons  when 
they  are  anno^'ed.  The  second  click  is 
formed  by  pressing  the  tongue  against  the 
roof  of  the  mouth,  and  then  sharply  with- 
drawing it,  so  as  to  produce  a  sound  like 
that  \vhich  is  used  by  grooms  when  urging 
a  horse.  It  has  to  be  done,  however,  witli 
the  least  possible  force  that  will  produce  the 
ett'ect,  as  otherwise  the  click  and  the  sylla- 
ble to  which  it  is  joined  cannot  be  sounded 
simultaneously.  The  last  click  is  much 
louder  than  the  others,  and  is  formed  by 
drawing  the  tongue  back  as  far  as  possilile, 
and  pressing  the  tip  against  the  back  of  the 
palate.  It  is  then  forced  rapidly  toward  the 
lips,  so  as  to  produce  a  much  deeper  and 
more  sonorous  sound  than  can  be  obtained 
by  the  two  former  modes. 

In  the  few  words  which  can  be  given  to 
this  branch  of  the  suliject,  we  will  distinguish 
these  several  sounds  by  the  titles  of  "  clack," 
"  click,"  and  "  cluck."  The  reader  will  find 
it  very  difficult  to  produce  either  of  these 
sounds  simultaneously  with  a  part  of  a 
word,  lint,  if  he  shoidd  desire  to  make  him- 
self understood  in  the  Hottentot  dialect, 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  he  should  do 
so.  How  needful  these  curious  adjuncts  are 
lias  been  well  shown  by  Le  Vaillant.  For 
Instance,  the  word  Aap,  without  any  click 
at  all,  .signifies  a  horse,  but  with  the  click 
it  signifies  an  arrow,  and  with  the  clack  it 
becomes  the  name  of  a  river.  It  is,  of 
course,  impossible  to  reduce  this  language 
to  any  known  alphabet,  and  the  necessary 
consequence  is  that  hardly  any  two  travel- 
lers who  have  ^\Titten  accounts  of  the  Hot- 
tentot ti'ibes  have  succeeded  in  spelling 
words  so  that  they  would  be  recognized, 


or  in  such  a  manner  that  the  reader  would 
be  able  to  pronounce  them.  The  general 
mode  of  expressing  these  clicks  is  bv  pre- 
fixing the  letters  ts  or  y  to  the  word,  and 
the  reader  may  find  a  very  familiar  examiile 
in  the  word  Gnoo,  which  ought  really  to  l)e 
spelt  without  the  y,  and  with  some  prefix 
which  would  denote  the  kind  of  click  which 
is  used  with  it. 

The  amusements  of  the  Hottentots  con- 
sist chiefly  of  singing  and  dancing,  together 
with  playing  on  a  curious  instrument  called 
the  Goura.  This  instrument,  however,  lie- 
longs  rather  to  the  Bosjesman  grouj)  of  the 
Hottentot  race,  and  will  therefore  be  de- 
scribed in  a  future  page.  Their  songs  are 
also  evidently  derived  from  the  same  source, 
and  their  melodies  are  identical.  Examples 
of  Bosjesman  songs  will  be  presently  given, 
together  with  the  description  of  the  Goura. 
In  the  words  of  the  songs,  however,  the 
Hottentots  have  the  advantage,  as  they 
always  have  some  signification,  whereas 
those  of  the  Bosjesmans  have  not  even  the 
semblance  of  meaning,  and  are  equivalent 
to  the  do,  re,  mi,  &c.,  of  modern  music. 

Le  Vaillant  mentions  that  the  subject  of 
the  songs  which  the  Hottentots  sang  was 
almost  always  some  adventure  which  had 
happened  to  themselves,  so  that,  like  the 
negroes,  they  can  sing  throughout  the  whole 
night,  by  the  simple  expedient  of  repeating 
the  words  of  their  song  over  and  over 
again.  They  prefer  the  night  to  the  day 
for  this  purpose,  because  the  atmosphere 
is  cooler,  and  the  tasks  of  the  da_y  are  over. 

"  When  they  are  desirous  of  indulging  in 
this  amusement,  they  join  hands  and  form 
a  circle  of  greater  or  less  extent,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  male  and  female 
dancers,  who  are  alwa3-s  mixed  with  a  kind 
of  symmetry.  When  the  chain  is  made, 
they  turn  round  from  one  side  to  another, 
separating  at  certain  intervals  to  mark  the 
measure, "and  from  time  to  time  clap  their 
hands  without  interrupting  the  cadence, 
while  with  their  voices  they  accompany 
the  sound  of  the  instrument,  .and  continu- 
ally chant  'Hoo!  IIoo! '  This  is  the  gen- 
eral burden  of  their  song. 

"  Sometimes  one  of  the  dancers  quits  the 
circle,  and,  going  to  the  centre,  perforins 
there  alone  a  few  steps  after  the  English 
manner,  all  the  merit  and  beauty  of  which 
consist  in  performing  them  with  equal  quick- 
ness and  precision,  without  stirring  from  the 
spot  where  he  stands.  After  this  they  all 
quit  each  other's  hands,  follow  one  another 
carelessly  with  an  air  of  terror  and  melan- 
choly, their  heads  leaning  to  one  shoulder, 
and  their  eyes  cast  down  toward  the  ground, 
which  they  look  at  with  attention;  and  in  a 
moment  after  they  break  forth  in  the  live- 
liest demonstration  of  joy,  and  the  most 
extravagant  merriment. 

"  They  are  highly  delighted  with  this  con- 
trast wlieu  it  iswell  performed.    All  this  is 


THE   MELOX  DANCE. 


235 


at  bottom  but  an  alternate  assemblage  of 
very  droll  and  amusing  pantomimes.  It 
must  be  observed  that  the  dancers  make  a 
hollow  monotonous  kind  of  humming,  \vhieh 
never  ceases,  except  when  they  join  the 
spectators  and  sing  the  wonderful  chorus, 
'Hoo!  Hoo!'  which  appears  to  be  the  life 
and  soul  of  this  magniticent  music.  They 
usually  conclude  with  a  general  ball;  that 
is  to  say,  the  ring  is  broken  and  they  all 
dance  in  confusion  as  each  chooses,  and 
upon  this  occasion  they  display  all  their 
strength  and  agility.  "The  most  expert 
dancers  repeat,  by  way  of  defiance  to  each 
other,  those  dangerous  leaps  and  musical 
quivers  of  our  grand  academies,  which  ex- 
cite laughter  as  deservedly  as  the  'IIooI 
Hoo! '  of  Africa.'' 

Whether  for  singing,  dancing,  or  other 
relaxation,  the  Hottentots  never  assemble 
except  by  night,  the  day  being  for  too  pre- 
cious for  mere  amusement.  During  the  day 
the  men  are  engaged  in  the  ditlerent  pursuits 
of  their  life,  some  being  far  from  their  home 
on  the  track  of  some  animal  which  they  are 
hunting,  and  whose  flesh  is  devoted  to  the 
sujiport  of  themselves  and  their  families. 
Others  are  laboriously  making  snares,  dig- 
ging pitfalls,  or  going  the  rounds  of  those 
which  are  already  made,  so  that  animals 
which  have  been  captured  may  be  removed, 
and  tile  snares  reset.  They  have  also  to  make 
their  bows,  arrows,  spears,  and  clubs,  opera- 
tions which  absorb  much  time,  partly  because 
their  tools  are  few  and  imperfect,  and  ])artly 
because  all  their  work  is  undertaken  with 
a  degree  of  deliberation  which  is  exceed- 
ingly irritating  to  an  European  spectator. 

The  women,  too,  are  engaged  in  their 
own  occupations,  which  are  intinitely  more 
laborious  than  those  of  the  men,  and  con- 
sist of  all  kinds  of  domestic  work,  including 
taking  down  and  putting  up  the  huts,  col- 
lecting wood  for  the  evening  fires,  and  pre- 
paring the  food  for  the  men  when  they 
return  home.  With  the  shades  of  evening 
all  attempts  at  industry  are  given  up,  and 
the  Hottentots  amuse  themselves  through- 
out nearly  the  entire  night.  The  savage 
does  not  by  any  means  go  to  bed  with  tlie 
birds  and  arise  with  them,  as  is  popularly 
supposed,  and  almost  invariably  is  an  incor- 
rigible sitter-np  at  night,  smoking,  talking, 
singing,  dancing,  and  otherwise  amusing 
himself,  as  if  he  had  done  nothing  whatever 
all  day. 

Perhaps  he  may  owe  the  capability  of 
enduring  such  constant  dissiiiation  to"  the 
fact  that  he  can  command  sleep  at  will,  and 
that  his  slumber  is  so  deep  as  to  be  undis- 
turbed by  the  clamor  that  is  going  on 
around  him.  If,  for  example,  a  Hottentot 
has  been  hunting  all  day,  and  has  returned 
home  weary  with  the  chase  and  with  carry- 
ing the  animals,  he  will  not  think  of  sleep- 
ing until  he  has  had  his  supper,  smoked  his 
pipe,  and  enjo3-ed  an  hour  or  two  of  dancing 


I  and  singing.  But,  as  soon  as  he  feels  dis- 
posed to  cease  from  his  amusements,  he 
retires  from  the  circle,  rolls  himself  up  in 
his  kaross,  lies  down,  and  in  a  few  seconds 
is  fast  asleep,  unheeding  the  noise  which  is 
made  close  to  his  ears  by  his  companions 
who  are  still  pursuing  their  revels. 

There  is  a  singular  dance  which  is  much 
in  vogue  amongthe  young  Hottentot  girls, 
and  which  is,  as  far  as  I  know,  peculiar  to 
them.  As  a  small  melon  is  the  chief  object 
of  the  sport,  it  goes  by  the  name  of  the 
Melon  Dance,  and  is  thus  performed:  —  In 
the  evening,  when  the  air  is  cool,  the  girls 
assemble  and  choose  one  of  their  number 
as  a  leader.  She  takes  a  small  round  melon 
in  her  hands,  and  begins  to  run  in  a  circle, 
waving  her  arms  and  flinging  about  her 
limlis  in  the  wildest  imaginable  way.  The 
others  follow  her  and  imitate  her  move- 
ments, and,  as  they  are  not  impeded  by 
many  trammels  of  dress,  and  only  wear  the 
ordinary  cap  and  girdle  of  leathern  thongs, 
their  movements  are  full  of  wild  grace.  As 
the  leader  runs  round  the  course,  she  flings 
the  melon  in  the  air,  catches  it,  flings  it 
again,  and  at  last  stoops  suddenly,  leaps  into 
tiie  air,  and  throws  the  melon  beneath  her 
toward  the  girl  who  tbllows  her.  The  object 
of  this  dance  is  twofold.  The  second  girl 
has  to  catch  the  melon  without  ceasing 
from  her  course,  and  the  first  has  to  throw 
it  when  she  fancies  that  the  second  is  off 
her  guard.  Consequently,  she  makes  all 
kinds  of  feints,  pretending  to  throw  the 
melon  several  times,  and  trying  to  deceive 
by  every  means  in  her  power.  If  the 
second  girl  fails  in  catching  the  melon  the 
first  retains  her  leadership,  but  if  she  suc- 
ceeds she  becomes  leader,  and  goes  through 
the  same  man(euvres.  In  this  way  the 
melon  goes  round  and  round,  and  the  sport 
is  continued  uutil  the  dancers  are  too 
fatigued  to  continue  it. 

From  the  above  description  some  persons 
might  fancy  that  this  dance  oftends  the 
sense  of  decorum.  It  does  not  so.  It  is 
true  that  the  style  of  clothing  which  is 
worn  by  the  dancers  is  not  according  to 
European  notions,  but,  according  to  their 
own  ideas,  it  is  convenient  and  according  to 
usage.  Neither  is  there  anything  in  the 
dance  itself  which  ought  to  shock  a  rightly 
constituted  mmd.  It  is  simply  an  ebulHtion 
of  youthful  spirits,  and  has  nothing  in  com- 
mon with  dances  in  many  parts  of  the  world 
which  are  avowedly  and  intendedly  licen- 
tious, and  which,  whether  accompanied  by 
more  or  less  clothing  than  is  worn  by  these 
Hottentot  girls,  are  repulsive  rather  than 
attractive  to  any  one  who  possesses  any 
amount  of  self-respect. 

In  this  instance  the  dance  is  conducted  in 
perfect  innocence,  an<l  the  performers  have 
no  more  idea  of  impropriety  in  the  scanty 
though  graceful  and  artistic  dress  they 
weai%  than  has  an  English  ladj'  at  appear- 


236 


THE   irOTTE:NTOT. 


Ing  with  her  face  unveiled.  As  long  as 
clothing  is  not  attempted,  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  required,  but,  when  auy  portion  of 
European  clotliing  is  assunieil,  the  whole 
case  is  altered.  Mr.  Baines  narrates  a  little 
corroborative  incident.  He  was  travelling 
in  a  wagon,  accompanied,  as  usual,  by  Hot- 
tentots and  their  families.  The  latter, 
mostly  females,  were  walking  by  the  side  of 
the  wagon,  wearing  uo  costume  but  the 
slight  leathern  girdle.  It  so  happened  that 
some  old  shoes  were  thrown  out  of  the 
wagon,  and  immediately  appro])riated  by 
the  women,  who  have  an  absurd  hankering 
after  European  apparel.  No  sooner  had 
they  put  on  shoes  than  they  looked  naked. 
The\'  had  not  done  so  before,  but  even  that 
slight  amount  of  civilized  clothing  seemed 
to  suggest  that  the  whole  body  had  to  be 
clothed  also,  and  so  strong  was  this  feeling 
that  Mr.  Baines  found  means  of  removing 
the  oljnoxious  articles  of  apparel. 

The  Hottentots  have  a  remarkable  game 
which  they  call  by  the  name  of  Card-play- 
ing, apjiarently  because  no  cards  are  used 
iu  it.  This  game  is  simply  an  exhibition  of 
activity  and  quickness  of  hand,  being  some- 
what similar  in  principle  to  our  own  boy's 
game  of  Odd  and  Even.  It  is  illustrated 
on  the  opposite  page,  and  is  thus  described 
by  BurcheU:^ 

"  At  one  of  the  fires  an  amusement  of  a 
very  singular  and  nearly  unintelligible  kind 
was  the  source  of  great  amusement,  not 
only  to  the  performers  themselves,  but  to 
all  the  bystanders.  They  called  it  Card- 
playing,  a  word  in  this  instance  strangely 
misapplied.  Two  Hottentots,  seated  ojjpo- 
site  each  other  on  the  ground,  were  vocif- 
erating, as  if  in  a  rage,  some  particular 
expressions  in  their  own  language:  laugh- 
ing violently,  throwing  their  bodies  on 
eiuier  side,  tossing  their  arms  in  all  direc- 
tions —  at  one  moment  with  their  liands 
close  together,  at  another  stretched  out 
wide  apart;  up  in  the  air  at  one  time,  or  in 
an  instant  down  to  the  ground;  sometimes 
with  them  closed,  at  other  times  exhibiting 
them  open  to  their  opponent.  Frequently 
in  the  heat  of  the  game  tliey  started  upon 
their  knees,  falling  back  immediately  on 
the  ground  again;  and  all  this  in  such  a 
quick,  wild,  extraordinary  manner,  that  it 
was  impossilale,  after  watching  their  mo- 
tions for  a  long  tunc,  to  discover  the  nature 
of  their  game,  or  to  comprehend  the  princi- 
ple on  which  it  was  founded,  any  more  than 
a  person  entirely  ignorant  of  the  moves  at 
chess  could  learn  that  by  merely  looking 
on. 

'■  This  is  a  genuine  Hottentot  game,  as 
every  one  would  certainly  suppose,  on  see- 
ing the  uncouth  manner  in  which  it  is 
played.  It  is,  they  say,  of  great  antiquity, 
and  at  present  practised  only  liy  such  as 
have  preserved  some  portion  of  their  origi- 
nal customs,  and  they  pretend  that  it  is  not 


every  Hottentot  who  possesses  the  talent 
necessary  for  playing  it  in  ])erfection. 

"  I  fouyd  some  dillieulty  in  obtaining  an 
intelligible  explanation,  but  learned  at  last 
that  the  principle  consists  in  concealing  a 
small  piece  of  stick  in  one  hand  so  dexter- 
ously that  the  opponent  shall  not  be  able, 
when  both  closed  hands  are  presented  to 
him,  to  distinguish  in  which  it  is  held,  while 
at  the  same  time  he  is  obliged  to  decide  by 
some  sign  or  motion  either  on  one  or  tlie 
otliei'.  As  soon  as  the  opponent  has  gained 
a  certain  number  of  guesses,  he  is  consid- 
ered to  have  won  a  game,  and  it  then 
becomes  his  turn  to  take  the  stick,  and  dis- 
])lay  his  ingenuit}'  in  concealing  it  and  iu 
deceiving  the  other.  In  this  manner  the 
games  are  continued  alternately,  often  the 
whole  night  long,  or  until  the  players  are 
exhausted  witli  fatigue.  In  the  course  of 
tliem  various  little  incidents,  either  of  inge- 
nuity or  of  mistake,  occur  to  animate  their 
exertions,  and  excite  the  rude,  harmless 
mirth  of  their  surrounding  friends."'  The 
reader  will  probably  see  the  ch)se  resem- 
blance between  this  game  played  by  the 
Hottentots  of  Southern  Africa  and  the  well- 
known  game  of  "  Morro,"  that  is  so  popular 
m  several  parts  of  Southern  Europe. 

The  Hottentot  seems  to  be  as  fond  of  a 
practical  joke  as  the  Kaffir,  and  to  take  it  as 
g(jod-huinoredly.  On  one  occasion,  when  a 
traveller  was  passing  througli  Africa  with  a 
large  party,  several  "of  the  Hottentots,  who 
ought  to  have  been  on  the  watch,  contrived 
to  "draw  near  the  fire,  and  to  fall  asleep. 
Some  of  their  companions  determined  to 
give  them  a  thorough  fright,  and  to  recall 
to  their  minds  that  they  ought  to  have  been 
watching  and  not  sleeping.  Accordingly, 
they  went  olf  to  a  little  distance,  and  shot 
a  couple  of  ]5osjesman  arrows  close  to  the 
sleepers.  Deep  as  is  a  Hottentot's  slumber, 
he  can  shake  off  sleep  in  a  moment  at  the 
approach  of  danger,  and,  although  the 
loudest  sound  will  not  wake  him,  provided 
that  it  be  of  a  harmless  character,  an  almost 
inaudible  sound  will  reach  his  ears,  pro- 
vided that  it  presage  danger.  As  soon  as 
the  sleeping  Hottentots  heard  the  twang  of 
the  bow,  they  sprang  up  in  alarm,  which 
was  not  decreased  "by  tlie  sight  of  the 
arrows  falling  close  to  "them,  sprang  to  the 
wagon  for  their  arras,  and  were  received 
with  a  shout  of  laughter. 

However,  they  soon  had  their  revenge. 
One  dark  evening  the  young  men  were 
amusing  themselves  with  setting  fire  to 
some  dried  reeds  a  few  hundred  yards  from 
the  camp.  While  they  were  enjoying  the 
waves  of  fire  as  they  rolled  along,  driven  by 
the  wind,  the  Hottentots  stole  behind  the 
reeds,  and  witli  the  shell  of  an  ostrich  egg 
imitated  the  roar  of  an  approaching  lion  so 
accurately,  that  the  young  men  began  to 
shout  in  order  to  drive  the  lion  away,  and 
at  last  ran  to  the  camp  screaming  with  ter- 


(1.)  CAKU  I'LAYJNU. 
(See  page  236.) 


1^1     ^' 


(2.)    SHOOTING  CATTLE. 
(See  page  254,) 


(237} 


INABILITY  TO  MEASURE  TIME. 


239 


ror.  Of  course  the  songs  that  were  sung 
in  the  camp  that  night  were  full  of  refer- 
ence to  Bosjesmans  and  lions. 

The  Ilot'tentot  has  a  constitutional  ina- 
bility to  compute  time.  A  traveller  can 
never  thscover  the  age  of  a  Hottentot, 
partly  because  the  man  himself  has  not  the 
least  notion  of  his  age,  or  indeed  of  annual 
computation  at  all,  and  partly  because  a 
Hottentot  looks  as  old  at  thirty-five  as  at 
sixty-five.  He  can  calculate  the  time  of 
day  by  the  position  of  the  sun  with  regard 
to  the  meridian,  but  his  memory  will  not 
serve  him  so  far  as  to  enaljle  him  to  com- 
pute annual  time  by  the  height  of  the  sun 
above  the  horizon.  As  is  the  case  with 
most  savage  races,  his  unit  of  time  is  the 
new  moon,  and  he  makes  all  his  reckonings 
of  time  to  consist  of  so  many  moons.  An 
amusing  instance  of  this  deficiency  is  given 
by  Dr.  Lichtenstein,  in  his  "  Travels  in 
South  Africa":  — 

"  A  Hottentot,  in  particular,  engaged  our 
attention  by  the  simplicity  with  which  he 
told  his  story.  After  he  had  harangued  for 
a  long  time  in  broken  Dutch,  we  collected 
so  much  as  that  he  agreed  with  a  c(.)lonist  to 
serve  him  for  a  certain  time,  at  fixed  wages, 
as  herdsman,  but  before  the  time  expired 
they  had  parted  by  mutual  agreement.  The 
dispute  was  how  much  of  the  time  remained; 
consequently,  how  much  wages  the  master 
had  a  right  to  deduct  from  the  sum  which 
was  to  have  been  paid  for  the  whole  time. 

"  To  illustrate  this  matter,  the  Hottentot 
gave  us  the  following  account  :  — •  My  Baas,' 
said  he,  '  will  have  it  that  I  was  to  serve  so 
long '  (and  here  he  stretched  out  his  left 
arm  and  hand,  and  laid  the  little  finger  of 
his  right  hand  directly  under  the  arm)  ; 
'  but  I  say  that  I  only  agreed  to  serve  so 
long,'  and  here  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon 
the  joint  of  the  left.  Apparently,  ho  meant 
by  this  to  signify  that  the  proportion  of 
the  time  he  had  served  with  that  he  had 
agreed  to  serve  was  the  same  as  the  propor- 
tion of  what  he  pointed  out  of  the  arm  to 
the  whole  length  of  it.  At  the  same  time 
he  showed  us  a  small  square  stick,  in  which, 
at  every  full  moon,  he  had  made  a  little 
notch,  with  a  double  one  at  the  full  moon 
when  ho  quitted  the  colonist's  service.  As 
the  latter  was  present,  and  several  of  the 
colonists  and  Hottentots,  who  attended  as 
auditors,  could  ascertain  exactly  the  time  of 
entering  on  the  service,  the  conclusion  was, 
as  is  very  commonly  the  case,  that  both  the 
master  and  the  servant  were  somewhat  in 
the  wrong;  that  the  one  reckoned  too  much 
of  the  time  expired,  the  other  too  little  ; 
and  that,  according  to  the  Hottentot's  mode 
of  measuring,  the  time  expired  came  to 
about  the  knuckle. 

"  Tlie  Hottentots  understand  no  other 
mode  of  measuring  time  but  by  lunar 
months  and  days  ;  they  have  no  idea  of  tlio 
division  of  the  day  into  hours.    If  a  man 


asks  a  Hottentot  how  far  it  is  to  such  a 
place,  he  either  makes  no  answer,  or  points 
to  a  certain  spot  in  the  heavens,  and  says, 
'The  sun  will  be  there  when  you  get  to  it.'" 

Warfare  among  the  Hottentots  scarcely 
deserves  the  name,  because  we  can  hardly 
use  such  a  term  as  "  warfare "  where  there 
is  no  distinction  of  officer  or  private,  where 
there  is  no  commander,  and  no  plan  of  action. 
The  men  who  are  able  to  wield  the  bow  and 
arrow  advance  in  a  body  upon  the  enemy, 
and  are  led  by  any  one  who  thinks  himself 
brave  enough  to  take  the  command.  When 
they  come  to  close  quarters  with  the  enemy, 
every  one  fights  in  the  way  that  suits  him- 
self best,  without  giving  support  to  those  of 
his  own  side,  or  expecting  it  from  his  com- 
rades. Even  the  chief  man  of  a  horde  is 
not  necessarily  the  leader,  and  indeed  his 
authority  over  the  horde  is  more  nominal 
than  real.  A  mere  boy  may  assume  the 
leadership  of  the  expedition,"  and,  if  he  is 
courfvgeous  enough  to  take  the  lead,  he  may 
keep  "it  until  some  still  braver  warrior 
comes  to  the  front.  It  evident  that  such 
warfare  is  merely  a  succession  of  skirmishes 
or  duels,  much  as  was  the  case  in  the  days 
of  Hector  and  Achilles,  each  soldier  select- 
ing his  own  particular  adversary,  and  fight- 
ing him  until  one  of  the  two  is  killed,  runs 
away,  or  renders  himself  prisoner. 

As  far  as  is  known,  the  Hottentots  never 
made  war,  according  to  the  usual  accepta- 
tion of  the  word.  If  insulted  or  aggrieved 
by  having  their  cattle  stolen,  they  would  go 
off  and  make  reprisals,  but  they  had  no  idea 
of  carrying  on  war  for  any  political  object. 
This  is  probably  the  reason  why  they  were 
so  completely  overcome  by  the  Kathr  tribes, 
who  had  some  knowledge  of  warfare  as  an 
art,  and  who  drove  them  further  and  further 
away  from  their  own  domains,  until  their 
nationality  was  destroyed,  and  they  were 
reduced  to  a  mere  aggregation  of  scattered 
tribes,  without  unity,  and  consequently  with- 
out power. 

However  nationally  unwarlike  the  Hot- 
tentot may  be,  and  however  incapable  he 
may  be  of  military  organization,  he  can  be, 
ma'de  into  a  soldier  who  is  not  only  useful, 
but  unapproachable  in  his  own  jieeuliar 
line.  Impatient,  as  a  rule,  of  military  dis- 
cipline, he  hates  above  all  things  to  march 
in  step,  to  go  through  the  platoon  exercise, 
and  to  perform  those  mechanical  mo\e- 
ments  which  delight  the  heart  of  the  drill- 
sergeant.  He  is,  as  a  rule,  abhorrent  of 
anything  like  steady  occupation,  and  this 
tendency  of  mind  incapacitates  him  from 
being  an  agriculturist,  while  it  aids  in  quali- 
fying him  Yor  the  hunter's  life.  Now,  as  a 
rule,  a  good  hunter  makes  a  good  soldier, 
especially  of  the  irregular  kind,  and  the 
training  "which  is  aftbrded  Iiy  the  pursuit 
of  the  fleet,  powerful,  and  dangerous  beasts 
of  Africa,  makes  the  Hottentot  one  of  the 
best  irregular  soldiers  in  the  world. 


240 


THE  HOTTENTOT. 


But  he  must  be  allowed  to  fight  in  his 
own  way,  to  choose  his  own  time  for  attack, 
to  make  it  in  the  mode  tliat  suits  him  best, 
and  to  run  away  if  flight  hap))ens  to  suit 
him  better  tliau  battle.  He  has  not  the 
least  idea  of  getting  himself  killed  or 
wouudL'd  on  mere  points  of  honor  ;  and 
if  he  sees  that  the  chances  of  war  are  likely 
to  go  much  against  him,  he  quietly  retreats, 
and  "  lives  to  fight  another  daj'."  To  this 
mode  of  action  he  is  not  promjited  by  any 
feeling  of  fear,  but  merely  bj'  the  connnon- 
sense  view  of  the  case.  His  business  is  to 
kill  the  enemy,  and  he  means  to  do  it.  But 
that  desirable  object  cannot  be  attained  if 
he  allows  them  to  kill  him,  and  so  he 
guards  himself  against  the  latter  event  as 
much  as  possible.  Indeed,  if  he  is  wounded 
when  he  might  have  avoided  a  wound,  he 
feels  heartily  ashamed  of  himself  for  having 
committed  such  an  error;  and  if  he  succeeds 
in  killing  or  wounding  an  enemy  without 
suflering  damage  himself,  he  glories  in  his 
superior  ingenuity,  and  makes  merry  over 
the  stupidity  of  his  foe. 

Fear  —  as  we  understand  the  word  —  has 
very  little  influence  over  the  Hottentot  sol- 
dier, whether  he  be  trained  to  fight  with  the 
white  man's  fire-arms,  or  whether  he  uses 
the  bow  and  arrow  of  his  primitive  life.  If 
he  must  fight,  he  will  do  so  with  a  quiet  and 
dogged  valor,  and  any  enemj'  that  thinks  to 
conquer  him  will  find  that  no  easy  task  lies 
before  him. 

Mr.  Christie  has  narrated  to  me  several 
incidents  which  show  the  obstinate  courage 
with  \vhich  a  Hottentot  can  fight  when 
pressed.     One  of  them  is  as  follows  :  — 

"During  the  Katfir  war  of  1847,  a  body 
of  Hottentots  were  surrounded  by  a  large 
party  of  Kaffirs,  and,  after  a  severe  strug- 
gle, succeeded  in  cutting  their  way  through 
their  dark  foes.  One  of  the  Hottentots, 
however,  happened  to  be  wounded  near  the 
spine,  so  that  he  lost  the  use  of  his  legs,  and 
could  not  stand.  Even  though  suffering 
under  this  severe  injury,  he  would  not  sur- 
render, but  dragged  himself  to  an  ant-hill, 
and  supported  his  back  against  it,  so  that 
his  arms  were  at  liberty.  In  this  position 
he  continued  to  load  and  fire,  though  com- 
pletely exposed  to  the  bullets  and  assagais 
of  the  Katflrs.  So  true  was  his  aim,  even 
under  these  circumstances,  that  he  killed 
and  wounded  a  considerable  number  of 
them  ;  and,  when  a  reinforcing  party  came 
to  their  help,  the  brave  fellow  was  at  the 
point  of  death,  but  still  breathing,  though 
his  body  was  completely  riddled  with  bul- 
lets, and  cut  to  pieces  with  spears." 

This  anecdote  also  serves  to  show  the 
extraordinary  tenacity  of  life  possessed  by 
this  race  —  a  tenacity  which  seems  to  rival 
that  of  the  lower  reptiles.  On  one  occasion, 
Mr.  Christie  was  in  a  surgeon's  house  in 
Grahamstown,  when  a  Hottentot  walked  in, 
and  asked  the  surgeon  to  look  at  his  head, 


which  had  been  damaged  on  the  previous 
night  by  a  blow  from  a  knob-kerrie.  He 
took  otf  his  hat  and  the  handkerchief  which, 
according  to  custom,  was  wrapped  round  his 
head,  and  exhibited  an  injury  which  would 
have  killed  most  Europeans  on  the  spot, 
and  certainly  would  have  prostrated  them 
utterly.  On  the  crown  of  his  head  there 
was  a  circular  wound,  about  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  more  than  half  an  inch  deep, 
the  bone  having  been  driven  down  on  the 
brain  by  a  blow  from  the  heavy  knob  of  the 
weapon.  The  depressed  part  of  the  skull 
was  raised  as  well  as  could  be  done,  and  the 
remainder  cut  away.  The  operation  l^eing 
over,  tlie  man  replaced  his  hat  and  hand- 
kerchief, and  walked  away,  apparently  little 
the  worse  for  his  accident,  or  the  ojseration 
which  succeeded  it. 

On  another  occasion,  the  same  gentleman 
saw  a  Hottentot  wagon-driver  fall  from  his 
seat  under  the  wheels.  One  of  the  fore- 
wheels  passed  over  his  neck,  and,  as  the 
wagon  was  loaded  with  some  two  tons  of 
firewood,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  man 
was  killed  on  the  spot.  To  the  surprise  of 
the  beholder,  he  was  not  only  alive  when 
free  of  the  wheel,  but  had  presence  of 
mind  to  roll  out  of  the  way  of  the  hind 
wheel,  which  otherwise  must  have  gone 
over  him.  Mr.  Christie  ran  to  him,  and 
helped  him  to  his  feet.  In  answer  to  anx- 
ious questions,  he  said  that  he  was  not 
much  hurt,  except  by  some  small  stones 
which  had  been  forced  into  his  skin,  and 
which  he  asked  Mr.  Christie  to  remove. 
Indeed,  these  men  seem  not  only  to  be 
tenacious  of  life,  but  to  suffer  very  little 
pain  from  injuries  that  would  nearly  kill  a 
white  man,  or  at  all  events  would  cause  him 
to  be  nearly  dead  with  pain  alone.  Yet, 
callous  as  they  are  to  bodily  injuries,  they 
seem  to  be  peculiarly  susceptilile  to  poison 
that  mixes  with  the  blood,  and,  if  bitten  by 
a  snake,  or  wounded  by  a  poisoned  arrow, 
to  have  very  much  less  chance  of  life  than 
a  European  under  similar  conditions. 

"We  will  conclude  this  history  of  the  Hot- 
tentots with  a  few  remarks  on  their  treat- 
ment of  sickness  and  their  burial  of  the 
dead. 

When  Hottentots  are  ill  they  obey  the  in- 
stinct which  seems  to  be  implanted  equally 
in  man  and  beast,  and  separate  themselves 
from  their  fellows.  Sometimes  they  take 
the  trouble  to  have  a  small  hut  erected  at  a 
distance  from  the  kraal,  )nit  iu  all  eases  they 
keep  themselves  aloof  as  far  as  possible,  and 
do  not  mix  with  their  companions  until 
their  health  is  restored.  Of  professional 
jihysicians  they  know  nothing,  and  have  in 
this  respect  a  decided  advantage  over  the 
Kaffirs,  who  are  horribly  tormented  in  their 
hours  of  sickness  by  the  witch-doctor,  who 
tries,  by  all  kinds  of  noisy  incantations,  to 
drive  out  the  evil  spirit  which  is  tormenting 
the  sick  man.    There  are  certainly  some 


SICKNESS,  DEATH,  AND  BURIAL. 


241 


men  among  them  wlio  possess  a  kind  of 
knowledge  of  pliarmacy,  and  these  men  are 
liberal  enough  of  their  advice  and  prescrip- 
tions. But  they  do  not  form  a  distinct  order 
of  men,  nor  do  they  attempt  to  work  cures 
by  superhuman  means.  They  are  more  suc- 
cessful in  treating  wounds  and  bodily  inju- 
ries than  in  the  management  of  diseases, 
because  in  the  former  case  there  is  some- 
thing tangible  with  which  they  can  cope, 
whereas  they  cannot  see  a  disease,  nor  can 
they  produce  any  immediate  and  visible  ef- 
fect, as  is  the  case  with  a  bodily  injury. 

Sometimes  a  curious  kind  of  ceremony 
seems  to  be  performed,  which  is  probably 
analogous  to  the  shampooing  that  is  in 
vogue  in  many  parts  of  the  earth.  The  pa- 
tient lies  prostrate  while  a  couple  of  women, 
one  on  either  side,  pound  and  knead  him 
with  their  closed  fists,  at  the  same  time 
uttering  loud  cries  close  to  his  ear.  This 
apparently  rough  treatment  seems  to  have 
some  amount  of  efficacy  in  it,  as  Sparrman 
mentions  that  he  has  seen  it  practised  on 
the  apparently  lifeless  body  of  a  young  man 
who  eventually  recovered. 

Of  all  diseases  the  Hottentots  dread  noth- 
ing so  much  as  the  small-pox ;  and  if  a  single 
member  of  the  horde  be  taken  with  it  they 
leave  him  in  his  hut,  strike  all  their  habita- 
tions, and  move  oil"  into  the  desert,  where 
they  remain  until  they  think  that  the  dan- 
ger s  past.  All  ties  of  relationship  and 
alfect^on  are  broken  through  by  this  dread 
malady,  for  which  they  know  no  cure,  and 
which  always  rages  with  tenfold  violence 
among  savages.  The  husband  will  abandon 
his  wife,  and  even  the  mother  her  children, 
in  the  hope  of  checking  the  spread  of  the 
disorder,  and  the  wretched  sufferers  ara  left 


to  perish  either  fi-om  the  disease  itself  or 
from  privation. 

When  a  Hottentot  dies  the  funeral  is  con- 
ducted without  any  ceremony.  The  body  is 
disposed  in  as  small  a  compass  as  possible, — • 
indeed,  into  the  attitude  that  is  assumed 
during  sleep,  and  the  limbs  and  head  are 
firmly  tied  together".  A  worn-out  kaross  is 
then  rolled  round  the  body,  and  carefully 
arranged  so  as  to  conceal  it  entirely.  The 
pl.ace  of  burial  is,  with  certain  exceptions, 
chosen  at  a  distance  from  the  kraal,  and  the 
corpse  is  then  placed  in  the  grave,  which  is 
never  of  any  great  depth.  Earth  is  then 
thrown  on  the  body  ;  and  if  there  are  any 
stones  near  the  spot,  they  are  mixed  with 
the  earth,  and  heaped  above  the  grave  in 
order  to  defend  it  from  the  hyasnas  and 
jackals,  which  are  sure  to  discover  that  an 
interment  has  taken  place.  If  stones  can- 
not be  found,  thorn-bushes  are  used  for  the 
same  purpose.  Generally,  the  grave  is  so 
shallow,  and  the  stones  are  so  few,  that  the 
whole  process  of  burial  is  practically  ren- 
dered nugatory,  and  before  another  day  has 
dawned  the  hyienas  and  jackals  have  scat- 
tered the  frail  defences,  dug  up  the  body, 
and  devoured  it. 

Should  the  headman  of  the  kraal  die, 
there  are  great  wailings  throughout  the 
kraal.  These  cries  are  begun  by  the  family, 
taken  up  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  village, 
and  the  whole  night  is  spent  in  loud  bowl- 
ings and  lamentation.  His  body  is  usually 
buried  in  the  middle  of  the  cattle-pen,  as  it 
is  a  safe  place  so  long  as  the  cattle  are  in  it, 
which  are  watched  throughout  the  night, 
and  over  his  remain.s  a  considerable  pile  of 
stones  is  raised. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


THE  BOSJESMAN  OK  BUSHMAlSr. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  —  THEORIES  RESPECTING  THEIR  ORIGIN  —  THEIR  LANGUAGE  AND  ITS  PBCULIAB- 
ITIES  —  THE  GESTURE-LANGUAGE  —  SMALL  SIZE  OF  THE  BOSJESMANS  —  THEIR  COMPLEXION  AND 
GENERAL  APPEARANCE  —  A  STRANGE  VISITOR  —  THE  BOSJESMAN'S  PIPE  AND  MODE  OF  SMOKING 
—  SAID  TO  HAVE  NO  NAMES,  AND  NO  DISTINCTIONS  OF  RANIt  —  SOCIAL  LIFE  AMONG  THE  BOSJES- 
M.iNS  —  JL\TRIMONY  AND  ITS  TROUBLES  —  INDIVIDUALITV  OF  THE  EOS.IESMAN  —  HIS  INDIFFER- 
ENCE TO  PAIN  — A  CULPRIT  AND  HIS  PUNISHJIENT — DRESS  OF  BOTH  SEXES  —  THE  BOSJESMAN  FROM 
INFAJJCY  TO  AGE. 


We  now  come  to  a  singular  race  of  human 
beings,  inhabiting  various  parts  of  Southern 
Africa,  and  being  evidently  allied  to  the 
Hottentots.  They  are  called  Bosjesmans 
by  the  Dutch  settlers.  This  word  is  pro- 
nounced Bushes-man,  and  is  popularly  con- 
tracted into  Bushman,  —  a  word  which  is, 
indeed,  an  exact  translation  of  the  Dutch 
title.  As,  however,  several  groups  of  sav- 
ages in  diflereut  parts  of  the  world  are  called 
Bushmen,  we  will  retain  the  original  Dutch 
name. 

Respecting  the  precise  relationship  there 
are  three  distinct  theories.  The  first  is,  that 
they  are  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  upon 
whom  the  Hottentots  have  improved;  the 
second  is,  that  they  are  degenerate  offshoots 
of  the  Hottentot  race ;  and  the  third  is,  that 
they  form  a  totally  distinct  group  of  man- 
kind. On  the  whole,  I  am  inclined  rather 
to  accept  the  theory  that  they  are  a  variety 
of  the  Hottentot  "race,  which  they  closely 
resemble  in  many  particulars.  The  peculiar 
form  of  the  countenance,  the  high  cheek- 
bones, the  little  contracted  eyes,  and  the 
long  narrow  chin,  are  all  characteristics  of 
the  Hottentot  race.  The  color  of  the  skin, 
too,  is  not  black,  but  yellow,  and  even  jjaler 
than  that  of  the  Hottentot,  and  the  women 
are  notable  for  that  peculiarity  of  form  which 
has  already  been  noticed. 

Their  language  much  resembles  that  of 
the  Hottentots  in  sound,  the  characteristic 
"click  ''  being  one  of  its  peculiarities.  But, 
whereas  the  Hottentots  generally  content 
themselves  with  one  click  in  a  word,  the 
Bosjesman  tribes  employ  it  with  every  syl- 


lable, and  have  besides  a  kind  of  croaking 
sound  produced  in  the  throat,  which  is  not 
used  by  the  Hottentots,  and  which  the'  find 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  imitating.  But 
though  their  tongue  resembles  the  language 
of  the  Hottentots  in  sound,  the  words  of  the 
two  languages  are  totally  different,  so  that  a 
Hottentot  is  quite  as  much  at  a  loss  to 
understand  a  Bosjesman  as  would  be  a 
European.  Even  the  various  tribes  of  Bos- 
jesmans differ  much  in  their  language,  each 
tribe  having  a  dialect  of  their  own,  and  even 
changing  their  dialect  in  the  coiu'se  of  a  few 
years.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  the  hordes  or  families  of  Bosjesmans 
have  but  little  intercourse  with  each  other, 
and  remain  as  widely  separated  as  possible, 
so  that  they  shall  not  interfere  with  the 
huntiug-groimds  of  their  fellow-tribesmen. 

In  tlieir  conversation  among  each  other 
also,  they  are  continually  inventing  new 
words,  intellectually,  they  are  but  children, 
and,  like  children,  the  more  voluble  conde- 
scend to  the  weakness  of  those  who  cannot 
talk  as  well  as  themselves,  and  accept  their 
imperfect  words  as  integral  parts  of  their 
language.  So  imperfect,  indeed,  is  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Bosjesmans,  that  even  those 
of  the  same  horde  often  tind  a  difficulty  in 
understanding  each  other  without  the  use 
of  gesture ;  and  at  night,  when  a  party  of 
Bosjesmans  are  smoking,  dancing,  and  talk- 
ing, they  are  oliliged  to  keep  up  a  fire  so  as 
to  be  able  by  its  light  to  see  the  explanatory 
gestures  of  their  companions. 

Like  many  other  savage  nations,  they 
possess  a  gesture-language  which  is  univer- 


(242J 


GESTURE-LANGUAGE. 


2i3 


sally  understood,  even  where  words  are  quite 
unintelligible,  and  by  means  of  this  language 
a  European  can  make  himself  understood  by 
them,  even  though  he  does  not  know  a  word 
of  their  spoken  language.  When  a  Bosjes- 
man  is  speaking,  he  uses  a  profusion  of 
gestures,  animated,  graphic,  and  so  easily 
intelligil)le  that  a  person  who  is  wholly  igno- 
rant of  the  language  can  readily  follow  his 
meanhig.  I  have  heard  a  Bosjesman  nar- 
rate the"  manner  in  which  he  hunted  dilfer- 
eut  animals,  and,  although  the  jirecise  words 
which  he  employed  were  unknown  to  me, 
the  whole  process  of  the  chase  was  rendered 
perfectly  intelligible.  Perhaps  some  of  my 
readers  may  remember  that  the  late  Gordon 
Gumming  was  accompanied  by  a  Bosjesman 
named  Ruyter.  This  little  man  survived 
the  perils  of  the  desert,  ho  escaped  from  the 
claws  of  a  lion  which  dragged  his  companion 
from  the  lilanket  in  which  the  two  were 
rolled,  and  lived  for  some  years  in  England. 
He  was  an  admirable  actor,  and  would  some- 
times condescend  to  display  his  wonderful 
pow(!rs.  It  is  scarce!}'  possible  to  imagine 
anything  more  graphic  than  Ruyter's  acted 
desci'iption  of  a  lion  stealing  into  the  camp, 
and  the  consternation  of  the  different  ani- 
mals which  found  themselves  in  such  close 
proximity  to  their  dreaded  enemy.  The 
part  of  each  animal  was  enacted  in  turn  by 
Ruyter,  whose  best  rules  were  those  of  the 
lion  himself  and  a  tame  baboon  —  the  voices 
and  action  of  both  animals  being  imitated 
witli  startling  accuracy. 

The  Bosjesmans  differ  from  the  true  Hot- 
tentots in  point  of  size,  being  so  small  as  to 
deserve  the  name  of  a  nation  of  pigmies, 
being,  on  the  average,  very  little  above  five 
feet  in  height,  while  some  of  the  women  are 
seven  or  eight  inches  shorter.  This  does 
not  apply  to  the  Kora  Bosjesmans,  who  are 
about  live  feet  four  or  five  inches  in  height. 
Still,  small  as  they  are,  there  is  no  proof 
either  that  they  have  degenerated  from 
the  ancient  stock,  which  is  represented  by 
the  true  Hottentot,  or  that  they  repre- 
sent the  original  stock,  on  which  the  Hot- 
tentots have  improved,  and  it  is  more  likely 
that  they  simply  constitute  a  group  of  the 
Hottentot  race. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  their  color  is 
rather  more  yellow  than  dark.  This  curious 
fairness  of  complexion  in  a  South  African 
race  is  even  more  strongly  marked  than  is 
the  case  among  the  Hottentots,  although  in 
their  native  state  it  is  scarcely  so  conspic- 
uous. The  fact  is,  the  Bosjesmans  think 
fresh  water  far  too  valuable  to  be  used  for 
ablutions,  and,  by  way  of  a  succedaneum 
for  a  bath,  rub  themselves  with  grease,  not 
removing  the  original  layer,  but  adding  a 
fresh  one  whenever  they  "make  their  toilets. 
Thus  they  attract  the  smoke  of  the  fire  over 
which  they  love  to  crouch  at  night,  and, 
when  they  are  performing  the  operation 
which  they  are  pleased  to  consider  as  cook- 


ing, the  smoke  settles  on  their  bodies,  and 
covers  them  with  a  sooty-black  hue  that 
makes  them  appear  nearly  as  dark  as  the 
Katlirs.  There  is  generally,  however,  a  tol- 
erably clean  spot  under  each  eye,  which  is 
caused  by  the  flow  of  tears  consequent  on 
suufl'  taking.  But  when  w'ell  washed,  their 
skins  are  wonderfully  lair,  and  therefore  the 
Bosjesmans  who  visit  this  country,  and  \vho 
are  obliged  to  wash  themselves,  give  very 
little  idea  of  the  appearance  of  these  curi- 
ous beings  in  their  native  state. 

Of  the  ordinary  appearance  of  the  Bos- 
jesman in  his  normal  state,  a  good  descrip- 
tion is  given  by  Dr.  Lichtenstein,  in  his 
well-known  work  on  Southern  Africa:  — 
"After  some  hours  two  Bosjesmans  ap- 
peared, who  saluted  us  with  their  T'abeh, 
asked  tor  tobacco,  and,  having  received  it, 
seated  themselves  behind  a  bush,  by  a  little 
fire,  to  revel  at  their  ease  in  the  delights  of 
smoking.  I  devoted  a  considerable  time  to 
observing  these  men  very  accurately,  and 
cannot  tbrbear  saying  that  a  Bosjesman, 
certainly  in  his  mien  and  all  his  gestures, 
has  more  resemblance  to  an  ape  than  a 
man. 

'■  One  of  our  present  guests,  who  appeared 
about  fifty  years  of  age,  had  gray  hair  and  a 
In-isfly  beard;  his  forehead,  nose,  cheeks, 
and  chin  were  all  smeared  over  with  black 
grease,  having  only  a  white  circle  round  the 
eye,  washed  clean  with  tears  occasioned  by 
smoking.  This  man  had  the  true  physiog- 
nomy of  the  small  blue  ape  of  Kafiraria. 
What  gave  the  more  verity  to  such  a  com- 
parison was  the  vivacity  of  his  eyes,  and 
the  flexibility  of  his  eyebrows,  which  he 
worked  up  and  down  with  every  change 
of  countenance.  Even  his  nostrils  and  the 
corners  of  his  mouth,  even  his  very  ears, 
moved  involuntarily,  expressing  his  hasty 
transitions  from  eager  desire  to  watchful 
distrust.  There  was  not,  on  the  contrary, 
a  single  feature  in  his  countenance  that 
evinced  a  consciousness  of  mental  powers, 
or  anything  that  denoted  emotions  of  the 
mind  "of  a  milder  character  than  belongs  to 
man  in  his  mere  animal  nature. 

"  When  a  piece  of  meat  was  given  him, 
half  rising,  he  stretched  out  a  distrustful 
arm,  snatched  it  hastily,  and  stuck  it  imme- 
diately into  the  flre,  peering  around  with 
his  little  keen  eyes,  as  if  fearing  lest  some 
one  should  take  it  away  again.  All  this 
was  done  with  such  looks  and  gestures,  that 
any  one  must  have  been  ready  to  swear 
that  he  had  taken  the  example  of  them 
entirely  from  an  ape.  He  soon  took  the 
meat  "from  the  embers,  wiped  it  hastily 
ujion  his  left  arm,  and  tore  out  with  his 
teeth  large  half-raw  bits,  which  I  could  see 
going  entire  down  his  meagre  throat.  At 
length,  when  he  came  to  the  bones  and 
sinew,  as  he  could  not  manage  these  with 
his  teeth,  he  had  recourse  to  a  knife  which 
was  hanging  round  his  neck,  and  with  this 


244 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSHMAN. 


he  cut  off  the  piece  which  he  held  in  his 
teeth,  close  to  the  mouth,  without  touching 
his  nose  or  Ups  —  a  teat  of  dextLTily  which 
a  person  with  a  Celtic  countenance  could 
not  easily  have  performed.  When  the 
bone  was  picked  clean,  he  stuck  it  again 
into  the  tire,  and,  .alter  beating  it  between 
two  stones,  sucked  out  the  marrow.  This 
done,  he  immediately  filled  the  emptied 
bone  with  tobacco.  I  oftered  him  a  clay 
pipe,  which  he  declined,  and  taking  the 
thick  Ijone  a  long  way  into  his  mouth,  lie 
drew  ill  the  smoke  by  long  draughts,  his 
e3-es  sparkling  like  those  of  a  person  who, 
with  more  than  usual  pleasure,  drinks  a 
glass  of  costly  wine.  After  three  or  four 
draughts,  he  handed  the  bone  to  his  coun- 
tryman, who  inhaled  three  or  four  mouth- 
fuls  in  like  manner,  and  then  stuck  it,  still 
liurning,  into  his  pouch,  to  be  reserved  for 
future  occasions." 

This  veiy  simple  pipe  is  preferred  by  the 
Bosjesman  to  any  other,  probably  because 
he  can  take  in  a  larger  quantity  of  smoke 
at  a  single  inhalation  than  could  be  the  case 
if  he  were  to  use  the  small-bored  pipe  of 
civilization.  Reeds,  hollow  sticks,  and  sim- 
ilar objects  are  used  for  the  same  purpose. 
Sometimes  the  Bosjesman  inhales  the  whole 
of  the  smoke  into  his  lungs,  and  takes 
draught  after  draught  with  such  eagerness, 
that  he  falls  down  in  a  state  of  insensibility, 
and  has  to  be  restored  to  consciousness  by 
being  rolled  on  the  ground,  and  having 
water  thrown  over  him.  Tliis  is  certainly 
an  economical  mode  of  consuming  tbe  to- 
bacco, as,  in  this  manner,  a  single  pipeful 
will  serve  to  intoxicate  several  smokers  in 
succession.  As  is  the  case  with  other  sav- 
ages, tbe  Bosjesman  has  but  little  idea  of 
using  a  luxury  in  moderation.  The  chief 
vaUie  of  tobacco  is.  in  a  Bosjesinan"s  eyes, 
its  intoxicating  power,  and  he  therefore 
smokes  with  the  avowed  intention  of  being 
intoxicated  as  soon  as  possible,  and  with  the 
least  expenditure  of  material. 

It  is  stated  by  old  tr.avellers  who  have 
had  much  intercourse  with  the  Bosjesmans, 
that  they  have  no  names  by  which  ditierent 
individuals  are  distinguished.  This  may 
possibly  be  the  case,  and,  if  so,  it  denotes  a 
depth  of  degradation  which  can  scarcely  be 
conceived.  But  as  the  Bosjesmans  are 
not  without  the  average  share  of  intellect 
which,  in  their  peculiar  conditions,  they 
could  be  expected  to  possess,  it  is  possible 
that  the  statement  may  be  rather  too 
sweeping.  It  is  well  known  that  among 
many  savage  nations  in  different  jiarts  of 
the  earth,  there  is  a  great  disinclination  to 
allow  the  name  to  be  known. 

As  has  already  been  mentioned,  the  Kaf- 
firs will  not  allow  a  stranger  to  hear  their 
true  names,  and,  if  asked  for  their  names, 
will  only  entrust  him  with  their  titles,  but 
never  with  their  true  names.  It  is  there- 
fore very  probable  that  the  Bosjesmans  may 


be  actuated  by  similar  motives,  and  pretend 
to  have  no  names  at  all,  rather  than  take 
the  trouble  of  inventing  false  ones.  They 
have  not  the  least  objection  to  take  Euro- 
pean names,  mostly  preferring  those  of 
Dutch  parentage,  such  as  Ruyter,  Kleinboy, 
Audries,  Booy,  &c.;  and  as  they  clearly 
comprehend  that  those  names  are  used  in 
order  to  distinguish  them  from  their  fel- 
lows, it  seems  scarcely  possible  to  believe 
that  they  have  not  .some  nomenclature 
among  themselves. 

Whatever  may  be  the  case  with  regard  to 
their  names,  it  is  certain  that  the  Bosjes- 
mans have  no  idea  of  distinctions  in  rank, 
difiering,  however,  from  the  natives  which 
surround  them.  The  Kaflir  tribes  are  re- 
markaljle  for  tbe  elaborate  code  of  etiquette 
which  they  possess,  and  which  could  not 
exist  unless  social  distinctions  were  defi- 
nitely marked.  The  Hottentots  have  their 
headmen,  who  possess  supreme  power  in 
the  kraal,  though  they  do  not  exhibit  any 
external  mark  of  dignity.  But  the  Bosjes- 
man has  not  tbe  least  notion  of  rank,  and 
affords  the  most  comjilete  example  of  an- 
archic life  that  can  be  conceived.  In  the 
small  hordes  of  Bosjesmans  who  wander 
about  the  country,  there  is  no  chief,  and 
not  even  a  headman.  Each  horde,  as  a 
general  rule,  consists  of  a  single  hunily, 
unless  members  of  other  hordes  may  choose 
to  leave  their  own  friends  and  join  it.  But 
the  father  of  the  family  is  not  recognized  as 
its  head,  much  less  does  he  exercise  auy 
power.  Tbe  leadership  of  the  kraal  belongs 
to  the  strongest,  and  lie  only  holds  it  until 
some  one  stronger  than  himself  dispossesses 
him. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  social  relations  of 
life.  Among  the  Kaffirs  and  Hottentots  — 
especially  among  the  former  —  the  women 
are  jealously  watched,  and  infidelity  to  the 
marriage  compact  is  severely  punished. 
This,  however,  is  not  the  case  with  the  Bos- 
jesmans, who  scarcely  seem  to  recognize 
any  such  compact,  tbe  marriage  tie  being 
dissoluble  at  the  will  of  the  husband.  Al- 
though tbe  man  can  divorce  his  wife  when- 
ever he  chooses,  the  woman  does  not  pos- 
sess the  same  power  —  not  because  either 
party  has  any  regard  to  the  marriage  tie, 
but  "because  he  is  the  stronger  of  tbe  two, 
and  would  beat  her  if  she  tried  to  go  away 
without  his  permission.  Even  if  a  couple 
should  be  pleased  with  each  other,  and  do 
not  wish  to  separate,  they  cannot  be  sure 
that  they  will  be  allowed  to  remain  to- 
gether; for  if  a  man  who  is  stronger  than 
the  husband  chooses  to  take  a  fancy  to  the 
wife,  he  will  take  her  away  by  force,  and 
keep  lier,  unless  some  one  still  stronger 
than  himself  happens  to  think  that  she  will 
suit  his  taste.  As  to  the  woman  herself, 
she  is  not  consulted  on  the  subject,  and  is 
either  given  up  or  retained  without  the 
least  reference  to  her  feelings.    It  is  a  curi- 


WAGON-DRIVING. 


245 


ous  fact,  that  in  the  various  dialects  of  the 
Bosjesmans,  tliere  are  no  words  tliat  express 
the  distinction  between  an  unmarried  girl 
or  wife,  one  word  being  indiscriminately 
used. 

In  this  extraordinary  social  condition  the 
Bosjesman  seems  to  have  lived  tor  centu- 
ries, and  the  earliest  travellers  in  Southern 
Africa,  who  wrote  accounts  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  that  strange  land,  have  given  de- 
scriptions which  exactly  tally  with  narratives 
which  have  been  published  within  the  last 
few  years. 

The  character  of  the  true  Bosjesman 
seems  to  have  undergone  no  change  for 
many  hundreds  of  years.  Civilization  has 
made  no  impression  ujiou  him.  The  Kaffirs, 
the  Dutch,  and  the  English  liave  in  turn 

Eenetrated  into  his  countr}',  and  have  driven 
im  further  into  the  wilderness,  but  he  has 
never  suljmitted  to  either  of  these  powerful 
foes,  nor  has  he  condescended  to  borrow 
from  them  any  of  the  arts  of  civilization.. 
Both  Kaffirs  and  Hottentots  have  been  in  so 
far  subjected  to  the  inroads  of  civilization 
that  they  have  placed  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  the  white  colonists,  and  have 
learned  from  them  to  substitute  the  blanket 
for  the  kaross,  and  the  gun  for  the  spear  or 
arrow.  They  have  also  acted  as  domestic 
servants  to  the  white  men,  voluntarily  hiring 
themselves  for  pay,  and  performing  tlieir 
work  with  willingness.  But  the  Bosjesman 
has  preserved  his  individuality,  and  while 
the  Hottentots  have  become  .an  essentially 
subservient  race,  and  the  Kaffirs  have  pre- 
ferred vassalage  to  independence,  he  is  still 
the  wild  man  of  tlie  desert,  as  free,  as  un- 
tamable, as  he  was  a  thousand  years  ago. 
Kaffirs,  Dutch,  and  English  have  taken 
young  Bosjesmans  into  their  service.  The 
two  former  have  made  them  their  slaves; 
the  latter  have  tried  to  educate  them  into 
paid  servants.  But  they  have  been  equally 
unsuccessful,  and  the  Bo.sjesman  servant 
cannot,  as  the  saying  is,  be  trusted  further 
than  he  can  be  seen,  and,  by  a  wise  master, 
not  so  far.  His  wild  nature  is  strong  within 
him,  and,  unless  closely  watched,  he  is  apt 
to  tlirow  off  all  appearance  of  civilization, 
and  return  to  the  privations  and  the  free- 
dom of  his  native  state. 

The  principal  use  to  which  a  Bosjesman 
servant  is  put  is  to  serve  the  office  of  "  fore- 
louper,"  i.  e.  the  guide  to  the  oxen.  When 
a  wagon  is  harnessed  with  its  twelve  or  four- 
teen oxen,  the  driver  sits  on  the  box  — 
which  really  is  a  box  —  and  wields  a  most 
formidable  whip,  but  has  no  reins,  his  office 
being  to  urge,  and  not  to  guide.  His  own 
department  lie  fulfils  with  a  zest  all  his 
own.  His  terrific  whip,  with  a  handle  like 
a  salmon-rod,  and  a  lash  nearly  as  long  as 
its  line,  can  reach  the  foremost  oxen  of  the 
longest  team,  and,  when  wielded  by  an 
experienced  driver,  can  cut  a  deep  gash  in 
the  animal's  hide,  as  if  a  knife,  and  not  a 


whip,  had  been  used.  A  good  driver  can 
deliver  his  stroke  with  equal  certainty  upon 
the  furthest  o.x,  or  upon  those  that  are  just 
beneath  him,  and  so  well  are  the  oxen  aware 
of  this,  that  the  mere  whistle  of  the  plaited 
cord  through  the  air,  or  the  sharp  crack  of 
its  lash,  will  cause  every  ox  in  the  team  to 
bend  itself  to  its  work,  as  if  it  felt  the  sting- 
ing blow  across  its  back,  and  the  hot  blood 
trickling  down  its  sides. 

But  the  driver  will  not  condescend  to 
guide  the  animals,  that  task  being  consid- 
ered the  lowest  to  which  a  human  being  can 
be  put,  and  which  is  in  consequence  handed 
over  to  a  Hottentot  boy,  or,  preferably,  to  a 
]?osjesman.  The  "  fore-louper's  "  business 
is  to  walk  just  in  front  of  the  leading  oxen, 
and  to  pick  out  the  track  which  is  most  suit- 
able for  the  wheels.  There  is  uo\v  before 
me  a  beautiful  photograph  of  a  harnessed 
wagon,  with  the  driver  on  his  seat,  and  the 
fore-louper  in  his  place  in  front  of  the  oxen. 
He  is  a  very  little  man,  about  four  feet  six 
inches  in  height,  and,  to  judge  from  his  face, 
may  be  of  any  age  from  sixteen  to  sixty. 

How  the  fbre-louper  will  sometimes  be- 
have, if  he  thinks  that  his  master  is  not  an 
experienced  traveller,  may  be  seen  from  the 
following  account  by  a  traveller  who  has 
already  been  quoted:  "  My  '  loader '  (as  the 
boy  is  called  who  leads  the  two  front  oxen 
of  the  span),  on  mj'  first  wagon  journey,  was 
a  Bushman;  he  was  about  four  feet  high, 
and  decidedly  the  ugliest  specimen  of  the 
human  race  I  ever  beheld,  without  being 
deformed  in  body  or  limlis;  the  most  promi- 
nent feature  in  his  face  was  the  mouth,  with 
its  huge,  thick,  sensual  lips.  The  nose  could 
scarcely  be  called  ajirojection;  at  all  events, 
it  was  far  less  distinguishable  in  the  outline 
of  the  side  face  than  the  mouth;  it  was  an 
inverted  (or  concave)  Roman,  —  that  is  to 
say,  the  bridge  formed  a  curve  inward;  the 
nostrils  were  very  wide  and  open,  so  that 
you  seemed,  by  means  of  them,  to  look  a 
considerable  distance  into  his  head. 

"  With  regar  1  to  the  eyes,  I  am  guilty  of 
no  exac;''er.;lion  when  I  assert  that  3'ou 
could  not  sec  the  eyeballs  at  all  as  you 
looked  at  his  profile,  but  only  the  hollows 
which  contained  them;  it  was  like  looking  at 
a  mask  when  the  eyes  of  the  wearer  are  far 
removed  from  the  orifices  cut  for  them  in 
the  pasteboard.  The  cheek-bones  were  im- 
mense, the  cheeks  thin  and  hollow;  the  fore- 
head was  low  and  shelving  —  in  fact,  he 
could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  a  forehead  at 
all.  He  was  two  or  three  shades  from  being 
black,  and  he  had  even  less  hair  on  his  head 
than  his  countrymen  generally;  it  was  com- 
posed of  little  tight  woolly  knots,  with  a  con- 
siderable space  of  Ijaro  skin  lietween  each. 

"  So  much  for  the  young  gentleman's  fea^ 
tures.  The  expression  was  diaI)olically  Itad, 
and  his  disposition  corresponded  to  it.  I 
firmly  believe  that  the  little  wretch  would 
have  been  guilty  of  any  villany,  or   any 


246 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSIIMAX. 


cruelty,  for  the  mere  love  of  either.  I  found 
the  only  way  to  keep  hini  in  the  slii^htest 
control  was  to  inspire  liim  with  bodily  fear 
—  no  easy  task,  seeing  that  his  hide  was  so 
tough  that  your  arms  would  ache  long  be- 
fore you  produced  any  keen  sense  of  pain 
b}'  thrashing  him. 

"  On  one  occasion  the  wagon  came  to  the 
brow  of  a  hill,  when  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
leader  to  stop  the  oxen,  and  see  that  the 
wheel  was  well  locked.  It  maj'  readily  be 
imagined  that  a  wagon  which  requires 
twelve  oxen  to  draw  it  on  level  ground 
could  not  be  held  back  by  two  oxen  in  its 
descent  down  a  steep  hill,  unless  with  the 
wheel  locked.  My  interesting  Bushman, 
however,  whom  I  had  not  yet  oftended  in 
any  manner,  no  sooner  found  himself  at  the 
top  of  the  hill,  than  he  let  go  the  oxen  with 
a  yell  and  '  whoop,'  which  set  them  oft"  at  a 
gallop  down  the  precipitous  steep.  The 
wagon  flew  from  side  to  side  of  the  road, 
destined,  apparently,  to  be  smashed  to  atoms 
every  moment,  together  with  myself,  its 
luckless  occupant.  I  was  dashed  aljout, 
almost  imconscious  of  what  could  be  the 
cause,  so  suddenly  had  we  started  on  our 
mad  career.  Heaven  only  knows  how  I 
escaped  destruction,  but  we  positively 
reached   the   bottom  of  the  hill  uninjured. 

"  The  Bushman  was  by  the  wagon-side  in 
an  instant,  and  went  to  his  place  at  the 
oxen's  heads  as  coolly  and  unconcernedly  as 
if  he  had  just  ]5erformed  part  of  his  ordinary 
duties.  The  Hottentot  driver,  on  the  con- 
trary, came  panting  up,  and  looking  aghast 
with  horror  at  the  fear  he  had  felt.  I 
jumped  out  of  the  wagon,  seized  my  young 
savage  by  the  collar  of  his  jacket,  and  with 
a  hea\y  sea-cowhide  whip  I  belabored  him 
with  ail  my  strength,  wherein,  I  trust,  the 
reader  will  think  me  justified,  as  the  little 
■wretch  had  made  the  most  barefaced  at- 
tempt on  my  life.  I  almost  thought  my 
strength  would  be  exhausted  before  I  could 
get  a  sign  from  the  young  gentleman  that 
he  felt  my  blows,  butat  length  he  uttered  a 
yell  of  pain,  and  I  knew  he  had  had  enough. 
Next  day  I  dropped  him  at  a  village,  and 
declined  his  further  services." 

Missionaries  have  tried  their  best  to  con- 
vert the  Bosjesman  to  Christianity,  and 
have  met  with  as  little  success  as  those  who 
have  endeavored  to  convert  him  to  civiliza- 
tion. Indeed,  the  former  almost  presup- 
poses some  amount  of  the  latter,  and,  what- 
ever may  be  done  by  training  up  a  series  of 
children,  nothing  can  be  done  with  those 
who  have  once  tasted  of  the  wild  ways  of 
desert  life. 

The  dress  of  the  Bosjesman  bears  some 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  Hottentot,  but  is, 
if  possible,  even  more  sunple.  Like  the 
Hottentot,  the  Bosjesman  likes  to  cover  his 
head,  and  generally  wears  a  headdress  made 
of  skin.  Sometimes  lie  pulls  out  the  scanty 
tufts  of  hair  to  their  fullest  extent — an  inch 


at  the  most  —  and  plasters  them  with  grease 
until  tliey  project  stiffly  from  the  head. 
Sometimes  also  he  shaves  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  head,  and  rul)s  red  clay  and 
grease  so  thickly  into  the  remaining  hair 
that  it  becomes  a  sort  of  felt  cap.  To  this 
odd  headdress  he  suspends  all  kinds  of  small 
ornaments,  such  as  beads,  fragments  of  os- 
trich shells,  bright  bits  of  metal,  and  other 
objects. 

When  a  Bosjesman  kills  a  bird,  he  likes 
to  cut  off  the  head,  and  fasten  that  also  to 
his  hair-ca])  in  such  a  manner  that  the  beak 
projects  over  his  forehead.  Mr.  Baines  men- 
tions two  Bosjesmans,one  of  whom  wore  the 
head  of  a  secretary  bird,  and  the  other  that 
of  a  crow.  One  of  these  little  men  seemed 
to  be  rather  a  dandy  in  his  costume,  as  he 
also  wore  a  numlser  of  white  feathers,  cut 
short,  and  stuck  in  his  hair,  where  they  ra- 
diated like  so  many  curl-papers. 

As  for  dress,  as  we  understand  the  word, 
all  that  the  Bosjesman  cares  for  is  a  kind 
of  small  triangular  apron,  the  broad  end  of 
which  is  suspended  to  the  belt  in  front,  and 
the  narrow  end  passed  between  the  legs  and 
tucked  into  the  belt  behind.  Besides  this 
apron,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  the  Bosjesman 
has  generally  a  kaross,  or  mantle,  made 
from  the  .skin  of  some  animal.  This  kaross 
is  generally  large  enough  to  hang  to  nearly 
the  feet  when  the  wearer  is  standing  up- 
right, and  its  chief  use  is  as  an  extem- 
porized bed.  Like  the  Hottentot,  the  Bos- 
jesman rolls  himself  up  in  his  kaross  when 
he  sleeps,  gathering  himself  together  into  a 
very  small  compass,  and  thus  covering  him- 
self completely  with  a  mantle  which  would 
be  quite  inadequate  to  shelter  a  European 
of  equal  size. 

As  to  the  women,  their  dress  very  much 
resembles  that  of  the  Hottentot.  They 
wear  a  piece  of  skin  wrapped  round  their 
heads,  and  the  usual  apron,  made  of  leather 
cut  into  narrow  thongs.  They  also  have 
the  kaross,  which  is  almost  exactly  like  that 
of  the  men.  These  are  the  necessities  of 
dress,  but  the  female  sex  among  this  curious 
race  are  equally  fond  of  finery  with  their 
more  civilized  sisters.  Having  but  little 
scope  for  ornament  in  the  apron  and  kaross, 
they  place  the  greater  part  of  their  decora- 
tion on  the  head,  and  ornament  their  hair 
and  countenances  in  the  most  extraordinary 
way.  Water,  as  has  been  already  observed, 
never  touches  their  faces,  which  are  highly 
polished  with  grease,  so  that  they  shine  in 
the  sunbeams  with  a  lustre  that  is  Uterally 
dazzling.  To  their  hair  they  suspend  vari- 
ous small  ornaments,  like  those  which  have 
been  mentioned  as  forming  part  of  the  men's 
dress.  Among  these  ornaments,  the  money- 
cowrie  is  ofteii  seen,  and  is  much  valued, 
because  this  shell  does  not  belong  to  the 
coast,  but  is  used  as  money,  and  is  thus 
passed  over  a  very  great  portion  of  Southern 
Africa  as  a  sort  of  currency. 


(4.)   BOSJESMAN  QUIVEK  AND 
ARROWS. 

(See  pages  257,  261.) 


(247) 


(5.)    FKONTLKT.     (See  pages  226,  248) 


FROM  INFAXCY  TO  AGE. 


249 


A  curious  and  very  inconvenient  ornament 
is  mentioned  by  Burcliell,  and  tlie  reader 
will  see  that  it  "bears  some  resemblance  to 
the  frontlet  which  is  drawn  on  pao;e  247. 
The  girl  who  was  wearing  it  had  evidently 
a  great  idea  of  her  own  attractions,  and  in- 
deed, according  to  the  writer,  she  had  some 
grounds  for  vanity.  She  had  increased  the 
jiower  of  her  charms  by  rulibing  her  whole 
di'ess  and  person  thickly  with  grease,  while 
her  arms  and  legs  were  so  loaded  with 
leathern  rings,  that  she  evidently  had  an 
admirer  who  was  a  successful  hunter,  as 
in  no  other  way  covdd  she  obtain  these 
coveted  decorations.  Her  hair  was  clotted 
with  red  ochre,  and  glittering  with  sibilo, 
while  her  whole  person  was  perfumed  with 
buehu. 

Her  chief  ornament,  liowever,  was  a  front- 
let composed  of  three  oval  pieces  of  ivory, 
about  as  large  as  sparrow's  eggs,  which 
were  suspended  from  her  head  in  such  a 
way  that  one  fell  on  her  nose,  and  the  other 
two  on  her  cheeks.  As  she  spoke,  she  co- 
quettishly  moved  her  head  from  side  to  side, 
so  as  to  make  these  glittering  ornaments 
swing  about  in  a  manner  wliicli  she  consid- 
ered to  be  very  fescinatiug.  However,  as 
the  writer  quaintly  observes,  "  her  vanity 
and  aflectation,  great  as  they  were,  did 
not,  as  one  may  sometimes  observe  in  both 
sexes  in  other  countries,  elate  her,  or  pro- 
duce any  alteration  in  the  tone  of  her  voice, 
for  the  astonishing  quantity  of  meat  ivhich 
she  swallowed  down,  and  the  readiness  with 
which  she  called  out  to  her  attendants  for 
more,  showed  her  to  be  resolved  that  no 
squeamishness  should  interfere  on  this  oc- 
casion." 

As  is  the  case  with  the  Hottentots,  the 
Bosjesman  female  is  slightly  and  delicately 
formed  while  she  is  young,  and  for  a  few 
years  is  almost  a  model  of  symmetry.  But 
the  season  of  beauty  is  very  short,  and 
in  a  few  years  after  attaining  womanhood 
the  features  are  contracted,  sharpened,  and 
wrinkled,  while  the  limbs  look  like  sticks 
more  than  arms  and  legs  of  a  human  being. 
The  illustration  No.  2  on  page  247,  wdiich 
represents  a  Bosjesman  woman  with  her 
child,  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  appear- 
ance which  these  people  present.  Even 
naturally,  the  Isloom  of  youth  would  fade 
quickly,  but  the  decay  of  youth  is  accele- 
rated by  constant  hardships,  uncertain  sup- 
ply of  food,  and  a  total  want  of  personal 
cleanliness.  The  only  relic  of  beauty  that 
remains  is  the  hand,  which  is  marvellously 
small  and  delicate,  and  might  be  envied  by 
the  most  refined  lady  in  civilized  countries, 
and  which  never  l)ecomes  coarse  or  dis- 
figured by  hard  work. 

The  children  of  the  Bosjesmans  are  quite 
as  repulsive  in  aspect  as  their  elders,  though 
in  a  different  manner,  being  as  stupendously 
thick  in  the  Iwdy  as  their  elders  are  shape- 
lessly  thin.    Their  little  eyes,  continually  kept 


nearly  closed,  in  order  to  exclude  the  sand- 
flies, look  as  if  they  had  retreated  into  the 
head,  so  completely  are  they  hidden  by  the 
projecting  cheek-bones,  and  the  fat  that  sur- 
rounds them.  Their  heads  are  preternatu- 
rally  ugly,  the  skull  projecting  exceedingly 
beh'ind,  and  the  short  woolly  hair  growing  so 
low  down  on  the  forehead  that  they  look  as 
if  they  were  afllicted  with  liydrocephalus. 
In  fiict,  they  scarcely  seem  to  "bo  human  in- 
tants  at  all,  and  are  absolutely  repulsive, 
instead  of  being  winning  or  attractive. 
They  soon  quit  this  stage  of  formation, 
and  become  thin-limbed  and  pot-bellied, 
with  a  prodigious  fall  in  the  back,  which 
is,  in  fact,  a  necessary  consequence  of  the 
other  deformity. 

It  is  astonishing  how  soon  the  little  things 
learn  to  lead  an  independent  life.  At  a  few 
months  of  age  they  crawl  on  the  sand  like 
yellow  toads'of  a  larger  size  than  usual,  and 
jjy  tlie  time  that  they  are  a  year  old  they 
rim  aliout  freely,  with  full  use  of  arms  as 
well  as  legs.  Even  before  they  have  at- 
tained this  age,  they  have  learned  to  search 
for  water  bulbs  which  lie  hidden  under  the 
sand,  and  to  scrape  them  up  with  their 
hands  and  a  short  stick.  From  eiglit  to 
fourteen  seems  to  be  the  age  at  which  these 
jieople  are  most  attractive.  They  have  lost 
the  thick  shapelessness  of  infancy,  the  un- 
gainliness  of  childhood,  and  have  attained 
the  roundness  of  youth,  without  having 
sunk  into  the  repulsive  attributes  of  age. 
At  sixteen  or  seventeen  they  begin  to  .show 
marks  of  age,  and  from  that  time  to  the 
end  of  their  life  seem  to  become  more 
and  more  repulsive.  At  the  age  when  our 
youths  begin  to  assume  the  attributes  of 
manhood,  and  to  exhibit  flnely-knit  forms 
and  well-developed  muscles,  the  Bosjesman 
is  beginning  to  show  indications  of  senility. 
Furrows  appear  on  his  brow,  his  body  be- 
comes covered  with  wrinkles,  and  his  abdo- 
men falls  loosely  in  successive  folds.  This 
singularly  repulsive  development  is  partly 
caused  by  the  nature  of  the  food  which  he  eats, 
and  of  the  irregularity  with  which  he  is  sup- 
plied. He  is  atways  either  hungry,  or  gorged 
with  food,  and  the  natural  consequence  of 
such  a  mode  of  life  is  the  unsightly  formation 
which  has  been  mentioned.  As  the  Bosjes- 
man advances  in  years,  the  wrinkles  on  his 
body  increase  in  number  and  depth,  and  at 
last  his  wdiole  body  is  .so  covered  with  hang- 
ing folds  of  loose  skin,  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible for  a  stranger  to  know  whether  he  is 
looking  at  a  man  or  a  woman. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
eyes  of  the  Bosjesman  are  small,  deeply 
sunken  in  the  head,  and  kept  so  tightly 
closed  that  they  are  scarcely  perceptible. 
Yet  the  sight  of  the  Bosjesman  is  abso- 
lutely marvellous  in  its  penetration  and 
precision.  He  needs  no  telescope,  for  his 
unaided  vision  is  quite  as  effective  as  any 
ordinary  telescope,  and  he  has  been  known 


250 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSHMAif. 


to  decide  upon  the  precise  nature  of  oljiects 
which  n  European  could  not  identify,  even 
with  the  assistance  of  his  glass. 

This  power  of  eyesight  is  equalled  by  the 
delicacy  of  two  other  senses,  those  of  hear- 
ing and  smell.  The  Bosjesman's  ear  catches 
the  slightest  sound,  and  his  mind  is  in- 
stantly "ready  to  take  cognizance  of  it.  He 
understands'  the  sound  of  the  winds  as  they 
blow  over  the  land,  the  cry  of  birds,  the 
rustling  of  loaves,  the  hum  of  insects,  and 
draws  his  own  conclusions  from  them.  His 
wide,  flattened  nostrils  are  equally  sensitive 
to  odors,  and  in  some  cases  a  Bosjesman 
trusts  as  much  to  his  nose  as  to  his  eyes. 

Yet  these  senses,  delicate  as  they  may  be, 
are  only  partially  developed.  The  sense  of 
smell,  for  example,  which  is  so  sensitive  to 


odors  which  a  civilized  nose  could  not  per- 
ceive, is  callous  to  the  abominable  emana- 
tions from  his  own  body  and  those  of  his 
comrades,  neither  are  the  olfactory  nerves 
blunted  by  any  amount  of  pungent  snuff. 
The  sense  of  taste  seems  almost  to  be  in 
abeyance,  for  the  Bo.sjesman  will  eat  with 
equal  relish  meat  which  has  been  just 
killed,  and  which  is  tough,  stringy,  and 
juiceless,  or  that  which  has  been  killed  for 
several  days,  and  is  in  a  tolerably  advanced 
state  of  putrefaction.  Weather  seems  to 
have  little  effect  on  him,  and  the  sense  of 
pain  seems  nearly  as  blunt  as  it  is  in  the 
lower  animals,  a  Bosjesman  caring  nothing 
for  injuries  which  would  at  once  prostrate 
any  ordinary  European. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE  B0SJ:ESMAN  —  Continued. 


HOMES  OF  THE  BOSJESMANS — THE  ROCK-CAVE — THE  BUSH-HOUSE — TEJIPORART  HABITATIONS  —  FOOD, 
AND  MODE  OP  OBTAINING  IT  —  HUNTING  —  CHASE  OF  THE  OSTRICH — A  SINGULAR  STRATAGEM  — 
OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  AND  METHOD  OF  PACKING  THEM  —  USES  OF  THE  OSTRICH  EGG-SHELL  —  CUN- 
NING ROBBERS  —  CATTLE-STEALING — WARFARE  —  PETTV  SKIRMISHING  —  BOS JESMANS  AT  BAT  — 
SWIMMING  POWERS  OF  THE  BOS  JESMANS —THE  "WOODEN  HORSE  " — BENEVOLENT  CONDUCT  OF 
EOSJESMANS  —  THE  WEAPONS  OF  THE  BOSJESMANS  —  THE  ARROW,  AND  ITS  CONSTRUCTION  —  HOW 
ARROWS  ARE  CARRIED — POISON  WITH  WHICH  THE  ARROW  IS  COVERED — VARIOUS  METHODS  OF 
JLVKING  POISON ^ IRRITATING  THE  SERPENT  —  THE  N'GWA,  k'.AA,  OR  POISON  GRUB,  AND  ITS  TER- 
RIBLE EFFECTS  —  THE  GRUB  IN  ITS  DIFFERENT  STAGES — jVNTIDOTE  —  POISONED  WATER  —  UNEX- 
PECTED CONDUCT  OF  THE  BOSJESMANS  —  THE   QUTVER,    SPEAR,    AND  KNIFE. 


Having  now  glanced  at  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  the  Bosjesmau.  we  will  rapidly 
review  the  course  of  his  ordinary  life. 

Of  houses  or  homes  he  is  nearly  inde- 
pendent. A  rock  cavern  is  a  favorite  house 
with  the  Bosjesman,  who  finds  all  the  shel- 
ter he  needs,  without  being  obliged  to  exert 
any  labor  in  preparing  it.  But  there  are 
many  parts  of  the  country  over  which  he 
roams,  in  which  there  are  no  rocks,  and 
consequently  no  caves.  In  such  cases,  the 
Bosjesman  imitates  the  hare,  and  makes  a 
"  form  "  in  which  he  conceals  himself.  He 
looks  out  for  a  suitable  bush,  creeps  into  it, 
and  bends  the  boughs  down  so  as  to  form  a 
tent-like  covering.  The  mimosa  trees  are 
favorite  resorts  with  the  Bosjesman,  and  it 
has  been  well  remarked,  that  after  a  Imsh 
has  been  much  used,  and  the  young  twigs 
begin  to  shoot  upward,  the  whole  bush 
bears  a  great  resemblance  to  a  huge  bird's- 
nest.  Tlie  resemblance  is  increased  by  the 
habit  of  the  Bosjesman  of  lining  these  prim- 
itive houses  with  hay,  dried  leaves,  wool, 
and  other  soft  materials.  The  Tarconan- 
thus  forms  the  usual  resting-place  of  these 
wild  men,  its  pliant  branches  being  easily 
bent  into  the  required  shape. 

These  curious  dwellings  are  not  only  used 
as  houses,  but  are  employed  as  lurking- 
places,  where  the  Bosjesman  can  lie  con- 
cealed, and  whence  he  launches  his  tiny  but 
deadly  arrows  at  the  animals  that  may  pass 
near  the  treacherous  bush.  It  is  in  conse- 
quence of  this    simple    mode    of  making 


houses  that  the  name  of  Bosjesman,  or 
Bushman,  has  been  given  to  this  group  of 
South  African  savages.  This,  of  course,  is 
the  Dutch  title;  their  name,  as  given  by 
themselves,  is  Saqua. 

In  places  where  neither  rocks  nor  bushes 
are  to  be  found,  these  easily  contented  jieo- 
ple  are  at  no  loss  for  a  habitation,  but  make 
one  by  the  simple  process  of  scratching  a 
hole  in  the  ground,  and  throwing  up  the 
excavated  earth  to  windward.  Sometimes 
they  become  rather  luxurious,  and  make  a 
further  shelter  by  fixing  a  few  sticks  in  the 
ground,  and  throwing  over  them  a  mat  or  a 
piece  of  hide,  which  will  answer  as  a  screen 
against  the  wind.  In  this  hole  a  wonderful 
number  of  Bosjesmans  will  contrive  to  stow 
themselves,  I'olling  their  karosses  round  their 
bodies  in  the  peculiar  manner  which  has 
already  been  mentioned.  The  slight  screen 
forms  their  only  jjrolection  against  the  wind 
—  the  kaross  their  sole  defence  against  the 
rain.  AVhen  a  horde  of  Bosjesmans  has 
settled  for  a  time  in  a  spot  which  promises 
good  hunting,  they  generally  make  tent- 
like  houses  by  fixing  flexible  sticks  in  the 
ground,  bending  them  so  as  to  force  them 
to  assume  a  cage-like  form,  and  then  cover- 
ing them  with  simple  mats  made  of  reeds. 
These  huts  are  almost  exactly  like  the  prim- 
itive tents  in  which  the  gypsies  of  England 
invariably  live,  and  which  they  prefer  to 
the  most  sumjituous  chamlser  that  wealth, 
luxury,  and  art  can  provide. 

So  "much  for  his  houses.    As  to  Ms  food, 


13 


1251) 


252 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSHMAN. 


the  Bosjesman  finds  no  difficult}'  in  supply- 
ing himself  with  all  that  he  needs.  His 
wants  are  indeed  few,  for  there  is  scarcely 
anything  which  a  human  being  can  eat 
without  being  poisoned,  that  the  Bosjesman 
does  not  use  for  food.  He  has  not  the  least 
prejudice  against  any  kind  of  edible  sub- 
stance, and,  provided  that  it  is  capable  of 
affording  nourishment,  he  asks  nothing 
more.  His  luxuries  are  comprised  in  two 
words  —  tobacco  and  brandy  ;  but  food  is  a 
necessary  of  life,  and  is  not  looked  upon  in 
any  other  light. 

There  is  not  a  beast,  and  I  believe  not  a 
bird,  that  a  Bosjesman  will  not  eat.  Snakes 
and  other  reptiles  are  common  articles  of 
diet,  and  insects  are  largely  used  as  food  by 
this  people.  Locusts  and  white  ants  are 
tlie  favorite  insects,  but  the  Bosjesman  is  in 
no  wise  fastidious,  and  will  eat  almost  an}' 
insect  that  he  can  catch.  Roots,  too,  form 
a  large  portion  of  the  Bosjesman's  diet,  and 
he  can  discover  the  water-root  without  the 
assistance  of  a  baboon.  Thus  it  happens 
that  the  Bosjesman  can  live  where  other 
men  would  perish,  and  to  him  the  wild  des- 
ert is  a  congenial  home.  All  that  he  needs 
is  plenty  of  space,  because  lie  never  cul- 
tivates the  ground,  nor  breeds  sheep  or 
cattle,  ti-usting  entirely  for  his  food  to  the 
casual  productions  of  the  earth,  whether  they 
be  animal  or  vegetable. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
Bosjesman  obtains  his  meat  by  hunting. 
Though  one  of  the  best  hunters  in  the 
world,  the  Bosjesman,  like  the  Hottentot, 
to  whom  he  is  nearly  related,  has  no  love 
of  the  chase,  or,  indeed,  for  any  kind  of 
exertion,  and  would  not  take  the  trouble  to 
pursue  the  various  animals  on  which  he 
lives,  if  he  could  obtain  their  flesh  without 
the  trouble  of  hunting  them.  Yet,  when  he 
has  fairly  started  on  the  chase,  there  is  no 
man  more  doggedly  persevering  ;  and  even 
the  Esquimaux'  seal-hunter,  who  will  sit  for 
forty-eight  hours  with  harpoon  in  hand, 
cannot  surpass  him  in  endurance. 

Small  as  he  is,  he  will  match  himself 
against  the  largest  and  the  fiercest  animals 
ot  South  Africa,  and  proceeds  with  perfect 
equanimity  and  certainty  of  success  to  the 
chase  of  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  the 
lion,  and  the  leopard.  The  former  animals, 
whose  skins  are  too  tough  to  be  pierced 
with  his  feeble  weapons,  he  entraps  by 
sundry  ingenious  devices,  while  the  latter 
fall  vi'etinis  to  the  deadly  poison  with  which 
his  arrows  are  imbued.  The  skill  of  tlie 
Bosjesman  is  severely  tested  in  the  chase 
of  tiie  ostrich,  a  bird  which  the  swiftest  horse 
can  barely  overtake,  and  is  so  wary  as  well 
as  swift,  that  a  well-mounted  hunter,  armed 
with  the  best  rifle,  thinks  himself  fortunate 
when  he  can  kill  one. 

The  little  Bosjesman  has  two  modes  of 
killing  these  birds.  If  he  happens  to  find 
one    of  their    enormous    nests    while    the 


parent  birds  are  away,  he  approaches  iV 
very  cautiously,  lest  his  track  should  be 
seen  by  the  ever-watchful  ostrich,  and 
buries  himself  in  the  sand  among  the  eggs. 
The  reader  will  doubtless  remember  That 
several  ostriches  deposit  their  eggs  in  one 
nest,  and  that  the  nest  in  question  is  simply 
scraped  in  the  sand,  and  is  of  enormous 
dimensions.  Here  the  tiny  hunter  will  lie 
patiently  until  the  sun  has  gone  down,  when 
he  knows  that  the  parent  birds  will  return 
to  the  nest.  As  they  approach  in  the  dis- 
tance, he  carefully  fits  a  poi.sonod  arrow  to 
his  bow,  and  directs  its  point  toward  the 
advancing  ostriches.  As  soon  as  they  come 
within  range,  he  picks  out  the  bird"  which 
has  the  plumpest  form  and  the  most  luxu- 
riant plumage,  and  with  a  single  arrow 
seals  its  fate. 

The  chief  drawback  to  this  mode  of  hunt- 
ing is,  that  the  very  act  of  discharging  the 
arrow  reveals  the  form  of  the  hunter,  and 
frightens  the  other  birds  so  much  that  a 
second  shot  is  scarcely  to  be  obtained,  and 
the  Bosjesman  is  forced  to  content  himself 
with  one  dead  bird  and  the  whole  of  the 
eggs.  Fortunately,  he  is  quite  indifterent 
as  to  the  quality  of  the  eggs.  He  does  not 
very  much  care  if  any  of  them  should  be 
addled,  and  will  eat  with  perfect  composure 
an  egg  which  would  alarm  an  European  at 
six  paces'  distance.  Neither  does  he  object 
to  the  eggs  if  they  should  be  considerably 
advanced  in  hatcliing,  and,  if  anything, 
rather  fancies  himself  fortunate  in  procur- 
ing a  young  and  tender  bird  without  the 
trouble  of  chasing  and  catching  it.  Then 
the  egg-shells,  when  the  contents  are  re- 
moved, are  most  valuable  for  many  pur- 
poses, and  especially  for  the  conveyance  of 
water.  For  this  latter  purpose  "they  are 
simply  invaluable.  The  Bosjesmans  always 
contrive  to  have  a  supply  of  water,  but  no 
one  except  themselves  has  the  least  notion 
where  it  is  stored.  If  a  Bosjesman  kraal  is 
attacked,  and  the  captives  interrogated  as  to 
the  spot  where  the  supply  of  water  has  been 
stored,  they  never  betray  the  precious  secret, 
Iiut  always  pretend  that  they  have  none, 
and  that  they  are  on  the  point  of  dying  with 
thirst.  Yet,  at  some  quiet  hour  of  the  night, 
a  little  j'ellow  woman  is  tolerably  sure  to 
creep  to"  their  sides  and  give  them  a  plenti- 
ful draught  of  water,  while  their  captors  are 
trying  to  lull  their  thirst  by  .sleep.  How 
they  utilize  their  egg-shells  of  water,  the 
render  will  see  in  another  place. 

The  eyes  of  the  ostrich  are  keen  enough, 
but  those  of  the  Bosjesman  are  keener,  and 
if  the  small  hunter,  perched  on  his  rocky 
observatory,  happens  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
a  number  of  ostriches  in  the  far  distance,  he 
makes  up  his  mind  that  in  a  few  hours 
several  of  those  birds  will  have  fallen  be- 
fore the  tiny  bow  and  the  envenomed  arrow 
which  it  projects.  He  immediately  creeps 
back   to   his   apology  for  a  hut,  and  there 


OSTRICH-HUXTIXG. 


253 


finds  a  complete  hunter's  suit  which  he  has 
prepared  in  readiness  for  such  an  occasion. 
It  consists  of  the  skin  of  an  ostricli,  witliout 
the  legs,  and  having  a  stick  passed  up  the 
neck.  The  skin  of  the  body  is  stretched 
over  a  kind  of  saddle,  which  the  maker  has 
adapted  to  his  own  shoulders. 

He  first  rubs  his  yellow  legs  with  white 
chalk,  and  then  fixes  the  decoy  skin  on  his 
back,  taking  care  to  do  it  in  such  a  manner, 
that,  although  it  is  quite  firm  as  long  as  it 
has  to  be  worn,  it  can  be  thrown  olf  in  a 
moment.  The  reason  for  this  precaution  will 
be  seen  presently.  He  then  takes  his  bow 
and  arrows  and  sets  off  in  pursuit  of  the 
ostriches,  using  all  possil)le  pains  to  ap- 
proach them  in  such  a  direction  that  the 
wind  may  blow  from  them  to  him.  Were 
he  to  neglect  this  precaution,  the  watchful 
birds  would  soon  detect  him  by  the  scent, 
and  dash  away  where  he  could  not  possibly 
follow  them. 

As  soon  as  the  ostriches  see  a  strange  bird 
approaching,  thev  cease  from  feeding,  gather 
together,  and  gaze  suspiciously  at  their  sup- 
posed companion.  Were  the  disguised  hun- 
ter to  approach  at  once,  the  birds  would 
take  the  alarm,  so  he  runs  about  here  and 
there,  lowering  the  head  to  the  ground,  as  if 
in  the  act  of  feeding,  but  always  contriving 
to  decrease  the  distance  between  himself 
and  the  birds.  At  last  he  manages  to  come 
within  range,  and  when  he  has  crept  toler- 
ably close  to  the  selected  victim,  he  suddenly 
allows  the  head  of  the  decoy-skin  to  fall  to 
the  ground,  snatches  up  an  arrow,  speeds  it 
on  its  deadly  mission,  and  instantly  raises 
the  head  again. 

The  stricken  bird  dashes  off  in  a  fright  on 
receiving  the  wound,  and  all  its  companions 
run  with  it,  followed  by  the  disguised  Bos- 
jesman.  Presently  the  wounded  bird  Ijegins 
to  slacken  its  speed,  staggers,  and  falls  to  the 
ground,  thus  allowing  the  hunter  to  come  up 
to  the  ostriches  as  they  are  gazing  on  their 
fallen  companion,  and  permitting  him  to 
secure  another  victim.  GeneTally,  a  skilful 
hunter  will  secure  four  out  of  five  ostriches 
by  this  method  of  hunting,  but  it  sometimes 
happens  that  the  birds  discover  that  there 
Is  something  wrong,  and  make  an  attack  on 
the  apparent  stranger.  An  assault  from  so 
powerful  a  bird  is  no  trifle,  as  a  blow  from 
its  leg  is  enough  to  break  the  limb  of  a  pow- 
erful man,  much  more  of  so  small  and  feeble 
a  personage  as  a  Bosjesman  hunter.  Then 
comes  the  value  of  the  precaution  which  has 
just  been  mentioned.  As  soon  as  he  finds 
the  fraud  discovered,  the  hunter  runs  round 
on  the  windward  side  of  the  ostriches,  so  as 
to  give  them  his  scent.  They  instantly  take 
the  alarm,  and  just  in  that  moment  when 
they  pause  in  their  contemplated  attack,  and 
meditate  immediate  flight,  the  Bosjesman 
flings  oft'  the  now  useless  skin,  seizes  his 
weapons,  and  showers  his  arrows  with  mar- 
vellous rapidity  among  the  frightened  birds. 


In  this  way  are  procured  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  the  ostrich  feathers  which  are 
sent  to  the  European  market,  and  the  lady 
who  admires  the  exquisite  contour  and  beau- 
tiful proportions  of  a  good  ostrich  plume  has 
seldom  any  idea  that  it  was  procured  by  a 
little  yellow  man  disguised  in  an  ostrich 
skin,  with  bow  and  arrows  in  his  hand,  and 
his  legs  rubbed  with  chalk. 

After  he  has  plucked  the  feathers,  he  has 
a  very  ingenious  mode  of  preserving  them 
from  injury.  He  takes  hollow  reeds,  not 
thicker  than  an  ordinary  drawing  pencil, 
and  pushes  the  feathers  into  them  as  far  as 
they  will  go.  He  then  taps  the  end  of  the 
reeds  against  the  ground,  and,  by  degrees, 
the  feather  works  its  own  way  into  the  pro- 
tecting tube.  In  this  tube  the  feathers  are 
carried  about,  and  it  is  evident  that  a  con- 
siderable number  of  them  can  be  packed  so 
as  to  make  an  easy  load  for  a  man. 

"When  they  kill  an  ostrich,  they  prepare 
from  it  a  substance  of  a  rather  remarkable 
character.  Before  the  bird  is  dead,  they  cut 
its  throat,  and  then  tie  a  ligature  firmly 
over  the  wound,  so  as  to  prevent  any  blood 
from  escaping.  The  wretched  bird  thus 
bleeds  iuwardl}',  and  the  flow  of  blond  is  pro- 
moted by  pressing  it  and  rolling  it  from  side 
to  side.  Large  quantities  of  mixed  blood 
and  fat  are  thus  collected  in  the  distensible 
crop,  and,  when  the  bird  happens  to  be  in 
particularly  good  condition,  nearly  twenty 
pounds  of  this  substance  are  furnished  by 
a  single  ostrich.  The  natives  value  this 
strange  mixture  very  highly,  and  think  that 
it  is  useful  in  a  medicinal  point  of  view. 

The  shell  of  the  ostrich  egg  is  nearly  as  val- 
uable to  the  Bosjesman  as  its  contents,  and 
in  some  cases  is  still  more  highly  valued.  Its 
chief  use  is  as  a  water  vessel,  for  which  it  is 
admirably  adapted.  The  women  have  the  task 
of  filling  "these  shells;  a  task  which  is  often  a 
very  lalsorious  one  when  the  water  is  scanty. 

In  common  with  many  of  the  kindred 
tribes,  they  have  a  curious  method  of  obtain- 
ing water  wlwjn  there  is  app.arently  nothing 
but  mud  to  be  found.  They  take  a  long 
reed,  and  tie  round  one  end  of  it  a  quantity 
of  dried  grass.  This  they  push  as  deeply  as 
they  conveniently  can  into  the  muddy  soil, 
and  allow  it  to  remain  there  until  the  water 
has  penetrated  through  the  primitive  filter, 
and  has  risen  in  the  tube.  They  then  apply 
their  lips  to  the  tube,  and  draw  into  their 
mouths  as  much  water  as  they  can  contain, 
and  then  discharge  it  into  an  empty  egg- 
shell by  means  of  another  reed;  or,  if  they 
do  not  possess  a  second  reed,  a  slight  stick 
will  answer  the  purpose  if  managed  care- 
fully. When  filled,  the  small  aperture  that 
has  been  left  in  each  egg  is  carefully  closed 
by  a  tuft  of  grass  very  tightly  forced  into  it, 
and  the  women  have  to  undertake  the  labor 
of  carrying  their  heavy  load  homeward. 
There  is  one  mode  of  using  these  egg-shells 
which  is  worthy  of  mention. 


254 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSHMAN. 


The  Bosjesmans  are  singularly  ingenious 
in  acting  as  spies.  Tliey  will  travel  to  great 
distances  in  order  to  find  out  it'  there  is  any- 
thing to  be  stolen,  and  they  have  a  method 
of  communicating  with  each  other  by  means 
of  the  smoke  of  a  fire  that  constitutes  a  very 
perfect  telegraph.  The  Australian  savage 
has  a  similar  system,  and  it  is  really  remark- 
able that  two  races  of  men,  who  are  certainly 
among  the  lowest  examples  of  humanity, 
should  possess  an  accomplishment  which 
implies  no  small  amount  of  mental  capaliility. 
Property  to  be  worth  stealing  by  a  Bosjes- 
man  must  mean  something  "which  can'  be 
eaten,  and  almost  invariably  takes  the  shape 
of  cattle.  Thus,  to  steal  cattle  is  perhaps 
not  so  difficult  a  business,  but  to  transport 
them  over  a  wide  desert  is  anything  but 
easy,  and  could  not  ])e  accomplished,  e\'en 
by  a  Bosjesman,  without  the  exercise  of 
much   forethotight. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Bosjesman  is  verv 
careful  of  the  direction  in  which  he  make's 
his  raids,  and  will  never  steal  cattle  in  places 
whence  he  is  likely  to  be  followed  by  the 
aggrieved  owners.  He  prefers  to  carry  off 
animals  that  are  separated  from  his  own  dis- 
trict by  a  dry  and  thirsty  desert,  over  which 
horses  cannot  pass,  and  which  will  tire  out 
any  pursuers  on  foot,  because  they  cannc.it 
carry  with  them  enough  water  for  the  jour- 
ney. When  his  plans  are  laid,  and  his'  line 
of  march  settled,  he  sends  the  \vomen  along 
it,  with  orders  to  bury  ostrich  egg-shells  full 
of  water  at  stated  distances,  the  locality  of 
each  being  signified  by  certain  marks  which 
none  but  himself  can  read.  As  soon  as  this 
precaution  is  taken,  he  starts  oft'  at  his  best 
pace,  and,  being  wonderfully  tolerant  of 
thirst,  he  and  his  companions  reach  their 
destination  without  making  any  very  great 
diminution  in  the  stock  of  water.  They 
then  conceal  themselves  until  nightfall,  their 
raids  never  taking  place  in  the  daytime. 

In  the  dead  of  night  they  slink  into  the 
cattle  pen,  silently  killing  the  watchman,  if 
one  should  be  on  guard,  and  select  the  best 
animals,  which  they  drive  oft".  The  whole 
of  the  remainder  they  either  kill  or  maim, 
the  latter  being  the  usual  plan,  as  it  saves 
their  arrows.  I5ut,  if  they  should  be  inter- 
rupted in  their  proceedings,  their  raid  is  not 
the  less  fatal,  for,  even  in  the  hurry  of  flight, 
they  will  discharge  a  poisoned  arrow  into 
every  animal,  so  that  not  one  is  left.  (See 
the  engraving  Ko.  2  on  page  2.37.) 

We  will  suppose,  however,  that  their 
plans  are  successful,  and  that  they  have  got 
fairly  oft'  with  their  plunder.  They  know 
that  they  cannot  conceal  the  track.s  of  the 
cattle,  and  do  not  attempt  to  do  so,  but  jiush 
on  as  fast  as  the  animals  can  be  urged,  so  as 
to  get  a  long  start  of  their  pursuers.  When 
they  are  fairly  on  the  track,  some  of  their 
number  go  in  advance  to  the  first  station, 
dig  up  the  water  vessels,  and  wait  the  arri- 
val of  the  remainder.    The  cattle  are  sup- 


plied with  as  much  water  as  can  be  s])ared 
for  them,  in  order  to  give  them  strength 
and  willingness  for  the  journey;  the  empty 
vessels  are  then  tied  on  their  backs,  and 
they  are  again  driven  forward.  In  this 
manner  they  pass  on  from  station  to  sta- 
tion until  they  arrive  at  their  destination. 
Shouhl,  however,  the  pursuers  come  up  with 
them,  they  abandon  the  cattle  at  once;  inva- 
riably leaving  a  poisoned  arrow  in  each  by 
way  of  a  parting  gift,  and  take  to  flight  with 
such  rapidity,  that  the  pursuers  know  that 
it  is  useless  to  follow  them. 

The  needless  destruction  which  they  work 
among  the  cattle,  which  to  a  Hottentot  or  a 
KatHr  are  almost  the  breath  of  life,  has 
exasperated  Ijoth  these  peojile  to  such  a 
degree  that  they  will  lay  aside  for  a  time 
their  ditl'crences,  and  unite  in  attacking  the 
Bosjesman,  who  is  equall}-  hated  by  lioth. 
This,  however,  they  do  with  every  precau- 
tion, knowing  full  well  the  dangerous  char- 
acter of  the  enemies  against  whom  they  are 
aljout  to  advance,  and  not  attempting  any" 
expedition  unless  their  numbers  are  very 
strong  indeed. 

Of  systematic  warfare  the  Bo.sjesmans 
know  nothing,  although  the.y  are  perhajis 
the  most  dangerous  enemies  that  a  man  can 
have,  his  first  knowledge  of  their  presence 
being  the  clang  of  the  bow,  and  the  sharp 
whirring  sound  of  the  arrow.  Sometimes  a 
horde  of  Bosjesmans  will  take  oU'ence  at 
some  Hottentot  or  Kaffir  tribe,  and  will 
keep  up  a  desultory  sort  of  skirmish  for 
years,  during  which  time  the  foe  knows  not 
what  a  quiet  night  means. 

The  Bosjesmans  dare  not  attack  their 
enemies  in  open  day,  neither  will  they  ven- 
ture to  match  themselves  in  fair  warfare 
against  any  considerable  number  of  antago- 
nists. But  not  a  man  dares  to  stray  from 
the  jirotection  of  the  huts,  unless  accompa- 
nied by  armed  comrades,  knowing  tliat  the 
cunning  enemies  are  always  lurking  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  that  a  stone,  or  bush, 
or  tree,  will  afford  cover  to  a  Bosjesman. 
These  tinybut  formidable  warriors  will  even 
conceal  themselves  in  the  sand,  if  they 
fancy  that  stragglers  may  pass  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  the  puff-adder  itself  is  not  more 
invisible,  nor  its  fangs  more  deadly,  than 
the  lurking  Bosjesma"ii.  On  the  ba're  cliffs 
they  can  conceal  themselves  with  marvel- 
lous address,  their  yellow  skins  being  so  hke 
the  color  of  the  rocks  that  they  are  scarcely 
visible,  even  when  there  is  no  cover.  ISIore- 
over,  they  have  a  strange  way  of  hudilling 
themselves  up  in  a  bundle,  so  as  to  look  like 
conical  heaps  of  leaves  and  sticks,  without 
a  semblance  of  humanity  about  them. 

Open  resistance  they  seldom  offer,  gener- 
allj'  scattering  and  escaping  in  all  directions 
if  a  direct  charge  is  m.ade  at  them,  even  if 
they  should  be  assailed  by  ond  solitary 
enemy  armed  only  with  a  stick.  But  they 
will  hang  about  the  outskirts  of  the  hostile 


COURAGE  OF  THE  BOSJES]SIi\J^S. 


255 


tribe  for  months  together,  never  gathering 
tliemselves  into  a  single  band  wliich  can  be 
assaulted  and  conquered,  but  separating 
themselves  into  little  parties  of  two  or 
three,  against  whom  it  would  be  absurd  for 
the  enemy  to  advance  in  force,  which  can- 
not be  conquered  by  equal  numbers,  and 
yet  which  are  too  formidable  to  be  left 
unmolested.  The  trouble  and  annoyance 
which  a  few  Bosjesmans  can  inflict  upon  a 
large  body  of  enemies  is  almost  incredible. 
The  warriors  are  forced  to  be  always  on  the 
watch,  and  never  venture  singly  without 
their  camp,  while  the  women  and  children 
have  such  a  dread  of  the  Bosjesmans,  that 
the  verjf  mention  of  the  name  throws  them 
into  paroxysms  of  terror.  The  difficulty  of 
attacking  these  pertinacious  enemies  is 
very  much  increased  by  the  nomad  char- 
acter of  the  Bosjesmans.  The  Hottentot 
tribes  can  move  a  village  in  half  a  day,  but 
the  Bosjesmans,  who  can  exist  without  fixed 
habitations  of  any  kind,  and  whose  most 
elaborate  houses  are  fav  simpler  than  the 
worst  specimens  of  Hottentot  architecture, 
can  remove  themselves  and  their  habita- 
tions whenever  they  choose;  and,  if  neces- 
sary, can  abolish  their  rude  houses  alto- 
gether, so  as  not  to  afford  the  least  sign  of 
their  residence. 

Sometimes,  but  very  rarely,  the  Kaffirs, 
exasperated  by  repeated  losses  at  the  hands 
of  the  Bosjesmans,  have  determined  to 
trace  the  delinquents  to  their  home,  and  to 
extirpate  the  entire  community.  The  expe- 
dition is  one  which  is  fraught  with  special 
danger,  as  there  is  no  weapon  which  a  Kaffir 
dreads  more  than  the  poisoned  arrow  of  the 
Bosjesman.  In  such  cases  the  overwhelm- 
ing numbers  of  the  assailants  and  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  the  task  which  they  have 
set  themselves,  are  sure  to  lead  to  ultimate 
success,  and  neither  men  nor  women  are 
spared.  The  very  young  children  are  some- 
times carried  off"  and  made  to  act  as  slaves, 
but,  as  a  general  rule,  the  Kaffirs  look  upon 
the  Bosjesmans  much  as  if  they  were  a  set 
of  venomous  serpents,  and  kill  them  all 
with  as  little  compunction  as  they  would 
feel  in  destroying  a  family  of  cobras  or  puff- 
adders. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  Bosjes- 
mans will  seldom  otfer  any  resistance  in 
open  fight.  Sometimes,  however,  they  will 
do  so,  but  only  in  case  of  being  driven  to 
bay,  preferring  usually  to  lie  in  wait,  and  in 
the  dead  of  night  to  steal  upon  their  foes, 
send  a  few  poisoned  arrows  among  them, 
and  steal  away  under  cover  of  the  darkness. 
Yet  when  flight  is  useless,  and  they  are 
fairly  at  bay,  they  accept  the  position,  and 
become  as  terrible  foes  as  can  be  met;  los- 
ing all  sense  of  fear,  and  fighting  with  des- 
perate courage.  A  small  band  of  them  has 
often  been  known  to  fight  a  large  party  of 
enemies,  and  to  continue  their  struggles 
until  every  man  has  been  killed.    On  one 


such  occasion,  all  had  been  killed  except 
one  man,  who  had  ensconced  himself  so 
closely  behind  a  stone  that  his  enemies 
could  not  manage  to  inflict  a  mortal  wound. 
With  his  bow  he  drew  toward  him  the 
spent  arrows  of  his  fallen  kinsmen,  and, 
though  exhausted  by  loss  of  blood  from 
many  wounds  on  his  limbs,  he  continued 
to  hurl  the  arrows  at  his  foes,  accompanying 
each  with  some  abusive  epithet.  It  was  not 
until  many  of  his  enemies  had  fallen  by  his 
hand,  that  he  exposed  himself  to  a  mortal 
blow. 

It  is  a  curious  custom  of  the  Bosjesman, 
who  likes  to  have  his  arrows  ready  to  hand, 
to  carry  them  in  his  headdress,  just  as  an 
old-fashioned  clerk  carries  his  pen  behind 
his  ear.  Generally  he  keeps  them  in  his 
quiver  with  their  points  reversed,  but,  when 
he  is  actively  engaged  in  fighting,  he  takes 
them  out,  turns  the  points  with  their  poi- 
soned ends  outward,  and  arranges  them  at 
each  side  of  his  head,  so  that  they  project 
like  a  couple  of  skeleton  fans.  They  give  a 
most  peculiar  look  to  the  features,  and  are 
as  sure  an  indication  of  danger  as  the 
spread  hood  of  the  cobra,  or  the  menacing 
"  whirr "  of  the  rattlesnake.  He  makes 
great  use  of  them  in  the  war  of  words, 
which  in  Southern  Africa  seems  invariably 
to  accompany  the  war  of  weapons,  and 
moves  them  just  as  a  horse  moves  his  ears. 
With  one  movement  of  the  head  he  sends 
them  all  forward  like  two  horns,  and  with 
anotlier  he  shakes  them  open  in  a  fan-like 
form,  accompanying  each  gesture  with  rapid 
frowns  like  those  of  an  angry  baboon,  and 
with  a  torrent  of  words  that"  are  eloquent 
enough  to  those  who  understand  them. 

He  does  not  place  all  his  arrows  in  his 
headdress,  but  keeps  a  few  at  hand  in  the 
quiver.  These  he  uses  when  he  has  time 
for  a  deliberate  aim.  But,  if  closely  pressed, 
he  snatches  arrow  after  arrow  out  of  his 
headdress,  fits  them  to  the  string,  and  shoots 
them  with  a  rapidity  that  seems  almost  in- 
credible. I  have  seen  a  Bosjesman  send 
three  successive  arrows  into  a  mark,  and  do 
it  so  quickly  that  the  three  were  discharged 
in  less  than  two  seconds.  Indeed,  the  three 
sounds  followed  one  another  as  rapidly  as 
three  blows  could  have  been  struck  with 
a  stick. 

Traversing  tlie  country  unceasingly,  the 
Bosjesman  would  not  be  fit  for  his  ordinary 
life  if  he  could  be  stopped  by  such  an  obsta- 
cle as  a  river;  and  it  is  accordingly  foimd 
that  they  can  all  swim.  As  the  rivers  are 
often  swift  and  strong,  swimming  across 
them  in  a  straight  line  would  be  impossible 
but  for  an  invention  which  is  called  "  Houte- 
paard,"  or  wooden  horse.  This  is  nothing 
more  than  a  piece  of  wood  six  or  seven  feet 
in  length,  with  a  peg  driven  into  one  end. 
When  the  swimmer  crosses  a  stream,  he 
places  this  peg  against  his  right  shoulder  so 
that  the  wood  is  under  his  body,  and  helps 


256 


THE   BOSJESM.VN   OR  BUSHMAN. 


to  support  it.  Plow  this  mactiine  works 
ma)-  be  seen  from  tlie  followinj;  aneciiote  by 
Dr.  Lichtenstein,  which  not  only  illustrates 
the  point  in  question,  but  presents  the  Bos- 
jesmans  in  a  more  amiable  liglit  than  we 
are  generally  accustomed  to  view  them. 

"A  hippopotamus  had  been  killed,  and  its 
body  lashed  to  the  bank  with  leathern  ropes. 
The  stream,  however,  after  the  fashion  of 
African  streams,  had  risen  suddenly,  and 
the  current  swept  downward  with  such 
force,  that  it  tore  asunder  the  ropes  in 
question,  and  carried  off  the  huge  car- 
cass. Some  Bosjesmans  weut  along  the 
bank  to  discover  the  lost  animal,  and  at 
last  found  it  on  the  other  bank,  and  having 
crossed  the  river,  carrying  with  them  the 
ends  of  some  stout  ropes,  they  tried  unsuc- 
cessfully to  tow  the  dead  animal  to  the 
other  side.  Some  other  means  of  accom- 
pUshing  the  proposed  end  were  now  to  be 
devised,  and  many  were  suggested,  but 
none  found  practicable.  The  hope  of  re- 
trieving the  prize,  however,  induced  a  j'oung 
colonist  to  attemjit  swimming  over;  but,  on 
account  of  the  vast  force  of  the  stream,  he 
was  constrained  to  return  ere  he  had  reached 
a  fourth  part  of  the  way.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  two  Bosjesmans  who  had  attained  the 
other  side  of  the  water,  having  made  a 
large  fire,  cut  a  quantity  of  fiit  off  the  mon- 
ster's back,  which  they  baked  and  ate  most 
voraciously. 

"  This  sight  tempted  five  more  of  the 
Bosjesmans  to  make  a  new  essay.  Each 
took  a  light  flat  piece  of  wood,  which  was 
fastened  "to  the  right  shoulder,  and  under 
the  arm;  when  in  the  water  the  point  was 
placed  directly  across  the  stream,  so  that 
the  great  force  of  water  must  come  upon 
that,  while  the  swimmer,  with  the  left  arm 
and  the  feet,  struggled  against  the  stream, 
in  the  same  manner  as  a  sliip  with  spread 
sails,  when,  according  to  the  sailor's  lan- 
guage, it  sails  before  the  wind.  They  ar- 
rived quicker  than  the  first,  and  almost 
without  any  effort,  directly  to  the  opposite 
point,  and  immediately  applied  all  their 
strength,  though  in  vain,  to  loosening  the 
monster  from  the  rock  on  which  it  hung. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  a  freed  slave,  belong- 
ing to  the  Governor's  train,  an  eager,  spir- 
ited young  fellow,  and  a  very  expert  swim- 
mer, had  the  boldness  to  attempt  following 
the  savages  without  any  artificial  aid,  and 
got,  though  slowly,  very  successfully,  about 
half-way  over.  Here,  however,  his  strength 
failed  him;  he  was  carried  away  and  sunk, 
but  appeared  again  above  the  water,  strug- 
gling with  his  little  remaining  powers  to 
reach  the  shore.  All  efforts  were  in  vain; 
he  was  forced  to  abandon  liimself  to  the 
stream;  but  luckily,  at  a  turn  in  the  river, 
which  soon  presented  itself,  he  was  carried 
to  the  land  half  dead. 

"  The  Bosjesmans,  when  they  saw  his  situ- 
ation, quitted  their  fire,  and,  hastening  to  his 


assistance,  arrived  at  the  spot  just  as  he 
crawled  on  shore,  exhausted  with  fatigue, 
and  stiffened  with  cold.  It  was  a  truly 
affecting  sight  to  behold  the  exertions  made 
by  the  savages  to  recover  him.  They  threw 
their  skins  over  him,  dried  him,  and  rulibed 
him  with  their  hands,  and,  when  he  be- 
gan somewhat  to  revive,  carried  him  to  the 
fire  and  laid  him  down  by  it.  They  then 
made  him  a  bed  with  their  skins,  aiid  put 
more  wood  on  the  fire,  that  he  might  be 
thoroughly  warmed,  rubbing  his  benumbed 
limbs  over  with  the  heated  fat  of  the  river- 
horse.  But  evening  was  now  coming  on, 
and,  in  order  to  wait  for  the  entire  i-esto- 
ration  of  the  unfortunate  adventurer,  it  was 
necessary  for  the  whole  party  to  resolve  on 
passings  the  night  where  tliey  were.  Some 
of  the  Bosjesmans  on  this  side  exerted  thei:B.- 
selves  to  carry  the  poor  man's  clothes  over 
to  him,  that  he  might  not  be  prevented  by 
the  cold  from  sleeping,  and  recovering 
strength   for   his  return. 

"  Early  the  next  morning  the  Bosjesmans 
were  seen  conducting  their iimieyc  along  the 
side  of  the  stream,  to  seek  out  some  more 
convenient  .spot  for  attempting  to  cross  it. 
They  soon  arrived  at  one  where  there  was 
a  small  island  in  the  river,  which  would  of 
course  much  diminish  the  fatigue  of  cross- 
ing ;  a  ciuantity  of  wood  was  then  fastened 
together,  on  which  he  was  laid,  and  thus 
the  voyage  commenced.  The  j'oung  man, 
grown  timid  with  the  danger  from  which  he 
had  escaped,  could  not  encounter  the  water 
again  without  great  apprehensions;  he  with 
the  whole  party,  however,  arrived  very 
safely  and  tolerably  quick  at  the  island, 
whence,  with  the  assistance  of  his  two 
friends,  he  commenced  the  second  and  most 
toilsome  part  of  the  undertaking.  Two  of 
the  Bosjesmans  kept  on  each  side  of  the  liun- 
dle  of  wood,  while  the  young  man  himself 
exerted  all  bis  remaining  powers  to  jiush  on 
his  float.  When  they  reached  a  bank  in 
the  river,  on  which  they  were  partially 
aground,  having  water  only  up  to  the  middle, 
he  was  obliged  to  stop  and  rest  awhile  ;  but 
by  tills  time  he  was  so  completely  chilled, 
and  Ills  limbs  were  so  benumbed  with  the 
cold,  that  it  seemed  almost  impossible  for 
him  to  proceed.  In  vain  did  his  comrades, 
who  looked  anxiously  on  to  see  tlie  termina- 
tion of  the  adventure,  call  to  him  to  take 
courage,  to  make,  without  delay,  yet  one 
more  effort ;  he,  as  well  as  an  old  Bosjes- 
man,  the  best  swimmer  of  the  set,  seemed 
totally  to  have  lost  all  presence  of  mind. 

"  At  this  critical  moment,  two  of  the  Bos- 
jesmans who  had  remained  on  our  side  of 
the  water  were  induced,  after  some  persua- 
sion, to  undertake  the  rescue  of  these  un- 
fortunate adventurers.  A  large  bundle  of 
wood  was  fastened  together  with  the  utmost 
despatch  ;  on  the  end  of  this  they  laid  them- 
selves, and  to  the  middle  was  fastened  a 
cord ;  this  was  held  by  those  on  shore,  so 


WEAPONS   OF  THE  BOSJESMANS. 


257 


that  it  might  not  fall  into  tlie  water  and 
iuconimode  them  in  swimming.  It  was  as- 
tonisliing  to  see  witli  what  promptitude  tliey 
steered  directly  to  the  riglit  spot,  and  came, 
notwitiistanding  tlie  rapidity  of  tlie  stream, 
to  tlie  unfortunate  objects  they  sought.  The 
latter  had  so  far  lost  all  coolness  and  pres- 
ence of  mind,  that  they  had  not  the  sense 
immediately  to  lay  hold  of  the  cord,  and 
their  deliverers  were  in  the  utmost  danger 
of  being  carried  away  the  next  moment  by 
the  stream.  At  this  critical  point,  the  third, 
who  was  standing  on  the  bank,  seized  the 
only  means  remaining  to  save  his  compan- 
ions. He  pushed  them  before  him  into  the 
deep  water,  and  compelled  them  once  more, 
in  conjunction  with  him,  to  put  forth  all  their 
strength,  while  the  other  two  struggled  with 
their  utmost  might  against  the  stream.  In 
this  manner  he  at  length  .succeeded  in  mak- 
ing them  catch  hold  of  tlie  rope,  by  means 
of  which  all  five  were  ultimately  dragged  in 
safety  to  the  shore." 

We  will  now  proceed  to  the  weapons  with 
whieli  the  Bosjesman  kills  his  prey  and 
fights  his  enemies.  The  small  but  terrible 
arrows  which  the  Bo.sjesman  uses  with  such 
deadly  effect  are  constructed  with  very 
great  care,  and  the  neatness  with  whicli 
they  are  made  is  really  surprising,  wlieu  we 
take  into  consideration  tlie  singularly  inef- 
ficient tools  which  are  used. 

The  complete  arrow  is  about  eighteen 
inches  ill  length,  and  it  is  made  of  four  dis- 
tinct parts.  First,  we  have  the  shaft,  which 
is  a  foot  or  thirteen  inches  long,  and  not  as 
thick  as  an  ordinary  black-lead  pencil.  This 
is  formed  from  tlie  common  Kaffir  reed, 
which,  when  dry,  is  both  strong  and  light. 
At  either  end  it  is  bound  firnily  with  the 
split  and  flattened  intestine  of  some  animal, 
which  is  put  on  when  wet,  and.  when  dry, 
shrinks  closely,  and  is  very  hard  and  stilt; 
One  end  is  simply  cut  off  transversely,  and 
the  other  notched  in  order  to  receive  the 
bowstring.  Next  comes  a  piece  of  bone, 
usually  that  of  the  ostrich,  about  three 
inches  in  length.  One  end  of  it  is  passed 
into  the  open  end  of  the  shaft,  and  over  the 
other  is  slipped  a  short  piece  of  reed,  over 
which  a  strong  "  wrapping  "  of  intestine  has 
been  placed.  This  forms  a  socket  for  the 
true  head  of  the  arrow  —  the  piece  of  os- 
trich bone  being  only  intended  to  give  the 
needful  weight  to  the  weapon. 

The  head  itself  is  made  of  ivory,  and  is 
shaped  much  like  the  piece  of  bone  already 
described.  One  end  of  it  is  sharpened,  so 
that  it  can  be  slijiped  into  the  reed  socket, 
and  the  other  is  first  bound  with  intestine, 
and  then  a  notch,  al.iout  the  eighth  of  an 
inch  deep,  is  made  in  it.  This  notch  is  for 
the  reception  of  the  triangular  piece  of  flat- 
tened iron,  which  we  may  call  the  blade. 

The  liody  of  the  arrow  is  now  complete, 
and  all  that  is  required  is  to  add  the  poison 
which  makes  it  so  formidable.    The  poison, 


which  is  first  reduced  to  the  consistency  of 
glue,  is  spread  thickly  over  the  entire  head 
of  the  arrow,  including  the  base  of  the  head. 
Before  it  has  dried,  a  short  spike  of  iron  or 
quill  is  pushed  into  it,  the  point  being  di- 
rected backward,  so  as  to  form  a  barb.  If 
the  arrow  strikes  a  human  being,  and  he 
pulls  it  out  of  the  wound,  the  iron  lilade, 
which  is  but  loosely  attached  to  the  head,  is 
nearl}'  sure  to  come  ofll'  and  remain  in  the 
wound.  The  little  barb  is  added  for  the 
same  purpose,  and,  even  if  the  arrow  itself 
be  immediately  extracted,  enough  of  the 
lioison  remains  in  the  wound  to  cause  death. 
But  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  arrow  will 
be  extracted.  The  head  is  not  fastened  per- 
manently to  the  shaft,  but  is  only  loosely 
slipped  into  it.  Consequently  the  shaft  is 
jnilled  away  easily  enough,  but  the  head  is 
left  in  the  wound,  and  affords  no  handle 
whereby  it  can  be  extracted.  As  may  be 
seen  from  the  illustration  No.  4  on  the  247th 
page,  a  considerable  amount  of  the  poison  is 
used  upon  each  arrow. 

This  little  barb,  or  barblet,  if  the  word 
may  be  used,  is  scarcely  as  large  as  one  nib 
of  an  ordinary  quill  pen,  and  lies  so  close  to 
the  arrow  that  it  would  not  be  seen  by  an 
inexperienced  eye.  In  form  it  is  triangular, 
the  broader  end  being  pressed  into  the  poi- 
son, and  the  jiointed  end  directed  backward, 
and  lying  almost  jiarallel  with  the  shaft.  It 
hardly  seems  capable  of  tieiiig  dislodged  in 
the  wound,  but  the  fact  is,  that  the  poison  is 
always  soft  in  a  warm  climate,  and  so  allows 
the  barb,  which  is  very  slightly  inserted,  to 
remain  in  the  wound,  a  portion  of  poison 
of  course  adhering  to  its  base. 

This  is  the  usual  structure  of  a  good 
arrow,  but  the  weapons  are  not  exactly 
alike.  Some  of  them  have  only  a  single 
piece  of  bone  by  way  of  a  head,  while  many 
are  not  armed  with  the  triangular  blade. 
Arrows  that  possess  this  blade  are  intended 
for  war,  and  are  not  employed  in  thS  peace- 
ful pursuit  of  game.  Hunting  arrows  have 
the  head  shaped  much  like  a  spindle,  or,  to 
speak  more  familiarly,  like  the  street  boy's 
•'  cat,"  being  tolerably  thick  in  tlie  middle 
and  tapering  to  a  point  at  each  end.  When 
not  in  actu.al  use,  the  Bosjesman  reverses 
the  head,  so  that  the  poisoned  end  is  re- 
ceived into  the  hollow  shaft,  and  thus  is 
debarred  from  doing  useless  harm.  These 
heads  are  not  nearly  as  thick  as  those 
which  are  used  for  war,  neither  do  they 
need  as  much  poison. 

The  Bosjesman  quiver  and  arrows  which 
are  illustrated  on  page  247  were  taken  from 
the  dead  body  of  their  owner,  and  were 
kindly  sent  to  me  by  II.  Dennett,  Esq. 
They  are  peculiarly  valuable,  because  they 
are  in  all  stages  of  manufacture,  and  show 
the  amount  of  labor  and  care  which  is  be- 
stowed oh  these  weapons.  There  is  first 
the  simple  reed,  having  both  ends  carefully 
bound  with  sinew  to  prevent  it  from  split- 


258 


THE  BOSJESiL:^^  OK  BUSHMAN. 


ting.  Then  comes  a  reed  with  a  piece  of 
bone  inserted  in  one  end.  On  the  next 
specimen  a  small  socket  is  formed  at  the 
end  of  the  bone,  in  order  to  receive  the 
ivor}-  head ;  and  so  the  arrows  proceed  until 
the  perfect  weapon  is  seen. 

As  to  the  poison  which  is  used  in  arming 
the  arrows,  it  is  of  two  kinds.  That  which 
is  in  ordinary  use  is  made  chiefly  of  vege- 
table substances,  such  as  the  juice  of  cer- 
tain euphorbias,  together  with  the  matter 
extracted  from  the  poison-gland  of  the  puft- 
adder,  colira,  and  other  venomous  serpents. 
In  procuring  this  latter  substance  they  are 
singularly  courageous.  When  a  Bosjesman 
sees  a  serpent  which  can  be  used  for  poison- 
ing arrows,  he  does  not  kill  it  at  once,  but 
steals  quietly  to  the  spot  where  it  is  lying, 
and  sets  his  foot  on  its  neck.  The  snake, 
disturbed  from  the  lethargic  condition  which 
is  common  to  all  reptiles,  starts  into  furious 
energy,  and  twists  and  struggles  and  hisses, 
and  does  all  in  its  power  to  inflict  a  wound  on 
its  foe.  This  is  exactly  what  the  Bo.sjesman 
likes,  and  he  excites  the  serpent  to  the  utmost 
pitch  of  fury  before  he  kills  it.  The  reason 
of  this  conduct  is,  that  the  desire  to  bite  ex- 
cites the  poison-glaud,  and  causes  it  to  secrete 
the  venomous  substance  in  large  quantities. 

The  Bosjesmans  say  that  not  only  is  the 
poison  increased  in  volume,  but  that  its 
venomous  properties  are  rendered  more 
deadly  by  exciting  the  anger  of  the  reptile 
before  it  is  killed.  The  materials  for 
making  this  poison  are  Ijoiled  down  in  a 
primitive  kind  of  pot  made  of  a  hollowed 
sandstone,  and,  when  thoroughly  insjjissa- 
ted,  it  assumes  the  color  and  consistency  of 
pitch.  It  is  put  on  very  thickly,  in  some 
parts  being  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch 
thick.  In  some  arrows,  the  little  triangular 
head  is  only  held  in  its  place  by  the  poison 
itself,  being  merely  loosely  slipped  into  a 
notch  and  then  cemented  to  the  shaft  with 
the  poison.  In  this  case  it  acts  as  a  barb, 
and  remains  in  the  wound  when  the  arrow 
is  withdrawn. 

In  our  climate  the  poison  becomes  hard, 
and  is  exceedingly  brittle,  cracking  in  vari- 
ous directions,  and  being  easily  pulverized 
by  being  rul.ibed  Ijctweeu  the  fingers.  But 
in  the  com]5aratively  hot  temperature  of 
Southern  Africa  it  retains  its  soft  tenacity, 
and  even  in  this  country  it  can  be  softened 
before  a  fire  and  the  cracked  portions 
mended.  It  is  very  bitter,  and  somewhat 
aromatic  in  taste,  and  in  tliis  respect  much 
resembles  the  dreaded  wourali  poison  of 
tropical  Guiana.  In  some  places  the  poison 
bulb  is  common,  and  in  its  i)rime  it  is  very 
conspicuous,  being  recognized  at  a  consid- 
erable distance  by  the  blue  undulated  leaves 
which  rise,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  ground, 
and  spread  like  a  fan.  Soon,  however,  the 
leaves  fall  off  and  dry  up,  and  nothing  is 
seen  but  a  short,  dry  stalk,  which  gives  lit- 
tle promise  of  the  bulb  below. 


In  some  parts  of  the  Bosjesmans'  country, 
the  Juice  of  amaryllis  is  used  for  poisoning 
arrows,  like  that  of  euphorbia,  and  is  then 
mixed  with  the  venom  extracted  from  a 
large  black  spider,  as  well  as  that  which  is 
obtained  from  serpents.  An  antidote  for 
this  mixed  poison  is  not  at  present  known 
to  white  men,  and  whether  the  Bosjesmans 
are  acquainted  with  one  is  at  present  un- 
known. It  would  be  a  great  boon,  not  only 
to  science,  but  to  the  inhabitants  of  that 
part  of  Africa,  if  a  remedy  could  be  discov- 
ered, inasmuch  as  such  a  discovery  would 
at  once  deprive  the  Bosjesman  of  the  onl)' 
means  whereby  he  can  render  himself  ter- 
rible to  those  who  live  in  his  neighborhood. 
Property  would  then  be  rendered  compara- 
tively safe,  and  the  present  chronic  state  of 
irregular  warfare  ^^•ould  be  exchanged  for 
peace  and  quiet.  The  twofold  nature  of  the 
poison,  however,  renders  such  a  discovery  a 
matter  of  exceeding  difficulty,  as  the  anti- 
dote must  be  equal!}'  able  to  counteract  the 
vegetable  poison  as  well  as  the  animal 
venom. 

Terrible  as  is  this  mixed  poison,  the  Bos- 
jesman has  another  which  is  far  more  cruel 
in  its  effects.  If  a  hiunan  being  is  wounded 
with  an  arrow  armed  with  this  poison,  he 
sufi'ers  the  most  intolerable  agon3%  and  soon 
dies.  Even  if  a  small  portion  of  this  poison 
should  touch  a  scratch  in  the  skin,  the  result 
is  scarcely  less  dreadful,  and,  in  Living- 
stone's graphic  words,  the  sufferer  "  cuts 
himself,  calls  for  his  mother's  breast,  as  if 
he  were  returned  in  idea  to  bis  childhood 
again,  or  flies  from  human  habitations  a 
raging  maniac."  The  lion  suffers  in  much 
the  same  way,  raging  through  the  woods, 
and  biting  the  trees  and  the  ground  in  the 
extremity  of  his  pain.  The  poison  which 
produces  such  terrible  effects  is  simply  the 
juice  which  exiules  from  a  certain  grub, 
called  the  N'gwa,  or  K'aa — the  former  title 
being  used  by  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  the  lat- 
ter by  Mr.  Baines,  who  has  given  great 
attention  to  this  dread  insect.  His  account 
of  the  insect  is  as  follows:  — 

There  is  a  tree  called  the  J/antrit  papeerie, 
which  is  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  elm, 
but  which  has  its  steins  and  branches  cov- 
ered with  thorns.  The  wood  of  this  tree  is 
of  very  soft  texture.  Upon  the  Marui-u 
papeerie  are  found  the  poison  grubs,  which 
are  of  a  ])ale  flesh-color,  something  like  that 
of  the  silkworm,  and  about  three  quarters 
of  an  inch  in  length.  One  curious  point  in 
its  habits  is  the  singular  covering  with 
which  it  is  invested.  ""We  were  much  ]iuz- 
zleil  b}-  a  covering  of  green  matter  similar 
in  color  to  the  leaf  it  feeds  on.  At  first  we 
thought  it  was  the  first  skin  peeling  otf,  as 
it  lay  in  loose  rolls  parallel  to  the  muscular 
rings  of  the  body;  it  seemed  gradually 
driven  forward  toward  the  head,  ^vhere  it 
formed  a  .shield  or  hood,  portions  breaking 
off  as  it  dried,  and  being  replaced  by  fresh. 


THE  N-'GWA  OR  POISOX  GRUB. 


269 


At  length  we  were  enabled  to  decide  that  it 
must  be  the  excrement  of  the  creature,  issu- 
ing not  only  in  the  usual  manner,  but  from 
the  pores  that  are  scattered  over  nearly  the 
whole  of  its  body. 

"  When  the  grub  attains  a  length  of  three 
quarters  of  an  inch,  this  matter  is  more 
sparingly  distributed,  and  is  of  a  brownish 
color.  In  a  short  time  the  grub  drops  from 
the  tree,  and,  burying  itself  about  two  feet 
below  the  surface,  forms  its  cocoon  of  a  thin 
shell  of  earth  agglutinated  round  its  body. 
Its  entrails,  or  rather  the  whole  internal 
juices,  are,  in  all  stages  of  its  grubdom,  of 
the  most  deadly  nature,  and,  if  brought  in 
contact  with  a  cut,  or  sore  of  any  kind, 
cause  the  most  excruciating  agony." 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Baines,  who 
enriched  my  collection  with  some  specimens 
of  the  N'gwa,  I  am  enabled  to  present  my 
readers  with  some  figures    of  this    dread 


T.         2.         a. 

POISON  GRUB. 

insect.  Fig.  1  shows  the  N'gwa,  or  K'aa,  of 
its  natural  size.  The  specimen  was  dry, 
shrivelled,  and  hard,  but  a  careful  adminis- 
tration of  moisture  caused  it  to  relax  its 
stitfened  segments,  and  the  wrinkled  skin  to 
become  plump  as  in  life. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  under  surface  of  the 
grub,  as  it  appears  when  lying  on  its  back, 
and  exhibits  its  six  little  legs,  the  dark  head 
and  thorax,  and  the  row  of  spiracles,  or 
breathing  apertures,  along  the  sides.  Fig. 
2  exhibits  the  same  grub,  as  it  appears  when 
coiled  up  inside  its  cocoon,  and  serves  also 
to  show  the  llattened  form  of  the  N'gwa  in 
this  stage  of  existence. 

Fig.  3. represents  the  cocoon  itself.  This 
domicile  made  of  grains  of  dark  brown 
earth  or  san<l,  agglutinated  together,  is 
wonderfully  hard,  strong,  and  compact, 
although  its  walls  are  exceedingly  thin. 
When  entire,  it  is  so  strong  that  it  will  bear 
rather  rough  handling  without  injury,  but 
when  it  is  broken,  it  tumbles  into  fragments 
almost  at  a  touch.  The  specimens  are  rep- 
resented of  their  natural  size. 

When  the  Bosjesman  wishes  to  poison 
an  arrow-head,  he  first  examines  his  hands 
with  the  minutest  care,  so  as  to  be  certain 
that  his  skin  is  not  broken  eveia  by  a  slight 
scratch.  He  then  takes  a  grub  between  his 
fingers,  and  squeezes  it  so  as  to  force  out  the 
whole  contents  of  the  abdomen,  together 
with  the  juices  of  the  body.  Those  he  places 
in  little  drops  upon  the  arrow-point,  arrang- 
ing them  at  a  tolerably  regular  distance 
from  each  other;  and  when  this  is  done,  the 
dreadful  process  is  complete.    It  is  no  won- 


der that  people  who  wield  such  weapons  as 
these  sliould  be  equally  feared  and  hated  by 
all  around  them.  It  is  bad  enough  to  be 
shot  with  arrows  which,  like  those  of  the 
Macoushies,  cause  certain  death,  but  the 
terrors  of  the  poison  are  aggravated  a  hun- 
dred-fold when  it  causes  fearful  agony  and 
absolute  mania  before  death  relieves  the 
sufferer. 

A  question  now  naturally  arises,  namely, 
the  existence  of  any  antidote  to  this  dreadful 
poison.  Probably  there  is  an  antidote  to 
every  poison  if  it  were  but  known,  and  it  is 
likely,  therefore,  that  there  is  one  for  the 
N'gwa.  The  Kaffirs  say  that  the  only  anti- 
dote is  fat.  They  have  a  theory  that  the 
N'gwa  requires  fat,  and  that  it  consumes  the 
life  of  the  wounded  beings  in  its  attempts  to 
find  fixt.  Consequently,  when  a  person  is 
wounded  with  a  poisoned  arrow,  they  satu- 
rate the  wound  with  liquid  fat,  and  think 
that,  if  it  can  be  applied  in  time,  and  in  suf- 
ficient quantities,  it  satisfies  the  Ngwa,  and 
saves  the  man's  life. 

The  Bosjesmans  themselves  deny  that 
there  is  any  antidote,  but  this  they  might  be 
expected  to  do,  from  their  natural  unwilling- 
ness to  part  with  so  valuable  a  secret.  It  is 
no  light  matter  to  possess  a  poison  which 
keeps  every  enemy  in  terror,  as  well  it  may, 
when  we  consider  its  effects.  Dr.  Living- 
stone mentions  that  the  efficiency  of  this 
poison  is  so  great  that  it  is  used  against  the 
lion.  After  watching  the  lion  make  a  full 
meal,  two  Bosjesman  hunters  creep  up  to 
the  spot  where  the  animal  is  reposing,  ac- 
cording to  his  custom,  and  approach  so 
silently  that  not  even  a  cracked  stick  an- 
nounces the  presence  of  an  enemy.  One  of 
them  takes  oft'  his  kaross,  and  holds  it  with 
both  hands,  while  the  other  prepares  his 
weapons.  When  all  is  ready,  a  poisoned 
arrow  is  sent  into  the  lion's  body,  and,  sinaul- 
taneously  with  the  twang  of  the  bowstring, 
the  kaross  is  flung  over  the  animal's  head, 
so  as  to  bewilder  him  when  he  is  so  uncere- 
moniously aroused,  and  to  give  the  bold 
hunters  time  to  conceal  themselves.  The 
lion  shakos  off  the  blinding  cloak,  and 
liounds  off  in  terror,  which  soon  gives  way 
to  pain,  and  in  a  short  time  dies  in  convul- 
sive agonies. 

When  the  N'gwa  is  used  for  poisoning 
arrows,  no  other  substance  is  used,  and  in 
consequence  the  head  of  the  weapon  ])re- 
sents  a  much  neater  appearance  than  when 
it  is  armed  with  the  pitch-like  euphorbia  or 
serpent  poison.  This  substance  being  of  so 
terrible  a  character,  its  possessors  would 
naturally  be  anxious  to  discover  some  anti- 
dote which  they  might  use  in  case  of  being 
accidentally  wounded,  and  to  give  foreigners 
the  idea  that  no  antidote  existed.  Conse- 
quently Mr.  Baines  and  his  companions 
found  that  they  persistently  denied  that  they 
knew  of  any  antidote,  but  when  they  men- 
tioned the   very  name  of  the   plimt   which 


260 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSHMAN. 


they  had  heard  was  used  by  them  for  that 
purpose,  the  Bosjesmans  yielded  the  point, 
said  that  white  men  kuew  everythiu,;;,  and 
that  it  was  useless  to  conceal  tlieir  knowl- 
edge. 

The  antidote  is  called  by  the  name  of  KJila 
haetlwe,  and  is  chietly  made  from  a  small 
soft-stemmed  plant.  The  flower  is  yellow, 
star-shaped,  and  has  live  petals.  The  sta- 
mens are  numerous,  and  the  calyx  is  divided 
into  two  sepals.  The  root  is ""  something 
between  a  bulb  and  a  tuber,  rough  and 
brown  outside,  and  when  cut  is  seen  marked 
with  concentric  lines  of  light  reddish  brown 
and  purple."  The  leaves  are  two  inches 
and  a  half  in  length,  and  only  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  wide.  The  mid-rib  of"  the  leaf  pro- 
jects on  the  under  surface,  and  forms  a 
depression  on  the  upper.  There  are,  how- 
ever, two  other  plants  which  bear  the  same 
title,  and  are  used  for  the  same  purpose. 
One  of  them  has  a  broader  leaf  and  a  larger 
flower,  and  tastes  something  like  sorrel, 
while  the  third  has  a  waved  or  wrinkled  leaf 
When  the  Kala  haetlwe  is  used,  the  root  or 
bulb  is  chewed  and  laid  on  the  wound,  and 
is  followed  by  the  application  of  plenty  of 
fat.  I  may  here  mention  that  the  word 
"  kJila  "  signifies  "  friend,"  and  is  therefore 
very  appropriate  to  the  plant. 

This  is  not  the  only  use  which  they  make 
of  poisons.  If  they  are  retreating  over  a 
district  which  they  do  not  intend  to  visit  for 
some  time,  they  have  an  abominable  cus- 
tom of  poisoning  every  water-hole  in  their 
track.  Sometimes  they  select  one  fountain, 
and  mix  its  waters  with  poison  for  the  pur- 
pose of  destroying  game.  The  substance 
that  is  used  for  poisoning  water  is  generally 
of  a  vegetable  nature."  The  bulb  of  the 
15oison-root  (Amaryllis  toxicaria)  is  much 
employed,  and  so  is  the  juice  of  the  euphor- 
bia. Mr.  Moflatt  nearly  fell  a  victim  to 
this  custom.  After  a  long  and  tedious  ride 
under  the  hot  sunbeams,  he  approached  a 
Bosjesman  village,  near  which  his  horse 
discovered  a  small  pool  of  water  surrounded 
with  bushes.  Pushing  his  way  through 
them,  Mr.  Moffatt  lay  down  and  took  a  loiug 
draught  at  the  water,  not  having  understood 
that  the  surrounding  bushes  were  in  fact  a 
fence  used  to  warn  human  beings  from  the 
water.  As  soon  as  he  had  drunk,  he  per- 
ceived an  unusual  taste,  and  then  found  that 
the  water  had  been  poisoned.  The  effects  of 
the  poison  were  rather  irritable,  though  not 
so  painful  as  might  have  been  imagined. 
"  I  began  to  feel  a  violent  turmoil  within, 
and  a  fulness  of  the  system,  as  if  the  arteries 
would  burst,  while  the  pulsation  was  exceed- 
inglv  quick,  being  accomjianied  by  a  slight 
^idtline-ss  in  the  head."  Fortunately,  a  pro- 
fuse perspiration  came  on,  and  he  recovered, 
though  the  strange  sensations  lasted  for  sev- 
eral days. 

To  the  honor  of  the  Bosjesmans,  it  must 
be  said  that  they  displayed  the    greatest 


solicitude  on  this  occasion.  One  of  them 
came  running  out  of  the  village,  just  after 
the  water  had  been  drunk,  and,  not  know- 
ing that  the  mischief  had  already  been  done, 
tried  to  show  by  gestures  that  the  water 
must  not  be  drunk.  They  then  ran  about 
in  all  directions,  seeking  for  a  remedy;  and 
when  they  found  that  the  result  would  not 
be  fatal,  they  showed  extravagant  joy.  The 
escape  was  a  very  narrow  one,  as  a  zebra 
had  died  on  the  previous  day  from  drinking 
at  the  same  fountain. 

This  anecdote,  when  taken  in  conjunction 
with  Dr.  Lichtenstein's  narrative,  shows 
that  this  despised  race  of  people  are  not,  as 
some  seem  to  think,  devoid  of  all  human 
affections,  and  thereby  degraded  below  the 
level  of  the  brute  beasts.  Subjected,  as 
they  are,  to  oppression  on  every  side,  and 
equally  persecuted  by  the  Hottentots,  the 
KafHrs,  and  the  white  colonists,  it  is  not  to 
be  supi)osed  that  they  could  be  remarkable 
for  the  benevolence  of  their  disposition,  or 
their  kindly  feelings  toward  the  hostile  peo- 
ple with  whom  they  are  surrounded:  and, 
whenever  they  find  an  opportunity  for  re- 
taliation, it  is  but  natural  that  they  should 
take  advantage  of  it. 

Small,  few,  and  weak,  they  would  have 
been  long  ago  exterminated  but  for  their  one 
weapon,  the  poisoned  arrow,  and,  Ihrcingh 
its  possession,  they  have  exacted  from  their 
many  foes  the  same  feeling  of  respectful 
abhorrence  which  we  entertain  toward  a 
hornet  or  a  viper.  All  hate  and  dread  the 
Bosjesman,  but  no  one  dares  to  despise  him. 
However  powerful  may  be  a  tribe  of  Kaffirs 
or  Hottentots,  or  however  carefully  an  Eu- 
ropean settlement  may  be  protected,  a  single 
Bosjesman  will  keep  them  in  constant  alarm. 
Sentries  are  almost  useless  when  a  Bosjes-  .» 
man  chooses  to  make  a  nocturnal  attack,  for 
he  can  crawl  unseen  within  a  few  yards  of 
the  sentinel,  lodge  a  poisoned  arrow  in  his 
body,  and  vanish  as  imperceptibly  as  he 
arrived.  As  to  finding  the  retreat  in  which 
he  hides  himself  by  day,  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible, even  to  a  Ilotteutot,  for  the  Bosjes- 
man is  marvellously  skilful  in  obliterating 
tracks,  and  making  a  false  spoor,  and  has 
besides  the  art  of  packing  his  tiny  l.>ody 
into  so  small  a  compass,  tliat  he  can  lie  at 
Ills  ease  in  a  hole  which  seems  hardly  large 
enough  to  accommodate  an  ordinary  rabbit. 

Yet,  though  he  is  hunted  and  persecuted 
like  the  hornet  and  the  vii)er,  and,  like 
those  creatures,  can  use  his  venomed  weap- 
on when  provoked,  it  is  evident  that  he  is 
not  incapafile  of  gratitude,  and  that  he  can 
act  in  a  friendly  manner  toward  those  who 
treat  him  kindly.  Vindictive  he  can  be 
when  he  thinks"  himself  offended,  and  he 
can  wreak  a  most  cruel  vengeance  on  those 
who  have  incurred  his  wrath.  But  that  he 
is  not  destitute  of  the  better  feelings  of  hu- 
manity is  evident  from  the  above-mentioned 
accounts,  and  we  ought  to  feel  grateful  to 


BOSJESMAN  WITHOUT  MECnANICAL   SKILL. 


261 


the  writer  for  giving,  on  undoul)ted  iiutlior- 
ity,  a  better  uliaracter  to  the  Bosjesniau  than 
he  was  thouglit  to  have  deserveJ. 

The  shape  of  the  arrows,  together  with 
the  want  of  feathers,  and  the  feeble  nature 
of  the  bow,  implies  that  tliev  are  not  in- 
tended for  long  ranges.  The  Bosjesman  is, 
indeed,  a  very  poor  "marksman,  and  does  not 
care  to  shoot  at  an  object  that  is  more  than 
thirty  or  forty  yards  from  him,  jireferring  a 
distance  of  eight  or  ten  yards,  if  he  can  man- 
age to  creep  so  near.  In  order  to  test  the 
Bosjesman's  marksmanship,  Mr.  Burchel 
hung  on  a  pole  an  antelope  skin  kaross,  nearly 
seven  feet  square.  One  of  the  men  took  his 
bow  and  arrows,  crept  toward  it  until  he 
was  within  twenty  yards,  and  missed  it  with 
his  first  arrow,  though  he  struck  it  with  the 
second. 

The  quiver,  which  seems  to  be  a  necessary 
accompaniment  to  the  bow  and  arrow  in  all 
nations  which  use  these  weapons,  is  some- 
times made  of  wood,  and  sometimes  of 
leather.  The  example  which  is  shown  on 
page  217  is  of  the  latter  material,  aud  is 
drawn  from  a  specimen  in  my  own  collec- 
tion. It  is  made  very  strongly,  and  is  an 
admirable  example  of  Bosjcsman  workman- 
ship. The  hide  of  which  it  is  made  is  that  of 
some  large  animal,  such  as  the  ox  or  the 
eland,  but  as  the  hair  has  been  carefully  re- 
moved, no  clue  is  left  as  to  the  precise  ani- 
mal which  furnished  the  skin.  The  wooden 
quivers  are  almost  invariably  made  from  one 
of  the  aloes  {Aloe  dichotoma),  which  has 
tlierefore  received  from  the  Dutch  colonists 
the  name  of  "Kokerboom,"  or  quiver-tree. 
Occasionally,  however,  they  are  made  from 
the  karree  tree,  a  .species  of  Rhus,  which 
grows  on  the  banks  of  rivers,  and  in  hal)its 
and  appearance  much  resembles  the  English 
willow. 

The  Bosjesman  has  a  very  ingenious 
method  of  carrying  his  weapons  when 
upon  a  journey,  the  bow,  quiver,  and 
kuob-kerrie  being  tied  together,  and  the 
whole  group  slung  over  the  back.  A  per- 
fectly equipped  Bosjesman,  however,  has  a 
kind  of  skin  case,  in  which  he  places  his 
weapons.  Sometimes  it  is  merely  a  leathern 
bag,  but  in  its  best  form  it  is  composed  of 
an  entire  antelope  skin,  the  body  of  which 
forms  the  case,  and  the  legs  acting  as  straps 
by  which  it  can  be  hung  on  the  back. 

T!ie  1)0W  is  extremely  small  and  simple, 
inasmuch  as  the  Bosjesman  cares  little 
about  its  strength,  because  he  never  shoots 


at  objects  at  more  than  a  few  yards'  dis- 
tance. It  is  mostly  made  of  a  species  of 
Tarchonanthus,  but  the  Bosjesman  is  not 
particular  about  its  material,  so  that  it  be 
tolerably  elastic.  Neither  is  he  fastidious 
about  its  size,  which  is  seldom  more  than 
four  feet  in  length,  and  often  less;  nor 
about  its  shape,  for  the  curve  is  often  ex- 
tremely irregular,  the  thickest  portion  of 
the  bow  not  having  been  kept  in  the  centre. 
Any  little  boy  can  make,  with  a  stick  and  a 
string,  a  bow  quite  as  good  as  that  which  is 
used" by  the  Bosjesman.  In  using  it,  the 
Bosjesman  does  liot  hold  it  vertically,  after 
the  manner  of  the  ordinary  long-bow,  but 
horizontally,  as  if  it  were  a  cross-bow  —  a 
fact  which  explains  the  extremely  inditlerent 
aim  which  can  be  taken  with  it. 

The  Bosjesman  general!}'  carries  an  assa- 
gai, but  it  is  not  of  his  own  manufacture, 
as  he  is  quite  ignorant  of  the  blacksmith's 
art.  Even  the  little  triangular  tips  which 
are  placed  on  the  arrow-heads  are  hannnered 
with  infinite  labor,  the  iron  being  laid  cold 
on  one  stone,  and  beaten  perseveringly  with 
another,  until  it  is  at  last  flattened.  Of 
softening  it  by  heat  the  Bosjesman  knows 
nothing,  nor  does  he  possess  even  the  rude 
instruments  which  are  necessary  for  heating 
the  iron  to  the  softening  point.  The  assa- 
gai is  usually  the  work  of  the  Bechuanas,  ' 
and  is  purchased  from  them  by  the  Bosjes- 
man. Now  and  then,  an  ordinary  Kaffir's 
assagai  is  seen  in  the  hand  of  the  Bosjes- 
man, and  in  this  case  it  is  generally  part  of 
the  spoils  of  war,  the  original  owner  having 
been  killed  by  a  jjoisoned  arrow.  From  the 
same  source  also  is  derived  the  knife  which 
the  Bosjesman  usually  wears  hanging  by  a 
thong  round  his  neck,  the  instrument  being 
almost  invariably  of  Bechuana  manufacture. 

The  Bosjesman,  indeed,  makes  nothing 
with  his  own  hands  which  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  to  him.  The  assagai  and  the 
knife  are  rather  luxuries  than  necessaries, 
aud  are  obtained  from  strangers.  The  bow 
and  poisoned  arrow,  however,  with  which  he 
fights  hnma.i  enemies,  or  destroys  the  larger 
animals,  are  absolutely  necessary  to  him, 
and  so  is  the  knob-kerrie,  with  which  he 
obtains  the  smaller  animals  and  birds.  He 
also  beats  his  wife  with  it,  and  perhaps  con- 
siders it  a  necessary  article  of  property  on 
that  score  also.  These,  therefore,  every 
Bosjesman  can  make  for  himself,  and  con- 
siders himself  sufficiently  equipped  when 
he  possesses  them. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


THE  BOSJ^SMAN  —  Concluded. 


THE  AMUSEMENTS  OP  THE  BOSJESMAN  —  HOW  HE  SMOKES  —  HIS  DANCE  —  CUEIOrS  ATTmjDES  —  DAN- 
CING-RATTLES—  THE  WATER-DKUM  —  SPECIMENS  OF  BOSJESMAN  MUSIC — ITS  SINGUliAK  SCALE  AND 
INTERVALS  ^  SUCCEDANEUM  FOR  A  HANDKERCHIEF  —  A  TRAVELLER'S  OPINION  OF  THE  DANCE 
AND  SONG  —  THE  GOURA  —  ITS  CONSTRUCTION,  AND  MODE  OF  USING  IT  —  QUALITY  OF  THE  TONES 
PRODUCED  BY  IT  —  A  BOSJESMAN  MELODY  AS  PERFORMED  ON  THE  GOURA  —  THE  JOUM-JOUM 
AND  THE  PERFORMER  —  SOOTHING  EFFECT  OF  THE  INSTRUMENT  —  ART  AMONG  THE  BOSJESMANS 
—  MR.  CHRISTIE'S  DESCREPTn'E  SKETCH  —  THE  BOSJESISLVN's  BRUSH  AND  COLORS  —  HIS  APPRE- 
CIATION OF  A  DRAWING  —ANECDOTES  OF  B0SJES1L\NS. 


The  amusements  of  the  Bosjesmans  are 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  Hottentots,  and 
can  be  generally  comprised  in  two  words, 
namely,  singing  and  dancing.  Both  these 
words  are  to  be  understood  in  their  South 
African  sense,  and  arc  not  to  be  taken  in  an 
European  signification.  Perhaps  smoking 
ought  to  be  included  in  the  category  of 
amusements.  How  a  Bosjesman  smokes 
after  a  meal  has  already  been  narrated. 
But  there  are  seasons  when  he  does  not 
merely  take  a  few  whiffs  as  a  conclusion  to 
a  meal,  but  deliberately  sets  to  work  at  a 
smoking  festival.  He  then  takes  the  smoke 
in  such  quantities,  swallowing  instead  of 
ejecting  it,  that  he  is  seized  with  violent 
coughing  fits,  becomes  insensible,  and  falls 
down  iu  convulsions.  His  companions  then 
take  upon  themselves  the  duty  of  restoring 
him,  and  do  so  in  a  rather  singular  manner. 

As  is  usual  in  smoking  parties,  a  supply 
of  fresh  water  is  kept  at  hand,  together  witli 
reeds,  through  which  the  smokers  have  a 
■way  of  discharging  the  smoke  and  water 
after  a  fashion  which  none  but  themselves 
can  perfectly  accomplish.  "When  one  of 
their  number  fiills  down  in  a  fit  of  convul- 
sions, his  companions  fill  their  mouths  with 
water,  and  then  spirt  it  througli  the  tube 
upon  the  back  of  his  neck,  blowing  with  all 
their  force,  so  as  to  produce  as  great  a  shock 
as  possible.  This  rather  rough  treatment  is 
efficacious  enough,  and  when  the  man  has 
fairly  recovered,  he  holds  himself  in  readi- 
ness to  perform  the  like  office  on  his  com- 
panions. 

The  dance  of  the  Bosjesman  is  of  a  very 
singular  character,  and  seems  rather  oddly 
calculated  for  producing  amusement  either 
in  performers  or  spectators.    ''One  foot," 


writes  Burchell,  "remains  motionless,  while 
the  other  dances  in  a  quick,  wild,  irregular, 
manner,  changing  its  place  but  little,  though 
the  knee  and  leg  are  turned  from  side  to 
side  as  much  as  the  attitude  will  allow.  The 
arms  have  but  little  motion,  their  duty 
being  to  support  the  body. 

"  The  dancer  continues  singing  all  the 
while,  and  keeps  time  with  every  move- 
ment, sometimes  twisting  the  body  in  sud- 
den starts,  until  at  last,  as  if  fatigued  by  the 
extent  of  his  exertions,  he  drops  upon  the 
ground  to  recover  breath,  still  maintaining 
the  spirit  of  the  dance,  and  conthiuing  to 
sing  and  keep  time,  by  the  motion  of  his 
body,  to  the  voices  and  accompaniments  of 
the  spectators.  In  a  few  seconds  he  starts 
up  again,  and  proceeds  with  increased  vigor. 
When  one  foot  is  tired  out,  or  has  done  its 
share  of  the  dance,  the  other  comes  forward 
and  performs  the  same  part;  and  thus, 
changing  legs  from  time  to  time,  it  seemed 
as  tliough  he  meant  to  convince  his  friends 
that  he  could  dance  forever." 

When  the  Bosjesman  dances  in  a  house 
he  is  not  able  to  stand  upright,  and  conse- 
quently is  obliged  to  support  himself  be- 
tween two  sticks,  on  which  he  leans  with 
his  body  bent  forward.  Very  little  space  is 
required  for  such  a  dance,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  hut  is  nearly  filled  with  specta- 
tors, who  squat  in  a  circle,  leaving  just 
space  enough  in  the  centre  for  the  dancer 
to  move  in.  In  order  to  assist  him  in  mark- 
ing time,  he  has  a  set  of  rattles  which  he 
ties  round  his  ankles.  They  are  made  of 
the  ears  of  the  springbok,  the  edges  being 
sewed  together,  and  some  fragments  of  os- 
trich shell  placed  loosely  in  the  interior. 
They  are  tied  on  the  outside  of  the  ankle. 


(262J 


BOSJESMAN  MUSIC. 


263 


The  dances  which  I  have  seen  performed 
by  the  Bosjesmaus  resembled  those  de- 
scribed by  Burchell,  the  dancer  supporting 
himself  on  a  long  stick,  though  he  was  iu 
the  open  air,  and  occasionally  beating  time 
with  the  stick  upon  the  ground  to  tlie  pe- 
culiar Bosjesman  measure.  The  spectators, 
whether  men  or  women,  accompany  the 
dancer  in  his  song  by  a  sort  of  melody  of 
their  own,  and  by  clapping  their  hands,  or 
heating  sticks  on  the  ground,  iu  time  with 
his  steps.  They  also  beat  a  simple  instru- 
ment called  the  Water- Drum.  This  is 
nothing  more  than  a  wooden  bowl,  or 
"bambus."  A  little  water  is  previously 
poured  into  the  bowl,  and  by  its  aid  the 
skin  is  kept  continually  wet.  It  is  beaten 
with  the  forefinger  of  tlie  right  hand,  and  is 
kept  to  the  proper  pitch  by  pressing  the 


thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  left  hand  upon 
the  skin. 

Not  being  skilled  in  the  Bosjesman's  lan- 
guage^  I  was  unable  to  distinguish  a  single 
syllable  used  by  the  Bosjesman  iu  dancing, 
Init  Mr.  Burchell  gives  them  as  follows. 
The  dancer  uses  the  word  "  Wawa-koo,"' 
repeated  continually,  while  the  spectators 
sing  '•  Aye-0,"  separating  the  hands  at  the 
first  syllable,  and  bringing  them  sharply 
together  at  the  second.  The  eflect  of  the 
combined  voices  and  dances  may  be  seen 
by  the  following  notation,  which  was  taken 
by  Burchell.  This  strange  combination  of 
sounds,  which  is  so  opposed  to  our  system  of 
music,  is  grateful  to  the  ear  of  most  South 
Africans,  and  in  principle  is  prevalent  among 
many  of  the  tribes,  though  there  are  differ- 
ences in  their  modes  and  measures. 


Sl'ECTATOKS. 


Dancer. 


W.iTER-DRUM." 


-m^jEp^± 


Aye  O 


Esa= 


ile-i- 


aye  O         aye    O  aye  eh 


:=|i 


aye  O 


o    o 


i 


— * 


:^=1: 
»' 


jizzdz 


rX 


P 


Wawa  koo  wawa  koo  wawa  koo    wawa  koo    wawa  koo    wawa  koo 


§L??ra:- 


±:ti; 


'X-- 


11] 


When  engaged  in  this  singular  perfor- 
mance, the  dancer  seems  so  completely 
wrapped  up  in  his  part,  that  he  has  no 
thought  except  to  continue  his  performance 
in  the  most  approved  style.  On  the  occasion 
just  mentioned,  the  dancer  did  not  interrupt 
his  movement  for  a  single  moment  when  the 
white  man  made  his  unexpected  entrance 
into  the  hut,  and,  indeed,  seemed  wholly 
unconscious  of  his  presence.  Sliaking  and 
twisting  each  leg  alternately  until  it  is  tired 
does  not  seem  to  our  eyes  to  be  a  partic- 
ularly exhilarating  recreation,  especially 
when  the  performer  cannot  stand  upright, 
is  obliged  to  assume  a  stooping  posture,  and 
has  only  a  space  of  a  foot  or  two  in  diameter 
In  which  he  can  move.  But  the  Bosjesman 
derives  the  keenest  gratification  frcjm  this 
extraordinary  amusement,  and  the  more  he 
fatigues  himself,  the  more  he  seems  to  enjoy 
it. 

As  is  likely  in  such  a  climate,  with  such 
exertions,  and  with  an  atmosphere  so  close 


The  Company. 


ad  infinitum 

and  odorous  that  an  European  can  scarcely 
live  in  it,  the  perspiration  pours  in  streams 
from  the  performer,  and  has,  at  all  events, 
the  merit  of  acting  as  a  partial  ablution. 
By  way  of  a  handkerchief,  the  dancer  carries 
in  his  hand  the  bushy  tail  of  a  j'ackal  fast- 
ened to  a  stick,  and  with  this  implement 
he  continually  wipes  his  countenance.  He 
seems  to  have  borrowed  this  custom  from 
the  Bechuanas,  who  take  great  pains  in 
their  manufacture  of  this  article,  as  will 
be  seen  when  we  come  to  treat  of  their 
habits. 

After  dancing  until  he  is  unable  even  to 
stand,  the  Bosjesman  is  forced  to  yield  his 
place  to  another,  and  to  become  one  of  the 
spectators.  Before  doing  so,  he  takes  olf  the 
rattles,  and  passes  them  to  his  successor,  who 
assumes  them  as  essential  to  the  dance,  and 
wears  them  until  he,  in  his  turn,  can  dance 
no  longer.  Here  is  another  dancing  tune 
taken  down  by  Mr.  Burchell  on  the  same 
evening:  — 


3=EpEJ] 


D.UJCEE, 


Water-Drum. 


aye    O       0 


2G4 


THE  BOSJESMAN  OK  BUSHMAK. 


It  may  seem  strange  that  such  odd  music 
could  have  an}'  charms  for  an  European  who 
knew  anything  of  music.  Yet  that  such  can 
be  the  case  is  evident  from  the  words  of  the 
above  mentioned  traveller.  "  I  tind  it  im- 
possible to  give,  by  any  means  of  mere 
description,  a  correct  idea  of  the  pleasing 
impressions  received  while  viewing  this 
scene,  or  of  the  kind  of  effect  which  the  eve- 
ning's amusements  produced  upon  ni}'  mind 
and"  feelings.  It  must  be  seen,  it  must  be 
participated  in,  without  which  it  would  not 
be  easy  to  imagine  its  force,  or  justly  to 
conceive  its  nature.  There  was  in  this 
amusement  nothing  which  can  make  me 
ashamed  to  confess  tliat  I  derived  as  much 
enjoyment  from  it  as  the  natives  themselves. 
There  was  nothing  in  it  which  approached 
to  vulgarity,  and,  in  this  point  of  view,  it 
would  be  an  injustice  to  these  poor  creatures 
not  to  place  them  in  a  more  respectable 
rank  than  that  to  which  the  notions  of 
Europeans  have  generally  admitted  them. 
It  was  not  rude  laughter  and  boisterous 
mirth,  nor  drunken  jokes,  nor  noisy  talk, 
which  passed  their  hours  away,  but  the 
peaceful,  calm  emotion  of  harmless  jjleas- 
Ure. 

"  Had  I  never  seen  and  known  more  of 
these  savages  than  the  occurrences  of  this 
day,  and  the  pastimes  of  the  evening,  I 
should  not  have  hesitated  to  declare  them 
the  happiest  of  mortals.  Free  from  care, 
and  pleased  with  a  little,  their  life  seemed 
flowing  on,  like  a  smooth  stream  gliding 
through  flowery  meads.  Thoughtless  and 
unreflecting,  they  laughed  and  smiled  the 
hours  away,  heedless  of  futurity,  and  forget- 
ful of  the  past.  Their  music  softened  all 
their  passions,  and  thus  they  lulled  them- 
selves into  that  mild  and  tranquil  state  in 
which  no  evil  thoughts  approach  the  mind. 
The  soft  and  delicate  voices  of  the  girls, 
instinctively  accordant  to  those  of  the  wo- 
men and  the  men;  the  gentle  clapping  of  the 
hands;  the  rattles  of  the  dancer;  and  the 
mellow  sound  of  the  water  drum,  all  harmo- 
niously attuned,  and  keeping  time  together; 
the  peaceful,  liappy  countenances  of  the 
party,  and  the  cheerful  light  of  the  fire,  were 
circumstances  so  combined  and  fitted  to  pro- 
duce the  most  soothing  eflects  on  the  senses, 
that  I  sat  as  if  the  hut  had  been  my  home, 
and  felt  in  the  midst  of  this  horde  as  though 
I  had  been  one  of  them;  for  some  few  mo- 
ments ceasing  to  think  of  sciences  or  of 
Europe,  and  forgetting  that  I  was  a  lonely 
sti'anger  in  a  land  of  untutored  men." 

Nor  is  this  a  solitary  example  of  the  effect 
of  native  music  in  its  own  land,  for  other  ti-av- 
ellers  have,  as  we  shall  see,  written  in  equally 
glowing  terms  of  the  peculiar  charms  of  the 
sounds  produced  by  the  rude  instruments  of 
Southern  Africa,  accompanied  by  the  human 
voice. 

"We  now  come  to  the  insti-ument  which  is, 
par  excellence,  the  characteristic  instrument 


of  Southern  Africa.  The  water-drum  is  a 
ratlier  curious  musical  instrument,  but  there 
is  one  even  more  remarkable  in  use  among 
the  Bosjesmaus,  which  is  a  singular  combi- 
nation of  the  stringed  and  wind  principles. 
In  general  form  it  bears  a  great  resemblance 
to  the  Kaffir  harji,  but  it  has  no  gourd  by 
way  of  a  sounding-board,  and  the  tones  are 
produced  in  a  ditterent  manner.  This  in- 
strument is  called  the  Goura,  and  is  thu3 
described  by  Le  Vaillant:  — 

"  The  goura  is  shaped  like  the  bow  of  a 
savage  Hottentot.  It  is  of  the  same  size, 
and  a  string  made  of  intestines,  fixed  to  one 
of  its  extremities,  is  retained  at  the  other  by 
a  knot  in  the  barrel  of  a  quill  which  is  flat- 
tened and  cleft.  This  quill  being  opened, 
forms  a  very  long  isosceles  triangle,  about 
two  inches  in  length;  and  at  the  base  of  this 
triangle  the  hole  is  made  that  keeps  the 
string  fast,  the  end  of  which,  drawn  back, 
is  tied  at  the  other  end  of  the  bow  with  a 
very  thin  thong  of  leather.  This  cord  may 
be  stretched  so  as  to  have  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  tension  according  to  the  pleasure 
of  the  musician,  but  when  several  gouras 
play  together,  they  are  never  in  unison. 

"  Such  is  the  first  instrument  of  a  Hotten- 
tot, which  one  wovdd  not  suppose  to  be  a 
wind  instrument,  though  it  is  undoubtedly 
of  that  kind.  It  is  held  almost  in  the  same 
manner  as  a  huntsman's  horn,  with  that  end 
where  the  quill  is  fixed  toward  the  per- 
former's mouth,  which  he  applies  to  it,  and 
either  by  aspiration  or  inspiration  draws 
from  it  very  melodious  tones.  The  savages, 
however,  who  succeed  best  on  this  instru- 
ment, cannot  play  any  regular  tune;  they 
only  emit  certain  twangs,  like  those  drawn 
in  a  particular  manner  from  a  violin  or  vio- 
loncello. I  took  great  pleasure  in  seeing 
one  of  ray  attendants  called  John,  who  was 
accounted  an  adept,  regale  for  whole  hours 
his  companions,  who,  transported  and  rav- 
ished, interrupted  him  every  now  and  then 
by  exclaiming  'Ah!  how  charming  it  is; 
begin  that  again.'  John  began  again,  Init 
his  second  performance  had  no  resemblance 
to  the  first:  for,  as  I  have  said,  these  peojile 
cannot  play  any  regular  tune  upon  this 
instrument!^  the  tones  of  which  are  only  the 
effect  of  chance,  and  of  the  quality  of  the 
quill.  The  best  quills  are  those  which  are 
taken  from  the  wings  of  a  certain  species  of 
bustard,  and  whenever  I  happened  to  kill  one 
of  these  birds,  I  was  always  solicited  to  make 
a  small  sacrifice  for  tlie  support  of  our 
orchestra. " 

In  ]5laying  this  remarkable  instrument, 
the  performer  scats  himself,  brings  the  quill 
to  his  mouth,  and  steadies  himself  by  rest- 
ing his  elbows  on  his  knees,  and  putting  the 
right  forefinger  into  the  corresponding  ear, 
and  the  left  forefinger  into  his  wide  nostril. 
A  good  performer  uses  much  exertion  in 
order  to  bring  out  the  tones  properly,  and  it 
is  a  curious  fact,  that  an  accomplished  player 


THE  JOUM-JOUM. 


265 


contrives  to  produce  octaves  b)'  blowing 
with  increased  strength,  just  as  is  done  with 
the  fiute,  an  instrument  on  wliicli  tlio  sound 
of  the  goura  can  be  toleraljly  represented. 

t     ANDANTE.  "^    ^^  .m^    "^  ^ 

S-t^-, — ■ — a—v-A  *~u— *-t--^-»— ' — »— r- 


are  stretched  three  strings,  made  of  the 
twisted  intestines  of  animals.  The  strings 
are  attached  to  pegs,  by  which  tliey  can  be 
tightened  or  loosened  so  as  to  produce  the 


-»-«.•#•* 


s.  ^    ^ 


:^^^ 


:fe=E-^:i 


I-  — b^— I — ~^-\ 


*-  *-     m-  A-     *  A     A 


_*  *  ^  ^ 


■•■  ■*■    m  -^    a  T-    ^  ■*■  71  :t 


S=SeS 


The  same  traveller  contrived  to  write 
down  the  air  which  was  jilayed  by  a  cele- 
brated performer,  and  found  that  he  always 
repeated  the  same  movement.  The  time 
occupied  in  playing  it  through  was  seventy 
seconds. 

''  When  a  woman  plays  the  goura,  it  chan- 
j^es  its  name  merely  because  she  changes  the 
manner  of  playing  it,  and  it  is  then  trans- 
formed into  a  joum-joum.  Seated  on  the 
ground,  she  places  it  perpendicularly  before 
her,  in  the  same  manner  as  a  harp  is  held  in 
Europe.  She  keeps  it  tirm  in  its  position  by 
putting  her  foot  between  the  bow  and  the 
string,  taking  care  not  to  touch  the  latter. 
With  the  right  hand  she  grasps  the  bow  in 
the  middle,  and  while  she  blows  with  her 
mouth  in  the  quill,  she  strikes  the  string  in 
several  places  with  a  small  stick  five  or  six 
inche."  in  length,  which  she  holds  in  the 
other  hand.  This  produces  some  varietj'  in 
the  modulations,  but  the  instrument  must 
be  brought  close  to  the  ear  before  one  can 
catch  distinctly  all  the  modulations  of  the 
sounds.  This  manner  of  holding  the  goura 
struck  me  much,  especially  as  it  greatly 
added  to  the  graces  of  the  female  who  per- 
formed on  it." 

The  reader  will  see  from  this  description 
that  the  tones  of  the  goura  are  not  unlike 
those  of  the  jews-harp,  though  inferior  both 
in  volume  and  variety  to  those  which  can  be 
produced  from  a  tolerably  good  insti'ument. 
Both  the  Hottentots  and  Bosje.smans  soon 
learn  to  manage  the  jews-harp,  and,  on  ac- 
count of  its  small  size  and  consequent  por- 
tability, it  has  almost  superseded  the  native 
goura. 

Two  more  musical  instruments  are  or 
were  used  by  these  people.  One  is  the 
native  guitar,  or  Rabouquin,  which  some- 
what resembles  the  familiar  "  banjo  "  of  the 
negro.  It  consists  of  a  triangular  piece  of 
board,  furnished  with  a  bridge,  over  which 


required  note.  As  Le  Vaillant  quaintly  ob- 
serves: "Any  other  person  might  pcrhai^s 
produce  some  music  from  it  and  render  it 
.agreeable,  but  the  native  is  content  with 
drumming  on  the  strings  with  his  fingers  at 
random,  so  that  any  musical  eft'ect  is  simply 
a  matter  of  chance." 

The  last  instrument  which  these  natives 
possess  is  a  kind  of  drum,  made  of  a  hollowed 
log,  over  one  end  of  which  a  piece  of  tanned 
skin  is  tightly  stretched.  The  drum  is  some- 
times beaten  with  the  fists  and  sometimes 
with  sticks,  and  a  well-made  drum  will  give 
out  resonant  notes  which  can  be  heard  at  a 
considerable  distance.  This  drum  is  called 
by  the  name  of  Komelpot. 

The  effect  of  native  music  on  an  European 
ear  has  already  been  mentioned  on  page  264. 
Dr.  Lichtenstein,  himself  a  good  musician, 
corroborates  Burchell's  account,  and  speaks 
no  less  highly,  though  in  more  technical  and 
scientific  "language,  of  that  music,  and  the 
peculiar  scale  on  which  it  is  formed. 

"  We  were  by  degrees  so  accustomed  to 
the  monotonous  sound  that  our  sleep  was 
never  disturbed  by  it ;  nay,  it  rather  lulled 
us  to  .sleep.  Heard  at  a  distance,  there  is 
nothing  unpleasant  in  it,  but  something 
plaintive  and  soothing.  Although  no  more 
than  six  tones  can  be  produced  from  it, 
which  do  not  besides  belong  to  our  gamut, 
but  form  intervals  quite  foreign  to  it,  yet 
the  kind  of  vocal  sound  of  these  tones,  the 
uncommon  nature  of  the  rhythm,  and  even 
the  oddness,  I  may  say  wildness,  of  the  har- 
mony, give  to  this  music  a  charm  peculiar 
to  itself  I  venture  to  make  use  of  the  term 
'  harmony,'  for  so  it  may  indeed  be  called, 
since,  although  the  intervals  be  not  the  same 
as  ours,  they'stand  in  a  proportion  perfectly 
regular  and  intelligible,  as  well  as  pleasing 
to  the  ear. 

"  Between  the  principal  tones  and  the 
octave  lie  only  three  intervals  ;  the  first  is 


266 


THE  BOSJESMAN  OE  BUSHMAK 


at  least  somewhat  deeper  than  our  great 
third  ;  the  second  lies  iu  the  middle"  be- 
tween the  little  and  the  great  fifth  ;  and  the 
third  between  the  great  "sixth  and  the  little 
seventh;  so  that  a  person  miglit  imagine  he 
hears  the  modulation  first  in  the  smallest 
seventh  accord.  Yet  every  one  lies  higher 
in  proportion  to  the  principal  tone  ;  the  ear 
feels  less  the  desire  of  breaking  ofl"  iu  the 
pure  triple  souud  ;  it  is  even  more  satisfied 
without  it.  Practised  players  continue  to 
draw  out  the  second,  sometimes  even  the 
third,  interval,  in  the  higher  octave.  Still 
these  high  tones  are  somewhat  broken,  and 
seldom  pure  octaves  of  the  corresponding 
deep  tones.  Melodies,  properly  speaking, 
are  never  to  be  heard  ;  it  is  only  a  change 
of  the  same  tones  long  protracted,  the  prin- 
cipal tone  being  struck  before  every  one. 
It  deserves  to  be  remarked,  that  the  inter- 
vals in  question  do  not  proijerly  belong 
to  the  instrument;  they  are,  in  truth,  the 
psalmodial  music  of  the  African  savages." 

There  is  nothing  more  easy  than  to  theo- 
rize, and  nothing  more  difficult  than  to  make 
the  theory  ''  hold  water,"  as  the  saying  is. 
I  knew  a  learned  philologist,  who  elabo- 
rated a  theory  on  the  structure  of  lan- 
guage, and  illustrated  it  l)y  careful  watching 
of  his  successive  children,  and  noting  the 
mode  in  which  they  struggled  through  their 
infantile  lispiugs  into  "expression.  First 
came  inarticulate  sounds,  which  none  but 
the  mother  could  understand,  analogous  to 
the  cries  of  the  lower  animals,  and  employed 
because  the  yet  undeveloped  mind  had  "not 
advanced  beyond  the  animal  stage  of  exist- 
ence. Then  came  onomatopa?ia,  or  imita- 
tive sounds,  and  so,  by  regular  degrees, 
thi-ough  substantives,  verbs,  adjectives,  and 
pronouns,  the  powers  of  language  were  sys- 
tematically developed.  This  theory  answered 
very  well"  with  the  first  two  ch"ildren,  but 
broke  down  utterly  with  the  third,  whose 
first  utterance  was,  "  Don't  tease,  go  away." 

So  has  it  been  with  the  Bosjesman  race  ; 
and,  while  they  have  been  described  as  the 
most  degraded  of  the  great  human  family, 
signs  have  been  discovered  which  show  th.at 
they  have  some  knowledge  of  the  rudiments 
of  art.  I  allude  here  "to  the  celebrated 
Bosjesman  paintings  which  are  scattered 
through  the  country,  mostly  in  caves  and 
on  rocks  near  water  springs,  and  which  are 
often  as  ^vell  drawn  as  those  produced  so 
plentifully  ))y  the  American  Indians.  They 
almost  invariably  represent  figures  of  men 
and  beasts,  and  in  many  cases  the  drawing 
is  sufficiently  good  to  enable  the  spectator 
to  identify  the  particular  animals  which  the 
native  artist  has  intended  to  delineate. 

The  following  account  of  some  of  these 
drawings  is  taken  from  the  notes  of  Mr. 
Christie,  which  he  has  liberally  placed  at 
my  disposal:  — 

"  I  cannot  add  much  to  what  is  written  of 
them,  except  to  allude  to  what  are  termed 


Bushman  paintings,  found  in  caverns  and 
on  fiat  stone  surfaces  near  some  of  their 
permanent  water  supplies.  I  have  only 
met  with  two  instances  of  the  former  paint- 
ings, and  they  were  in  a  cave  in  the  side  of 
a  krantz,  in  the  north  part  of  the  Zwart 
Ruggens.  I  came  upon  them  while  hunt- 
ing koodoos.  One  side  of  the  cavern  was 
covered  with  outlines  of  animals.  Only 
the  upper  part  was  distinguishable,  and  evi- 
dently represented  the  wildebeest,  or  gnoo, 
the  koodoo,  quagga,  &c.  The  figures  were 
very  rudely  drawn,  and  the  colors  used 
were  dull-red  and  black,  and  ]ierhaiis  white; 
the  latter  ma}-  possibly  have  been  a  stalac- 
tite deposition  from  water. 

"  The  other  instance  was  near  an  outspan 
place  on  the  Karroo  road  to  Graft"  Keinet, 
known  as  Pickle  Fountain,  where  there  is  a 
permanent  spring  of  fresh  water,  near  the 
course  of  an  ancient  stream  now  dry.  On 
a  flat  piece  of  sandstone  which  ha"d  once 
formed  part  of  the  bank  of  the  stream  were 
the  remains  of  a  drawing,  which  may  have 
been  the  outline  of  a  man  with  a  ))ow  and 
arrow,  and  a  dog,  but  it  was  so  weather- 
worn that  little  more  could  be  made  out 
than  the  fact  of  its  being  a  drawing.  Tlie 
colors  used,  as  in  the  cave,  were  red  and 
black.  At  the  time  of  my  seeing  the  draw- 
ings, I  had  with  me  a  Bushman,  named 
Booy  (who  was  born  near  what  is  marked 
in  the  map  as  the  Commissioner's  Salt 
Pan),  but  he  could  give  me  no  information 
on  the  subject  of  the  jjaintings,  and  I  am 
rather  inclined  to  think  that  they  are  the 
work  of  one  of  the  Hottentot  tribes  now 
extinct. 

"  My  Bushman  was  a  very  shrewd  fellow, 
but,  although  I  had  been  at  that  time  for 
some  years  among  the  natives,  I  had  not 
become  aware  of  the  poverty  of  their  intel- 
lect. I  had  shown  them  drawings  number- 
less times,  had  described  them,  and  listened 
to  their  remarks,  but  had  not  then  discov- 
ered that  even  the  most  intelligent  had  no 
idea  of  a  picture  beyond  a  simple  outline. 
They  cannot  understand  the  possibility  of 
perspective,  nor  how  a  curved  surface  can 
be  shown  on  a  fiat  sheet  of  paper." 

Together  with  this  account,  Mr.  Christie 
transmitted  a  copy  of  a  similar  drawing 
found  in  a  cavern  in  the  George  district. 
The  color  used  in  the  drawings  is  red,  upon 
a  yellow  ground  —  the  latter  tint  being  that 
of  the  stone  on  which  they  were  delineated. 
The  subject  of  the  drawing  is  rather  ob- 
scure. The  figures  are  evidently  intended 
to  represent  men,  but  they  are  unarmed, 
and  present  the  peculiarity  of  wearing  liead- 
dresses,  such  as  are  not  used  bj'  any  of  the 
tribes  with  whom  the  Bosjesmans  could 
have  come  in  contact.  They  might  have 
often  seen  the  Kaffirs,  with  their  war  orna- 
ments of  feathers,  and  the  Hottentots  with 
their  rude  skin  caps,  but  no  South  African 
tribe  wears  a  headdress  which  could  in  any 


AXECDOTES   OF  BUSHilEX. 


267 


way  be  iclentified  with  these.  Partly  on  this 
account,  and  partly  because  the  figures  are 
not  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  as  is  usual 
in  figures  that  are  intended  to  represent 
Bosjcsniaus,  Mr.  Cliristie  is  of  opinion  that 
maiiy  years  ago  a  boat's  crew  may  have 
landed  on  the  coast,  and  that  the  Bosjes- 
mans  who  saw  them  recorded  the  fact  by 
this  rock-picture. 

The  tools  of  the  Bosjesman  artist  are 
simple  enough,  consisting  of  a  feather 
dipped  in  grease,  in  which  he  has  mixed 
colored  clays,  and,  as  Mr.  Baiues  well  ob- 
serves, he  never  fails  to  give  the  animals 
which  he  draws  the  proper  complement  of 
members.  Like  a  child,  he  will  place  the 
liorns  and  ears  half  down  the  neck,  and  dis- 
tribute the  legs  impartially  along  the  body; 
but  he  knows  nothing  of  perspective,  and 
has  not  the  least  idea  of  foresliortening,  or 
of  concealing  one  limb  or  horn  behind 
another,  as  it  would  appear  to  the  eye. 

The  same  traveller  rather  differs  from 
Mr.  Christie  in  his  estimation  of  the  artistic 
powers  of  the  Bosjesman,  and  his  capability 
for  comprehending  a  picture.  According  to 
him,  a  Bosjesman  can  understand  a  colored 
drawing  i^erfectly.  He  can  name  any  tree, 
bird,  animal,  or  insect,  that  has  been  drawn 
in  colors,  but  does  not  seem  to  appreciate  a 
perspective  drawing  in  black  and  white. 
"  When  I  showed  them  the  oil-painting  of 
the  Damara  family,  their  admiration  knew 
no  bounds.  The  forms,  dress,  and  orna- 
ments of  the  figures  were  freely  commented 
on,  and  the  distinctive  characteristics  be- 
tween them  and  the  group  of  Bushmen 
pointed  out.  The  dead  bird  was  called  by 
its  name,  and,  what  I  hardly  expected,  even 
the  bit  of  wheel  and  fore  part  of  the  wagon 
was  no  diflSculty  to  them.  They  enjoyed 
the  sketch  of  Kobis  greatly,  and  pointed 
out  the  figures  in  the  group  of  men,  horses, 
and  oxen  veiy  readily.  Leaves  and  flowers 
they  had  no  difficulty  with,  and  the  only 
thing  they  failed  in  was  the  root  of  the 
markwhae.  But  when  it  is  considered  that 
if  this,  the  I'eal  blessing  of  the  desert,  were 
lying  on  the  surface,  an  inexperienced  Eng- 
lishman would  not  know  it  from  a  stone  at 
a  little  distance,  this  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at.  The  dead  animals  drawn  in  perspective 
and  foreshortened  were  also  named  as  fast 
as  I  produced  them,  except  a  half-finished, 
uncolored  sketch  of  the  brindled  gnoo. 
They  had  an  idea  of  its  proper  name,  but, 
said  they,  '  We  can  see  only  one  horn,  and 
it  may  be  a  rhinoceros  or  a  wild  boar.' " 

The  following  anecdotes  have  been  kindly 
sent  to  me  by  Captain  Drayson,  R.  A.,  who 
was  engaged  in  the  late  Kaffir  war:  — • 

'•  The  habits  of  the  Bushman  are  those  of 
a  thoroughly  wild  hunter;  to  him  cattle  are 
merely  an  incumbrance,  and  to  cultivate 
the  soil  is  merely  to  do  himself  what  Na- 
ture will  do  for  him.  The  country  in  which 
14 


he  resides  swarms  witli  game,  and  to  kill 
this  is  to  a  Bushman  no  trouble.  His  neigh- 
bors keep  cattle,,  and  that  is  as  a  last  re- 
source a  means  of  sub.sistence;  but,  as  the 
Bushman  wanders  over  the  country,  and 
selects  those  spots  in  which  the  neces.saries 
of  life  abound,  he  rarely  suffers  from  want. 
If  a  young  Bushman  be  captured,  as  some- 
times happens  when  the  Dutch  Boers  set 
out  on  an  expedition  against  these  thieves, 
the  relatives  at  once  track  the  captive  to  its 
prison,  and  sooner  or  later  recover  it.  I 
once  saw  a  Bushboy  who  had  been  eight 
years  in  a  Dutchman's  family,  had  learned 
to  speak  Dutch,  to  eat  with  a  knife  and  fork, 
and  to  wear  clothes;  but  at  the  end  of  that 
time  the  Bushboy  disappeared.  His  clothes 
were  found  in  the  stables  in  the  place  of  a 
horse  which  he  had  taken  with  him.  The 
spoor  being  rapidly  followed,  was  found 
to  lead  to  the  DraaUensberg  Mountains, 
among  the  fastnesses  of  which  the  Boers 
had  no  fancy  to  follow,  for  from  every 
cranny  and  inaccessible  ridge  a  poisonous 
arrow  might  be  discharged,  as  the  youth 
had  evidently  rejoined  his  long-lost  rela- 
tives. 

"  It  was  a  great  surprise  to  notice  the 
effect  on  our  Dutch  sporting  companions  of 
the  intimation  of  '  Bushmen  near.'  We 
were  riding  on  an  elevated  spur  of  the 
Draakensberg,  near  the  Mooi  River,  when 
a  Boer  suddenly  reined  up  his  horse,  and 
exclaimed:  — 

" '  Cess,  kek  die  spoor  von  verdamt 
Boschmen! ' 

"  Jumping  off  his  horse  he  examined  the 
ground,  and  then  said:  'A  man  it  is;  one 
naked  foot,  the  other  with  a  velschoen.' 
The  whole  party  immediately  became  in- 
tensely excited,  they  scattered  in  all  direc- 
tions like  a  pack  of  hounds  in  cover;  some 
galloped  to  the  nearest  ridge,  others  fol- 
lowed on  the  spoor,  all  in  search  of  the 
Bushman.  '  He  has  not  long  gone,'  said 
one  of  my  companions;  'be  ready.' 

" '  Ready  for  what? '  I  inquired. 

" '  Ready  to  shoot  the  schelm.' 

"  '  Would  j'ou  shoot  him?'  I  asked. 

" '  Just  so  as  I  would  a  snake.' 

"And  then  my  companion  explained  to 
me  that  he  had  not  long  since  bought  at  a 
great  price  a  valuable  horse  which  he  had 
taken  to  his  farm.  In  three  weeks  the 
horse  was  stolen  by  Bushmen.  He  followed 
quickly,  and  the  animal  being  fat,  begun  to 
tire,  so  two  Bushmen  who  were  ricling  it 
jumped  off,  stabbed  it  with  their  arrows, 
and  left  it.  The  horse  died  that  night. 
Again,  a  neighbor  had  about  twenty  oxen 
carried  off".  The  Bushmen  were  the  thieves, 
and,  on  being  followed  closely,  stabbed  all 
the  oxen,  most  of  which  died. 

"  Many  other  similar  tales  were  told,  our 
informant  winding  up  with  these  remarks: 

"'I  have  heard  that  every  creature  God 
makes  is  useful,  and  I  think  so  too;  but  it  is 


2G8 


THE   BOSJESMAN  OR  BUSHMAN. 


only  useful  in  its  place.  A  puft-adder  is 
useful  where  there  are  too  many  toads  or 
frogs;  but  when  he  comes  into  my  house 
he  is  out  of  place,  and  I  Kill  him.  A  Bush- 
man near  my  farm  is  out  of  place,  and  I 
shoot  him;  for  if  I  let  him  alone  he  poi- 
sons my  horses  and  cattle,  and  very  likely 
me  too.' 

"  Only  twice  did  I  ever  see  the  Bushman 
at  home;  on  the  first  occasion  it  was  just 
after  a  fearful  storm,  and  they  had  sought 
shelter  in  a  kloof  near  our  quarters.  They 
emerged  about  three  hundred  yards  in  ad- 
vance of  us,  and  immediately  made  oft"  like 
the  wind.     Not  to  be  unconventional,  we 


sent  a  bullet  after  them,  but  high  over  their 
head;  they  stayed  not  for  another.  On  a 
second  occasion  I  was  close  to  them,  and 
was  first  made  aware  of  their  presence  in 
consequence  of  an  arrow  striking  a  tree 
near;  not  aimed  at  me,  but  at  some  Daas, 
or  rock-rabbits,  which  were  on  the  rocks 
close  by.  With  no  little  care  and  some 
speed  I  retreated  from  the  neighborhood  of 
such  implements  as  poisoned  arrows,  and 
then  by  aid  of  a  glass  saw  the  Bushmen 
first  find  their  arrow  and  then  my  spoor,  at 
which  latter  they  took  fright,  and  disap- 
peared in  a  neighboring  kloof." 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


THE  KOEAISTNAS  AND  NAIVIAQUAS. 


NOMAD  CHAKAOTER  OF  THE  TKIBE  — THEIR  GENERAL  CHARACTER  — DISTINCT  FROM  THE  BOSJESMAN 
TRIBE  —  THEIR  HORSES  AND  CATTLE  —  GOVERNMENT  —  DRESS  OF  THE  KORANTNAS  —  SINGULAR 
MODE  OF  DANCING  —  DESIRE  OF  OBTAINING  KNOWLEDGE  —  THE  MUSICAL  ALPHABET — "  AULD 
LANG  SYNE" — TENACIOUS  MEMORY  OF  A  YOUNG  KORANNA — HIS  GROTESQUE  APPEARANCE  — 
FONDNESS  FOR  MEDICINE— THE  NA3IAQUA  TRIBE  —  CHjVRACTER  OF  GREAT  NAM  AQUA-LAND  — 
VICISSITUDES  OF  THE  CLIMATE  —  EFFECT  ON  THE  INHAEIT.iNTS —  AFRICANER,  AND  HIS  HISTORY 
—  DRESS  OF  THE  NAMAQUAS  —  THEIR  IDEAS  OP  RELIGION — SUPERSTITIONS  —  STORY  OF  A  NAMA- 
QUA  HUNTER  AND  A  BOSJESJLVN  WOMAN  —  R.\IN-MAKING — HEALING  THE  SICK  — THE  DOCTOR'S 
PANACEA  —  POLYGAMY  AND  DIVORCE  —  CATTLE-TRAINING  —  CRUELTY  TOWARD  THE  INFIRM  AND 
AGED  —  ADOPTION  OF  PARENTS. 


In  accordance  with  the  plan  of  this  worlt, 
we  will  now  glance  slightly  at  a  few  of  the 
more  conspicuous  tribes  which  inhabit 
Southern  Africa  from  the  Cape  to  that  part 
of  the  continent  which  is  occupied  by  the 
negro  races. 

Among  the  offshoots  of  the  Hottentots  is 
a  tribe  called  indifferently  Kora,  Koraqua, 
Korans,  or  Korannas.  On  account  of  their 
nomad  habits,  it  is  impossible  to  fix  any 
particular  locality  for  them,  and  besides  it 
often  happens  that  they  extend  their  pere- 
grinations into  the  territories  of  triljes  more 
adherent  to  the  soil,  and  for  a  time  are  as 
completely  mixed  up  with  them  as  if  they 
belonged  to  the  same  tribe.  Owing  to  their 
want  "of  civilization,  and  general  manners, 
some  travellers  have  considered  them  as  a 
rude  tribe  of  Bosjesmans,  but  they  have 
been  satisfactorily  proved  to  belong  to  the 
Hottentots. 

They  seem  to  be  quiet  and  well-behaved, 
and  possessed  of  much  curiosity.  Burchell 
relates  one  or  two  anecdotes  of  the  latter 
quality,  and  gives  an  amusing  description  of 
their  astonishment  at  the  sight  of  a  colored 
drawing  which  he  had  made  of  a  yellow 
fish.  One  of  them  had  struck  one  of  these 
fishes,  and  Burchell  had  borrowed  it  in 
order  to  make  a  colored  drawing  of  it. 
"When  the  owner  came  to  take  it  back,  he 
happened  to  glance  at  the  drawing,  and  was 
struck  dumb  with  amazement,  gazing  at  it 
with  mouth  and  eyes  wide  open.  At  last 
he  found  his  tongue,  and  called  tis  compan- 


ions to  see  the  new  wonder.  At  the  sight 
of  the  drawing,  they  behaved  much  as  a 
company  of  monkeys  might  be  supposed  to 
conduct  themselves,  turning  the  paper  to 
look  at  the  back  of  it,  feeling  it  with  their 
lingers,  and  being  quite  unable  to  com- 
prehend how  an  oljfect  could  at  once  be 
rounded  to  the  eye,  and  flat  to  the  touch. 

Of  the  general  character  of  the  Koranna 
Hottentots,  Dr.  Lichtenstein  has  written  so 
admirable  an  analysis  in  so  small  a  com- 
pass, that  I  cannot  do  better  than  give  his 
own  words:  — 

"These  Korans  are  the  oldest  original 
inhabitants  of  the  country;  they  are  a  toler- 
ably numerous  race,  mild,  and  well-disposed, 
speaking  almost  the  same  language  that  was 
formerly  spoken  by  the  Hottentot  tribes 
within  the  colony,  but  which  has  not  hith- 
erto been  sufficiently  known  by  the  Europe- 
ans to  acquire  from  it  much  insight  into  the 
ancient  customs  and  habits  of  the  people. 
They  still  live,  after  the  manner  of  their 
forefathers,  in  small  villages  or  kraals,  in 
huts  of  a  hemispherical  form,  and  are  sloth- 
ful by  nature,  so  that  they  are  not  so  suc- 
cessful in  breeding  cattle  —  though  their 
country  is  extremely  well  adapted  to  it,  as 
the  stronger  and  more  industrious  Kaffir 
tribes.  With  these,  who  are  their  nearest 
neighbors,  they  live  on  very  good  terms; 
but  a  perpetual  warfare  subsists  between 
them  and  the  Bosjesmans;  the  latter  are 
hated  by  them  to  excess. 

"  The  Korans  have  hitherto  been  very 


(209) 


270 


THE   KORANXAS. 


erroneously  confounded  with  the  Bosjes- 
mans,  but  they  are  a  totally  distinct  peoijle, 
having  their  iirineipal  residence  on  the 
banks  of  the  jSfarb  and  Vaal  rivers,  north- 
east from  where  we  now  were,  and  south  of 
the  Bechuana  country.  They  are  divided 
into  several  tribes,  the  principal  of  which 
are  called  the  Khareniankis  and  the  Khure- 
niankis.  In  their  size  and  corporeal  struc- 
ture they  resemble  the  Hottentots  very 
much,  but  the  cheek  and  chin  bones  are  less 
lu-ominent,  and  the  whole  lace  is  more  oval 
than  some  other  of  the  Hottentot  tribes. 
They  have  all  a  kind  of  voluptuous  expres- 
sion about  the  mouth,  which,  united  with  a 
peculiar  wild  roll  of  the  eye,  and  a  rough, 
broken  manner  of  speaking,  give  them  alto- 
gether the  appearance  of  intoxication,  nor 
indeed  are  they  falsified  by  it,  since  they  are 
truly  a  voluptuous  race,  deficient  in  bodilj- 
strength,  and  destitute  of  martial  courage. 

"Their  clothing  consists  of  a  mantle  of 
prepared  skin,  made  either  from  the  hides  of 
their  cattle,  or  irom  those  of  the  antelopes: 
it  is  smaller,  and  of  a  somewhat  ditierent 
form  from  that  worn  by  the  Beehuanas,  and 
is  never  made  of  several  small  skins  sewed 
together.  A  favorite  mode  with  them  is  to 
scrape  figures  of  various  kinds  on  the  hairy 
side  of  these  mantles.  They  trade  with 
the  Beehuanas  for  ornaments  for  the  ears, 
neck,  and  arms. 

"The  cattle  are  held  in  high  estimation 
by  them;  the_y  take  much  more  care  of  these 
creatures  than  the  other  tribes,  or  than  most 
of  the  colonists.  They  are  so  much  cele- 
brated for  training  the  oxen  as  riding  and 
draught  animals,  that  the  Beehuanas  ac- 
knowledge them  to  be  in  this  instance  their 
masters,  and  purchase  of  them  those  that 
they  use  for  riding.  These  animals  go  an 
exceedingly  good  trot  or  gallop,  and  clear  a 
great  deal  of  ground  in  a  very  short  time. 
There  is  no  occasion  ever  to  be  harsh  with 
them;  'tis  sufficient  to  touch  them  with  a 
thin  osier.  The  rider  never  neglects,  when 
he  dismounts,  to  have  the  animal  led  aliout 
slowly  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  that  he  may 
cool  by  degrees.  The  bridle  is  fastened  to  a 
wooden  pin,  stuck  through  the  nose,  and  a 
sheep's  or  a  goat's  skin  serves  as  a  saddle. 
On  this  the  rider  has  so  firm  a  seat,  that  he 
is  in  no  danger  of  being  thrown  by  even  the 
wildest  ox. 

"  The  Korans  do  not  apply  themselves  at 
all  to  agriculture;  their  dwellings  are  spher- 
ical huts,  very  much  like  those  of  the 
Koossas,  Ibut  not  so  spacious.  Some  skins 
and  mats,  on  which  they  sleep,  some  leather 
knapsacks,  and  a  sort  of  vessel  somewhat  in 
the  form  of  cans,  which  are  cut  out  of  a  piece 
of  solid  wood,  with  some  calabashes  and 
bamboo  canes,  compose  the  whole  of  their 
household  furniture.  Most  of  them  wear  a 
knife  of  the  Bechuana  manufactory,  in  a 
case  slung  round  their  necks,  with  a  small 
leather  bag,  or  the  shell  of  a  tortoise,  in 


whieh  is  the  pipe,  the  tob('.//,o,  and  the  flint 

for  striking  fire. 

"  They  have  no  fixed  habitation,  but  often 
move  from  one  place  to  a'.iother,  always  car- 
rying with  them,  as  is  the  custom  among 
tile  other  tribes,  the  staves  and  mats  of 
which  their  huts  are  built.  All  their  goods 
and  chattels  are  packed  together  within  a 
very  small  compass  on  the  back  of  the 
patient  ox;  and  thus  a  whole  Koran  village 
is  struck  and  in  full  march  in  a  few  mo- 
ments. Their  form  of  go\ernment  is  the 
same  as  with  the  other  Hottentot  tribes;  the 
richest  person  in  the  kraal  is  the  captain  or 
provost;  he  is  the  leader  of  the  party,  and 
the  spokesman  on  all  occasions,  without 
deriving  from  this  office  any  judicial  right 
over  the  rest.  His  authority  is  exceedingly 
circumscribed,  and  no  one  considers  himself 
as  wholly  bound  to  yield  obedience  to  him, 
neither  does  he  himself  ever  pretend  to 
command  them.  Only  in  case  of  being 
obliged  to  defend  themselves  against  a  for- 
eign enemy  he  is  the  first,  because,  being 
the  ricliest,  he  sufters  most  from  the  at- 
tack. 

"Plurality  of  wives  is  not  contrary  to 
their  institutions;  yet  I  never  heard  of  anj'- 
body  who  had  more  tnan  one  wife.  They 
are  by  nature  good-tempered;  but  they  are 
indolent,  and  do  not  take  any  great  interest 
for  others;  less  cunning  than  the  Hottentot, 
therefore  easy  to  be  deceived  in  trafficking 
with  them;  and,  from  their  simplicity,  easily 
won  to  any  purpose  by  the  attraction  of 
strong  liquors,  tobacco,  and  the  like  luxu- 
ries." 

On  the  next  page  is  an  illustration  of  a 
Koranna  chief  dressed  as  described  by  Lich- 
tenstein.  The  kaross  worn  by  the  individual 
from  whom  the  portrait  was  taken  was  so 
plentifully  bedaubed  with  red  earth  and 
grease,  that  it  left  traces  of  his  presence 
wherever  he  went,  and,  if  the  wearer  hap- 
pened to  lean  against  anything,  he  caused  a 
stain  which  could  not  easily  be  removed. 
Suspended  to  his  neck  is  seen  the  all-per- 
vading Bechuana  knife,  and  exactly  in  front 
is  the  shell  of  a  small  tortoise,  in  which  he 
kept  his  snuff. 

The  leathern  cap  is  universal  among  tliem 
as  among  other  Hottentots,  and  as  the  fur  is 
retained,  it  can  be  ]nit  on  with  some  degree 
of  taste,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  portrait.  The  use  of  sibilo  is  common 
among  the  Korannas,  and,  like  other  Hot- 
tentof  tribes,  the  women  load  their  hair  so 
thickly  with  this  substance,  that  they  appear 
to  be  wearing  a  metal  cap.  Their  language 
is  full  of  clicks,  but  not  so  thickly  studded 
with  them  as  that  of  the  Hottentots,  and  in 
a  short  time  any  person  who  understands 
the  ordinary  Hottentot  dialect  will  be  able 
to  learn  that  of  the  Korannas. 

These  triljcs  have  a  dance  which  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  Bosjesmans,  a  drum  being 
used,  made  of  a  joint  of  aloe  over  which 


ija) 


MUSICAL  ALPHxVBET. 


273 


an  undressed  sheepskin  is  stretched.  Tlie 
women  sit  on  the  ground  in  a  circle,  witli 
tlieir  arms  stretched  towiird  the  dancer,  and 
siugiug  a  song  very  mucli  resemliling  the 
"Aye-0"  of  the  Bosjosmans.  The  dancer 
leans  against  two  sticks,  as  if  the\'  were 
crutches,  t\vines  his  arms  around  his  liody, 
and  sways  himself  backward  and  forward, 
bending  "first  toward  one  of  the  women,  and 
then  toward  another,  until  he  loses  liis 
balance,  and  as  he  falls  is  caught  in  the  out- 
stretched arms  of  the  woman  who  happens 
to  be  nearest  to  him.  Of  course,  she  falls  on 
the  ground  with  the  shock,  and  as  soon  as 
they  can  rise  to  their  feet  he  resumes  his 
place  in  the  circle,  replaces  the  sticks  under 
his  arms,  and  dances  with  renewed  vigor, 
while  she  takes  her  seat  again,  in  order  to 
catch  him  if  he  should  happen  to  fall  again 
in  h.^r  direction. 

The  women,  by  the  way,  are  liable  to 
that  extraordinary  conformation  which  has 
alreaily  been  mentioned  when  treating  of 
the  Hottentot,  and  to  European  eyes  their 
beauty  is  not  increased  by  it,  though  a  native 
sees  nothing  remarkable  in  it.  It  is  a  curi- 
ous fact  that  this  development  should  occur 
in  the  country  which  pr(jduccs  an  analogous 
formation  in  the  sheep,  whose  bodies  are 
thin  and  meagre,  but  whose  tails  are  of 
enormous  size,  and  little  but  masses  of  pure 
fot. 

Their  names  are,  as  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, nicknames,  given  to  them  on  account 
of  any  reraarkahle  incident  that  may  have 
happened  to  them,  and,  in  consequence, 
variable  from  day  to  day. 

Mr.  Moftatt,  speaking  as  a  missionary,  lias 
a  very  high  opinion  of  the  Koranna  tribe. 
He  found  them  docile,  good-tempered,  and 
not  only  willing,  but  impatiently  desirous  of 
gaining  knowledge.  After  preaching  and 
attending  the  sidv  all  day,  in  the  evening 
he  began  to  teach  some  of  the  younger  Ko- 
rannas  the  rudiments  of  learning,  when  some 
of  the  principal  men  heard  of  the  proceed- 
ing, and  insisted  on  being  taught  also.  The 
whole  scene  which  followed  was  very  amus- 
ing. 

"  It  was  now  late,  and  both  mind  and 
body  were  jaded,  but  nothing  would  satisfy 
them;  I  must  teach  them  also.  After  a 
search,  I  found  among  some  waste  paper  a 
Large  sheet  alphaliet  with  a  corner  and  two 
letters  torn  ofi:'.  This  was  laid  on  the  ground, 
when  all  knelt  in  a  circle  round  it,  and  of 
course  the  letters  were  viewed  by  some  just 
upside  down.  I  commenced  pointing  with 
a  stick,  and,  when  I  pronounced  one  letter, 
Jill  hallooed  out  to  some  purpose.  When 
1  remarked  that  perhaps  we  might  manage 
with  somewhat  less  noise,  one  reijlied  that 
lie  was  sure  the  louder  he  roared,  the  sooner 
would  his  tongue  get  accustomed  to  the 
'seeds,'  as  he  called  the  letters. 

"  As  it  was  growing  late,  I  rose  to  straighten 
my  back,  which  wasbeginuing  to  tire,  when 


I  observed  some  young  folks  coming  dancing 
and  skipping  toward  me,  who,  without  any 
ceremony,  seized  hold  of  me.  'Oh!  teach 
us  the  A  B  C  with  music ! '  every  one  cried, 
giving  me  no  time  to  tell  them  it  was  too 
late.  1  ibund  they  had  made  this  discovery 
through  one  of  my  boys.  There  were  pres- 
ently a  dozen  or  more  surrounding  mo,  and 
resistance  was  outof  the  question.  Dragged 
and  pushed,  I  entered  one  of  the  largest 
native  houses,  which  was  instantly  crowded. 
Tlie  tune  of  '  Auld  Lang  Syne  '  was  pitched 
to  A  B  C,  each  succeeding  round  was  joined 
by  succeeding  voices  until  every  tongue  was 
vocal,  and  every  countenance  beamed  with 
heartfelt  satisfaction.  The  longer  the  song, 
tlie  more  freedom  was  felt,  and  '  Auld  Lang 
Syne '  was  echoed  to  the  farthest  end  of  the 
village.  The  strains  which  inspire  pleasur- 
able emotions  into  the  sons  of  the  North 
were  no  less  potent  among  the  children  of 
the  South.  Those  who  had  retired  to  their 
evening's  slumber,  supposing  that  we  were, 
holding  a  night  service,  came;  for  music,  it 
is  said,  charms  the  savage  ear.  It  certainly 
does,  particularly  the  uatives  of  Southern 
Africa,  who,  however  degraded  they  may 
have  become,  still  I'ctain  that  refinement  of 
taste  which  enables  them  to  appreciate  those 
tunes  which  are  distinguished  by  melody 
and  softness. 

"  After  two  hours'  singing  and  puffing,  I 
obtained  permission,  though  with  some  dif- 
ficulty of  consent,  and  greater  of  egress,  to 
leave  them,  now  comparativeh'  proficient. 
It  was  between  two  and  three  in  the  morn- 
ing. Worn  out  in  mind  and  body,  I  laid 
myself  down  in  my  wagon,  cap  and  shoos 
and  all,  just  to  have  a  few  hours'  sleep  pre- 
paratory to  departure  on  the  coming  day. 
As  the  '  music-hall '  was  not  far  from  my 
pillow,  there  was  little  chance  of  sleeping 
soundly,  for  the  young  amateurs  seemed 
unwearied,  and  A  B  C  to  '  Auld  Lang  Syne ' 
went  on  till  I  was  ready  to  wish  it  at  John 
o'  Groat's  House.  The  company  at  length 
dispersed,  and,  awaking  in  the  morning 
after  a  brief  repose,  I  was  not  a  little  sur- 
prised to  hear  the  old  tune  in  every  corner 
of  the  village.  The  mai<ls  milking  the  cows, 
and  the  bo3's  tending  the  calves,  were  hum- 
ming the  alphabet  over  again."  Perhaps 
this  tine  old  tune  may  be  incorporated  into 
Koranna  melodies,  just  as  the  story  of"  Jane 
Eyre  "  has  taken  a  place  among  Aralj  tales. 

During  this  sojourn  among  the  Korannas, 
Mr.  Moftatt  observed  a  singular  instance  of 
retentive  memory.  He  had  just  finished  a 
sermon,  and  was  explaining  portions  of  it 
to  groups  of  hearers,  when  his  attention 
was  attracted  by  a  young  man  who  wa.s 
holding  forth  to  a  crowd  of  attentive  hear- 
ers. On  approaching  the  spot,  he  was  more 
than  surprised  to  find  that  this  young  man 
was  preaching  the  sermon  second-hand  to 
his  audience,  and,  more  than  this,  was  re- 
producing,   with    astonishing    fidelity,  not 


274 


THE  NAMAQUAS. 


only  the  Tvords  of  a  discourse  wliich  lie  had 
heard  l)ut  ouce,  but  even  the  gestures  of 
the  speaker.  Wheu  comphmeiited  on  his 
wondertul  powers  of  memory,  he  did  not 
seem  at  all  tlattered,  but  oulj^  touched  his 
forehead  with  his  linger,  sayiug,  that  wheu 
he  heartl  anything  great,  there  it  remained. 
This  remarkal)le  youth  died  soon  afterward, 
Jiaving  been  previously  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity. AVhen  preaching,  he  presented  a 
singular,  not  to  say  grotesque  appearance, 
being  dressed  in  part  of  one  leg  of  a  quon- 
dam pair  of  trousers,  a  cap  made  of  the  skin 
stripped  from  a  zebra's  head,  with  the  ears 
still  attached,  and  some  equally  fantastic 
ornament  about  his  neck.  The  contrast  lie- 
tweeu  the  wild  figure  and  the  solemnity  of 
the  suljject,  which  he  was  teaching  with 
much  earnestness,  wa.s  most  remarkalde. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  Mr.  Mollatt 
was  engaged  in  attending  upon  the  sick. 
This  is  an  invai'iable  part  of  a  missionary's 


duties,  as  the  natives  have  unbounded  faith 
ill  the  medicinal  powers  of  all  white  men, 
and  naturally  think  that  those  who  come  to 
heal  their  souls  must  know  how  to  heal 
their  bodies.  Fortunately,  their  faith  makes 
them  excellent  patients,  and  is  in  itself  the 
best  cure  for  affections  of  a  nervous  char- 
acter, to  which  all  men  seem  liable,  no  mat- 
ter what  may  l:>e  the  color  of  their  skin. 
They  are  passionately  desirous  of  medicine, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  mix  a  draught  that 
can  be  too  nauseous  for  them;  in  fact,  the 
more  distasteful  it  is,  the  greater  they  think 
its  efticac}'.  On  one  occasion,  a  woman  came 
for  some  medicine  for  her  husliaiid  ^\ho  was 
ill,  and  two  very  httle  doses  were  given  her, 
one  to  be  taken  at  sunset  and  the  other  at 
midnight.  However,  she  settled  that  point 
by  inmiediatel}'  taking  both  draughts  herself, 
stating  that  it  would  equally  benefit  her 
husljaud  whether  he  or  she  happened  to 
take  it. 


THE  NAMAQUAS. 


The  termination  of  the  word  Namaquas 
shows  that  it  is  a  Hottentot  term,  and  con- 
sequently that  the  peo|)le  who  bear  that 
name  belong  to  the  Hottentot  nation.  The 
sutfis  Qua  is  analogous  among  the  Hotten- 
tots to  the  prefix  Ania  among  the  Kaffir 
tribes,  and  signifies  ''  men."  Thus  tlie  terms 
Namaqua,  Griqua,  Koraqua,  Gonaqua,  &c., 
signify  that  those  tribes  are  branches  of  the 
Hottentot  nation.  Namaquas  themselves, 
however,  prefer  to  be  called  by  the  name  of 
Oerlam,  a  word  of  uncertain  derivation. 

The  Namaquas,  unlike  the  Korannas,  can 
be  referred  to  a  totally  distinct  locality, 
their  haliitation  being  a  large  tract  of  coun- 
try on  the  southwest  coast  of  Africa,  lying 
north  of  the  Orange  River,  or  Gariep,  ancl 
being  called  from  its  inhal.utants  Great  Nam- 
aqua-land.  It  is  a  wild  and  strange  country 
—  dry,  barren  and  rugged,  and  therefore 
with  a  very  thinly  scattered  population, 
always  suffering  from  want  of  water,  and  at 
times  seeming  as  parched  as  their  own  land. 
For  several  consecutive  years  it  often  hap- 
pens that  no  rain  falls  in  a  large  district, 
and  the  beds  of  the  streams  and  rivers  are 
as  dry  as  the  plains.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, the  natives  haunt  the  dried  water- 
courses, and,  by  sinking  deep  holes  in  their 
beds,  contrive  "to  procure  a  scanty  and  jire- 
carious  supply  of  water  at  the  cost  of  very 
great  labor.  Sometimes  these  wells  are  dug 
to  the  depth  of  twenty  feet,  and  even  when 
the  water  is  obtained  at  the  expense  of  so 
much  labor,  it  is  in  comparatively  small 
quantities,  and  of  very  inferior  quality. 
iJrauches  of  trees  are  i)laced  in  these  pits 
by  way  of  ladders,  and  by  their  means  the 
Namaquas  hand  up   the  water  in  wooden 


pails,  first  filling  their  own  water-vessels, 
.and  then  supplying  their  cattle  b}-  pouring 
the  water  into  a  trough.  This  scene  is 
always  an  animated  one,  the  cattle,  half 
mad  with  thirst,  bellowing  with  impatience, 
crowding  round  the  trough,  and  thrusting 
one  another  aside  to  partake  of  its  con- 
tents. A  similar  scene  takes  place  if  a 
water-hole  is  discovered  on  the  march.  A 
strong  guard,  mostly  of  women,  is  placed 
round  the  precious  spot,  or  the  cattle  would 
certainly  rush  into  it  in  their  eagerness  to 
drink  what  water  they  could  get,  aud  tram- 
ple the  rest  into  undrinkalde  mud. 

In  this  strange  country,  the  only  supplies 
of  rain  are  by  thunderstorms,  and,  much 
as  the  natives  dread  the  lightning,  they  wel- 
come (he  distant  rumble  of  the  tjiunder,  and 
look  anxiously  for  its  increasing  loudness. 
These  thunderstorms  are  of  terrific  violence 
when  they  break  over  a  tract  of  countiy, 
and  in  a  few  hours  the  dry  watercourses 
are  converted  into  rushing  torrents,  and  the 
whole  country  for  a  time  rejoices  in  abun- 
dant moisture.  The  effect  on  vegetation  is 
wonderful.  Seed  that  have  been  lying  in 
the  parched  ground  waiting  in  vain  for  the 
vivifying  motsture  spring  at  once  into  life, 
and,  aided  by  the  united  intlueuce  of  a  burn- 
ing sun  and  moist  ground,  they  spring  up 
with  marvellous  rapidity.  These  storms  are 
almost  invariably  very"  partial,  falling  only 
on  a  limited  strip  of  country,  so  that  the 
traveller  passes  almost  at  a  step  out  of  a 
barren  and  parched  country,  with  scarcely 
a  blade  of  grass  or  a  leaf  of  herljage,  into  a 
green  tract  as  luxuriant  as  an  English 
meadow. 

The  geological  formation  is  mostly  gran- 


THE  CHIEF,  AFRICANER. 


275 


ite,  and  the  glittering  quartz  crystals  are 
scattered  so  profusely  over  the  surface,  that 
a  traveller  who  is  obliged  to  pursue  his 
journey  at  noon  can  scarcely  open  his  eyes 
sufficiently  to  see  his  wa}',  so  dazzling  are 
the  rays  reflected  on  every  side.  In  many 
parts  the  ground  is  impregnated  with  nitre, 
which  forms  a  salt-like  incrustation,  and 
crumbles  under  the  feet,  so  that  vegetation 
is  scarcely  possible,  even  in  the  vicinity  of 
water.  There  seem  to  be  few  inhabited 
lands  which  are  more  depressing  to  the 
traveller,  and  which  cause  more  wonder 
that  human  beings  can  be  found  who  can 
endure  for  their  whole  lives  its  manifold 
discomforts.  Yet  they  appear  to  be  happy 
enough  in  their  own  strange  way,  and  it  is 
very  likely  that  they  would  not  exchange 
their  dry  and  barren  land  for  the  most  fer- 
tile country  in  the  world. 

The  euphorbia  best  flourishes  in  the  ra- 
vines, but,  from  its  poisonous  nature,  adds 
little  to  the  comfort  of  the  traveller.  Even 
the  honey  which  the  wild  bees  deposit  in 
the  rocks  is  tainted  with  the  poison  of  the 
euphorbia  flowers,  and,  if  eaten,  causes  most 
painful  sensations.  The  throat  first  begins 
t-o  feel  as  if  caj-enne-pepper  had  been  incau- 
tiously swallowed,  and  the  liurning  heat 
soon  spreads  and  becomes  almost  intoler- 
able. Even  in  a  cool  country  its  inward 
heat  would  be  nearly  unendurable,  but  in 
such  a  place  as  Namaqua-land,  what  the 
torture  must  be  can  scarcely  be  conceived. 
Water  seems  to  aggravate  instead  of  allay- 
ing the  pain,  and  the  symptoms  do  not  go 
oft"  until  after  the  lapse  of  several  days. 

On  account  of  their  privations,  which  they 
are  constantly  obliged  to  endure,  the  inhalv 
itants  are,  as  a  rule,  almost  hopelessly  igno- 
rant, and  without  the  martial  spirit  which 
distinguishes  so  many  tribes  which  inhabit 
Southern  Africa.  Still,  the  celebrated  chief, 
Africaner,  contrived  to  make  good  soldiers 
out  of  the  Namaquas,  and  under  his  leader- 
ship they  made  his  name  dreaded  throughout 
a  large  portion  of  South-western  Africa. 
He  revolutionized  the  ordinary  system  of 
warfare,  which  consisted  in  getting  Isehind 
bushes  and  shooting  arrows  at  each  other, 
by  which  much  time  was  consumed  and 
little  hai'm  done,  and  boldly  led  his  men  on 
at  the  run,  driving  his  astonished  antago- 
nists out  of  their  sheltering  places.  In  this 
way  he  suljdued  the  neighboring  tribes, 
especially  the  Damaras,  who  looked  upon 
him  as  a  sort  of  wild  beast  in  human  form. 

Not  only  did  he  fight  against  native 
enemies,  but  matched  himself  sucessfully 
against  the  Dutch  Boers,  in  this  case  hav- 
ing recourse  to  stratagem  when  he  knew  he 
could  not  succeed  by  open  force  in  face  of 
such  an  enemy.  On  one  occasion,  when 
the  Dutch  forces  had  made  a  raid  on  Afri- 
caner's territory,  and  carried  olf  all  his  cows, 
he  pursued  them,  swam  a  river  at  dead 
of  night,  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  enemy 


as  they  slept,  killed  numbers  of  them,  and 
recovered  all  his  own  cattle,  together  with 
those  belonging  to  the  assailants.  It  will  be 
seen  therefore  that  the  military  spirit  is  not 
wanting  in  the  Namaqua  character,  but  that 
it  merely  slumbers  for  want  of  some  one 
to  awake  it. 

In  former  days  they  may  possibly  liave 
been  a  warlike"  nation,  inasmuch  as  they 
possessed  rather  peculiar  weapons,  nan^ely, 
the  bow  and  arrow,  and  an  enormous  shield 
made  of  the  entire  skin  of  an  ox,  folded 
singl}^  They  also  used  the  assagai,  but  in 
the  present  day  civilization  has  so  far  pene- 
trated among  them  that  the  only  weai)on 
which  they  use  is  the  gun,  and  it  is  many 
years  since  a  Namaqua  has  been  seen  with 
the  ancient  weapons  of  his  nation. 

Like  other  Hottentots,  the  Namaquas  are 
fond  of  wearing  European  apjiarel,  and,  as 
usual  in  such  cases,  look  very  b.ad  in  it. 
The  men  are  merely  transformed  from 
respectable  savages  into  disreputable  vaga- 
lionds,  and  to  them  it  is  not  so  very  unsuit- 
able, but  to  the  women  it  is  peculiarly  so, 
owing  to  the  odd  manner  in  which  they 
jiaint  their  faces.  A  girl,  dressed  in  her 
little  skin  apron  and  ornamented  with  coils 
of  leathern  thongs,  may  paint  her  face  as 
much  as  she  pleases  without  appearinjj  gro- 
tesque. But  nothing  can  look  more  ridicu' 
lous  than  a  girl  in  a  striped  cotton  dress, 
with  a  red  handkerchief  round  her  head,  and 
the  outlines  of  her  cheeks,  nose,  and  eyelids 
defined  with  broad  stripes  of  blue  paint. 
The  costume  of  the  men  resembles  that  of 
the  women,  minus  the  skin  apron,  the  place 
of  which  is  taken  by  the  ends  of  tiie  leathern 
thongs.  The  Namaquas  are  very  fond  of 
bead-work,  and  display  some  taste  in  their 
designs.  They  are  not  contented  with  buy- 
ing glass  beads  from  Europe,  but  manu- 
facture those  ornaments  themselves.  The 
mode  of  manufacture  is  simple  enough. 
A  ri.'sinous  gum  is  procured,  moistened 
thoroughly,  and  kneaded  with  charcoal.  It 
is  then  rolled  between  the  hands  into  long 
cylinders,  which  are  cut  up  into  small  pieces, 
and  again  rolled  imtil  a  toleraljly  spheri- 
cal shape  is  obtained.  They  also  have  a 
great  love  for  glittering  ornaments  made  of 
metal,  and  decorate  themselves  profusely 
with  native  jewehy,  made  of  polished  iron, 
brass,  and  copper.  They  also  tattoo  their 
skins,  and  make  great  use  of  the  buchu  per- 
fume. 

As  the  Namaquas  have  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  exercise  their  minds  on  any  sub- 
ject except  those  immediately  connecteil 
with  themselves,  it  is  found  very  diflicult  to 
drive  any  new  ideas  into  their  heads.  Some 
writers  say  that  many  of  them  have  no 
names,  and  not  a  single  one  has  the  least 
idea  of  his  own  age,  or  of  counting  time  by 
years.  Indeed,  counting  at  all  is  an  intel- 
lectual exertion  that  is  positively  painful  to 
them,  and  a  man  who  knows  the  number 


276 


THE  NAMAQUAS. 


of  his  fingers  is  scarcely  to  be  found  among 
them.  Such  statements  are  often  tlic  result 
of  ignorance,  not  of  the  savages,  but  of  tlieir 
visitors,  wlio  must  needs  live  among  Ihom 
for  years,  and  be  thorouglily  acquainted  with 
their  language,  before  they  can  venture  to 
generalize  in  so  sweeping  a  fashion.  Mr. 
Molfatt,  who  did  live  among  the  Kama- 
qnas,  and  knew  their  language  intimately, 
says  that  he  never  knew  a  man  who  had  not 
a  name,  and  that  mere  children  are  able  to 
count  beyond  the  numljer  ten. 

Of  religion  they  appear  to  have  but  the 
faintest  glimmering,  and  it  is  more  than 
suspected  that  even  their  rude  and  imper- 
fect ideas  on  the  subject  are  corruptions 
of  information  obtained  from  Europeans. 
Superstitions  they  have  in  plenty,  some  of 
them  resembling  those  which  are  held  by 
the  tribes  which  have  already  been  men- 
tioned. 

Their  idea  of  the  coming  of  death  into  the 
world  is  one  of  these  odd  notions.  It  seems 
that  in  former  days,  when  men  were  first 
made,  the  hare  had  no  cleft  in  its  lip.  The 
moon  sent  a  hare  to  the  newly  created 
beings  with  this  mes.sage  :  "  As  1  die,  and 
am  born  again,  so  you  shall  die  and  be  born 
again."  The  hare,  however,  delivered  the 
message  wrongly,  "  As  I  die  and  am  not 
born  again,  so  you  shall  die  and  not  be  born 
again."  The  moon,  angry  at  the  hare's  dis- 
obedience, threw  a  stick  at  it  as  it  fled  away 
from  his  wrath,  and  split  its  lip  open.  From 
that  lime  the  hare  has  a  cleft  lip,  and  is 
always  running  away.  In  consequence  of 
this  "legend,  the  JSTamaquas  will  not  eat  the 
hare.  They  have  such  a  horror  of  it,  that 
if  a  man  should  happen  even  to  touch  a 
fire  at  which  a  hare  has  lieen  cooked  he 
is  banished  from  his  community,  and  not 
readmitted  until  lie  has  paid  a  flue. 

During  the  terrible  thunderstorms  which 
occasionally  pass  over  the  country,  the 
Namaquas  are  in  great  dread  of  the  light- 
ning, and  shoot  their  poisoned  arrows  at 
the  clouds  in  order  to  drive  it  away.  This 
is  illustrated  on  page  271.  As  may  be  im- 
agined, there  is  no  small  danger  in  this  per- 
formance, and  a  man  has  been  killed  by  the 
lightning  flash,  which  was  attracted  by  his 
pointed  arrow.  Other  tribes  have  a  similar 
custom,  being  in  the  habit  of  throwing 
stones  or  other  objects  at  the  clouds. 

As  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  tbeir  only 
notion  of  a  supreme  being  is  one  who  is  the 
author  of  death  and  inflicter  of  pain,  and 
one  consequently  whom  they  fear,  but  can- 
not love.  Still,  all  statements  of  this  nature 
made  by  savages  must  be  received  with  very 
great  caution,  owing  to  the  invincible  repug- 
nance which  they  feci  toward  revealing  any 
portion  of  their  religious  system.  Thoy  will 
ratlier  state  anything  than  the  truth,  and 
will  either  invent  a  series  of  imaginative 
stories  on  the  sinn-  of  the  moment,  or  s.ay 
whatever  they  think  is  likely  to  please  their 


interrogator.  Even  if  they  are  converted  to 
Christianity,  suliicient  of  the  old  nature  re- 
mains to  render  them  averse  to  speaking  on 
their  former  .superstition,  and  they  will 
mostly  fence  with  the  question  or  evade  it 
rather  than  tell  the  whole  truth. 

Being  superstitious,  they  have,  of  course, 
sorcerers  in  jilenty.  Besides  the  usual  pre- 
tensions of  such  personages,  they  claim  the 
power  of  voluntary  transmigration,  and  their 
followers  implicitly  believe  that  they  can 
assume  the  form  of  any  beast  which  they 
choose  to  select.  They  fancy,  however,  that 
their  own  sorcerers  or  witch  doctors  share 
this  power  with  the  Bosjesman  race.  Mr. 
Anderson  quotes  the  following  legend  in 
supi)ort  of  this  statement.  "  Once  on  a  time 
a  certain  Xamaqua  was  travelling  in  com- 
panj-  with  a  Bushwoman  carrying  a  child 
on  her  back.  They  had  proceeded  some  dis- 
tance on  their  journey  when  a  troop  of  wild 
horses  (zebras)  appeared,  and  the  man  said 
to  the  woman,  '  I  am  hungry,  and  as  I  know 
you  can  turn  yourself  into  a  lion,  do  so  now, 
and  catch  us  a  \vild  horse  that  we  may  eat.' 
The  woman  answered,  '  You  will  be  afraid.' 

" '  No,  no,'  said  the  man,  '  I  am  afraid  of 
dying  of  hunger,  but  not  of  you.' 

"  "Whilst  he  was  speaking,  hair  began  to 
appear  at  the  back  of  the  woman's  neck,  her 
nails  assumed  the  appearance  of  claws,  and 
her  features  altered.  She  sot  down  the  child. 
The  man,  alarmed  at  the  change,  climbed 
up  a  tree  close  by,  while  the  woman  glared 
at  him  fearfully;'  and,  going  to  one  side,  she 
threw  oft"  her  skin  petticoat,  when  a  perfect 
lion  rushed  out  into  the  plain.  It  bounded 
and  crept  among  the  bushes  toward  the  wild 
horses,  and,  springing  on  one  of  them,  it  fell, 
and  the  lif>n  lajiped  its  blood.  The  lion  then 
came  back  to  the  place  where  the  child  was 
crying,  and  the  man  called  from  the  tree, 
'Enough!  enough!  Do  not  hurt  me.  Put 
olV  your  lion's  shape.  I  will  never  ask  to 
see  this  again.'  The  lion  looked  at  him  and 
growled.  'I'll  remain  here  till  I  die!' ex- 
claimed the  man, 'if  you  do  not  become  a 
woman  again.'  The  main  and  tail  began  to 
disappear,  the  lion  went  toward  the  bush 
where  the  skin  petticoat  lay;  it  was  slipped 
on,  and  the  woman  in  her  proper  shape  took 
u|i  the  child.  The  man  descended,  partook 
of  the  horse's  flesh,  but  never  again  asked 
the  woman  to  catch  game  for  him.'' 

Their  notions  aboiit  the  two  chief  lumi- 
naries seem  rather  variable,  though  there  is 
certainly  a  connecting  link  between  them. 
One  account  was,  that  the  sun  was  made  of 
people  living  in  the  sea,  who  cut  it  in  pieces 
every  night,  fried  the  fragments,  put  them 
together  again,  and  sent  it  afresh  on  its 
journey  through  the  sky.  Another  story,  as 
told  to  Mr.  Anderson,  is  to  the  eft'ect  that 
the  sun  is  a  huge  lump  of  pure  fat,  and  that, 
when  it  siidvs  below  the  waves,  it  is  seized 
by  the  chief  of  a  white  man's  ship,  who  cuts 
off  a  piece  of  it,  and  then  gives  it  a  kick 


THE  DOCTOK'S  PANACEA. 


277 


which  throws  it  into  the  sky  again.  It  is 
evident  that  tliis  story  has  at  all  events 
received  some  modification  in  recent  times. 

As  to  worship,  the  Namaquas  seem  to 
have  little  idea  of  it.  They  are  very  much 
afraid  of  a  bad  spirit,  but  have  no  conception 
of  a  good  one,  and  therefore  have  no  wor- 
ship. Of  praise  they  have  not  the  least  con- 
ception. So  far  arethey  from  feeling  grati- 
tude to  a  supreme  being,  that  their  language 
does  not  possess  a  word  or  a  phrase  by 
which  they  can  express  their  thanks  to  their 
fellow  creatures.  Some  travellers  who  have 
lived  among  them  say  that  tliey  not  only  do 
not  express,  but  do  not  feel  gratitude,  nor 
feel  kindness,  and  that,  although  they  will 
feign  friendship  for  a  superior  in  order  to 
get  what  they  can  from  him,  they  will  desert 
him  as  soon  as  he  can  give  no  more,  and 
ridicule  him  for  his  credulity.  In  short, 
"  they  possess  every  vice  of  savages,  and 
none  of  their  noble  qualities."  This,  how- 
ever, seems  rather  too  sweeping  an  asser- 
tion, especially  as  it  is  contradicted  by  others 
of  equal  experience,  and  we  may  therefore 
calculate  that  the  Namaqua  Hottentot  is,  in 
his  wild  state,  neither  worse  nor  better  than 
the  generality  of  savages,  and  that  higher 
feelings  cannot  be  expected  of  him  until 
they  have  been  implanted  in  him  by  contact 
with  a  higher  race. 

Eain-makiug  is  practised  by  Namaqua 
witch  doctors,  as  well  as  by  the  prophets  of 
the  Kaffir  tribes,  and  the  whole  process  is 
very  similar,  deriving  all  its  efficacy  from 
the  amount  of  the  fee  which  the  operator 
receives.  These  men  also  practise  the  art 
of  healing,  and  really  exercise  no  small 
amount  of  ingenuity.  They  have  a  theory, 
and,  like  theorists  in  general,  they  make 
their  practice  yield  to  their  tlieory,  which  is, 
that  the  disease  has  insinuated  itself  into 
the  patient  in  the  guise  of  some  small  rep- 
tile, and  must  be  expelled.  They  seem  to 
be  clever  conjurers,  for  they  perform  the 
task  of  exorcism  with  such  ingenuity  that 
they  liave  deceived,  not  only  the  credulous, 
but  the  .sharper  gaze  of  Europeans. 

One  such  performance  was  witnessed  by 
a  Dutchman,  who  fully  believed  that  the 
operation  was  a  genuine  one.  A  sheep  was 
killed  as  soon  as  the  doctor  arrived,  and  the 
sinews  of  the  back  rolled  up  and  made  int» 
a  kinil  of  pill,  which  was  administered  to  the 
patient,  the  rest  of  the  animal  being  the  fee 
of  the  doctor.  The  mysterious  pill  was  then 
left  for  a  day  or  two  to  transform  the  disease 
into  a  visible  shape,  so  that  it  could  be  re- 
moved before  the  eyes  of  the  spectators. 
On  the  return  of  the  doctor,  he  solemnly  cut 
some  little  holes  in  the  stomach  of  the  pa- 
tient, from  which  there  issued,  first  a  small 
snake,  then  a  lizard,  and  then  a  whole  series 
of  smaller  creatures.  As  is  the  case  among 
the  Kaffirs,  the  richer  a  patient  is,  the  larger 
is  tlie  animal  required  for  the  production 
of  the  sacred  pill.    If  he  be  a  man  of  no  par- 


ticular consequence,  a  goat  or  a  sheep  will 
work  the  charm,  while,  if  he  should  happen 
to  be  a  chief,  not  a  disease  will  condescend 
to  assume  bodily  form  unless  instigated  by 
an  ox  or  a  cow. 

The  witch  doctors  have  another  theory  of 
disease,  namely,  that  a  great  snake  has  shot 
an  invisible  arrow  into  the  sulferer.  Of 
course,  this  ailment  has  to  be  treated  in  a 
similar  manner.  The  reader  may  perhaps 
call  to  mind  the  very  similar  superstition 
whicli  once  prevailed  in  England,  namely, 
that  cattle  were  sometimes  shot  with  fairy 
arrows,  which  had  to  be  extracted  by  the 
force  of  counter-charms.  The  great  pana- 
cea for  diseases  is,  however,  a  sort  of  charm 
which  requires  several  years  for  its  produc- 
tion, and  which  has  the  property  of  becom- 
ing more  powerful  every  year.  When  a 
man  is  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
art,  he  puts  on  a  cap,  which  he  wears  con- 
tinually. In  the  course  of  time  it  becomes 
saturated  with  grease,  and  is  in  a  terribly 
filthy  condition..  Not  until  then  is  it  thought 
to  possess  healing  properties;  but  when  it 
is  in  such  a  state  that  no  one  with  ordinary 
feelings  of  cleanliness  would  touch  it,  the 
hidden  virtues  are  supposed  to  be  devel- 
oped. The  mode  of  administering  the  rem- 
edy is  by  washing  a  little  portion  of  the  cap, 
and  giving  the  patient  the  water  to  drink. 
One  of  tiie  chiefs,  named  Amral,  assured 
Mr.  Anderson  that  he  possessed  a  cap  of 
this  kind,  which  was  absolutely  infallilde. 
He  would  not  use  it  unless  every  other 
remedy  failed,  but,  whenever  he  did  so,  the 
cure  was  certain. 

The  Namaquas  have  great  faith  in  amulets 
and  charms  of  various  kinds,  the  strangest 
of  wliicli  is  a  rather  curious  one.  When  a 
chief  dies,  cattle  are  sacrificed,  in  order  to 
furnish  a  great  feast.  One  of  the  sons  of 
the  deceased  succeeds  his  father  in  the 
chieftainship,  and,  in  recognition  of  his  new 
rank,  the  fat  and  other  choice  portions  are 
brought  to  him  as  they  had  been  to  his 
father  in  his  lifetime.  The  young  chief 
places  the  fat  on  his  head,  and  allows  it  to 
remain  there  until  the  fat  has  been  melted 
out  of  it  b}'  the  sun's  rays,  and  only  the 
enclosing  membrane  remains,  dry  and 
shrivelled.  This  is  thought  to  be  a  power- 
ful charm,  and  is  held  in  great  estimation. 
The  reader  will  notice  the  fact  that  there 
seems  to  be  in  the  mind  of  the  Namaquas 
some  connection  between  the  head  and  the 
power  of  charming. 

On  the  tombs  of  chiefs  the  Namaquas 
have  a  habit  of  flinging  stones,  each  throw- 
ing one  stone  upon  it  whenever  he  passes 
by.  Why  they  do  so,  they  either  cannot  or 
will  not  tell  —  probably  the  latter;  but  in 
process  of  time,  the  heap  attains  a  consider- 
able size.  Tills  is  the  only  superstition 
which  gives  any  indication  of  their  belief  in 
a  future  life,  for  they  have  a  kind  of  dim 
notion  about  an  invisible  but  potent  being, 


278 


THE  NAMAQUAS. 


whom  the}'  name  Ileitjeeliib,  or  Ilcitjeko- 
bib,  who,  they  think,  is  able  to  grant  or 
withhold  prosperity.  Spirit  thougli  lie  be, 
they  localize  him  in  the  tombs,  and  the 
casting  of  stones  has  probably  some  refer- 
ence to  him. 

Like  other  savage  nations,  they  have  cer- 
tain ceremonies  when  their  youth  attain 
manhood,  and  at  that  time  the  youth  is 
instructed  in  the  precepts  which  are  to  gov- 
ern his  life  for  the  future.  These  ;u'e  rather 
of  a  negative  than  a  positive  nature,  and 
two  very  important  enactments  are,  that  he 
must  never  eat  the  hare,  and  must  cease 
from  sucking  the  goats.  Tlie  latter  injunc- 
tion requires  a  little  explanation.  As' long 
as  the  Xamaquas  are  children,  they  are 
accustomed  to  visit  the  female  goats,  drive 
away  the  kids,  and  take  their  place.  This, 
however,  is  considered  to  be  essentially  a 
childish  occupation,  to  be  abandoned  for- 
ever when  the  boy  seeks  to  be  admitted 
among  the  men. 

As  far  as  is  known,  there  are  few,  if  any, 
matrimonial  ceremonies  among  the  Nama- 
qua  Hottentots.  When  a  man  wishes  to 
marry  any  particular  woman,  he  goes  to  her 
jjarents  and  simply  demands  her."  If  the  de- 
mand is  acceded  to,  an  ox  is  killed  outside 
the  door  of  tlie  bride's  house,  and  she  then 
goes  home  to  her  new  husband.  Polygamy 
is  permitted  among  this  people,  and,  as  is  the 
case  in  other  countries,  has  its  drawbacks 
as  well  as  its  advantages.  In  a  country 
where  the  whole  of  the  manual  labor  is  per- 
formed by  the  women,  sucli  a  state  is  neces- 
sary, each  woman  being  a  sort  of  domestic 
servant,  and  in  no  sense  the  equal  compan- 
ion of  the  man.  Its  drawbacks  may  be 
summed  up  in  the  word  "jealousy,"  that 
being  a  failing  to  which  the  Namaqua  wo- 
men are  very  subject,  and  which  generally 
finds  its  vent  in  blows.  If  a  man  becomes 
tired  of  his  wife,  he  needs  no  divorce  court, 
but  simply  cuts  the  conjugal  knot  by  sending 
the  woman  back  to  her  family.  She  has  no 
redress;  and,  however  much  she  and  her 
parents  may  object  to  the  proceeding,  they 
cannot  prohibit  it. 

In  peaceful  arts  they  have  some  skill, 
especially  in  training  oxen.  This  is  a  diffi- 
cult process,  and  is  managed  with  great 
care.  The  young  animal  is  lirst  induced  to 
step  into  the  noose  of  a  rope  which  is  laid 
on  the  ground,  and,  as  soon  as  it  has  done 
so,  a  number  of  men  seize  the  other  end  of 
the  rope,  and,  in  spite  of  his  struggles,  hold 
the  animal  tightly.  Sometimes  the  infuri- 
ated animal  charges  at  them,  and  in  that 
case  they  let  go  the  rope  and  scatter  in 
all  directions,  only  to  renew  their  hold 
when  the  fury  of  the  animal  is  exhausted. 
Another  rope  is  then  thrown  over  his 
horns,  and  by  sharply  pulling  this  and  his 
tail,  and  at  the  same  time  jerking  his  leg  off" 
the  ground,  the  trainers  force  the  animal  to 
fall.    His  head  is  then  held  on  the  ground, 


and  a  sharp  stick  thrust  through  his  nos- 
trils, a  tough  leathern  thong  being  then 
attached  to  each  end  of  the  stick,  and  acting 
as  a  bridle. 

The  more  an  ox  struggles  and  fights,  the 
more  docile  he  becomes  afterward,  and  the 
more  is  he  valued,  while  an  ox  which  is 
sulky,  especially  if  he  lies  down  and  declines 
to  rise,  is  never  of  much  use.  Loads,  care- 
fully graduated,  are  then  fastened  on  his 
back,  beginning  with  a  simple  skin  or 
empty  bag,  and  ending  with  the  full  bur- 
den which  an  ox  is  sujiposed  to  carrj'.  The 
hide  rope  witli  which  the  burden  is  lashed 
on  the  back  of  the  ox  is  often  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  consequently 
passes  round  and  round  the  body  of  the 
animal. 

The  chief  difliculty  is,  to  train  an  ox  that 
will  act  as  leader.  The  ox  is  naturally  a 
gregarious  animal,  and  when  he  is  associ- 
ated with  his  fellows,  he  never  likes  to  walk 
for  any  distance  unless  there  is  a  leader 
whom  he  can  follow.  In  a  state  of  nature 
the  leader  would  be  the  strongest  bull,  but 
in  captivity  he  finds  that  all  are  very 
much  alike  in  jioint  of  strength,  while  their 
combative  powers  have  been  too  much 
repressed  to  allow  anj'  one  animal  to  fight 
his  way  to  the  leadership.  Very  few  oxen 
have  the  qualities  which  enable  them  to  be 
trained  as  leaders,  but  the  Kamaquas,  wlio 
have  excellent  eyes  for  the  chief  points  of 
an  ox,  always  select  for  this  purpose  the 
animals  of  lightest  build  and  most  sprightly 
look,  so  that  they  may  keep  their  followers 
at  a  brisk  pace  when  on  the  march.  Their 
activity  would  naturally  induce  them  to 
keep  ahead  of  their  companions,  so  that  the 
Namaquas  merely  assist  nature  when  they 
select  such  animals  to  serve  as  leaders. 

The  dreadful  practice  of  abandoning  the 
aged  prevails  in  Xamaqua-land.  A  slight 
fence  is  built  round  the  unfortunate  victim 
of  so  cruel  a  custom,  who  is  then  aban- 
doned, having  been  furnished  with  a  little 
food,  fire,  and  water,  which  are  destined  to 
play  the  part  of  the  In-ead  and  water  placed 
in  the  tomb  of  an  olfenihng  vestal.  Trav- 
ellers through  this  country  sometimes  come 
upon  the  remains  of  a  small  fence,  within 
which  are  a  heap  of  ashes,  the  remains  of  a 
water  vessel,  and  a  heap  of  whitened  bones, 
and  they  know  that  these  are  the  memorials 
of  an  old  Xamaqua  who  has  been  left  to 
perish  with  hunger  and  thirst.  Such  per- 
sons must  be  very  old  when  they  succumb 
to  such  a  death,  for  some  have  been  known 
to  live  to  the  age  of  ninety,  and  now  and 
then  a  centenarian  is  found. 

It  is  hardly  credible,  though  true,  that  the 
ISTamaquas  are  so  used  to  this  parricidal 
custom  that  they  look  at  it  with  inditl'erence. 
They  expect  no  "other  flite  if  they  themselves 
should  happen  to  live  until  they  are  so  old 
as  to  be  an  incumlirance  to  their  jieople,  and 
the  strangest  thing  is  the  acquiescence  with 


ADOPTIOI^  OF  TARENTS. 


279 


which  those  who  are  thus  abandoned  resign 
themselves  to  their  fate.  Mr.  MolRitt  men- 
tions an  instance  wliere  an  old  woman, 
whom  lie  found  in  a  most  pitiable  state  of 
suti'ering,  refused  to  be  taken  away  by  him 
and  fed.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  "tribe,  she 
said;  she  was  already  nearly  dead,  and  did 
not  want  to  die  twice. 

Tlieir  amusements  arc  so  similar  to  those 
■which  have  already  been  mentioned  that 
there  is  no  need  to  describe  them  sejiarately. 
As  to  work,  the  men  do  little  or  nothing,  pre- 
ferring to  lounge  about  in  the  sun  for  days 
together,  and  will  sit  half  dead  with  hunger 
and  thirst,  rather  than  take  the  ti'ouble  to 


go  and  look  for  food  and  water.  They  have 
an  odd  way  of  comparing  a  man  who  works 
with  the  worms  of  the  ground,  and  that 
comparison  is  thought  to  be  a  sufficient  rea- 
son why  a  man  should  not  work. 

One  very  curious  custom  prevails  among 
the  Namaquas.  Those  who  visit  them  are 
exjiected  to  adopt  a  father  and  mother,  and 
the  newly-iuade  relations  are  supposed  to 
have  their  jiroperty  in  common.  This  is 
probably  a  native  pract'-2e,  but  the  Nama- 
quas  have  had  no  scruple"  in  extending  it  to 
Europeans,  finding  that  if  such  cases  a  com- 
munity of  goods  become?  vather  a  lucrative 
speculation. 


CHAPTER   XX\^n. 


THE  BECHUANAS. 


THEIR  NAME  AND  LANGUAGE — THEFR  DRESS  —  SKILL  IN  THE  ARTS  OF  PEACE — THE  BEOHtTANA  KNIFB 
—  SKILL  IN  CARVING  —  THE  BECHUANA  ASSAGAI,  OR  "  KOVEH  " — INGENIOUS  BELLOWS  —  A  METAL 
APKON  —  DRESS  OF  THE  WOMEN,  AND  THEIR  FONDNESS  FOR  METALLIC  ORNAMENTS  —  CHARACTER 
OF  THE  EECHUANAS  —  THEIR  TENDENCY  TOWARD  LYING  AND  THIEVING  —  DISREGARD  FOR  HUMAN 
LIFE  —  REDEEMING  QUALITIES  OF  THE  BECHUANAS  —  MODE  OF  GOVERNMENT  —  THE  NATH'E  PAR- 
LIAMENT—  MR.  MOFFAT'S  ACCOUNT  OF  A  DEBATE  —  CUSTOMS  AFTER  BATTLE  —  THE  ORDER  OF 
THE  SCAR,  AND  MODE  OF  CONFERRING  IT  —  A  DISAPPOINTED  WjVRRIOR  —  AN  UNPLEASANT  CERE- 
MONY—  MODE  OF  MAIilNG  WAR  —  THE  BECHUANA  BATTLE-AXE. 


"We  now  leave  the  Hottentot  race,  and  take 
a  passin.it  glance  at  the  appearance  of  a  few 
other  tribes.  Chief  amonu;  these  is  the  very 
large  tril)e  called  by  the  name  of  Bechuaua, 
which  includes  a  considerable  number  of 
sub-tribes.  Just  as  the  Hottentot  names 
are  recognized  by  the  affix  Qua,  so  are  the 
Bechuanas  by  the  prefix  Ba,  Thus,  the 
Bakwains,  Barolongs,  Bathipis,  and  Bahu- 
rotsi,  all  belong  to  the  great  Bechuana  tribe. 
It  is  -rather  curious  that  in  this  language 
prefixes  are  used  where  suffixes,  or  even 
separate  words,  might  be  expected.  Thus, 
a  man  will  speak  of  himself  as  Mochuana, 
i.  e.  a  Chuana  man;  the  tribe  is  called  Be- 
chuana, i.  e.  the  Chuana  men,  and  they 
s]ieak  Siehuana,  i.  e.  the  Chuana  language. 
Nearly  every  syllable  ends  with  a  vowel, 
which  gives  the  language  a  softness  of  pro- 
nunciation hardly  to  be  expected  in  such  a 
country.  The  love  of  euphony  among  the 
Bechuana  tribes  causes  them  to  be  very 
indifferent  about  substituting  one  letter  for 
another,  provided  that  by  s<i  doing  a  greater 
softness  of  pronunciation  can  be  obtained. 

In  appearance  they  are  a  fine  race  of  men, 
in  some  respects  similar  to  the  Kaffirs,  with 
whom  they  have  many  custonis  in  common. 
Their  dress  is  not  very  remarkable,  except 
that  they  are  perhaps"  the  best  dressers  of 
skins  that  are  to  be  found  in  Africa,  the 
pliancy  of  the  skin  and  the  neatness  of  the 
sewing  being  unrivalled.  They  are  good 
workers  in  metal,  and  supjilv  many  of  the 
surrounding  tribes  both  with'ornam'ent.s  and 
weapons. 


Perhaps  the  Bechuana  knife  is  the  most 
comnKin  of  all  the  implements  made  liy  this 
ingenious  tribe.  The  general  form  of  this 
knife  may  be  seen  from  the  two  figures 
in  the  engraving  No.  2,  opposite,  one  of 
which  was" taken  from  a  specimen  in  my 
own  collection.  It  is  ten  inches  in  length 
inclusive  of  the  handle,  and  the  blade,  which 
is  double-edged,  is  nearly  flat,  being  a  little 
thicker  along  the  middle  than  at  the  edges. 
In  fact,  it  is  simply  a  spear-head  in.serted 
into  a  handle.  The  sheath  is  made  of  two 
pieces  of  wood,  hollowed  just  sufficiently  to 
receive  the  blade  tightly,  and  then  lashed 
firmly  together  with  sinews.  On  one  side 
of  the  .she^ith  a  kind  of  loop  is  carved  out  of 
the  solid  wood,  through  ^vhich  the  wearer 
can  pass  the  string  by  which  he  hangs  it  to 
his  neck. 

The  ordinary  forms  are  simply  a  handle, 
sheath,  anil  Iilade,  all  without  any  ornament, 
but  the  ingenious  smith  often  adds  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  decoration.  One  favorite 
mode  of  doing  so  is  to  make  the  handle  of 
ivory,  and  carve  it  into  the  form  of  some 
animal.  My  own  specimen  represents  a 
hyfena,  and,  in  spite  of  the  rudeness  of  the 
sculpture,  no  naturalist  could  possibly  mis- 
take the  animal  for  which  it  is  intended. 
The  handle  is  often  cut  into  the  form  of  the 
hippopotamu.s  or  the  giraffi\  and  in  all  cases 
the  character  of  the  animal  is  hit  off  exactly 
by  the  native  carver.  Along  the  sheath  is 
generall_v  a  pattern  of  .some  nature,  and 
in  many  instances  it  is  really  of  an  artis- 
tic character,  worthy  to  be  transferred   to 


(280) 


(1.)    KNIFE  AND  ASSAGAI   HEADS. 
(See  page  283.) 


I  ,  1; 


\ 


ill 


(2.)    BECHUANA   KNIVES. 
(See  page  2S0.) 


(•i.)   APRON. 
(See  page  283.) 


(4.)    ORNAMENTS    MADE 
OF  MONKEYS'  TEETH. 

(See  page  284.) 


(281) 


THE   BECHUAXA  KNIFE, 


283 


European  weapons.  A  tliong  of  leather 
passes  along  the  opposite  side  of  the  slieatli, 
and  is  attaclied  by  tlie  same  sinews  wliich 
bind  the  two  halves  of  the  sheath  together. 
AH  the  Hottentot  and  Bosjesnian  tribes  use 
this  peculiar  knife,  as  do  sundry'  other  inliab- 
itants  of  Southern  Africa.  They  always  sus- 
pend it  to  their  necks,  and  use  it  for  a  variety 
of  purposes,  the  chief  of  which  is  cutting  up 
meat  when  they  are  fortunate  enough  to 
procure  any. 

The  carved  work  of  the  knife,  sheath, 
and  handle  is,  however,  not  done  with  this 
kind  of  knife,  but  with  one  which  has  a  very 
short  blade  and  a  tolerably  long  handle.  One 
of  these  knives  is  shown  in  the  illustration 
No.  1  on  page  281,  and  in  this  instance  the 
handle  is  made  of  the  end  of  an  antelope's 
horn.  With  this  simple  instrument  are 
cut  the  vfvrious  patterns  with  which  the 
Bechuanas  are  so  fond  of  decorating  their 
bowls,  spoons,  and  other  articles  of  daily 
use,  and  with  it  are  carved  the  giratles, 
hynenas,  and  other  animals,  whch  serve  as 
hilts  for  their  dagger-knives,  and  handles 
to  their  spoons. 

Sometimes  the  bowls  of  the  spoons  are 
covered  on  the  outside  with  carved  patterns 
of  a  singularly  artistic  character,  some  of 
them  recalling  to  the  spectator  the  orna- 
ments on  old  Etruscan  vases.  They  have  a 
way  of  bringing  out  the  pattern  by  charring 
either  the  plain  surface  or  the  incised  pat- 
tern, so  tliat  in  the  one  case  the  pattern  is 
white  on  a  black  ground,  and  sometimes 
vice  versa.  The  pattern  is  generally  a  modi- 
fication of  the  zigzag,  but  there  are  many 
instances  where  curved  lines  are  used  with- 
out a  single  angle  iu  them,  and  when  the 
curves  are  traced  with  equal  truth  and  free- 
dom. 

One  of  the  best  specimens  of  Bechuana 
art  is  a  kind  of  assagai  which  they  forge, 
and  which  is  equally  to  be  praised  for  its 
ingenuity  and  execrated  for  its  abominable 
cruelty.  Two  forms  of  this  dreadful  weap- 
on are  given  in  figs.  1  and  i  in  the  same 
engraving.  The  upper  figure  shows  the  en- 
tire head  of  tlie  assagai  and  parts  of  the 
shaft,  while  the  other  are  representations  of 
the  barbs  on  a  larger  scale.  On  examining 
one  of  these  weapons  carefully,  it  is  seen 
that  the  neck  of  the  assagai  has  first  been 
forged  square,  and  then  that  the  double 
barbs  have  been  made  by  cutting  diagonally 
into  the  metal  and  turning  up  the  barbs  thus 
obtained.  This  is  very  clear  with  the  upper 
assagai,  and  is  still  better  seen  in  the  en- 
larged figure  of  the  same  weapon.  But  the 
other  is  peculiarly  ingenious,  and  exhibits 
an  amount  of  metallurgic  skill  which  could 
hardly  be  expected  among  savage  nations. 

These  assagais  be.ar  a  curious  resemblance 
to  some  arrows  wdiich  are  made  in  Central 
Africa,  Indeed,  the  resemblance  is  so  great, 
that  an  arrow  if  enlarged  would  serve  ad- 
mirably as  an  assagai.    This  resemblance  — 


unknown  to  Mr.  Burchell  —  confirms  his 
idea  that  the  art  of  making  these  weapons 
came  from  more  northern  tribes. 

The  use  to  which  these  terrible  weapons 
are  put  is,  of  course,  to  produce  certain 
death,  as  it  is  impossible  that  the  assagai 
can  be  either  drawn  out  of  the  wound,  or 
removed  by  being  pushed  through  it,  as 
done  with  other  barbed  weapons.  As,  how- 
ever, the  temporary  loss  of  the  weapon  is 
necessarily  involved  in  such  a  case,  the  na- 
tives do  not  use  it  except  on  special  occa- 
sions. The  native  name  for  it  is  "  kdvch," 
and  it  is  popularly  called  the  "assagai  of 
torture."  It  is  generally  used  by  being 
thrust  down  the  throat  of  the  victim  — 
generally  a  captured  chief —  who  is  then 
left  to  perish   miserabJy. 

Tlie  bellows  used  by  the  Bechuana  black- 
smith are  singularly  ingenious.  In  all  the 
skin  bellows  used  by  the  natives  of  Southern 
Africa  there  is  one  radical  defect,  namely, 
the  want  of  a  valve.  In  consequence  of 
this  want  the  bellows  cannot  be  worked 
quickly,  as  they  would  draw  the  fire,  or,  at 
all  events,  suck  the  heated  air  into  their 
interior,  and  so  destroy  the  skin  of  which 
they  are  made.  The  Bechuana,  however, 
contrives  to  avoid  this  difficulty.  The 
usual  mode  of  making  a  bellows  is  to  skin 
a  goat,  then  sew  up  the  skin,  so  as  to  make 
a  bag,  insert  a  pipe  —  usually  a  horn  one 
—  into  one  of  the  legs,  and  then  use  it  by 
alternately  inflating  and  compressing  the 
bag. 

Bellows  of  this  kind  can  be  seen  in  the 
illustration  No.  2  on  page  97. 

The  Bechuana  smith,  however,  does  not 
use  a  closed  bag,  but  cuts  it  completely 
open  on  one  side,  and  on  cither  side  of  the 
slit  he  fastens  a  straight  stick.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  by  separating  these  sticks  he  can 
admit  the  air  into  the  bag  without  dra\ving 
the  fire  into  the  tube,  and  that  when  he 
wants  to  eject  the  air,  he  has  only  to  press 
the  sticks  together.  This  ingenious  succe- 
daneum  for  a  valve  allows  the  smith  to 
work  th  3  bellows  as  fast  as  his  hands  can 
move  them,  and,  iu  consequence,  he  can 
produce  a  much  fiercer  heat  than  can  be 
obtained  by  the  ordinary  plan. 

On  the  281st  page  the  reader  may  find  an 
engraving  that  illustrates  the  skill  with 
which  they  can  work  in  metals.  It  is  a 
woman's  apron,  about  a  foot  square,  formed 
of  a  piece  of  leather  entirely  covered  with 
beads.  But,  instead  of  using  ordinary  glass 
beads,  the  maker  has  preferred  those  made 
of  metal.  The  greater  part  of  the  apron  is 
formed  of  iron  beads,  but  those  which  pro- 
duce the  pattern  are  made  of  brass,  and 
when  worn  the  owner  took  a  pride  in  keep- 
ing the  brass  beads  polished  as  Itrilliantly 
as  possible.  In  shape  and  general  princi- 
ple of  structure,  this  aju'on  bears  a  close 
resemblance  to  that  wliich  is  shown  in 
"Articles  of  costume,"  on  page  33,  fig.  2. 


284 


THE   BECHUANAS. 


This  specimen  is  in  the  collection  of  Col. 
Lane  Fox. 

In  the  same  collection  is  an  ornament 
iujTeniously  made  from  the  spoils  of  slain 
monkeys.  '  A  part  of  the  upper  jaw,  con- 
taining the  incisive  and  canine  teeth,  has 
been  cut  otf,  cleaned,  and  dried.  A  whole 
row  of  these  jaws  has  then  been  sewed  on 
a  strip  of  leather,  each  overlapping  its  pre- 
decessor, so  as  to  form  a  continuous  band 
of  glittering  white  teeth. 

As  to  dress,  the  Bechuanas,  as  a  rule,  use 
more  covering  than  many  of  the  surround- 
ing tribes.  The  women  especially  wear 
several  aprons.  The  first  is  made  of  thongs, 
like  those  of  the  Kaflirs,  and  over  that  is 
generally  one  of  skin.  As  she  can  afford  it 
she  adds  others,  but  always  contrives  to 
have  the  outside  apron  decorated  with 
beads  or  other  adornments. 

This  series  of  aprons,  however,  is  all  that 
a  Beehuana  woman  considers  necessary  in 
the  way  of  dress,  the  kaross  being  adopted 
merely  as  a  defence  against  the  weather, 
and  not  from  any  idea  that  covering  to  the 
body  is  needed  for  the  purpose  of  delicacy. 
In  figure  the}'  are  not  so  prepossessing  as 
many  of  the  surrounding  tribes,  being  usu- 
ally short,  stout,  and  clumsy,  which  latter 
defect  is  rendered  still  more  conspicuous  by 
the  quantities  of  beads  which  they  liang  in 
heavy  coils  round  their  waists  and  necks, 
and  the  multitude  of  metal  rings  with 
which  they  load  their  arms  and  ankles. 
They  even  load  their  hair  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, drawing  it  out  into  a  series  of  little 
twists,  and  dressing  them  so  copiously  with 
grease  and  sibilo,  that  at  a  few  j'ards  they 
look  as  if  their  heads  were  covered  with  a 
cap  composed  of  metallic  tags,  and  at  a 
greater  distance  as  if  they  were  wearing 
bands  of  polished  steel  on  their  heads. 

They  consider  a  plentiful  smearing  of 
grease  and  red  ochre  to  be  the  very  acme 
of  a  fashionable  toilet,  and  think  that  wash- 
ing the  body  is  a  disgusting  custom.  AVo- 
men  are  the  smokers  of  the  tribe,  the  men 
preferring  snuff,  and  rather  despising  the 
pipe  as  a  woman's  inijilement. 

The  Bechuanas  can  hardly  be  selected  as 
examples  of  good  nun-al  character.  No 
one  who  knows  them  can  believe  a  word 
that  they  say,  and  tlicy  will  steal  every- 
thing that  they  can  carry.  They  are  singu- 
larly accomplished  thieves,  and  the  haliit  of 
stealing  is  so  ingrained  in  their  nature,  that 
if  a  man  is  detected  in  the  very  act  he  feels 
not  the  least  shame,  but  rather  takes  blame 
to  himself  for  being  so  inexpert  as  to  be 
found  out.  Small  articles  they  steal  in  the 
most  ingenious  manner.  Should  it  be 
hanging  up,  they  contrive  to  handle  it  care- 
lessly and  let  it  fall  on  the  ground,  and  then 
they  begin  active  operations.  Standing 
near  tlie  coveted  article,  and  trying  to  look 
as  if  they  were  not  aware  of  its  existence, 
they  quietly  scrape  a  hole  in  the  sand  with 


one  of  their  feet,  push  the  object  of  their 
desire  into  the  hole,  cover  it  up  again  with 
sand,  and  smooth  the  surface  so  as  to  leave 
no  trace  that  the  ground  has  been  dis- 
turbed. 

They  steal  each  other's  goods,  whenever 
the}'  can  find  an  opportunity,  but  they  are 
only  too  glad  to  find  an  opportunity  of 
exercising  their  art  on  a  while  man,  whose 
property  is  sure  to  be  worth  stealing.  A 
tr.aveller  in  their  country  has  therefore  a 
hard  life,  for  he  knows  that  there  is  not  a 
single  article  in  his  possession  which  will 
not  vanish  if  he  leaves  it  unguarded  for  a 
few  minutes.  Indeed,  as  Mr.  Baines  well 
observes,  there  is  not  an  honest  nerve  or 
flln'c  in  a  Bechuana's  body;  from  the  root 
of  his  tongue  to  the  tips  of  his  toes,  every 
muscle  is  thoroughly  trained  in  the  art  of 
thieving.  If  they  merely  sit  near  an  article 
of  moderate  size,  when  they  move  off  it 
moves  with  them,  in  a  manner  that  no 
wearer  of  trousers  can  conceive.  Even 
Mr.  Moffatt,  who  had  a  singular  capacity  for 
discovering  good  qualities  which  had  lain 
latent  and  unsuspected,  writes  in  very  for- 
cible terms  respecting  the  utter  dishonesty 
of  the  Bechuanas:  — 

"Some  nights,  or  rather  mornings,  we 
had  to  record  thefts  connnitted  in  the 
course  of  twenty-four  hours,  in  our  houses, 
our  smith-shop,  our  garden,  and  among  our 
cattle  in  the  field.  These  they  have  more 
than  once  driven  into  a  bog  or  mire,  at  a 
late  hour  informing  us  of  the  accident,  as 
they  termed  it;  and,  as  it  was  then  too  dark 
to  render  assistance,  one  or  more  would  fall 
a  prey  to  the  hyfenas  or  hungry  natives. 
One  night  they  entered  our  cattle-fold, 
killed  one  of  our  best  draught  oxen,  and 
carried  the  whole  away,  except  one  shoul- 
der. We  were  compelled  to  use  much 
meat,  from  the  great  scarcity  of  grain  and 
vegetables;  our  sheep  we  had  to  purchase 
at  a  distance,  and  very  thankful  might  we 
be  if  out  of  twenty  we  secured  the  largest 
half  for  ourselves.  They  would  break  their 
legs,  cut  oft'  their  tails,  and  more  frequently 
carry  oft"  the  whole  carcass. 

"  Tools,  such  as  saws,  axes,  and  adzes, 
were  losses  severely  felt,  as  we  could  not  at 
that  time  replace  them,  when  there  was 
no  intercourse  whatever  with  the  colony. 
Some  of  our  tools  and  utensils  which  they 
stole,  on  finding  the  metal  not  what  they 
expected,  they  "would  bring  back  beaten 
into  all  sha])es,  and  olfer  them  in  exchange 
for  some  other  article  of  value.  Knives 
were  always  eagerly  coveted;  our  metal 
spoons  they  melted;  and  wlien  we  were 
supplied  with  plated  iron  ones,  wliich  they 
found  not  so  pliable,  they  supposed  them 
bewitched.  Very  often,  when  employed 
working  at  a  distance  from  the  house,  if 
there  was  no  one  in  whom  he  could  confide, 
the  missionary  would  lie  compelled  to  carry 
them  all  to  the  place  where  he  went  to  seek 


DISREGAKD  FOR  HUMAN  LIFE. 


285 


a  draught  of  water,  well  knowing  that  if 
they  were  left  they  would  take  wings  before 
he  coukl  return. 

''  The  following  ludicrous  circumstance 
ouce  happened,  and  was  related  to  the 
writer  by  a  native  in  graphic  style.  Two 
men  had" succeeded  in  stealing  an  iron  pot. 
Having  just  taken  it  from  the  lire,  it  was 
rather'warm  for  handing  conveniently  over 
a  fence,  and  by  doing  so  it  fell  on  a  stone, 
and  was  cracked.  '  It  is  iron,'  said  they, 
and  olf  they  went  with  their  booty,  resolv- 
ing to  make  the  best  of  it  :  that  is,  if  it 
would  not  serve  for  cooking,  they  would 
transform  it  into  knives  and  spears.  After 
some  time  had  elapsed,  and  the  hue  and  cry 
about  the  missing  pot  had  nearly  died  away, 
it  was  brought  forth  to  a  native  smith,  who 
had  laid  in  a  stock  of  charcoal  for  the  occa- 
sion. The  pot  was  further  broken  to  make 
it  more  convenient  to  lay  hold  of  with  the 
tongs,  which  are  generally  made  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree.  Tiie  native  Vulcan,  unac- 
quainted with  cast  iron,  having  with  his 
small  bellows,  one  in  each  hand,  produced  a 
good  heat,  drew  a  piece  from  the  Are.  To 
his  utter  amazement,  it  tiew  into  pieces 
at  the  tirst  stroke  of  his  little  hammer. 
Anotlier  and  another  piece  was  brought 
under  the  action  of  the  tire,  and  then  imder 
the  hammer,  with  no  better  success.  Both 
the  thief  and  the  smith,  gazing  with  eyes 
and  mouth  dilated  on  the  fragments  of  iron 
scattered  round  the  stone  anvil,  declared 
their  belief  that  the  pot  was  bewitched,  and 
concluded  pot-stealing  to  be  a  bad  specula- 
tion." 

To  the  thieving  propensities  of  these 
people  there  was  no  end.  They  would 
peep  into  the  rude  hut  that  was  used  for 
a  church,  in  order  to  see  who  was  preach- 
ing, and  would  then  go  olf  to  the  preacher's 
house,  and  rob  it  at  their  ease.  When  the 
missionaries,  at  the  expense  of  great  labor, 
made  a  series  of  irrigating  canals,  for  the 
purpose  of  watering  their  gardens,  the  wo- 
men would  slyly  cut  the  banks  of  the  chan- 
nels, and  divert  the  water.  They  even 
broke  down  the  dam  which  led  the  water 
fi'om  the  river,  merely  for  the  sake  of  depriv- 
ing somebody  of  something  ;  and  when,  in 
spite  of  all  their  drawbacks,  some  vegeta- 
bles had  been  grown,  the  crops  were  stolen, 
even  though  a  constant  watch  was  kept  over 
them.  These  accomplished  thieves  have 
even  been  known  to  steal  meat  out  of  the 
pot  in  which  it  was  being  boiled,  having  also 
the  insolence  to  substitute  a  stone  for  the  pil- 
fered meat.  One  traveller  found  tliat  all  his 
followers  were  so  continually  roljbed  by  the 
Bechuanas,  that  at  last  he  ceased  from 
endeavoring  to  discover  the  thieves,  and 
threatened  instead  to  punish  any  man  who 
allowed  an  article  to  be  stolen  from  him. 
They  do  not  even  spare  their  own  chief, 
and  would  rob  him  with  as  little  compunc- 
tion as  if  he  were  a  foreigner. 


Dr.  Lichtenstein,  who  certainly  had  a 
better  opinion  of  the  Bechuanas  than  they 
deserved,  was  once  cheated  l.iy  them  in  a 
very  ingenious  manner.  He  had  pm-cliased 
three  ivory  rings  with  some  tobacco,  but 
when  he  left  the  place  he  found  that  the 
same  ring  had  been  sold  to  him  three  suc- 
cessive times,  the  natives  behind  him  hav- 
ing picked  his  pocket  with  the  dexterity  of 
a  London  thief,  and  then  passed  the  ring  to 
their  companions  to  be  again  ottered  for 
sale. 

Altogether,  the  character  of  the  Bechu- 
anas does  not  seem  to  be  an  agreeable  one, 
and  even  the  missionaries  who  have  gone 
among  them,  and  naturally  are  inclined  to 
look  on  the  best  side  of  their  wild  flocks, 
have  very  little  to  say  in  their  favor,  and 
plenty  to  say  against  them.  The}'  seem  to 
be  as  heartless  toward  the  infirm  and  aged  as 
the  Namaquas,  and  if  one  of  their  ninnber  is 
ill  or  wounded,  so  that  he  cannot  wait  upon 
himself,  he  is  carried  outside  the  camp,  and 
there  left  until  he  recovers  or  dies.  A  small 
and  frail  hut  is  built  for  him,  a  portion  of 
food  is  given  to  him  daily,  and  in  the  even- 
ing a  fire  is  made,  and  fuel  placed  near  so 
that  it  may  be  kept  up.  On  one  occasion 
the  son  of  a  chief  was  wounded  by  a  Isuf- 
falo,  and,  according  to  ancient  custom,  was 
taken  out  of  the  camp.  The  Are  happened 
to  go  out,  and  in  consequence  a  lion  came 
and  carried  off  the  wounded  man  in  the 
night.  It  was  once  thought  that  this  cruel 
custom  arose  from  the  fear  of  infection,  but 
this  is  evidently  not  the  case,  as  persons 
alliicted  with  infectious  diseases  are  not  dis- 
turbed as  long  as  they  can  help  themselves. 
Superstition  may  probably  be  the  true  rea- 
json  for  it. 

They  have  but  little  regard  for  human 
life,  especially  for  that  of  a  woman,  and  a 
husband  may  kill  his  wife  if  he  likes,  with- 
out any  particular  notice  being  taken  of 
it.  One  traveller  mentions  that  a  husband 
became  angry  with  his  wife  about  some  tri- 
fling matter,  seized  his  assagai,  and  killed  her 
on  the  spot.  The  body  was  dragged  out  by 
the  heels,  and  thrown  into  the  bush  to  be 
devoured  Ijy  the  hyenas,  and  there  was  an 
end  of  the  whole  business.  The  traveller, 
being  horrifled  by  such  an  action,  laid  an 
information  before  the  chief,  and  was  only 
laughed  at  for  his  pains,  the  chief  thinking 
that  for  any  one  to  be  shocked  at  so  ordi- 
nary an  occurrence  was  a  very  good  joke. 

Still,  the  Bechuana  has  his  redeeming 
qualities.  They  are  not  quarrelsome,  and 
Bm-chell  remarks  that,  during  all  the  time 
which  he  spent  among  them,  he  never  saw 
two  men  openly  quarrelling,  nor  any  public 
breach  of  decormu.  They  are  persevering 
and  industrious  in  the  arts  of  peace,  and,  as 
has  been  seen,  learn  to  work  in  iron  and  to 
carve  wood  with  a  skill  that  can  only  be 
attained  by  long  and  careful  practice.  They 
are  more  attached  to  the  soil  than  many  of 


286 


THE   BECHUAXAS. 


the  neighboring  tribes,  cultivating  it  care- 
fully, ami  in  this  art  tiir  surpassing  the  Kaf- 
firs. Their  houses,  too.  are  of  elaborate  con- 
sti-uclion.  and  Imilt  with  a  care  and  solidity 
which  show  that  the  inhabitants  are  not 
nomads,  but  residents  on  one  spot. 

The  government  of  the  Bechuanas  is  pri- 
marily mouarehieal,but  not  entirely  desjjotic. 
The  king  has  his  own  way  in  most  matters, 
but  his  chiefs  can  always  exercise  a  check 
iijion  him  by  summoning  a  parliament,  or 
"  Picho,"  as  it  is  called.  The  Picho  affords 
a  truly  wild  and  picturesque  spectacle.  The 
artist  has  illustrated  this  on  page  287.  The 
warriors,  in  their  full  panoply  of  war,  seat 
themselves  in  a  circle,  in  the  midst  of  which 
is  the  chair  of  the  king.  The  various  speak- 
ers take  their  turns  at  addressing  the  as- 
sembly, and  speak  with  the  greatest  free- 
dom, not  even  spiaring  the  king  himself,  l.nit 
publicly  arraigning  him  for  any  shortcom- 
ings, real  or  fancied,  and  sometimes  gaining 
their  point.  As  to  the  king  himself,  he  gen- 
erally opens  the  parliament  with  a  few  sen- 
tences, and  then  remains  silent  until  all  the 
speeches  have  been  delivered.  lie  then 
answers  those  that  have  been  made  against 
himself,  and  becomes  greatly  excited,"leap- 
ing  about  the  ring,  brandishing  his  spear 
and  shield,  and  lashing  himself  into  an 
almost  frantic  state.  This  is  the  usual 
procedure  among  savages,  and  the  more 
excited  that  a  man  becomes,  the  better  he 
is  supposed  to  speak  afterward. 

An  extract  from  Mr.  Moilatt's  account  of 
a  Picho  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  pro- 
ceedings:—  "Although  the  whole  exhibits 
a  very  grotesque  scene,  business  is  carried 
on  with  the  most  perfect  order.  There  is 
but  little  cheering,  and  still  less  hissing, 
while  every  speaker  fearlessly  states  his 
own  sentiments.  The  audience  is  seated 
on  the  ground  (as  represented  in  the  en- 
graving), each  man  ha\'ing  before  him  his 
shield,  to  which  is  attached  a  number  of 
spears.  A  quiver  containing  poisoned  ar- 
rows is  hung  from  the  shoulder,  and  a  bat- 
tle-axe is  held  in  the  right  hand.  Man}- 
were  adorned  with  tiger-skins  and  tails,  and 
had  plumes  of  feathers  waving  on  their 
heads.  In  the  centre  a  sufiicient  space  was 
left  for  the  privileged  —  those  who  had 
killed  an  enemy  in  battle  —  to  dance  and 
sing,  in  which  tliey  exhibited  the  most  vio- 
lent and  fantastic  gestures  conceivable, 
which  drew  forth  from  the  spectators  the 
most  clamorous  applause. 

"  When  they  retire  to  their  seats,  the 
speaker  commences  by  commanding  silence. 
'Be  silent,  ye  Batlap'is,  be  silent,  ye  Baro- 
longs,'  addressing  each  tribe  distinctly,  not 
excepting  the  white  people,  if  any  happen  to 
be  present,  and  to  which  each  responds  with 
a  groan,  lie  then  takes  from  his  shield  a 
spear,  and  points  it  in  the  direction  in  which 
the  enemy  is  advancing,  imprecating  a  curse 
upon  them,  and  thus  declaring  war  by  re- 


peatedly thrusting  his  spear  in  that  direc- 
tion, as  if  plunging  it  into  an  enemy.  This 
receives  a  loud  whistling  sound  of  ap|)lause. 
He  next  directs  his  spear  toward  the  Bush- 
man countrj-,  south  and  southwest,  impre- 
cating also  a  curse  on  those  '  ox-eaters,'  as 
they  are  called. 

"  The  king,  on  this,  as  on  all  similar  occa- 
sions, introduced  the  Imsiness  of  the  day  by 
'Ye  sons  of  Molcluibanque  '  —  viewing  all 
the  intluential  men  present  as  the  friends  or 
allies  of  his  kingdom,  which  rose  to  more 
than  its  former  eminence  under  the  reign  of 
that  monarch,  his  father  —  'the  Mantatees 
are  a  strong  and  victorious  people;  they 
have  overwhelmed  many  nations,  and  they 
are  approaching  to  destroy  us.  AVe  have 
been  apprised  of  their  manners,  their  deed.s, 
their  weapons,  and  their  intentions.  We 
cannot  stand  against  the  Mantatees;  we  must 
now  concert,  conclude,  and  lie  determined  to 
stand.  The  case  is  a  great  one.  ...  I  now 
wait  to  hear  what  the  general  opinion  is. 
Let  every  one  speak  his  mind,  and  then  I 
shall  speak  again.'  Mothibi  mana'uvred  his 
spear  as  at  the  commencement,  and  Ihen 
pointing  it  toward  heaven,  the  audience 
.shouted,  'Pula'  (rain),  on  which  he  sat 
down  amidst  a  din  oi'  applause.  Between 
each  speaker  a  part  or  verse  of  a  war-song 
is  sung,  the  same  antics  are  then  perlbrraed, 
and  again  universal  silence  is  commanded. . . . 

"  When  several  speakers  had  delivered 
their  sentiments,  chietiy  exhorting  to  una- 
nimity and  courage,  Mothibi  resumed  his 
central  position,  and,  after  the  usual  gesticu- 
lations, commanded  silence.  Having  no- 
ticed some  remarks  of  the  preceding  .speak- 
ers, he  added-  'It  is  evident  that  the  best 
lilan  is  to  proceed  against  the  enemy,  that 
they  come  no  nearer.  Let  not  our  towns 
be  the  seat  of  war;  let  not  our  houses  be 
the  scenes  of  bloodshed  and  destruction. 
No!  let  the  blood  of  the  enemy  be  spilt 
at  a  distance  from  our  wives  and  children.' 
Turning  to  the  aged  chief,  he  said:  "I  hear 
you,  m/father;  I  understand  you,  my  father; 
your  words  are  true,  they  are  good  for  the 
ear;  it  is  good  that  we  be  instructed  by  the 
Makooas;  I  wish  those  evil  who  will  not 
obey;  I  wish  that  they  may  he  broken  in 
pieces.' 

"  Then  addressing  the  warriors,  '  There 
are  manj-  of  you  Mho  do  not  deserve  to  eat 
out  of  a  bowf,  but  only  out  of  a  broken  ))ot; 
think  on  what  has  been  said,  and  obey  with- 
out murmuring.  I  command  you,  ye  chiefs 
of  the  Batlap'is,  Batlares,  Bainairis.  Baro- 
longs,  and  Bakotus,  that  you  acquaint  all 
your  tribes  of  the  proceedings  of  this  day; 
let  none  be  ignorant;  I  say  again,  ye  war- 
riors, prepare I'or  the  battle;  let  your  shields 
be  strong,  your  quivers  full  of  arrows,  and 
your  battle-axes  as  sharp  as  hunger.  ...  Be 
"silent,  ye  kidney-eaters  '  (addressing  the  old 
men),  'ye  are  of  no  farther  use  but  to  hang 
about  for  kidneys  when  an  ox  is  slaughtered. 


(1.)   I5ECHUANA   TAULIAMENT. 

(See  page  2Sf>.) 


(2.)   FEMALE   AKCHITECTS. 
(See  page  298.) 

(287) 


THE  ORDER  OF  THE   SCAK. 


289 


If  your  oxen  are  taken,  where  will  you 
get  any  more? '  Turning  to  the  women, 
ho  said,  '  Prevent  not  the  warrior  from 
going  out  to  battle  by  your  cunning  insin- 
uations. No,  rouse  the  warrior  to  glory,  and 
he  will  return  with  honorable  scars,  fresh 
marks  of  valor  will  cover  his  thighs,  and 
we  shall  then  renew  the  war  song  and  dance, 
and  relate  the  story  of  our  conquest.'  At 
the  conclusion  of  this  speech  the  air  was 
rent  with  acclamations,  the  whole  assembly 
occasionallyjoininginthe  dance;  the  women 
frequently  taking  the  weapons  from  ihe  hands 
of  the  men  and  brandishing  them  in  the 
most  violent  manner,  people  of  all  ages 
using  the  most  extravagant  and  frantic  ges- 
tures for  nearly  two  hours." 

In  explanation  of  the  strange  word,  "  kid- 
ney-eaters," the  reader  must  be  made  aware 
that  kidneys  are  eaten  only  by  the  old  of 
both  sexes.  Young  people  will  not  taste 
them  on  any  account,  from  the  superstitic.nis 
idea  that  they  can  have  no  children  if  they 
do  so.  The  word  of  applause,  "  pula,"  or 
rain,  is  used  metaphorically  to  signify  that 
the  words  of  the  speaker  are  to  the  hearers 
like  rain  on  a  thirsty  soil. 

In  the  last  few  lines  of  the  king's  speech, 
mention  is  made  of  the  "  honorable  scars 
upon  the  thighs."  He  is  here  alluding  to 
a  curious  practice  among  the  Bechuanas. 
After  a  battle,  those  who  have  killed  an 
enemy  assemble  by  night,  and,  after  exhib- 
iting the  trophies  of  their  prowess,  each 
goes  to  the  prophet  or  priest,  who  takes  a 
sharp  assagai  and  makes  a  long  cut  from  the 
hip  to  the  knee.  One  of  these  cuts  is  made 
for  each  enemy  that  has  been  slain,  and  some 
distinguished  warriors  have  their  legs  abso- 
lutely striped  with  scars.  As  the  wound  is 
a  tolerably  deep  one,  and  as  ashes  are  plen- 
tifully rubbed  into  it,  the  scar  remains  tor 
life,  and  is  more  conspicuous  than  it  would 
be  in  an  European,  leaving  a  white  track 
upon  the  dark  skin.  In  spite  of  the  severity 
of  the  wound,  all  the  successful  warriors 
join  in  a  dance,  which  is  kept  up  all  night, 
and  only  terminates  at  sunrise.  No  one  is 
allowed  to  make  the  cut  for  himself,  and 
any  one  who  did  so  would  at  once  be  de- 
tected by  the  jealous  eyes  of  his  compan- 
ions. Moreover,  in  order  to  substantiate 
his  claim,  each  warrior  is  obliged  to  pro- 
duce his  trophy  —  a  small  piece  of  flesh  with 
the  skin  attached,  cut  from  the  body  of  his 
foe. 

When  the  ceremony  of  investiture  with 
the  Order  of  the  Scar  takes  place,  a  large 
flre  is  made,  and  around  it  is  built  a  low 
fence,  inside  which  no  one  may  pass  except 
the  priest  and  those  who  can  show  a  trophy. 
On  the  outside  of  the  fence  are  congregated 
the  women  and  all  the  men  who  have  not 
been  fortunate  enough  to  distinguish  them- 
selves. One  by  one  the  warriors  advance 
to  the  priest,  show  the  trophy,  have  it  ap- 
proved, and  then  take  their  place  round  the 

15 


flre.  Each  man  then  lays  the  trophy  on 
the  glowing  coals,  and,  when  it  is  thoroughly 
roasted,  eats  it.  This  custom  arises  from  a 
notion  that  the  courage  of  the  slain  warrior 
then  passes  into  the  body  of  the  man  who 
killed  him,  and  aids  also  in  making  him  in- 
vulnerable. The  Bechuanas  do  not  like  this 
custom,  but,  on  the  contrary,  view  it  with 
nearly  as  much  abhorrence  as  Europeans 
can  do,  only  yielding  to  it  from  a  desire  not 
to  controvert  the  ancient  custom  of  their 
nation. 

It  may  well  be  imagined  that  this  cere- 
mony incites  the  warriors,  both  old  and 
young,  to  distinguish  themselves  in  battle, 
in  order  that  they  may  have  the  right  of 
entering  the  sacred  fence,  and  be  publicly 
invested  with  the  honorable  scar  of  valor. 
On  one  such  occasion,  a  man  who  wasj  well 
known  for  his  courage  could  not  succeed  in 
killing  any  of  the  enemy,  because  their  num- 
Ijers  were  so  comparatively  small  that  all 
had  been  killed  before  he  could  reach  them. 
At  night  he  was  almost  beside  himself  \vith 
anger'and  mortification,  and  positively  wept 
with  rage  at  being  excluded  from  the  sacred 
enclosure.  At  last  he  sprang  away  from  the 
place,  ran  at  full  speed  to  his  house,  killed 
one  of  his  own  servants,  and  returned  to 
the  spot,  bringing  with  him  the  requisite 
]iassport  of  admittance.  In  this  act  he  was 
held  to  be  perfectly  justified,  because  the 
slain  man  was  a  captive  taken  in  war,  and 
therefore,  according  to  Bechuanan  ideas,  his 
life  belonged  to  his  master,  and  could  be 
taken  whenever  it  might  be  more  useful  to 
him  than  the  living  slave. 

In  war,  the  Bechuanas  are  but  cruel  ene- 
mies, killing  the  wounded  without  mercy, 
and  even  butchering  the  inoffensive  women 
and  children.  The  desire  to  possess  the 
coveted  trophy  of  success  is  probably  the 
cause  of  their  ruthlessness.  In  some  di- 
visions of  the  Bechnana  tribes,  such  as  the 
Bachapins,  the  successful  warriors  do  not 
eat  the  trophy,  but  dry  it  and  hang  it  round 
their  necks,  eating  instead  a  portion  of  the 
liver  of  the  slain'man.  In  all  cases,  how- 
ever, it  seems  that  some  part  of  the  enemy 
has  to  be  eaten. 

The  weapons  used  in  war  are  not  at  all 
like  those  which  are  employed  by  the  Kaf- 
firs. The  Bechuanan  shield  is  much  smaller 
than  that  of  the  Kaflirs,  and  on  each  side  a 
semi-circular  piece  of  leather  is  cut  out. 
The  reader  may  remember  that  in  the  Kaffir 
shield,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  illustration, 
page  21,  there  is  a  slight  depression  on  each 
side.  In  the  Bechuanan  shield,  however, 
this  depression  is  scooped  out  so  deeply 
that  the  shield  is  almost  like  an  hour-glass 
in  shape.  The  assagai,  which  has  already 
been  described,  is  not  intended  to  be  used 
as  a  missile,  but  as  a  weapon  for  hand-to- 
hand  combat.  Indeed,  the  amount  of  labor 
which  is  bestowed  upon  it  renders  it  too 
valuable  to  be  flung  at  an  enemy,  who  might 


290 


THE   BECHUANAS. 


avoid  the  blow,  and  then  seize  the  speai-  and 
keep  it. 

The  Bechuanas  have  one  weapon  which 
is  very  efiective  at  close  quarters.  This  is 
the  battle-axe.  Various  as  are  the  shajies  of 
the  heads,  they  are  all  made  on  one  principle, 
and,  in  fact,  an  axe  is  nothinjj;  more  than  an 
enlarged  spear-head  fixed  transversely  on 
the  handle.  The  ordinary  battle-axes  have 
their  heads  fastened  to  wooden  handles,  but 
the  best  examples  have  the  handles  made  of 
rhinoceros  horn. 

A  remarkably  fine  specimen  of  these  bat- 
tle-axes is  now  before  me.  It  is  simply 
a   kuob-kerrie   made   of   rhinoceros    horn, 


through  the  knob  of  which  the  shank  of  the 
head  has  lioen  passed.  The  object  of  this  con- 
struction is  twofold.  In  the  tirst  place,  the 
increased  thickness  of  the  handle  iirevents, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  liability  to  split  when 
a  severe  blow  is  struck;  and,  sect)ndly,  the 
increased  weight  adds  force  to  the  stroke. 
In  some  of  these  axes  the  knoli  at  the  end  of 
the  handle  seems  disproportionately  large. 
Tlie  axe  is  carried,  together  with  the  shield, 
in  the  left  hand,  while  the  right  is  at  liberty 
to  hold  the  assagai.  But,  if  the  warrior  is 
driven  to  close  quarters,  or  if  his  spear 
should  be  broken,  he  snatches  the  axe  from 
the  shield,  and  is  then  armed  anew. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


BECnUAI^AS  —  Concluded. 


RBUGION  AND  SCTERSTITIOJf  —  A  NATIVE  CONJURER,  AND  HTS  DEXTERITT— CUBING  A  SICK  MAN  — 
THE  MAGIC  DICE— AMULETS— SPARTAN  PRACTICES  —  THE  GIRL'S  ORDEAL  —  A  SINGITLAR  PRIVI- 
LEGE—FOOD  OF  THE  EECHUANAS  —  THE  MILK-BAG — MUSIC  AND  DANCING  —  THE  REED  PIPE,  OR 
LICHAKA— THE  BECHUANAN  DANCE  —  REM^VRKABLE  CAP  WORN  BY  THE  PERFORMERS  —  THE  SUB- 
STITUTE FOR  A  HANDKERCHIEF  —  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  BECHUANAS,  AND  ITS  ELABORATE 
CHiiEACTER  —  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  HOUSES  —  CONCENTRIC  MODE  OF  BUILDING  —  MR.  BAINES'S 
VISIT  TO  A  BECHU.iNA  CHIEF — BURIAL  OP  THE  DEAD,    AND  ATTENDANT  CEREMONIES. 


Of  religion  the  Becliuanas  know  nothing, 
though  they  have  plenty  of  superstition,  and 
are  as  utter  slaves  to  their  witch  do».;iors  as 
can  well  he  conceived.  The  life  of  one  of 
these  personages  is  full  of  danger.  He 
practises  his  arts  with  the  full  knowledge 
that  if  he  should  fail,  death  is  nearly  certain 
to  be  the  result.  Indeed,  it  is  very  seldom 
that  a  witch  doctor,  especially  if  he  should 
happen  to  be  also  a  rain-iuaker,  dies  a 
natural  death,  he  generally  falling  a  victim 
to  the  clubs  of  his  quondam  followers. 

Tliese  men  evidently  practise  the  art  of 
conjuring,  as  we  understand  the  word,  and 
they  can  perform  their  tricks  with  great 
dexterity.  One  of  these  men  exhibited  sev- 
eral of  his  performances  to  Mr.  Baines,  and 
displayed  no  small  ingenuity  in  the  magic 
art.  tlis  first  trick  was  to  empty,  or  to 
appear  to  empty,  a  skin  bag  and  an  old  hat, 
and  then  to  shake  the  bag  over  the  hat, 
when  a  piece  of  meat  or  hide  fell  from  the 
former  into  the  latter.  Another  perform- 
ance was  to  tie  up  a  bead  necklace  in  a  wisp 
of  grass,  and  hand  it  to  one  of  the  white 
spectators  to  burn.  He  then  passed  the  bag 
to  the  most  incredulous  of  the  spectators, 
allowed  him  to  feel  it  and  prove  that  it  was 
empty,  while  the  hat  was  being  examined 
by  Mr.  Baines  and  a  friend.  Calling  out  to 
the  holder  of  the  bag,  he  pretended  to  throw 
something  through  the  air,  and,  when  the 
bag  was  duly  shaken,  out  fell  the  beads  into 
the  hat. 

This  was  really  a  clever  trick,  and,  though 
any  of  my  readers  who  have  some  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  art  of  legerdemain 


can  see  how  it  was  done,  it  is  not  a  little 
surprising  to  see  such  dexterity  possessed 
by  a  savage.  The  success  of  this  trick  was 
tlic  more  remarkable  because  the  holder  of 
the  bag  had  rather  unfiiirly  tried  to  balk  the 
performer.  On  a  subsequent  occasion,  how- 
ever, the  conjurer  attempted  the  same  trick, 
varying  it  by  requesting  that  the  beaiis 
should  be  broken  instead  of  burned.  The 
holder  of  the  beads  took  the  precaution  of 
marking  them  with  ink  before  breaking 
them,  and  in  consequence  all  the  drumming 
of  the  conjurer  could  not  reproduce  them 
until  aiter  dark,  when  another  string  of 
beads,  precisely  similar  in  appearance,  was 
found  under  the  wagon.  Being  pressed  on 
the  subject,  the  conjurer  admitted  that  they 
were  not  the  same  beads,  but  said  that  they 
had  been  sent  supernaturally  to  replace 
those  which  had  been  broken. 

The  same  operator  was  tolerably  clever 
at  tricks  with  cord,  but  had  to  confess  that 
a  nautical  education  conferred  advantages 
in  that  respect  to  which  his  supernatural 
powers  were  obliged  to  yield.  He  once 
invited  Mr.  Baines  to  see  him  exhibit  his 
skill  in  the  evening.  "  A  circle  of  girls  and 
women  now  surrounded  the  wizard,  and 
commenced  a  pleasing  but  monotonous 
chant,  clapping  their  hands  in  unison,  while 
he,  seated  alternately  on  a  carved  stool  and 
on  a  slender  piece  of  reed  covered  with  a 
skin  to  prevent  its  hurting  him,  kept  time 
for  the  hand-clapping,  and  seemed  trying  to 
work  himself  up  to  the  required  state  of 
inspiration,  till  his  whole  flesh  quivered  like 
that  of  a  person  in  the  ague. 


(291J 


292 


THE  BECHUANAS. 


"A  few  preparatory  anointings  of  the 
joints  of  all  his  limbs,  his  Ijruast  and  fore- 
head, as  well  as  those  of  his  choristers,  fol- 
lowed; shrill  whistlings  were  interchanged 
with  spasmodic  gestures,  and  now  I  found 
that  the  exhibition  of  the  evening  was  a 
bond  fide  medical  operation  on  the  person  of 
a  man  who  lay  covered  with  skins  outside 
of  the  circle.  The  posterior  portion  of  the 
thigh  was  chosen  for  scariticatiou,  but,  as 
the"  fire  gave  no  light  in  that  direction,  and 
the  doctor  and  the  relatives  seemed  not  to 
like  my  touching  the  patient,  I  did  not 
ascertain  how  deep  the  incisions  were  made. 
Most  probably,  from  the  scars  I  have  seen 
of  former  operations  of  the  kind,  they  were 
merely  deep  enough  to  draw  blood. 

"  The  singing  and  hand  -  clapping  now 
grew  more  vehement,  the  doctor  "threw 
himself  upon  the  patient,  perhaps  sucked 
the  wound,  at  all  events  pretended  to  inhale 
the  disease.  Strong  convulsions  seized  him, 
and,  as  he  was  a  man  of  powerful  frame,  it 
required  no  little  strength  to  hold  him. 
At  length,  with  upturned  eyes  and  face  ex- 
pressive of  suffocation,  he  seized  his  knife, 
and,  thrusting  it  into  his  mouth,  took  out 
a  large  piece  apparently  of  hide  or  flesh, 
which  his  admiring  audience  supposed  him 
to  have  previously  drawn  from  the  bodj'  of 
the  patient,  thus  removing  the  cause  of  the 
disease." 

Sometimes  the  Bechuana  doctor  uses  a 
sort  of  dice,  if  such  a  term  maj'  be  used 
when  speaking  of  objects  totally  unlike  the 
dice  which  are  used  in  this  country.  In 
form  they  are  pyramidal,  and  are  cut  from 
the  cloven  hoof  of  a  small  antelope.  These 
articles  do  not  look  very  valuable,  but  they 
are  held  in  the  highest  estimation,  inas- 
much as  very  few  know  how  to  prepare 
them,  and  they  are  handed  down  from 
father  to  son  through  successive  genera- 
tions. The  older  they  are,  the  more  pow- 
erful are  they  supposed  to  be,  and  a  man 
who  is  fortunate  enough  to  possess  them 
can  scarcely  be  induced  to  part  with  them. 


MAGIC  DICE. 

Those  which  are  depicted  in  the  illustration 
are  taken  from  specimens  that  were,  after  a 
a  vast  amount  of  bargaining,  purchased  by 
Dr.  Lichteustein,  at  the  price  of  an  ox  for 
each  die. 


These  magic  dice  are  used  when  tlic  pro- 
prietor wishes  to  know  the  result  of  some 
undertaking.  He  smooths  a  piece  of  ground 
with  his  hand,  holds  tlie  die  between  his 
fingers,  moves  his  hands  up  and  down  sev- 
eral times,  and  then  allows  them  to  fall.  He 
then  scans  them  carefully,  and  judges  from 
their  position  what  they  foretell.  The 
reader  may  remember  the  instance  where  a 
Ivatiir  jirophet  used  the  magic  necklace  for 
the  same  purpose,  and  in  a  similar  manner. 
The  characters  or  figures  described  on  the 
surface  have  evidently  some  meaning,  but 
what  their  signification  was  the  former  pos- 
sessor either  did  not  know,  or  did  not 
choose  to  communicate. 

The  cliildren,  when  they  first  begin  to 
trouble  themselves  and  their  parents  by  the 
process  of  teething,  are  often  furnished 
with  a  kind  of  amulet.  It  is  made  of  a 
large  African  beetle,  called  scientifically 
Bruchiicerus  aptcrus.  A  number  of  them 
are  killed,  dried,  and  then  strung  on  leatli- 
ern  thongs,  so  as  to  lie  worn  round  the 
neck.  These  objects  have  been  mistaken 
for  whistles.  The  Bechuanas  have  great 
faith  in  their  powers  wlien  used  for  teeth- 
ing, and  think  that  they  are  efficacious  in 
preventing  various  infantine  disorders. 

Like  tiie  Kaffirs,  the  Bechuanas  make 
use  of  certain  religious  ceremonies  before 
they  go  to  war.  One  of  these  rites  consists 
in  laying  a  charm  on  the  cattle,  so  that  they 
shall"  not  be  seized  by  the  enemy.  The  oxen 
are  brought  singly  to  the  priest,  if  we  may 
so  call  liim,  who'is  furnished  with  a  pot  of 
black  paint,  and  a  jackal's  tail  Ijy  way  of  a 
brush.  With  this  primitive  brush  he  makes 
a  certain  mark  upon  the  hind  leg  of  the  ani- 
mal, while  at  the  .same  time  an  assistant, 
who  kneels  behind  him,  repeats  the  mark 
in  miniature  upon  his  back  or  arms.  To 
this  ceremony  they  attribute  great  value; 
and,  as  war  is  ainiost  invariably  made  for 
the  sake  of  cattle,  the  Bechuanas  may  well 
be  excused  for  employing  any  rite  which 
they  fancy  will  protect  such  valued  posses- 
sions. 

Among  one  branch  of  the  Bechuana 
tribe,  a  very  remarkable  ceremony  is  ob- 
served when  the  boys  seek  to  be  admitted 
into  the  rank  of  men.  The  details  are  kept 
very  secret,  but  a  few  of  the  particulars 
have  been  discovered.  Dr.  Livingstone, 
for  example,  happened  once  to  witness  the 
second  stage  of  the  ceremonies,  which  last 
for  a  considerable  time. 

A  number  of  boys,  about  fourteen  years 
of  ago,  without  a  vestige  of  clothing,  stood 
in  a  row,  and  opposite  those  was  an  equal 
number  of  men,  each  having  in  his  hand  a 
long  switch  cut  from  a  bush  belonging  to 
the  genus  Grewia,  and  called  in  the  native 
language  moretloa.  The  twigs  of  this  bush 
are  very  strong,  tough,  and  supple.  Both 
the  men  and  boys  were  engaged  in  an  odd 
kind  of  dance,  called  "koiia,"  wliich   the 


(20  TUE   (ilULS'  OHDHAL.    (See  page  2'J5.) 
(294) 


SPARTAN  PRACTICES. 


295 


men  evidently  enjoyed,  and  the  boys  had  to 
look  as  if  they  enjoyed  it  too.  Each  boy 
was  furnished  with  a  pair  of  the  ordinary 
hide  sandals,  which  he  wore  on  his  hands 
instead  of  his  feet.  At  stated  intervals,  the 
men  put  certain  questions  to  the  boys, 
respecting  their  future  life  when  admitted 
into  the  society  of  men.     For  example:  — ■ 

"  Will  you  herd  the  cattle  welly  "  asks 
the  man. 

"I  will,"  answers  the  boy,  at  the  same 
time  lifting  his  sandalled  "hands  over  his 
head.  The  man  then  leaps  forward,  and 
with  his  full  force  strikes  at  the  boy's  head. 
The  blow  is  received  on  the  uplifted  san- 
dals, but  the  elasticity  of  the  long  switch 
causes  it  to  curl  over  the  boy's  head  with 
such  force  that  a  deep  gash  is  made  in  his 
back,  some  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  in 
length,  from  which  the  blood  spirts  as  if  it 
were  made  with  a  knife.  Ever  afterward, 
the  lesson  that  he  is  to  guard  the  cattle  is 
supposed  to  be  indelibly  impressed  on  the 
boy's  mind. 

Tlien  comes  another  question,  "  Will  you 
guard  the  chief  well?" 

"  I  will,"  replies  the  boy,  and  another 
stroke  impresses  that  lesson  on  the  boy's 
mind.  And  thus  they  proceed,  until  the 
whole  series  of  questions  has  been  asked 
and  properly  answered.  The  worst  part  of 
the  proceeding  is,  that  the  boys  are  obliged, 
under  penalty  of  rejection,  to  continue  their 
dance,  to  look  pleased  and  happy,  and  not 
to  wince  at  the  terrible  strokes  which  cover 
their  bodies  with  blood,  and  seam  their 
backs  with  scars  that  last  throughout  their 
lifetime.  Painful  as  this  ordeal  must  be, 
the  reader  must  not  think  that  it  is  nearly 
so  formidable  to  the  Bechuanas  as  it  would 
be  to  Europeans.  In  the  first  place,  the 
nervous  system  of  an  European  is  far  more 
sensitive  than  that  of  South  African  na- 
tives, and  injuries  which  would  lay  him 
prostrate  have  but  little  effect  upon  them. 
Moreover,  their  skin,  from  constant  expo- 
sure to  the  elements,  is  singularly  insen- 
sible, so  that  the  stripes  do  not  inflict  a 
tenth  part  of  the  pain  that  they  would  if 
suffered  by  an  European. 

Only  the  older  men  are  allowed  to  take 
part  in  this  mode  of  instruction  of  the  boys, 
and  if  any  man  should  attempt  it  who  is 
not  qualified,  he  is  unpleasantly  reminded  of 
his  presumption  by  receiving  on  his  own 
back  the  stripes  which  he  intended  to  inflict 
on  the  boys,  the  old  men  being  in  such  a 
case  simultaneously  judges  and  executioners. 
No  elevation  of  rank  will  allow  a  man  to 
thus  transgress  with  impunity,  and  on  one 
occasion,  Sekomi  himself,  the  chief  of  the 
tribe,  received  a  severe  blow  on  the  log  from 
one  of  his  own  people.  This  kind  of  ordeal, 
caUed  the  Sechu,  is  only  practised  among 
three  tribes,  one  of  which  is  the  Bamang- 
wato,  of  which  Sekomi  was  the  chief  The 
reader  will  probably  see  by  the  description 


that  the  ceremony  's  rather  of  a  civil  than 
a  religious  character.  It  is  illustrated  on 
the  previous  page.  The  other  stage  of  the 
rite,  which  is  called  by  the  general  name  of 
Boguera,  is  also  of  a  secular  character. 

it  takes  place  every  six  or  seven  years,  so 
that  a  large  number  of  boys  are  collected. 
These  are  divided  into  bands,  each  of  which 
is  under  the  command  of  one  of  the  sons  of 
the  chief,  and  each  member  is  supposed  to 
be  a  companion  of  his  leader  for  life.  They 
are  taken  into  the  woods  by  the  old  nieti, 
where  they  reside  for  some  time,  and  where, 
to  judge  from  their  scarred  and  seamed 
backs,  their  residence  does  not  appear  to  be 
of  the  most  agreeable  description.  When 
they  have  passed  through  the  difl'erent  stages 
of  the  boguera,  each  band  becomes  a  regi- 
ment or""mopato,"  and  goes  by  its  own 
name. 

According  to  Dr.  Livingstone,  "  they  rec- 
ognize a  sort  of  equality  and  partial  com- 
munion afterward,  and  address  each  other 
by  the  name  of  Molekane,  or  comrade.  In 
cases  of  offence  against  their  rules,  as  eating 
alone  when  any  of  their  comrades  are  within 
call,  or  in  case's  of  dereliction  of  duty,  they 
may  strike  one  another,  or  any  member  ot 
a  vounger  mopato,  but  never  one  of  an  older 
band;  and,  when  three  or  four  companies 
have  been  made,  the  oldest  no  longer  takes 
the  field  in  time  of  war,  but  remains  as  a 
guard  over  the  women  and  children.  When 
a  fugitive  comes  to  a  tribe,  he  is  directed  to 
the  mopato  analogous  to  that  to  which  in  his 
own  trilse  he  belongs,  and  does  duty  as  a 
member." 

The  girls  have  to  pass  an  ordeal  of  a  some- 
what similar  character  before  they  are  ad- 
mitted among  the  women,  and  can  hope  to 
attain  the  summit  of  an  African  girl's  hopes, 
namely,  to  be  married.  If  possible,  the  de- 
tails of  the  ceremony  are  kept  even  more 
strictly  secret  than  is  the  case  with  the  boys, 
but  a  part  of  it  necessai'ily  takes  place  in 
public,  and  is  therefore  well  known.  It  is 
finely  illustrated  in  the  engraving  No.  2,  on 
previous  page. 

The  girls  are  commanded  by  an  old  and 
experienced  woman,  always  a  stern  and 
determined  personage,  who  carries  them  off 
into  the  woods,  and  there  instructs  them  in 
all  the  many  arts  which  they  will  have  to 
practise  when  married.  Clad  in  a  strange 
costume,  composed  of  ropes  made  of  melon- 
seeds  and  bits  of  quill,  the  ropes  being 
passed  over  both  .shoulders  and  across  their 
bodies  in  a  figure-of-eight  position,  they  ai'e 
drilled  into  walking  with  large  pots  of  water 
on  their  heads.  Wells  are  purposely  chosen 
which  are  at  a  considerable  distance,  iu 
order  to  inure  the  girls  to  fatigue,  and  the 
monitress  always  chooses  the  most  inclem- 
ent days  for  sending  them  to  the  greatest 
distance.  They  have  to  carry  heavy  loads 
of  wood,  to  handle  agricultural  tools,  to 
build  houses,  and,  in  fact,  to  practise  before 


296 


THE  BECHUANAS. 


marriage  tbose  tasks  which  are  sure  to  fall 
to  tlieir  lot  afterward.  Capability  of  endur- 
ing pain  is  also  insisted  upon,  and  the  moni- 
Jress  tests  their  powers  by  scorching  their 
arms  with  burning  charcoal.  Of  course,  all 
these  severe  labors  require  that  the  hands 
should  be  hard  and  liorny,  and  accordingly, 
the  last  test  which  the  girls  have  to  endure 
is  holding  in  the  hand  for  a  certain  time  a 
piece  of  hot  iron. 

Rough  and  rude  as  this  school  of  in- 
struction may  be,  its  purport  is  judicious 
enough;  inasmuch  as  wlien  tlie  girls  are 
married,  and  enter  upon  their  new  duties, 
they  do  so  with  a  full  and  practical  knowl- 
edge of  them,  and  so  escape  the  punishment 
which  they  would  assuredly  recei\'e  if  they 
were  to  fail  in  their  tasks.  The  name  of 
the  ceremony  is  called  "  Bogale."  During 
the  time  that  it  lasts,  the  girls  enjoy  sev- 
eral privileges,  one  of  which  is  highly  prized. 
If  a  bo}'  who  has  not  passed  through  his 
ordeal  should  come  in  their  way,  he  is 
at  once  pounced  upon,  and  held  down 
bj'  some,  while  others  bring  a  supply  of 
thorn-branches,  and  beat  him  severely  with 
this  unpleasant  rod.  Should  they  be  in  suf- 
ficient numbers,  they  are  not  very  particular 
whether  the  trespasser  be  protected  by  the 
boguera  or  not;  and  instances  have  been 
known  when  they  have  captured  adult  men, 
and  disciplined  them  so  severely  that  the}- 
bore  the  scars  ever  afterward. 

In  their  feeding  they  are  not  particularly 
cleanly,  turning  meat  about  on  tlie  tire  with 
their  fingers,  and  then  rubbing  their  hands 
on  their  bodies,  for  the  sake  of  the  fiit 
which  adheres  to  them.  Boiling,  however, 
is  the  usual  mode  of  cooking;  and  when 
eating  it.  they  place  a  lumj]  of  meat  in  the 
moutli,  seize  it  with  the  teeth,  hold  it  in  the 
left  hand  so  as  to  stretch  it  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, and  then,  with  a  neat  upward  stroke  of 
a  knife  or  spear  head,  cut  off  the  required 
morsel.  This  odd  mode  of  eating  meat  may 
be  found  among  the  Abyssinians  and  the 
Esquimaux,  and  in  each  case  it  is  a  marvel 
how  the  men  avoid  cutting  off"  their  noses. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  one  of 
the  milk  bags.  It  is  made  from  the  skin  of 
some  large  animal,  such  as  an  ox  or  a  zebra, 
and  is  rather  more  than  two  feet  in  length, 
and  one  in  width.  It  is  formed  from  a 
tough  piece  of  hide,  which  is  cut  to  the 
proper  shape,  and  then  turned  over  and 
sewed,  the  seams  being  particularly  firm 
and  strong.  The  hide  of  the  quagga  is  said 
to  be  the  best,  as  it  gives  to  the  milk  a 
peculiar  flavor,  which  is  admired  by  the 
natives.  The  skin  is  taken  from  the  back  of 
the  animal,  that  being  the  strongest  part. 
It  19  first  stretched  on  the  ground  with 
wooden  pegs,  and  the  hair  scraped  off  with 
an  adze,  it  is  then  cut  to  the  proper  shape, 
and  soaked  in  water  until  soft  enough  to  be 
worked.  Even  with  care,  these  bags  are 
lather  perishable  articles;  and,  when  used 


for  water,  they  do  not  last  so  long  as  when 
they  are  employed  for  milk.  A  rather  large 
opening  is  left  at  the  top,  and  a  small  one 
at  the  bottom,  both  of  \vhich  are  closed  by 
conical  plugs.  Through  the  upper  orifice 
the  milk  is  poured  into  the  bag  in  a  fresh 
.state,  and  removed  when  coagulated;  and 
through  the  lower  aperture  the  whey  is 
drawn  off  as  wanted.  As  is  the  case  with 
the  Kaffir  milk  baskets,  the  BecJmana  milk 
bags  are  never  cleaned,  a  small  amount 
of  sour  milk  being  always  left  in  them,  so 
as  to  aid  in  coagulating  the  milk,  which  the 
natives  never  drink  in  a  fresh  state. 

"When  travelling,  the  Bechuanas  hang 
their  milk  bags  on  the  backs  of  oxen ;  and 
it  sometimes  happens  that  the  jolting  of 
the  oxen,  and  consequent  .shaking  of  the 
bag,  causes  the  milk  to  be  partialh'  churned, 
so  that  small  pieces  of  butter  are  found 
floating  in  it.  The  butter  is  very  highly 
valued;  but  it  is  not  eaten,  being  reserved 
for  the  more  important  office  of  greasing 
the  hair  or  .skin. 

The  spoons  which  the  Bechuanas  use  are 
often  carved  in  the  most  elaboi-ate  manner. 
In  general  shape  they  resemble  those  used 
by  the  Kaffirs  —  who,  by  the  way,  sometimes 
purchase  belter  articles  from  the  Bechuanas 
—  but  the  vmdcr  surface,  of  the  bowl  is  en- 
tirely covered  with  designs,  which  are  always 
eflective,  and  in  many  cases  are  absolutely 
artistic  from  the  boldness  and  simjjlicity  of 
the  designs.  I  have  several  of  these  spoons, 
in  all  of'  which  the  surface  has  first  been 
charred  and  polished,  and  then  the  pattern 
cut  rather  deeply,  so  as  to  leave  yellowish- 
white  lines  in  bold  contrast  with  the  jetty 
black  of  the  uncut  portion.  Sometimes  it 
happens  that,  when  they  are  travelling,  and 
have  no  spoons  with  them,  the  Bechuanas 
rapidly  scoop  up  their  broth  in  the  right 
hand,  throw  it  into  the  palm  of  the  left, 
and  then  fling  it  into  the  mouth,  taking  care 
to  lick  the  hands  clean  after  the  operation. 

Music  is  practised  by  the  Bechuaua  tribes, 
who  do  not  use  the  goura,  but  merely  em- 
ploy a  kind  of  reed  pipe.  The  tunes  that 
are  played  upon  this  instrument  are  of  a 
severel}'  simple  character,  being  limited  to 
a  single  note,  repeated  as  often  as  the  per- 
former chooses  to  play  it.  A  very  good 
imitation  of  Bechuanan  instrumental  music 
may  be  obtained  by  taking  a  penny  whistle, 
and  blowing  it  at  intervals.  In  default  of 
a  whistle,  a  key  will  do  quite  as  well.  Vocal 
music  is  known  better  among  the  Bechuanas 
than  among  the  preceding  tribes  —  or,  at  all 
events,  is  not  so  utterly  opposed  to  Euro- 
pean ideas  of  the  art.  The  melody  is  simple 
enough,  consisting  chiefly  of  descending  and 
ascending  by  thiixls;  and  they  have  a  suffi- 
cient appreciation  of  harmony  to  sing  in 
two  parts  without  producing  the  continuous 
discords  \vhich  delight  the  soul  of  the  Hot- 
tentot tribes. 

These  reed  pipes,  called  "  lichaka,"  are  of 


SUBSTITUTE  FOR  HANDKERCHIEF. 


297 


various  lengths,  and  are  blowii  exactly  like 
Pautleaii  pipes,  i.  e.  transversely  across  the 
orifice,  which  is  cut  with  a  slight  slope. 
Each  individual  ha.s  one  pipe  only,  and,  as 
above  stated,  can  only  play  one  note.  But 
the  Becluiauas  have  "enough  musical  ear  to 
tune  their  pipes  to  any  required  note,  which 
they  do  by  pushing  or  withdrawing  a  mov- 
able plug  which  closes  the  reed  at  the 
lower  end.  When  a  number  of  men  assem- 
ble lor  the  purpose  of  singing  and  dancing, 
they  tune  their  pipes  beforehand,  taking 
great  pains  in  getting  the  precise  note 
which  they  want,  and  being  as  careful  about 
it  as  if  they  belonged  to  a  European  or- 
chestra. The  general  effect  of  these  pipes, 
played  together,  and  with  certain  intervals, 
is  by  no  means  inliarnionious,  and  has  been 
rather  happily  compared  to  the  sound  of 
sledge  or  wagon  bells.  The  correct  method 
of  holding  the  pipe  is  to  place  the  thumb 
against  the  cheek,  and  the  forefinger  over 
the  upper  lip,  while  the  other  three  fin- 
gers liold  the  instrument  firmly  in  its  place. 
These  little  iustriunents  run  through  a  scale 
of  some  eleven  or  twelve  notes.  The  dances 
of  the  Bechuanas  are  somewhat  similar  to 
those  of  the  Amakosa  and  other  Kaffirs;  but 
they  have  the  peculiarity  of  using  a  rather 
reruarkable  headdress  when  they  are  in  full 
ceremonial  costume.  This  is  made  from  por- 
cupine quills  ari'anged  in  a  bold  and  artistic 
manner,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  coronet. 
None  of  the  stiff  and  short  cjuills  of  the 
porcupine  are  used  for  this  purpose,  but 
only  the  long  and  slender  quills  which  adorn 
the  neck  of  the  animal,  and,  in  consequence 
of  their  great  proportionate  length,  bend 
over  the  back  in  graceful  curves.  These 
headdresses  are  worn  by  the  men,  who 
move  themselves  about  so  as  to  cause  the 
pliant  quills  to  wave  backward  and  forward, 
and  so  contrive  to  produce  a  really  grace- 
ful ett'ect.  The  headdress  is  not  considered 
an  essential  part  of  the  dance,  but  is  used 
on  sjjecial  occasions. 

When  dancing,  they  arrange  themselves 
in  a  ring,  all  looking  inward,  but  without 
troubling  themselves  about  their  number  or 
any  particular  arrangement.  The  size  of 
the  ring  depends  entirely  upon  the  number 
of  dancers,  as  they  press  closely  together. 
Each  is  at  liberty  to  use  any  step  which  he 
may  think  proper  to  invent,  and  to  blow  his 
reed  pipe  at  any  intervals  that  may  seem 
most  agreeable  to  him.  But  each  man  con- 
trives to  move  very  slowly  in  a  slanting 
direction,  so  that  the  whole  ring  revolves 
on  the  same  spot,  making,  on  an  average, 
one  revolution  per  minuteT 

The  direction  in  which  it  moves  seems 
perfectly  indifferent,  as  at  one  time  it  will 
revolve  from  right  to  left,  and  then,  without 
any  apparent  reason,  the  motion  is  reversed. 
Dancers  enter  and  leave  the  ring  just  as 
they  feel  inclined,  some  of  the  elders  only 
taking  part  in  the  dance  for  a  few  minutes, 


and  others  dancing  for  hours  in  succession, 
merely  retiring  occasionally  to  rest  their 
wearied  limbs.  The  dancers  scarcely  sjieak 
at  all  when  engaged  in  this  absorlnng 
amusement,  though  they  accompany  their 
reed  whistles  with  native  songs.  'Round 
the  dancers  is  an  external  ring  of  women 
and  girls,  who  follow  them  as  tliey  revolve, 
and  keep  time  to  their  movements  by  clap- 
ping their  hands. 

As  is  usual  in  this  country,  a  vast  amount 
of  exertion  is  used  in  the  dance,  and,  as 
a  necessary  consequence,  the  dancers  are 
bathed  in  perspiration,  and  further  incon- 
venienced Ijy  the  melting  of  the  grease  with 
which  their  heads  and  bodies  are  thickly 
covered.  A  handkerchief  would  be  the 
natural  resort  of  an  European  under  such 
circumstances  ;  but  the  native  of  Southern 
Africa  does  not  possess  such  an  article,  and 
theretV)re  is  obliged  to  make  use  of  an  imple- 
ment w-hich  seems  rather  ill  adapted  for  its 
purpose.  It  is  made  from  the  bushy  tail  of 
.jackals,  and  is  prepared  as  follows  :  The 
tails  are  removed  from  the  animals,  and, 
while  they  are  yet  fresh,  the  skin  is  stripped 
from  the  bones,  leaving  a  hollow  tube  of 
fiu--clad  skin.  Three  or  four  of  these  tails 
are  thus  prepared,  and  through  them  is 
thrust  a  stick,  generally  about  four  feet  in 
length,  so  that  the  tail  forms  a  sort  of  large 
ami  very  soft  brush.  This  is  used  as  a 
handkerchief,  not  only  by  the  Bechuanas, 
liut  l)y  many  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  and 
is  thought  a  necessary  part  of  a  Bechuaua's 
w-ardrobe.  The  stick  on  which  they  are 
fixed  is  cut  from  the  very  heart  of  the  ka- 
meel-dorn  acacia,  where  the  wood  is  pecul- 
iarly hard  and  black,  and  a  very  great 
amount  of  labor  is  expended  on  its  manu- 
facture. The  name  of  this  implement  is 
Kaval-klusi,  or  Kaval-inik(jli,  according  to 
the  animal  from  which  it  is  made  ;  the 
"  klusi "  l)eing  apparently  the  common  yel- 
low jackal,  and  the  "pukoli"  the  black- 
tailed  jackal.  The  natives  fancy  that  the 
jackal  possesses  some  quality  which  benefits 
the  si"ht,  and  therefore  they  may  often  be 
seen  drawing  the  kaval-klusi  across  their 
eyes.  A  chief  will  sometimes  have  a  far 
more  valuable  implement,  which  he  uses  for 
the  same  purpose.  Instead  of  being  made  of 
mere  jackal  tails,  it  is  formed  from  ostrich 
feathers. 

The  remarkable  excellence  of  the  Bechu- 
anas in  the  arts  of  peace  has  already  been 
mentioned.  They  are  not  only  the  best  fur- 
dressers  and  metal-workers,  but  they  are 
preeminent  among  all  the  trilies  of  that  por- 
tion of  Africa  in  their  architecture.  Not 
being  a  nomad  people,  and  being  attached 
to  the  soil,  they  have  no  idea  of  contenting 
themselves  with  the  mat-covered  cages  of 
the  Hottentots,  or  with  the  simple  wattle- 
and-daub  huts  of  the  Kaffirs.  They  do  not 
merely  build  huts,  but  erect  houses,  and 
display  an  ingenuity  iu  their  constructiou 


298 


THE  BECHUANAS. 


that  is  perfectly  astonishing.  "Whence  they 
derived  their  arehitectural  knowledge,  no  one 
knows.  Why  the  Kaflirs,  who  are  also  men 
of  the  soil,  .should  not  have  learned  from 
their  neighbors  how  to  build  better  houses, 
no  one  can  tell.  The  fact  remains,  that  the 
Bechuana  is  simpl}'  supreme  in  architec- 
ture, and  there  is  no  neighboring  tribe  that 
is  even  worthy  to  be  ranked  in  the  second 
class. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  house  of 
Dingan,  the  great  Kaffir  despot,  was  exactly 
like  that  of  any  of  his  subjects,  onlj'  larger, 
and  the  supporting  posts  covered  with 
beads.  Now  a  Bechuana  of  very  moder- 
ate rank  would  be  ashamed  of  such  an  edifice 
by  way  of  a  residence  ;  and  even  the  poor 
—  if  we  may  use  the  word  —  can  build 
houses  for  themselves  quite  as  good  as  that 
of  Dingan.  Instead  of  being  round-topped, 
like  so  many  wickerwork  ant-liills,  as  is 
the  case  with  the  Kaffir  huts,  the  houses 
of  the  Bechuanas  are  conical,  and  the  shape 
may  be  roughty  defined  by  saying  that  a 
Bechuana's  hut  looks  something  like  a  huge 
whipping-top  with  its  point  upward.  The 
artist  has  represented  them  on  page  287. 

A  man  of  moderate  rank  makes  his  house 
in  the  following  manner  —  or,  rather,  orders 
his  wives  to  build  it  for  him,  the  women 
being  the  only  arcliitects.  First,  a  number 
of  posts  are  cut  from  the  kameel-dorn  acacia- 
tree,  their  length  varying  according  to  the 
office  which  they  have  to  fulfil.  Supposing, 
for  example,  that  the  house  had  to  be  six- 
teen or  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  some  ten 
or  twelve  posts  are  needed,  which  will  be 
about  nine  feet  in  height  when  planted  in 
the  ground.  These  are  placed  in  a  circle 
and  iirmly  fixed  at  tolerably  equal  distances. 
Next  comes  a  smaller  circle  of  much  smaller 
posts,  which,  when  fixed  in  the  ground, 
measure  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  in 
height,  one  of  them  being  longer  than  the 
rest.  Both  the  circles  of  posts  are  con- 
nected with  beams  which  are  fastened  to 
their  tops. 

The  next  process  is  to  lay  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  rafters  on  these  posts,  so  that 
they  all  meet  at  one  point,  and  these  are 
tightly  lashed  together.  This  point  is  sel- 
dom in  the  exact  centre,  so  that  the  hut 
iilways  looks  rather  lop-sided.  A  roof  made 
of  reeds  is  then  placed  upon  the  rafters,  and 
the  skeleton  of  the  house  is  complete.  The 
thatch  is  held  in  its  place  by  a  number  of 
long  and  thin  twigs,  which  are  bent,  and  the 
end  thrust  into  the  thatch.  These  twigs  are 
set  in  parallel  rows,  and  hold  the  thatch 
firmly  together.  The  slope  of  the  roof  is 
rather  slight,  and  is  always  that  of  a  de- 
pressed cone,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference 
to  the  illustration. 

Next  come  tlie  walls.  The  posts  which 
form  the  outer  circle  are  connected  with  a 
wall  sometimes  about  six  feet  high,  but  fre- 
quently only  two  feet  or  so.    But  the  wall 


which  connects  the  inner  circle  is  eight  or 
ten  feet  in  height,  and  sometimes  reaches 
nearl}'  to  the  roof  of  the  house.  These  walls 
are  generally  made  of  the  mimosa  thorns, 
which  are  so  ingeniously  woven  that  the 
garments  of  those  who  pass  by  are  in  no 
danger,  while  they  eifectually  prevent  even 
the  smallest  animal  from  creeping  through. 
The  inside  of  the  wall  is  strengthened  as 
^vell  as  smoothed  by  a  thick  coating  of  clay. 
The  family  live  in  the  central  compartment 
of  the  house,  while  the  servants  inhaljit  the 
outer  portion,  which  also  serves  as  a  veran- 
dah in  which  the  family  can  sit  in  the  day^ 
time,  and  enjoy  the  double  benefit  of  fresh 
air  and  sliade. 

The  engraving  gives  an  idea  of  the  or- 
dinary construction  of  a  Bechuana  hut. 
Around  this  house  is  a  tolerably  high  pal- 
ing, made  in  a  similar  fashion  of  posts  and 
thorns,  and  within  this  enclosure  the  cattle 
are  kept,  when  their  owner  is  rich  enough 
to  build  an  enclosure  for  their  especial  use. 
This  fence,  or  wall,  as  it  may  properly  be 
called,  is  always  very  firmly  built,  and  some- 
times is  of  very  strong  construction.  It  is 
on  an  average  six  feet  high,  and  is  about  two 
feet  and  a  half  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  a 
foot  or  less  at  the  top.  It  is  made  almost 
entirely  of  small  twigs  and  branches,  placed 
upright,  and  nearly  jiarallel  with  each  other, 
but  so  firmly  interlaced  that  they  form  an 
admirable  defence  against  the  assagai,  while 
near  the  bottom  the  wall  is  so  strong  as  to 
stop  an  ordinary  bullet.  A  few  inches  from 
the  top,  the  wall  is  strengthened  by  a  double 
band  of  twigs,  one  band  being  outside,  and 
the  other  in  the  interior. 

The  doorways  of  a  Bechuana  hut  are 
rather  curiously  constructed.  An  aperture 
is  made  in  the  wall,  larger  above  than  below, 
so  as  to  suit  the  shape  of  a  human  being, 
whose  shoulders  are  wider  than  his  feet. 
This  formation  serves  two  purposes.  In  the 
first  place  it  lessens  the  size  of  the  aperture, 
and  so  diminishes  the  amount  of  draught,  ■ 
and,  in  the  next  jdace,  it  forms  a  better 
defence  against  an  adversary  than  if  it  were 
of  larger  size,  and  reaching  to  the  ground. 

The"  fireplace  is  situated  outside  the  hut, 
though  within  the  fence,  the  Bechuanas 
ha\iug  a  very  wholesome  dread  of  fire,  and 
being  naturally  anxious  that  their  elabo- 
rately built  houses  should  not  be  burned 
down.  Outside  the  house,  but  within  the 
enclosure,  is  the  corn-house.  This  is  a 
smaller  hut,  consti'ucted  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  the  dwelling-house,  and  contain- 
ing the  supply  of  corn."  This  is  kept  in  jars, 
one  of  which  is  of  prodigious  size,  and  would 
quite  throw  into  the  shade  the  celebrated 
oil  jars  in  which  the  "  Forty  Thieves  "'  hid 
themselves.  There  is  also  a  separate  house 
in  which  the  servants  sleep. 

This  corn  jar  is  made  of  twigs  plaited  and 
woven  into  form,  and  strengthened  by  sticks 
thi'ust  into  the  ground,  so  that  it  is  irremov- 


CONCENTRIC  MODE   OF  BUILDING. 


299 


able,  even  if  its  huge  dimensions  did  not 
answer  tliat  purpose.  The  jar  is  plastered 
both  on  the  outside  and  the  interior  with 
clay,  so  that  it  forms  an  admirable  protec- 
tion for  the  corn.  These  jars  are  sometimes 
six  feet  in  height  and  three  in  width,  and 
their  shape  almost  exactly  resembles  that  of 
the  oil  jars  of  Europe.  The  best  specimens 
are  raised  six  or  seven  inches  from  the 
ground,  the  stakes  which  form  their  scaffold- 
ing answering  the  purpose  of  legs.  Every 
house  has  one  such  jar;  and  in  the  abode  of 
wealthy  persons  there  is  generally  one  large 
jar  and  a  number  of  smaller  ones,  all  packed 
together  closely,  and  sometimes  entirely 
filling   the   store-house. 

As  is  the  case  with  the  Kaffirs,  the  Be- 
chuanas  build  their  houses  and  walls  in  a 
circular  form,  aud  have  no  idea  of  making  a 
wall  or  a  fence  in  a  straight  line.  Mr.  Bur- 
chell  accounts  for  it  by  suggesting  that  they 
have  discovered  the  greater  capacity  of  a 
circle  compared  with  any  other  figure  of 
equal  circumference,  and  that  they  make 
circular  houses  aud  cattle-pens  in  order  to 
accommodate  the  greatest  number  of  men 
or  cattle  in  the  least  possible  sjiace.  I  rather 
doubt  the  truth  of  this  theory,  because  these 
people  cannot  build  a  straight  wall  or  a 
square  house,  even  if  they  wished  to  do  so, 
and  believe  that  the  real  cause  must  be 
looked  for  in  their  mental  conformation. 

We  wiU    now    examine  the  illustration 


PLAN  OF  HOUSE. 

which  exhibits  a  plan  of  the  house  belong- 
ing to  a  Bechuana  chief  named  Molemnn. 
It  is  taken  from  BurchelPs  valuable  work. 
Encircling  the  whole  is  the  outer  wall, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  enclosure  is 
divided  by  means  of  cross  walls,  one  of  which 
has  a  doorway.  At  the  top  of  the  plan  is  the 
corn-house,  in  which  is  one  large  jar  and 
one  of  the  smaller  sort.    The  shaded  portion 


represents  that  part  of  the  building  which  is 
covered  by  the  roof.  The  servants'  house 
is  also  separate,  and  may  be  seen  on  the 
right  of  the  plan.  The  fireplace  is  shown 
by  the  small  circle  just  below  the  cross  wall 
on  the  right  hand  of  the  plan.  In  the  mid- 
dle is  tile  house  itself,  with  its  verandalis  aud 
passages  covered  by  a  common  roof.  In  the 
very  centre  is  the  .sleeping-place  of  the  fam- 
ily;" immediately  outside  it  is  the  passage 
wliere  the  servants  sit,  and  outside  it  again 
is  the  verandah.  The  little  circles  upon  the 
plan  represent  the  places  occupied  by  the 
posts. 

In  further  explanation  of  the  exceeding 
care  that  a  Bechuana  bestows  on  his  house, 
I  here  give  a  portion  of  a  letter  sent  to  me 
by  Mr.  T.  Baines,  the  eminent  African 
traveller.  "  About  1850,  while  that  which 
is  now  the  Free  State  was  then  the  Orange 
River  Sovereignty,  my  friend  Joseph  Ma- 
cabe  and  I  were  lying  at  Coqui's  Drift  on 
the  Vaal  (or  Yellow-Dun)  River,  and,  need- 
ing corn  and  other  supplies,  we  spanned- 
in  the  cattle  and  proceeded  to  the  vil- 
lage. Tills  we  found  very  prettily  situated 
among  liold  and  tolerably  well-^voode<l  hills, 
against  whose  dark  sides  the  conical  roofs, 
thatched  with  light  yellowish  reeds,  con- 
trasted advantageously. 

"  As  usual,  the  tribe  was  beginning  to  lay 
desolate  the  surrounding  country  by  reck- 
lessly cutting  down  the  wood  around  their 
dwellings,  a  process  by  which  in  many 
instances  they  have  so  denuded  the  hills 
that  the  little  springs  that  formerly  flowed 
from  them  are  no  longer  protected  by  the 
overhanging  foliage,  and  are  evaporated  by 
the  fierce  heat  of  the  sun  upon  the  unshel 
tered  earth.  Of  this  process,  old  Lattakoo, 
the  former  residence  of  the  missionary  Mof- 
fatt,  is  a  notable  example,  and  it  is  prover- 
bial that  whenever  a  native  tribe  settles  by 
a  little  rivulet,  the  water  in  a  few  years 
diminishes  and  dries  up. 

"  The  women  and  children,  as  usual  in 
villages  out  of  the  common  path  of  travel- 
lers, fled  half  in  fear  and  half  in  timidity  at 
our  approach,  and  peeped  cojdyfrom  behind 
the  fences  of  mud  or  reeds  as  we  advanced. 
We  left  our  wagon  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
village,  and  near  to  the  centre  found  the 
chief  and  his  principal  mqn  seated  beneath 
a  massive  bower  or  awning  of  rough  tim- 
ber, cut  with  the  most  reckless  extrava- 
gance of  material,  and  piled  in  forked  trunks 
still  standing  in  the  earth,  as  if  the  design 
of  the  builders  had  been  to  give  the  least 
possible  amount  of  shade  with  the  greatest 
expenditure  of  material.  .  .  .  Most  of  the 
men  were  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  karosses  or  skin  cloaks  from  the  sjioils  of 
various  animals  killed  in  the  chase.  Some 
were  braying  or  rubbing  the  skins  bct'iveen 
the  hands  to  soften  them,  others  were  scrap- 
ing the  inner  surface,  so  as  to  raise  the  nap 
so  much  prized  by  the  natives,  and  others, 


300 


THE  BECHUANAS. 


having  cut  the  skins  into  shape  with  tlicir 
knives  or  assagais,  were  slowly  and  care- 
fully sewing  them  together.  One  man  was 
tinkling  with  a  piece  of  stick  on  the  string 
of  a  bow,  to  which  a  calabash  had  Ijeen  tied 
in  order  to  increase  the  resonance,  and  all 
looked  busy  and  happy.  Our  present  of 
snuff  was  received  with  intense  gratifica- 
tion, but  very  few  of  them  were  extrav- 
agant cnough"to  inhale  the  precious  stimu- 
lant in  its  pure  state,  and  generally  a  small 
portion  was  placed  upon  the  liaek  of  the  left 
hand,  and  then  a  quantity  of  dust  was  lifted 
with  a  small  horn  spoon,  carefully  mixed 
with  the  snuft',  and  inhaled  with  infinite 
satisfaction. 

"  Their  habitations  were  arranged  in  con- 
centric circles,  the  outermost  of  which  en- 
closes a  more  or  less  spacious  court  or  yard, 
fenced  either  with  tall  straight  reeds,  or 
with  a  wall  of  fine  clay,  carefully  smoothed 
and  patted  up  by  the  hands  of  the  women. 
It  is  afterward  covered  with  transverse 
lines,  the  space  between  which  are  vari- 
ousl}-  etched  with  parallel  lines,  either 
straight,  waved,  or  zigzag,  according  to 
fancy.  The  floor  of  "this  court  is  also 
smoothed  with  clay,  and  elevations  of  the 
same  material  in  the  form  of  segments  of  a 
circle  serve  for  seats,  the  whole  being  kept 
so  clean  that  dry  food  might  be  eaten  from 
the  floor  without  scruple. 

"  The  walls  of  the  hut  are  also  of  clay, 
plastered  upon  the  poles  which  support  the 
conical  roof,  but  the  eaves  project  so  as  to 
form  a  low  verandah  all  around  it.  Low 
poles  at  intervals  give  this  also  an  addi- 
tional support,  and  a  ''  stoep  "  or  elevation, 
about  nine  inches  high  and  three  feet 
broad,  surrounds  the  house  lieueath  it. 

"  The  doorway  is  an  arch  aljout  three  feet 
high.  The  inside  of  the  wall  is  scored  and 
etched  into  compartments  by  lines  traced 
with  the  fingers  or  a  pointed  stick.  Some- 
times melon  or  i)umpkin  seeds  are  stuck 
into  the  clay  in  fanciful  patterns,  and  after- 
ward removed,  leaving  the  hollows  lined 
with  their  slightly  lustrous  bark. 

"Within  this  again  is  another  wall,  en- 
closing a  still  smaller  room,  which,  in  the 
case  of  the  chiefs  hut,  was  well  stored  with 
soft  skin  mantles,  and,  as  he  said,  must  have 
been  most  agree^ibly  warm  as  a  sleeping 
apartment  in  the  cold  weather,  more  espe- 
cially as  the  doorway  might  be  wholly  or 
partially  closed  at  pleasure.  Pilasters  of 
clay  were  wrought  over  the  doorway,  mould- 
ings were  run  round  it,  and  zigzag  orna- 
ments in  charcoal,  or  in  red  or  yellow  clay, 
were  plentifully  used.  The  circular  mould- 
ings seen  upon  what  may  be  called  the  ceil- 
ing are  really  the  bands  of  reeds  upon  the 
under  side  of  the  roof,  by  which  those  that 
form  the  thatch  are  secured. 

'•  The  space  between  the  inner  chamber 
and  the  outer  wall  extended  all  round  the 
hut,  and  in  it,  but  rather  in  the  rear,  were 


sever.al  jars  and  calabashes  of  outchualla, 
or  native  beer,  in  process  of  fermentation. 
My  first  impression  of  this  beverage  was, 
that  it  resemljled  a  mixture  of  had  table- 
beer  and  spoiled  vinegar,  but  it  is  regarded 
both  as  food  and  drink  by  the  natives  and 
travellers  who  have  become  accustomed  to 
it.  A  host  considers  that  he  has  fulfilled 
the  highest  duties  of  hospitality  when  he 
has  set  before  his  guest  a  jar  of  "beer.  It  is 
thought  an  insult  to  leave  any  in  the  vessel, 
l)ut  the  guest  may  give  to  his  attendants 
any  surplus  that  remains  after  he  has  satis- 
fied himself" 

The  buri.al  of  the  dead  is  conducted  after 
a  rather  curious  manner.  The  funeral  cere, 
monies  actually  begin  before  the  sick  per- 
son is  dead,  and  must  have  the  eflect  of 
hastening  dissolution.  As  soon  as  the  rela- 
tions of  the  sick  man  see  that  his  end  is 
near,  they  throw  over  him  a  mat,  or  some- 
times a  skin,  and  draw  it  together  imtil  the 
enclosed  individual  is  forced  into  a  sitting, 
or  rather  a  crouching  posture,  with  the 
arms  lient,  the  head  bowed,  and  the  knees 
brought  into  contact  with  the  chin.  In  this 
uncomfortable  position  the  last  spark  of  life 
soon  expires,  and  the  actual  funeral  begins. 

The  relatives  dig  a  grave,  generally  within 
the  cattle  fence,  not  shaped  as  is  the  case  in 
Europe,  but  a  mere  round  hole,  about  three 
feet  in  diameter.  The  interior  of  this 
strangely  shaped  grave  is  then  rubbed  with 
a  bulbous  root.  An  opening  is  then  made 
in  the  fence  surrounding  the  house,  and  the 
body  is  carried  through  it,  still  enveloped  in 
the  mat,  and  with  a  skin  thrown  over  the 
head.  It  is  then  lowered  into  the  grave, 
and  great  pains  are  taken  to  place  it  exactly 
facing  the  north,  an  operation  which  con- 
sumes much  time,  but  which  is  achieved  at 
last  with  toleraljle  accuracy. 

When  they  have  settled  this  point  to  their 
satisfaction,  they  bring  fragments  of  an  ant- 
hill, which,  as  the  reader  may  remember,  is 
the  best  and  finest  clay  that  can  be  procured, 
and  lay  it  carefully  about  the  feet  of  the 
corpse,  over  which  it  is  pressed  by  two  men 
who  stand  in  the  grave  for  that  purpose. 
More  and  more  clay  is  handed  down  in 
wooden  bowls,  and  stamped  firmly  down, 
the  operators  raising  the  mat  in  proportion 
as  the  earth  rises."  They  take  particular 
care  that  not  even  the  smallest  pebble  shall 
mix  with  the  earth  that  surrounds  the  body, 
and,  as  the  clay  is  quite  free  from  stones,  it 
is  the  fittest  material  for  their  purpose. 

As  soon  as  the  earth  reaches  the  mouth,  a 
branch  of  acacia  is  placed  in  the  grave,  and 
some  roots  of  gra,ss  laid  on  the  head,  so  that 
part  of  the  grass  projects  above  the  level  of 
the  ground.  The  excavated  soil  is  then 
scooped  up  so  as  to  make  a  small  mound, 
over  which  is  poured  several  bowlfuls  of 
water,  the  spectators  meanwhile  shouting 
out,  '"Pula!  Pula!''  as  they  do  when  ap- 
plauding a  speaker  in  the  paidiament.    The 


(302) 


rUNEKAL  RITES. 


303 


weapons  and  implements  of  the  deceased 
are  then  hrought  to  the  grave,  and  presented 
to  him,  but  they  are  not  left  thei'e,  as  is  the 
case  with  some  tribes.  The  ceremony  ends 
by  the  whole  party  leaving  the  ground,  amid 
the  lamentations  of  the  women,  who  keep 
lip  a  continual  wailing  crying. 

These  are  the  full  ceremonials  that  take 
pl.ice  at  the  death  of  a  chief,  — at  all  events, 
of  a  man  of  some  importance,  but  they  vary 
much  according  to  the  rank  of  the  individual. 
Sometimes  a  rain-maker  has  forbidden  all 
sepulchral  rites  whatever,  as  interfering  with 
the  ]5roduction  of  rain,  and  during  the  time 
of  this  interdict  every  corpse  is  dragged  into 
the  bush  to  be  consumed  by  the  hyasnas. 
Even  the  very  touch  of  a  dead  body  is  for- 
bidden, and,  under  this  strange  tyranny,  a 
son  has  been  seen  to  fling  a  leathern  rope 
round  the  leg  of  his  dead  mother,  drag  her 
body  into  the  bush,  and  there  leave  it,  throw- 


ing down  the  rope  and  abandoning  it,  be- 
cause it  had  been  defiled  by  the  contact  of  a 
dead  body,  and  he  might  happen  to  touch 
the  part  that  had  touched  the  corpse. 

The  concluding  scene  in  a  Bechuana  fu- 
neral is  illustrated  on  the  previous  page. 

In  the  background  is  seen  the  fence  of  the 
kraal,  in  which  a  hole  has  been  broken, 
through  which  the  body  of  the  deceased  has 
been  carried.  Behind  the  men  who  are 
lowering  the  body  into  the  grave  is  a  girl 
bearing  in  her  hands  the  branch  of  acacia 
which  is  to  be  placed  on  the  head  of  the 
corpse  —  evidently  a  relic  of  some  tradition 
long  ago  forgotten,  or,  at  all  events,  of  which 
they  profess  to  be  ignorant.  At  the  side 
stands  the  old  woman  who  bears  the  weap- 
ons of  the  deceased  chief —  his  spears,  axe, 
and  bow  —  and  in  the  foreground  are  the 
bowl  of  water  for  lustration,  and  thb  Loes 
\rtth  which  the  grave  has  been  dug. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


THE  DAMAKA  TKIBE. 


LOCALITY  AND  OElGDf    OP  THE    DAMARAS  —  DIVISIONS  OF  THE    TRIBE  —  THE  RICH  AND  POOR  DAMARA8 

—  CH.\BACTER  OF  THE  COUNTRY  —  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  PEOPLE  —  THEIR  PHYSICAL  CONSTITIT- 
TION  —  man's  dress  —  THE  PECULIAR  SANDALS,  AND  MODE  OF  ADOHNINO  THE  HAIR  —  WOMEN'S 
DRESS  —  COSTUME  OF  THE  C.IRLS  —  PORTRAIT  OF  A  DAMAKA  GIRL  RESTING  HERSELF  —  SINGULAR 
CAP  OF  THE  MARRIED  WOMEN  —  FASTIDIOUSNESS   CONCERNING  DRESS  —  CATTLE  OF  THE   DAIVURAS 

—  "crowing"  FOR  ROOTS  AND  WATER  —  ARCHITECTURE  AND  FURNITURE  —  INTELLECT  OF  THE 
DAMARAS  —  ARITHMETICAL  DIFFICULTIES  —  WEAPONS — THE  DAMARA  ASA  SOLDIER — THE  DIF- 
FERENT CASTES  OR  EANDAS  —  FOOD,  AND  MODE  OF  COOKING — DAM^VRA  DANCES  AJO)  MUSIC  — 
MATRIMONIAL  AFFAIRS  —  VARIOUS  SUPERSTITIONS  —  THE  SACRED  FIRE  AND  ITS  PRIESTESS  — 
APPARITIONS^ DEATH    AND    EURLAL  OF  A  CHIEF  —  CEREMONIALS    ON  THE  ACCESSION  OF  HIS  SON 

—  THE  DAMARA  OATH. 


If  the  reader  will  refer  to  a  map  of  Africa, 

and  look  at  the  western  coast  just  below  lat. 
20°  S.,  he  will  see  that  a  largeportiou  of  the 
country  is  occupied  by  a  people  called  Da- 
maras,  this  word  being  a  euphoniiius  corrup- 
tion of  the  word  Damup,  which  signifies 
"The  People."  Who  the  Damaras" origi- 
nally were,  how  long  they  ha\e  occupied 
the  land,  and  the  place  where  they  origi- 
nally came  from,  are  rather  dubious,  and 
they  themselves  can  throw  no  light  on  the 
subject. 

The  tribe  is  a  very  interesting  one.  Once 
of  great  power  and  imjjortance,  it  sjiread 
over  a  vast  tract  of  country,  and  developed 
its  own  peculiar  manners  and  customs, 
some  of  which,  as  will  be  seen,  are  most 
remarkalile.  Its  day  of  prosperity  was, 
however,  but  a  short  one,  as  is  the  case 
with  most  tribes  in  this  part  of  the  world. 
It  has  rapidly  sunk  from  its  high  estate,  has 
suffered  from  the  attacks  of  powerful  and 
relentless  enemies,  and  in  a  few  more  j'ears 
will  probably  perish  off  the  face  of  the 
earth.  So  rapid  have  been  the  changes, 
that  one  traveller,  Mr.  Anderssen,  remarks 
that  within  his  own  time  it  has  been  his 
fate  to  witness  the  comiilete  ruin  and  down- 
fall of  the  once  great  Damara  nation. 

Such  being  the  case,  it  is  my  intention  to 
give  a  brief  account  of  the  tribe,  noticing 
only  those  peculiarities  which  serve  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  other  trilies,  and  which 
might  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  be  alto- 
gether forgotten.    The  account  given  in  the 


following  pages  has  been  partly  taken  from 

Mr.  Anderssen's  "  Lake  Ngami,"  partly 
from  ISIr.  Gallon's  work  on  Southwestern 
Africa,  and  jiartly  from  the  \\-ell-known 
liook  by  ]\Ir.  Baines,  to  whom  I  am  also 
indebted  for  many  sketches,  and  much 
vei'bal  and  written  informaticm. 

As  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  abo- 
rigines were  a  race  called,  even  by  them- 
selves, the  Ghou  Damup  —  a  name  quite 
untranslatable  to  ears  polite,  and  therefore 
euphonized  by  the  colonists  into  Hill  Da- 
maras,  though  in  reality  there  is  no  connec- 
tion between  them.  The  Ghou  Damup  say 
that  their  great  ancestor  was  a  baboon,  who 
married  a  native  lady,  and  had  a  numerous 
progeny.  The  union,  however,  like  most 
unequal  matches,  was  not  a  happy  one,  the 
mother  priding  herself  on  her  family,  and 
twitting  her  sons  with  their  low  connections 
on  the  paternal  side.  The  end  of  the  mat- 
ter was,  that  a  split  took  place  in  the  family, 
the  sons  behaving  so  badly  that  they  dared 
no  longer  face  their  high-born  Hottentot 
connections,  and  fled  to  the  hills,  where 
they  have  ever  since  dwelt. 

The  Damaras  may  be  roughlj'  divided 
into  two  liodies,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
former  being  those  who  possess  cattle,  and 
live  chiefly  on  the  milk,  and  the  latter  those 
who  have  either  no  cattle,  or  only  one  or 
two,  and  who,  in  consequence,  live  by  the 
chase  and  on  the  wild  roots  which  they  dig. 
For  the  Damaras  are  not  an  agricultural 
people,  probably  because  their  soil  is  not,  as 


1304) 


APPEAKAXCE   OF  THE   DAMARAS. 


305 


a  general  rule,  adapted  for  the  raising  of 
crops. 

The  poor  Damaras,  called  Ovatjumba, 
are  looked  down  upon  by  the  riclier  sort, 
and,  in  i'act,  treated  as  if  they  were  inferior 
beings.  Their  usual  position  is  that  of  ser- 
vitude to  the  wealthy,  who  consider  them 
rather  as  slaves  than  servants,  punish  them 
with  great  severity,  and  do  not  hesitate 
even  to  take  their"  lives.  It  will  be  seen 
from  this  fact  that  the  primitive  simplicity 
of  the  savage  life  is  not  precisely  of  an  Ar- 
cadian character;  and  that  savages  are  not 
indeljted  to  Europeans  for  all  their  vices. 
For  some  undoubtedly  they  are,  and  dis- 
play a  singular  aptitude  in  acquiring  them; 
but  most  of  the  greatest  evils  of  the  world, 
such  as  drunkenness,  cruelty,  immorality, 
dishonesty,  lying,  slavery,  and  the  like,  are 
to  be  found  in  full  vigor  among  savage 
nations,  and  existed  among  tliem  long 
before  they  ever  saw  an  European.  To  say 
that  the  vices  above  mentioned  were  intro- 
duced to  savages  by  Europeans  is  a  libel  on 
civiUzatiou.  Whenever  a  savage  can  iuto.K- 
icate  himself  ho  will  do  so,  no  matter  in 
what  part  of  the  world  he  lives.  So  deter- 
minedly is  he  bent  on  attaining  this  result, 
that  he  will  drink  vast  quantities  of  the 
native  African  beer,  wliieh  is  as  thick  as 
ordinary  gruel,  or  he  will  drink  the  disgust- 
ingly-prepared kava  of  Polynesia;  or  he 
will  .smoke  hemp  in  a  pipe,  or  chew  it  as  a 
sweetmeat;  or  swallow  tobacco  smoke  until 
he  is  more  than  half  choked,  or  he  will  take 
opium  if  he  can  get  it,  and  intoxicate  him- 
self with  that. 

Similarly,  the  savage  is  essentially  cruel, 
not  having  the  least  regard  for  the  suffer- 
ings of  others,  and  inflicting  the  most  fright- 
ful tortures  with  calm  enjoyment.  As  for 
morality,  as  we  understand  the  word,  the 
true  savage  has  no  conception  of  it,  and  ;he 
scenes  which  nightly  take  place  in  savage 
lands  are  of  such  a  nature  that  travellers 
who  have  witnessed  them  are  obliged  to 
pass  them  over  in  discreet  silence.  Hon- 
esty, in  its  right  sense,  is  equally  unknown, 
and  so  is  truthfulness,  a  successful  theft  and 
an  undetected  falsehood  being  thought  evi- 
dences of  skill  and  ingenuity,  and  by  no 
means  a  disgrace.  Slavery,  again,  thrives 
mightily  among  savages,  and  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  savages  are  the  hardest 
masters  toward  their  slaves  on  the  face  of 
the  earth. 

The  land  in  which  the  Damaras  live  is 
rather  a  remarkable  one,  and,  although  it  is 
of  very  large  extent,  only  a  small  portion 
is  habitable  by  human  beings.  The  vegeta- 
tion is  mostly  of  the  thorny  kind,  while 
water  is  scarce  tliroughout  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  year,  the  rainy  season  bringing 
with  it  sudden  floods  which  are  scarcely 
less  destructive  than  the  previous  drouglit. 
"  Being  situated  in  the  tropic  of  Capricorn, 
the  seasons  are  naturally  the   reverse  of 


those  in  Europe.  In  the  month  of  August, 
when  our  sinnmer  may  be  said  to  be  at  an 
end,  hot  westerly  winds  Ijlow,  wliicli  quicldy 
])arch  up  and  destroy  the  vegetation.  At 
the  same  time,  whirlwinds  sweep  over  the 
country  witli  tremendous  velocity,  driving 
along  vast  columns  of  sand,  many  feet  in 
diameter  and  several  hundred  in  height. 
At  times,  ten  or  fifteen  of  these  columns 
may  be  seen  chasing  each  other.  Tlie 
Damaras  designate  them  Orukurab'ombura, 
or,  Rain-bringers,  a  most  appropriate  name, 
as  tliev  usually  occur  just  before  the  first 
rains  fall. 

"  Showers,  accompanied  by  thunder  and 
vivid  lightning,  are  not  unusual  in  the 
months  of  September  and  October;  but  the 
regular  rains  do  not  set  in  till  December 
and  January,  when  tliev  continue,  with  but 
slight  intermission,  till  May.  In  this  month 
and  June,  strong  easterly  winds  prevail, 
which  are  not  only  disagreeable,  but  injuri- 
ous to  health.  The  lips  crack,  and  the  skin 
feels  dry  ami  harsh.  Occasionally  at  this 
time,  tropical  rains  fall,  Ijut  they  do  more 
harm  than  good,  as  sudden  cold,  which 
annihilates  vegetation,  is  invariably  the 
result.  In  July  and  August  the  nights  are 
the  coldest,  and  it  is  then  no  unusual  thing 
to  find  ice  half  an  iucli  thick." 

The  Damaras  have  a  very  odd  notion  of 
their  origin,  thinking  that  they  sprang  from 
a  tree,  which  they  call  in  consequence  the 
Mother  Tree.  All  the  animals  had  the  same 
origin;  and,  after  they  had  burst  from  the 
parent  tree,  the  world  was  all  in  darkness. 
A  Damara  then  lighted  a  fire,  whereupon 
most  of  the  beasts  and  birds  fled  away  in  ter- 
ror, while  a  few  remained,  and  came  close  to 
the  blaze.  Those  whicli  fled  became  wild 
animals,  such  as  the  gnoo,  the  giraffe,  the 
zebra,  and  others,  while  those  which  re- 
mained were  the  sheep,  the  ox,  the  goat, 
anil  dog,  and  became  domesticated.  The 
individual  tree  is  said  still  to  exist  at  a 
place  called  Omariera,  but,  as  it  liappens, 
every  sub-tribe  of  the  Damaras  point  to  a  dif- 
ferent tree,  and  regard  it  witli  filial  affec- 
tion as  tiieir  great  ancestor.  Tlie  natives 
call  tills  tree  Mofjohaara,  and  the  particular 
indiviilual  from  which  they  believe  that  they 
sprung  by  the  name  of  Omumborumbonga. 
The  timber  is  very  lieavy,  and  of  so  close 
and  hard  a  texture,  that  it  may  be  ranked 
among  the  ironwoods. 

In  appearance  tlie  Damaras  are  a  fine 
race  of  men,  sometimes  exceeding  six  feet 
in  height,  and  well  proportioned.  Their 
features  are  tolerably  regular,  and  they 
move  with  grace  and  freedom.  (See  illus- 
tration No.  1,  on  p.  .308.)  They  are  power- 
ful, as  becomes  their  bulk;  but,  as  is  the  case 
with  many  savages,  although  they  can  put 
forth  great  strength  on  occasions,  they  are 
not  capable  of  long  and  continued  exertion. 

The  bodily  constitution  of  the  Damaras  is 
of  the  most  extraordinary  character.    Pain 


308 


THE  DAMARAS. 


for  them  seems  almost  non-existent,  and  an 
injury  wliich  would  he  fatal  to  tlic  more 
nervously  constituted  European  has  but 
little  etiect  on  the  Damara.  The  reader 
may  remember  the  iusensiljility  to  pain 
manifested  by  the  Hottentots,  but  the  Da- 
maras  even  exceed  them  in  this  particular. 
Mr.  Baines  mentions,  in  his  MS.  notes, 
some  extraordinary  instances  of  this  pecul- 
iarity. On  one  occasion  a  man  had  Ijroken 
his  leg,  and  the  fractured  limb  had  been  put 
up  in  a  splint.  One  day,  while  the  leg  was 
being  dressed,  Mr.  Baines  heard  a  great 
shout  of  laughter,  and  found  that  a  clumsy 
assistant  had  let  the  leg  fall,  and  had  re- 
broken  the  partially  united  bones,  so  that 
the  leg  was  hanging  with  the  foot  twisted 
inward.  Instead  of  being  horrified  at  such 
an  accident,  they  were  all  shouting  with 
laughter  at  the  abnormal  shape  of  the  limb, 
and  no  one  seemed  to  think  it  a  better  joke, 
or  laughed  more  heartily,  than  the  injured 
man  himself  The  same  man,  when  his  in- 
juries had  nearly  healed,  and  nitrate  of  sil- 
ver had  to  be  applied  freely  to  the  parts, 
bore  the  excruciating  operation  so  well  that 
he  was  complimented  on  his  courage.  How- 
ever, it  tiu-ned  out  that  he  did  not  feel  the 
application  at  all,  and  that  the  compliments 
were  quite  thrown  away. 

On  another  occasion,  a  very  remarkable 
incident  occurred.  There  had  been  a  mu- 
tiny, which  threatened  the  lives  of  the  whole 
party,  and  the  ringleader  was  accordingly 
condemned  to  death,  and  solemnly  executed 
by  being  shot  through  the  head  with  a  pistol, 
the  body  being  allowed  to  lie  where  it  fell. 
Two  or  three  days  afterward,  the  executed 
criminal  made  his  appearance,  not  much  the 
worse  for  the  injury,  except  the  remains  of  a 
wound  in  his  liead.  He  seemed  to  think 
that  he  had  been  rather  hardly  used,  and 
asked  for  a  stick  of  tobacco  as  compensa- 
tion. 

Yet,  although  so  indifferent  to  external 
injuries,  they  are  singularly  sensitive  to  ill- 
ness, and  are  at  once  prostrated  by  a  slight 
indisposition,  of  which  an  European  would 
think  nothing  at  all.  Their  peculiar  consti- 
tution always  shows  itse.f  in  travelling. 
Mr.  Baines  remarks  that  a  savage  is  ready 
to  travel  at  a  minute's  notice,  as  he  has 
nothing  to  do  but  to  pick  up  his  weapons  and 
start.  He  looks  with  contempt  upon  the 
preparation  which  a  white  man  makes,  and 
for  two  or  three  days'  "  fatigue  "  work  will 
beat  almost  any  European.  Yet  in  a  long, 
steady  march,  the  European  tires  out  the 
savage,  unless  the  latter  conforms  to  the 
usages  which  he  despised  at  starting. 

He  finds  that,  after  all,  he  will  require 
baggage  and  clothing  of  some  kind.  The 
heat  of  the  mid-day  sun  gives  him  a  head- 
ache, and  he  is  obliged  to  ask  for  a  cap  as  a 
protection.  Then  his  sandals,  which  were 
sufficient  for  him  on  a  sandy  soil,  are  no 
protection  against  thorns  and  so  he  has  to 


procure  shoes.  Then,  sleeping  at  night 
without  a  rug  or  large  kaross  cannot  be 
endured  for  many  nights,  and  so  he  has  to 
ask  for  a  blanket.  His  food  again,  such  as 
the  ground-nuts  on  which  the  poorer  Da- 
maras  chiefly  live,  is  not  sufficiently  nutri- 
tious for  long-continued  exertion,  and  he  is 
obliged  to  ask  for  his  regular  rations.  His 
usual  foshion  is  to  make  a  dash  at  work,  to 
continue  for  two  or  three  days,  and  then  to 
cease  altogether,  and  recruit  his  strength  by 
passing  several  days  in  inaction. 

The  dress  of  the  Damaras  is  rather  pecul- 
iar—  that  of  the  women  especially  so.  The 
principal  part  of  a  man's  dress  is  a  leathern 
rojie  of  wonderful  length,  seldom  less  than 
a  hundred  feet,  and  sometimes  exceeding 
four  or  even  five  hundred.  This  is  wound 
in  loose  coils  round  the  waist,  so  that  it  falls 
in  folds  which  are  not  devoid  of  grace.  In 
it  the  Damara  thrusts  his  axes,  knob-kerries, 
and  other  implements,  so  that  it  serves  the 
purpose  of  a  belt,  a  pocket,  and  a  dress. 
His  feet  are  defended  by  sandals,  made 
something  like  those  of  the  Bechuanas,  and 
fastened  to  the  feet  in  a  similar  manner, 
but  remarkable  for  their  length,  projecting 
rather  behind  the  heel,  and  very  much  be- 
fore the  toes,  in  a  way  that  reminds  tho 
observer  of  the  long-toed  boots  which  were 
so  fashionable  in  early  English  times.  Some- 
times he  makes  a  very  bad  use  of  these  san- 
dals, surreptitiously  scraping  holes  in  the 
sand,  into  which  he  pushes  small  articles  of 
value  that  may  have  been  dropped,  and  then 
stealthily  covers  them  up  with  the  sand. 

They  are  very  fond  of  ornament,  and  place 
great  value  on  iron  for  this  purpose,  fashion- 
ing it  into  various  forms,  and  polishing  it 
until  it  glitters  brightly  in  the  sunbeams. 
Beads,  of  course,  they  wear,  and  they  are 
fond  of  ivory  beads,  some  of  which  maj'  he 
ratner  termed  balls,  so  large  are  they.  One 
man  had  a  string  of  these  beads  which  hung 
from  the  back  of  his  head  nearly  to  his  heels. 
The  uppermost  beads  were  about  as  large  as 
billiard  balls,  and  they  graduated  regularly  in 
size  until  the  lowest  and  smallest  were  barely 
as  large  as  hazel-nuts.  He  was  very  proud 
of  this  ornament,  and  refused  to  sell  it, 
though  he  kindly  oflered  to  lend  it  for  a  day 
or  two. 

His  headdress  costs  him  much  trouble  in 
composing,  though  he  does  not  often  go 
through  the  labor  of  adjusting  it.  He  di- 
vides his  hair  into  a  great  number  of  strands, 
which  he  fixes  by  imbuing  them  with  a  mix- 
ture of  grease  and  red  ochre,  and  then  allows 
them  to  hang  round  his  head  like  so  many 
short  red  cords.  A  wealthy  man  will  some- 
times adorn  himself  with  a  single  cockle- 
shell in  the  centre  of  the  forehead,  and  Mr. 
Baines  remarks,  that  if  any  of  his  friends  at 
home  would  only  have  made  a  supper  on  a 
few  pennyworthof  cockles,  and  sent  him  the 
shells,  he  could  have  made  his  fortune.  The 
men  have  no  particular  hat  or  cap;  but,  as 


■'    «i''^a::iSSs2i^ 


Q 

o 

2 


(308) 


COSTUME   OF  DAMARA  GIRLS. 


309 


they  are  very  fastidious  about  tlieir  hair,  and 
as  rain  would  utterly  destroy  all  the  elabo- 
rately-dressed locks,  they  use  in  rainy 
weather  a  piece  of  soft  hide,  which  they 
place  on  their  heads,  and  fold  or  twist  into 
any  form  that  may  seem  most  convenient  to 
them.  The  iat  and  red  ochre  with  which  he 
adorns  his  head  is  liberally  bestowed  on  the 
whole  body,  and  affords  an  index  to  the 
health  and  general  spirits  of  the  Damara. 
When  a  Damara  is  well  and  in  good  spirits 
he  is  all  red  and  shining  like  a  mirror,  and 
whenever  he  is  seen  pale  and  dull  he  is  sure 
either  to  be  in  low  spirits  or  bad  circum- 
stances. As  a  rule,  the  Damaras  do  not 
wash  themselves,  preferring  tc  renew  their 
beauty  by  paint  and  grease,  and  the  natural 
consequence  is,  that  they  diffuse  an  odor 
which  is  far  from  agreeable  to  European 
nostrils,  though  their  own  seem  to  be  in- 
sensible to  it.  Indeed,  so  powerful  are  the 
odors  of  the  African  tribes,  that  any  one 
who  ventvu'es  among  them  must  l)oldly 
abnegate  the  sense  of  smell,  and  make  up 
his  mind  to  endure  all  kinds  of  evil  odors, 
just  as  he  makes  up  his  mind  to  endure  the 
neat  of  the  sun  and  the  various  hardships  of 
travel  in  a  foreign  land. 

The  dress  of  the  women  is  most  remark- 
able, not  to  say  unique.  As  children,  they 
have  no  clothing  whatever;  and,  until  they 
are  asked  in  marriage,  they  wear  the  usual 
costume  of  Southern  Africa,  namely,  the 
fringe-apron,  and  perhaps  a  piece  of  leather 
tied  round  the  waist,  these  and  beads  con- 
stituting their  only  dress.  The  illustration 
No.  2,  opposite,  is  from  a  drawing  by  Mr. 
Baines,  which  aibnirably  shows  the  sym- 
metrical and  graceful  figures  of  the  Damara 
girls  before  they  are  married,  and  their  con- 
tours spoiled  by  hard  work.  The  drawing 
was  taken  from  life,  and  represents  a  young 
girl  as  she  appears  while  resting  herself.  K 
seems  rather  a  strange  mode  of  resting,  but 
it  is  a  point  of  lionor  with  the  Damara  girls 
and  women  not  to  put  down  a  load  until 
tliey  have  conveyed  it  to  its  destination,  and, 
as  she  has  found  the  heavy  basket  to  fatigue 
her  head,  she  has  raised  it  on  both  her  hands, 
and  thus  "  rests "  herself  without  ceasing 
her  walk  or  putting  down  her  burden. 

Not  content  with  the  basket  load  upon 
her  head,  she  has  another  load  tied  to  her 
back,  consisting  of  some  puppies.  The 
Damara  girls  are  very  fond  of  puppies,  and 
make  great  pets  of  them,  treating  them  as  if 
they  were  babies,  and  carrjdng  them  atiout 
exactly  as  the  married  women  carry  their 
cliildren. 

As  soon  as  they  have  been  asked  in  mar- 
riage, the  Damara  woman  assumes  the 
matron's  distinctive  costume.  This  is  of 
the  most  elaborate  character,  and  requires  a 
careful  description,  as  there  is  nothing  like 
it  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Round  her 
waist  the  woman  winds  an  inordinately  long 
hide  rope,  like  that  worn  by  her  husband. 


This  rope  is  so  saturated  with  grease  that  it 
is  as  soft  and  pliable  as  silk,  but  also  has  the 
disadvantage  of  harboring  sundry  noxious 
insects,  the  extermination  of  which,  how- 
ever, seems  to  afford  harmless  amusement  to 
the  Damara  ladies.  Also,  she  wears  a  dress 
made  of  skin,  the  hair  being  worn  outward, 
and  the  upper  part  turned  over  so  as  to  form 
a  sort  of  cape. 

Many  Damara  women  wear  a  curious  kind 
of  bodice,  the  chief  use  of  which  seems  to 
be  the  evidence  that  a  vast  amount  of  time 
and  labor  has  been  expended  in  producing  a 
very  small  result.  Small  flat  disks  of  ostrich- 
shell  are  prepared,  as  has  already  been  men- 
tioned when  treating  of  the  Hottentots,  and 
strung  together.  A  number  of  the  strings 
are  then  set  side  by  side  so  as  to  form  a 
wide  belt,  which  is  fastened  round  the  body, 
and  certainly  forms  a  pleasing  contrast  to 
the  shining  red  which  is  so  liberally  used, 
and  which  entirely  obliterates  the  distinc- 
tions of  dark  or  fair  individuals.  Round 
their  wrists  and  ankles  they  wear  a  succes- 
sion of  metal  rings,  almost  invariably  iron 
or  copper,  and  some  of  the  richer  sort  wear 
so  many  that  they  can  hardly  walk  with 
comfort,  and  their  naturally  graceful  gait 
degenerates  into  an  awkward  waddle.  It  is 
rather  curious  that  the  women  should  value 
these  two  metals  so  highly,  for  they  care 
comparatively  little  for  the  more  costly 
metals,  such  as  brass  or  even  gold.  These 
rings  are  very  simply  made,  being  merely 
thick  rods  cut  to  the  proper  length,  bent 
rudely  into  form,  and  then  clenched  over 
the  limb  by  the  hammer.  These  ornaments 
have  cost  some  of  their  owners  very  dear,  as 
we  shall  presently  see. 

The  strangest  part  of  the  woman's  cos- 
tume is  the  headdress,  which  may  be  seen 
in  the  illustration  opposite,  of  a  warrior's 
wife.  The  framework  of  the  headdress  is  a 
skull-cap  of  stout  hide,  which  fits  closely  to 
the  head,  and  which  is  ornamented  with 
three  imitation  ears  of  the  same  material, 
one  being  on  each  side,  and  the  third  be- 
hind. To  the  back  of  this  cap  is  attached  a 
flat  tail,  sometimes  three  feet  or  more  in 
length,  and  six  or  eight  inches  in  width.  It 
is  composed  of  a  strip  of  leather,  on  which 
are  fastened  parallel  strings  of  metal  beads, 
or  rather  "  bugles,"  mostly  made  of  tin. 
The  last  few  inches  of  the  leather  strip  are 
cut  into  thongs  so  as  to  form  a  terminal 
fringe.  The  cap  is  further  decorated  by 
shells,  which  are  sewed  round  it  in  succes- 
sive rows  according  to  the  wealth  of  the 
wearer.  The  whole  of  the  cap,  as  well  as 
the  ears,  is  rubbed  with  grease  and  red 
ochre.  So  much  for  the  cap  itself,  which, 
however,  is  incomplete  without  the  veil. 
This  is  a  large  piece  of  thin  and  very  soft 
leather  wliicli  is  attached  to  the  front  of  the 
ca)),  and,  if  allowed  to  hang  freely,  would 
fall  over  the  face  and  conceal  it.  The  wom- 
en, however,  only  wear  it  thus  for  a  short 


310 


THE  DAMAKAS. 


time,  and  then  roll  it  back  so  that  it  passes 
over  the  forehead,  and  then  foils  on  either 
shoulder. 

Heavy  and  inconvenient  as  is  this  caj), 
the  Damara  woman  never  goes  without  it, 
and  sutlers  all  the  inconvenience  for  the 
sake  of  being  fashionable.  Indeed,  so  highly 
is  this  adornment  prized  by  both  sexes  that 
the  husliauds  would  visit  their  wives  with 
their  heaviest  displeasure  (t.  c.  beat  them 
within  an  inch  of  their  lives)  if  they  ven- 
tured to  appear  without  it.  One  woman, 
whose  portrait  was  being  taken,  was  recom- 
mended to  leave  her  headdress  with  the 
artist,  so  that  she  might  be  spared  the 
trouble  of  standing  while  the  elaborate  dec- 
orations were  being  drawn.  She  was  horri- 
fied at  the  idea  of  laying  it  aside,  and  said 
that  her  husband  would  kill  her  if  she  was 
seen  without  her  proper  dress.  If  she  wishes 
to  carry  a  burden  on  her  head,  she  does  not 
remove  her  cap,  but  pushes  it  olf  her  fore- 
head, so  tliat  the  three  pointed  ears  come 
upon  the  crown  instead  of  the  to^j  of  the 
head,  and  are  out  of  the  way. 

However  scanty  may  be  the  apparel  which 
is  worn,  both  sexes  are  very  particular 
about  wearing  something,  and  look  u])on 
entire  nudity  much  in  the  same  light  that 
we  do.  So  careful  are  they  in  this  respect 
that  an  unintentional  breach  of  etiquette 
gave  its  name  to  a  river.  Some  Damara 
vcomen  came  to  it,  and,  seeing  that  some 
berries  were  growing  on  the  opposite  side, 
and  that  the  water  was  not  much  more  tlian 
waist-deep,  they  left  their  aprons  on  the 
bank  and  waded  across.  While  they  were 
engaged  in  gathering  the  berries,  a  torrent 
of  water  suddenly  swept  down  the  river, 
overflowed  its  banks,  and  carried  away  the 
dresses.  Ever  afterward  the  Damaras  gave 
that  stream  the  name  of  Okaroscheke,  or 
"Naked  Elver." 

They  have  a  curious  custom  of  chipping 
the  two  upper  front  teeth,  so  as  to  leave  a 
V-shapod  space  between  them.  This  is 
done  with  a  flint,  and  the  custom  prevails, 
with  some  modifications,  among  many  other 
tribes. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  Damaras 
have  many  cattle.  They  delight  in  having 
droves  of  one  single  color,  bright  brown 
being  the  favorite  hue,  and  cattle  of  that 
color  being  mostly  remarkable  for  their  en- 
during powers.  Damara  cattle  are  much 
prized  by  other  tribes,  and  even  by  the 
white  settlers,  on  account  of  their  quick 
step,  strong  hoofs,  and  lasting  powers. 
They  are,  however,  rather  apt  to  be  wild, 
and,  as  their  horns  are  exceedingly  long 
and  sharp,  an  enraged  Damara  ox  becomes 
a  most  dangerous  anim.al.  Sometimes  the 
horns  of  an  ox  will  bo  so  long  that  the  tips 
are  seven  or  eight  feet  ajxirt.  The  hair  of 
these  cattle  is  shining  and  smooth,  and  the 
tuft  at  the  end  of  the  tail  is  nearly  as  re- 
markable for  its  length  as  the  horns.    These 


tail-tufts  are  much  used  in  decorations,  and 
are  in  great  request  for  ornamenting  the 
.shafts  of  the  assagais.  As  is  generally  the 
case  with  African  cattle,  the  cows  give  but 
little  milk  daily,  and,  if  the  calf  should  hap- 
jien  to  die,  none  at  all.  In  such  cases,  the 
Damaras  stuff  the  skin  of  the  dead  calf  with 
grass,  and  place  it  before  the  cow,  who  is 
quite  contented  with  it.  Sometimes  a  rather 
ludicrous  incident  has  occurred.  The  cow, 
while  licking  her  imagined  offspring,  has 
come  upon  tlie  grass  which  protrudes  here 
and  there  from  the  rudely  slufled  skin,  and, 
thrusting  her  nose  into  the  interior,  has 
dragged  out  and  eaten  the  whole  of  the 
grass. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  Damaras 
find  much  of  their  subsistence  in  the  ground. 
They  are  trained  from  infancy  in  digging 
the  ground  for  food,  and  little  children  who 
cannot  fairly  walk  may  be  seen  crawling 
about,  digging  up  roots  and  eating  them. 
By  reason  of  this  diet,  the  figures  of  the 
children  are  anything  but  graceful,  their 
stomachs  protruding  in  a  most  absurd  man- 
ner, and  their  backs  taking  a  corresponding 
curve.  Their  mode  of  digging  holes  is 
called  "  crowing."  and  is  thus  managed : 
they  take  a  pointed  stick  in  their  right  hand, 
break  up  the  ground  with  it,  and  scrape  out 
the  loose  earth  with  the  left.  They  are 
wonderfully  expeditious  at  this  work,  hav- 
ing to  employ  it  for  many  purposes,  such  as 
digging  up  the  ground-nuts,  on  which  they 
feed  largely,  excavating  for  water,  and  the 
like.  They  will  sometimes  "  crow  "  holes 
eighteen  inches  or  more  in  depth,  and 
barely  six  inches  in  diameter.  The  word 
"  crow  "  is  used  very  frequently  by  ti'avellers 
in  this  part  of  Africa,  and  sadly  luizzles  the 
novice,  who  does  not  in  the  least  know 
what  can  be  meant  by  "  crowing  "  lor  roots, 
"  crow-water,"  and  the  like.  Crow-water, 
of  course,  is  that  which  is  obtained  by  dig- 
ging holes,  and  is  never  so  good  as  that 
which  can  be  drawn  from  some  open  weU 
or  stream. 

"  Crowing  "  is  verj-  useful  in  house-build- 
ing. The  women  procure  a  number  of 
tolerably  stout  but  pliant  sticks,  some  eight 
or  nine  feet  long,  and  then  "  crow  "  a  corre- 
sponding number  of  holes  in  a  circle  about 
eight  feet  in  diameter.  The  sticks  are 
planted  in  the  holes,  the  tops  bent  down 
and  lashed  together,  and  the  framework  of 
the  house  is  complete.  A  stout  \wle,  with 
a  forked  top,  is  then  set  in  the  middle  of  the 
hut,  and  supports  the  roof,  just  as  a  tent- 
jjole  supports  the  canvas.  Brushwood  is 
then  woven  in  and  out  of  the  framework, 
and  mud  plastered  upon  the  brushwood. 
A  hole  is  left  at  one  side  by  way  of  a  door, 
and  another  at  the  top  to  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  a  chimney.  When  the  fire  is  not 
burning,  an  old  ox-hide  is  laid  over  the 
aperture,  and  kejit  in  its  place  by  heavy 
stones.    Moreover,  as  by  the  heat  of  the 


IGNOEANCE  or  AEITIIMETIC. 


311 


fire  inside  the  hut,  and  the  raj's  of  the  suu 
outside  it,  various  craclvs  nialio  their  appear- 
ance in  the  roof,  hides  are  laid  here  and 
there,  until  at  last  an  old  Damara  hut  is 
nearly  covered  with  hides.  These  act  as 
ventilators  during  the  day,  but  are  carefully 
di'awn  and  closed  at  night;  the  savage,  who 
spends  all  his  day  in  the  open  air,  almost 
invariably  shutting  out  every  breath  of  air 
during  the  night,  and  seeming  to  have  the 
power  of  existing  for  six  or  eight  hours 
without  oxygen.  As  if  to  increase  the 
chance  of  suffocation,  the  Damaras  always 
crowd  into  these  huts,  packing  themselves 
as  closely  as  possible  round  the  small  Are 
which  occupies  the  centre. 

As  to  furniture,  the  Damaras  trouble 
themselves  little  about  such  a  superflu- 
ity. Within  the  hut  may  usually  be  seen 
one  or  two  clay  cooking-pots,  some  wooden 
vessels,  a  couple  of  ox-hides  by  way  of 
chairs,  a  small  bag  of  grease,  another  of  red 
ochre,  and  an  axe  for  chopping  wood.  All 
the  remainder  of  their  property  is  either 
carried  on  their  persons,  or  buried  in  some 
secret  spot  so  that  it  may  not  be  stolen. 

The  intellect  of  the  "Damaras  does  not 
seem  to  be  of  a  very  high  order,  or,  at  all 
events,  it  has  not  lieen  cultivated.  They 
seem  to  fail  most  completely  in  arithmetic, 
and  cannot  even  count  beyond  a  certain 
number.  Mr.  Galton  gives  a  very  amusing 
description  of  a  Damara  in  (hfticulties  with 
a  question  of  simple  arithmetic. 

"  AV^e  went  only  three  hours,  and  slept  at 
the  furthest  watering-place  that  Hans  and  I 
had  explored.  Xow  we  had  to  trust  to  the 
guides,  whose  ideas  of  time  and  distance 
were  most  provokingly  indistinct  ;  besides 
this,  they  have  no  comparative  in  their 
language,  so  that  you  cannot  say  to  them, 
'  Which  is  the  longer  of  the  two,  tlie  next 
stage  or  the  last  one?' but  you  must  say, 
'  The  last  stage  is  little  ;  the  next,  is  it 
great?'  The  reply  is  not,  '  It  is  a  little  longer,' 
'  much  longer,'  or  '  very  much  longer,'  but 
simply,  '  It  is  so,'  or  '  It  is  not  so.'  They 
have  a  very  poor  notion  of  time.  If  you 
say,  '  Suppose  we  start  at  sunrise,  where 
will  the  sun  be  when  we  arrive?'  they  make 
the  wildest  points  in  the  sky,  though  they 
are  something  of  astronomers,  and  give 
names  to  several  stars.  They  have  no  way 
of  distinguishing  days,  but  reckon  by  the 
rainy  season,  the  dry  season,  or  the  pig-nut 
season. 

"  When  inquiries  are  made  about  how 
many  days' journey  off  a  place  may  be,  their 
ignorance  of  all  numerical  ideas  is  very  an- 
noying. In  practice,  whatever  tliey  may 
possess  in  their  language,  they  certain!}'  use 
no  numeral  greater  than  three.  W^hen  they 
wish  to  express  four,  they  take  to  their  An- 
gers, which  arc  to  them  as  formidable  instru- 
ments of  calculation  as  a  sliding  rule  is  to 
an  English  school-boy.  They  puzzle  very 
much  after  five,  because  no  spare  hand  re- 

16 


mains  to  grasp  and  secure  the  fingers  that 
are  required  for  'units.'  Yet  they  seldom 
lose  oxen  :  the  way  in  which  they  discover 
the  loss  of  one  is  not  by  the  number  of  the 
herd  being  diminished,  but  by  the  absence 
of  a  face  they  know. 

"  When  bartering  is  going  on,  each  sheep 
must  be  jiaid  for  separately.  Thus,  suppose 
two  sticks  of  tobacco  to  be  the  rate  of  ex- 
change for  one  sheep,  it  would  sorely  puz- 
zle a  Damara  to  take  two  sheep  and  give 
him  four  sticks.  I  have  done  so,  and  seen 
a  man  first  put  two  of  the  sticks  apart,  and 
take  a  sight  over  them  at  one  of  the  sheep 
he  was  about  to  sell.  Having  satisfied  him- 
self that  that  one  was  honestly  paid  for,  and 
finding  to  his  surprise  that  exactly  two 
sticks  remained  in  hand  to  settle  tlie  ac- 
count for  the  other  sheep,  lie  would  be 
afliicted  with  doubts;  the  transaction  seemed 
to  come  out  too  '  pat '  to  be  correct,  and  he 
would  refer  back  to  the  first  couple  of  sticks; 
and  then  bis  mind  got  hazy  and  confused, 
and  wandered  from  one  sheep  to  the  other, 
and  he  broke  oft"  the  transaction  until  two 
sticks  were  put  into  his  hand,  and  one  sheep 
driven  awaj',  and  then  the  other  two  sticks 
given  him,"  and  the  second  sheep  driven 
away. 

"  When  a  D.amara's  mind  is  bent  upon 
number,  it  is  too  much  occupied  to  dwell  upon 
quantity;  thus  a  heifer  is  bought  from  a 
man  for  ten  sticks  of  tobacco,  his  large 
hands  being  both  spread  out  upon  the 
ground,  and  a  stick  placed  upon  each  fin- 
ger. He  gathers  up  the  tobacco,  the  size 
of  the  mass  pleases  him,  and  the  bargain  is 
struck.  You  then  want  to  buy  a  second 
heifer;  the  same  process  is  gone  through, 
but  half  sticks  instead  of  whole  sticks  are 
put  iqion  his  fingers;  the  man  is  equally 
satisfied  at  the  time,  but  occasionally  finds 
it  out,  and  complains  the  next  day. 

"  Once,  while  I  watched  a  Damara  floun- 
dering hopelessly  in  a  calculation  on  one 
side  of  me,  I  observed  Dinah,  my  spaniel, 
equally  embarrassed  on  the  other.  She  was 
overlooking  half  a  dozen  of  her  new-born 
puppies,  which  had  been  removed  two  or 
three  times  from  her,  and  her  anxiety  was 
excessive,  as  she  tried  to  find  out  if  they 
were  all  present,  or  if  any  were  still  miss- 
ing. She  kept  puzzling  and  running  her 
eyes  over  them  backward  and  forward,  but 
could  not  satisfy  herself.  She  evidently  had 
a  vague  idea  of  counting,  but  the  figure  was 
too  large  for  her  brain.  Taking  the  two  as 
they  stood,  dog  and  Damara,  the  comparison 
reflected  no  great  honor  on  the  man. 

"Hence,  as  the  Damaras  had  the  vaguest 
notions  of  time  and  distance,  and  as  their 
language  was  a  poor  vehicle  for  expressing 
what  ideas  they  had,  and,  lastly,  as  truth- 
telling  was  the  exception  and  not  the  rule, 
I  found  their  information  to  be  of  very  little 
practical  use." 

Although  the  Damaras  managed  to  over- 


312 


THE   DAMARAS. 


run  the  country,  they  cannot  be  consulei-ed 
a  warlike  people,  neither  have  they  been 
able  to  hold  for  any  length  of  tiiiie  the 
very  uninviting  land  they  conquered.  Their 
Weapons  are  few  and  sinijjle,  but,  such  as 
they  are,  much  pains  are  taken  in  their 
manufacture,  and  the  Daniara  warrior  is  as 
careful  to  keep  his  rude  arms  in  good  order 
as  is  the  disciplined  soldier  of  Europe.  The 
chief  and  distinctive  weapon  of  the  Daniara 
is  the  assagai,  which  has  little  in  common 
with  the  weajjous  that  have  already  been 
described  under  that  name.  It  is  about  six 
feet  in  Icngtli,  and  has  an  enormous  blade, 
leaf-shaped,  afoot  or  more  in  length,  and  pro- 
portionately wide.  It  is  made  of  soft  steel, 
and  can  be  at  once  sharpened  by  scraping 
with  a  knife  or  stone.  The  shaft  is  corre- 
spondingly stout,  and  to  the  centre  is  attached 
one  of  the  flowing  ox-tails  which  have  al- 
ready been  mentioned.  Some  of  these  assa- 
gais are  made  almost  wholly  of  iron,  and 
have  only  a  short  piece  of  wood  in  the  mid- 
dle, which  answers  for  a  handle,  as  well  as 
an  attachment  for  the  ox-tail,  which  seems 
to  be  an  essential  part  of  the  Damara  assa- 
gai. 

The  weapon  is,  as  may  be  conjectured,  an 
exceedingly  inefficient  one,  and  the  blade  is 
oftener  used  as  a  knife  than  an  offensive 
weapon.  It  is  certainly  useful  in  the  chase  of 
the  elephant  and  other  large  game,  because 
the  wound  which  it  makes  is  very  large,  and 
causes  r.  great  flow  of  blood;  but  against 
human  enemies  it  is  comparatively  useless. 
Tlie  Damara  also  carries  a  liow  and  arrows, 
which  are  wretchedly  ineflective  weajions. 
the  marksman  seldom  hitting  his  object  at  a 
distance  greater  than  ten  or  twelve  yards. 
The  weapon  which  he  really  handles  well  is 
the  knob-kerrie  or  short  club,  and  this  he 
can  use  either  as  a  club  at  short  quarters, 
or  as  a  missile,  in  the  latter  case  hurling  it 
with  a  force  and  precision  that  i-enders  it 
really  formidable.  Still,  the  Damara's  entire 
armament  is  a  very  poor  one,  and  it  is  not 
matter  of  wonder  that  when  he  came  to 
match  himself  against  the  possessors  of  fire- 
arms he  should  be  hopelessly  defeated. 

In  their  conflicts  with  the  Hottentots, 
the  unfortunate  Damaras  suffered  dreadfully. 
They  were  literally  cut  to  pieces  by  far  in- 
ferior forces,  not  through  any  particular  valor 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  nor  from  any 
especial  cowardice  on  their  own,  luit  simjih' 
because  they  did  not  know  their  own  powers. 
Stalwart  warriors,  well  armed  with  their 
broad-liladed  assagais,  might  be  seen  para- 
lyzed with  fear  at  the  sound  and  effects 
of  the  muskets  with  which  the  Hottentots 
were  armed,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  oc- 
currence for  a  Damara  soldier  to  stand  still 
in  fear  and  trembling  while  a  little  Hotten- 
tot, at  twenty  paces'  distance,  deliberately 
loaded  his  weapon,  and  then  shot  him  down. 
Being  ignorant  of  the  construction  and 
management  of  tire-arms,  the  Damaras  had 


no  idea  that  they  were  harmless  when  dis- 
charged (for  in  those  days  breech-loaders 
and  revolvers  were  alike  unknown  to  the 
Hottentots),  and  therefore  allowed  them- 
selves to  he  deliberately  shot,  while  the 
enemy  was  really  at  their  mercy. 

If  the  men  sutiered  death  iu  the  tiild,  the 
fate  of  the  women  was  worse.  According 
to  the  custom  of  the  Damara  tribe,  fliey 
carried  all  their  wealth  on  their  persons,  in 
the  shape  of  beads,  ear-rings,  and  es|)ecially 
the  large  and  heavy  metal  rings  with  which 
their  ankles  and  wrists  were  adorned.  When- 
ever the  Hottentot  soldiers  came  upon  a 
Damara  woman,  they  always  robbed  her  of 
every  ornament,  tearing  off  all  her  clothing 
to  search  for  them,  and,  as  the  metal  rings 
could  not  be  unclenched  without  some 
trouble,  they  deliberately  cut  off  the  hands 
and  feet  of  the  wretched  woman,  tore  off 
the  rings,  and  left  her  to  live  or  die  as  might 
happen.  Strangely  enough  the}-  often  lived, 
even  after  undergoing  such  treatment;  and, 
after  stanching  the  flowing  blood  by  thrust- 
ing the  stumps  of  their  limbs  into  the  hot 
sand,  some  of  them  contrived  to  crawl  for 
many  miles  until  they  rejoined  their  friends. 
For  some  time  after  the  war,  mainu'd  Da- 
mara women  were  often  seen,  some  being 
without  feet,  others  without  hands,  and 
some  few  without  either — these  having 
been  the  richest  when  assaulted  by  their 
cruel  enemies. 

The  Damaras  are  subdivided  into  a  num- 
ber of  eandas — a  word  which  has  some 
analogy  with  the  Hindoo  "  caste,"  each 
eanda  having  its  peculiar  rites,  supersti- 
tions, &c.  One  eanda  is  called  Ovaku- 
eyuba,  or  the  Sun-children;  another  is 
Ovakuenombura,  or  the  Eain-childreu:  and 
so  on.  The  eandas  have  special  emblems 
or  crests  —  if  such  a  word  may  be  used. 
These  emldems  are  always  certain  trees  oi 
bushes,  which  represent  the  eandas  just  as 
the  red  and  white  roses  represented  the  two 
great  political  parties  of  England.  Each  of 
these  castes  has  some  prohiljited  food,  and 
they  will  almost  starve  rather  than  break 
the  law.  One  eanda  will  not  eat  the  flesh  of 
red  oxen  —  to  another,  the  draught  oxen  are 
prohiliited;  and  so  fastidious  are  they,  that 
they  will  not  touch  the  vessels  in  which  such 
food  might  have  been  cooked,  nor  even  stand 
to  leeward  of  the  fire,  lest  the  smoke  should 
touch  them.  These  practices  cause  the  Da- 
maras to  be  very  troublesome  as  guides,  and 
it  is  not  until  the  leader  h.as  steadily  refused 
to  humor  them  that  they  will  consent  to 
forego  for  the  time  their  antipathies. 

This  custom  is  the  more  extraordinary,  as 
the  Damaras  are  by  nature  and  education 
anything  but  fastidious,  and  they  will  eat  all 
kinds  of  food  which  an  European  would 
reject  with  disgust.  The}'  will  eat  the  flesh  of 
cattle  or  horses  which  have  died  of  disease, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  leopard,  hynena,  an-^l 
other  beasts  of  prey.    In  spite  of  their  un 


THE   WIFE'S  RIGHT  OF  DIVOECE. 


313 


clean  feeding,  they  will  not  eat  raw,  or  even 
underdone  meat,  and  therein  are  certainly 
superior  to  many  other  trilies,  who  seem  to 
think  that  cooking  is  a  needless  waste  of 
time  and  fuel.  Goats  are,  happily  for  them- 
selves, amonii;  the  prohiljited  animals,  and 
are  looked  upon  by  the  Damaras  much  as 
swine  are  by  the  Jews. 

Fond  as  they  are  of  beef,  they  cannot 
conceive  that  any  one  should  consider  meat 
as  part  of  his  daily  food.  On  special  occa- 
sions they  kill  an  ox,  or,  if  the  giver  of  the 
feast  should  happen  to  be  a  rich  man,  six 
or  seven  are  killed.  But,  when  an  ox  is 
slaughtered,  it  is  almost  common  property, 
every  one  within  reach  coming  for  a  portion 
of  it,  and,  if  refused,  threatening  to  annihi- 
late the  stingy  man  with  their  curse.  They 
are  horril)ly  afraid  of  this  curse,  supposing 
that  their  health  will  be  blighted  and  their 
strength  fade  away.  Conserpicntly,  meat  is 
of  no  commercial  va'ue  m  Damara-land,  no 
one  caring  to  possess  food  which  practically 
belongs  to  every  one  except  himself  Cows 
are  kept  for  thfi  sake  of  their  milk,  and  oxen 
(as  Mr.  Galton  says)  merely  to  be  looked  at, 
just  as  deer  are  kept  in  England,  a  few  being 
slaughtered  on  special  occasions,  but  no"t 
being  intended  to  furnish  a  regular  su]iply 
of  food.  Much  as  the  Damaras  value  their 
oxen  when  alive  —  so  much  so,  indeed,  that 
a  fine  of  two  oxen  is  considered  a  sufficient 
reparation  for  murder  —  they  care  little  for 
them  when  dead,  a  living  sheep  being  far 
more  vahiable  than  a  dead  ox.  These  peo- 
ple know  every  ox  that  they  have  ever  seen. 
Their  thoughts  run  on  oxeii  all  day,  and  cat- 
tle form  the  chief  subject  of  theirconversa- 
tion.  Mr.  Galton  found  that,  whenever  he 
came  to  a  new  station,  the  natives  always 
inspected  his  oxen,  to  see  if  any  of  their 
own  missing  cattle  were  among  them;  and 
if  he  had  by  chance  purchased  one  that  had 
been  stolen,  its  owner  would  be  sure  to  pick 
it  out,  and  by  the  laws  of  the  land  is  em- 

Eowered  to  reclaim  it.  Knowing  this  law, 
e  always,  if  possible,  bought  his  oxen  from 
men  in  whose  possession  they  had  been  for 
several  years,  so  that  no  one  would  be  likely 
to  substantiate  a  claim  to  any  of  them. 

When  the  Damaras  are  "at  home,  they 
generally  amuse  themselves  in  the  evening 
by  singing  and  dancing.  Their  music  is  of 
a  very  simple  character,  their  principal  if 
not  only  instrument  being  the  bow,  the 
string  of  which  is  tightisned,  and  then 
struck  with  a  stick  in  a  kind  of  rhythmic 
manner.  The  Damara  musician  thinks  that 
the  chief  object  of  his  performance  is  to 
imitate  the  gallop  or  trot  of  the  various 
animals.  Tliis  he  usually  does  with  great 
skill,  the  test  of  an  accomplished  musician 
being  the  imitation  of  the  clumsy  canter  of 
the  baboon. 

Their  dances  are  really  remarkable,  as 
may  be  seen  by  the  following  extract  from 
the    work    of    Mr.    Baiues;— "At    night, 


dances  were  got  up  among  the  Damaras, 
our  attention  being  first  drawn  to  them  by 
a  sound  between  the  barking  of  a  dog  anil 
the  olforts  of  a  person  to  clear  something 
out  of  his  throat,  by  driving  the  breath 
strongly  through  it.  '  We  found  four  men 
stooping  with  their  heads  in  contact,  vying 
with  each  other  in  the  production  of  these 
delectable  inarticulalions,  while  others,  with 
rattling  anklets  of  hard  seed-shells,  danced 
round  them.  By  degrees  the  company 
gathered  together,  and  the  women  joined 
the  performers,  standing  in  a  semi-circle. 
They  sang  a  monotonous  chant,  and  clajiped 
their  hands,  while  the  young  men  and  boys 
danced  up  to  them,  literally,  and  by  no 
means  gently,  '  beating  the  ground  with 
nimble  feet,'"  raising  no  end  of  dust,  and 
making  their  shell  anklets  sound,  in  their 
opinion,  most  melodiously.  Presently  the 
leader  snatched  a  brand  from  the  fire,  and, 
after  dancing  up  to  the  women  as  before, 
stuck  it  in  tlie  grouml  as  he  retired,  per- 
foi'ming  the  step  round  and  over  it  when  he 
returned,  like  a  Highlander  in  the  broad- 
sword dance,  without  touching  it.  Then 
came  the  return  of  a  victorious  party,  bran- 
dishing their  broad  spears  ornamented  with 
flowing  ox-tails,  welcomed  by  a  chorus  of 
women,  and  occasionally  driving  back  the 
few  enemies  who  had  the  audacity  to  ap- 
proach tliem. 

"  This  scene,  when  acted  by  a  sufficient 
number,  must  be  highly  effective.  As  it 
was,  the  glare  of  the  tire  reflected  from  the 
red  helmet-like  gear  and  glittering  orna- 
ments of  the  women,  the  flashing  blades 
and  waving  ox-tails  of  the  warriors,  with 
the  fitful  glare  playing  on  the  background 
of  huts,  kraal,  and  groups  of  cattle,  was 
picturesque  enough.  The  concluding  guttu- 
ral emissions  of  sound  were  frightful;  the 
dogs  howled  simultaneously;  and  the  little 
lennn-,  terrified  at  the  uproar,  darted  wildly 
about  the  inside  of  the  wagon,  in  vain 
efforts  to  escape  from  what,  in  fact,  was  his 
only  place  of  safety." 

In  Damara-land,  the  authority  of  the 
husband  over  the  wife  is  not  so  superior  as 
in  other  parts  of  Africa.  Of  course,  he  has 
the  advantage  of  superior  strength,  and, 
when  angered,  will  use  the  stick  with  toler- 
ahle  freedom.  But,  if  he  should  be  too  lib- 
eral with  the  stick,  she  has  a  tacit  right  of 
divorce,  and  betakes  herself  to  some  one 
who  will  not  treat  her  so  harshly.  Mr.  Gal- 
ton says  that  the  women  whom  he  saw 
appeared  to  have  but  little  aftection  either 
for  their  husbands  or  children,  and  that  he 
had  always  some  little  difficulty  in  finding 
to  which  man  any  given  wife  happened  for 
the  time  to  belong.  The  Damara  wife  costs 
her  busliand  nothing  for  her  keep,  because 
she  "  crows  "  her  own  groimd-nuts,  and  so 
he  cannot  afford  to  dispense  with  her  ser- 
vices, which  are  so  useful  in  building  his 
house,  cooking  his  meals,  and  carrying  his 


314 


THE  DAMAEAS. 


goods  from  place  to  place.  Each  wife  has 
her  own  hut,  which  of  course  she  builds 
for  herself;  and,  although  polj-gamy  is  in 
vogue,  the  number  of  wives  is  uot  so  great 
as  is  the  case  with  other  tribes.  There  is 
always  one  chief  wife,  who  takes  prece- 
dence of  the  others,  and  whose  eldest  son  is 
considered  the  heir  to  his  father's  posses- 
sions. 

Though  the  Damaras  have  no  real  reli- 
gion, they  have  jilenty  of  sujaerstitious  prac- 
tices, one  of  which  bears  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  the  sacred  tire  of  the  ancients. 
The  chief's  hut  is  distinguished  by  a  fire 
which  is  always  kept  Isurning,  outside  the 
hut  in  flue  weather,  and  inside  during  rain. 
To  watch  this  Are  is  the  duty  of  his  daugh- 
ter, who  is  a  kind  of  priestess,  and  is  called 
fitficially  Ondangere.  She  performs  vari- 
ous rites  in  virtue  of  her  office  ;  such  as 
sprinkling  the  cows  with  water,  as  they  go 
out  to  feed ;  tying  a  sacred  knot  in  her 
leathern  apron,  if  one  of  them  dies  ;  and 
other  similar  duties.  Should  the  position 
of  the  village  be  changed,  she  precedes  the 
oxen,  carrying  a  burning  brand  from  the 
consecrated  (ire,  and  taking  care  that  she 
replaces  it  from  time  to  time.  If  by  anj^ 
chance  it  should  be  extinguished,  great  are 
the  lamentations.  The  whole  tribe  are 
called  together,  cattle  are  sacriflced  as  expi- 
atory offerings,  and  the  fire  is  re-kindled  by 
friction.  If  one  of  the  sons,  or  a  chief  man, 
should  remove  from  the  spot,  and  set  up  a 
village  of  his  own,  he  is  supjiliod  with  some 
of  the  sacred  fire,  and  hands  it  over  to  his 
own  daughter,  who  becomes  the  Ondangere 
of  the  new  village. 

That  the  Damaras  have  some  hazy  notion 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  is  evident 
enough,  though  thej-  profess  not  to  believe 
in  such  a  doctrine ;  for  they  will  sometimes 
go  to  the  grave  of  a  deceased  friend  or 
chief,  lay  down  provisions,  ask  him  to  eat, 
drink,  and  be  merry,  and  then  beg  him,  in 
return,  to  aid  them,  and  grant  them  herds 
of  cattle  and  plenty  of  wives.  Moreover, 
they  believe  that  the  dead  revisit  the  earth, 
though  not  in  the  human  form:  they  gener- 
ally appear  in  the  shape  of  some  animal, 
but  are  always  distinguished  by  a  mixture 
of  some  other  animal.  For  example,  if  a 
Damara  sees  a  dog  with  one  foot  like  that 
of  an  ostrich,  he  knows  that  he  sees  an 
ajiparition,  and  is  respectful  accordingly. 
If  it  should  follow  him.  he  is  dreadfully 
frightened,  knowing  that  his  death  is  prog- 
nosticated thereby.  The  name  of  such  an 
appnrition  is  Otj-yuru. 

When  a  Damara  chief  dies,  he  is  buried 
in  rather  a  peculiar  fashion.  xVs  soon  as 
life  is  extinct  —  some  say,  even  before  the 
last  breath  is  drawn  —  the  bystanders  break 
the  spine  by  a  blow  from  a  large  stone. 
They  then  unwind  the  long  rope  tiiat  encir- 
cles the  loins,  and  lash  the  body  together  in 
a  sitting  posture,  the  head  being  bent  over 


the  knees.  Ox-hides  are  then  tied  over  it. 
and  it  is  buried  with  its  face  to  the  north, 
as  already  described  when  treating  of  the 
Bechuanas.  Cattle  are  then  slaughtered  in 
honor  of  the  dead  chief,  and  over  the  grave 
a  post  is  erected,  to  which  the  skulls  and 
hair  are  attached  as  a  trophy.  The  bow, 
arrows,  assagai,  and  clubs  of  the  deceased 
are  hung  on  the  same  post.  Large  stones 
are  pressed  into  the  soil  above  and  around 
the  grave,  and  a  large  pile  of  thorns  is  also 
heaped  over  it,  in  order  to  keep  otf  the 
hyivnas,  who  would  be  sure  to  dig  up  and 
devour  the  body  before  the  following  day. 
The  grave  of  a  Damara  chief  is  represented 
on  page  302.  Now  and  then  a  chief  orders 
that  his  body  shall  be  left  in  his  own  house, 
in  which  case  it  is  Laid  on  an  elevated  plat- 
form, and  a  strong  fence  of  thorns  and 
stakes  built  round  the  hut. 

The  funeral  ceremonies  being  completed, 
the  new  chief  forsakes  the  place,  and  takes 
the  whole  of  the  people  under  his  com- 
mand. He  remains  at  a  distance  for  several 
years,  during  which  time  he  wears  the  sign 
of  mourning,  i.  c.  a  dark-colored  conical  cap, 
and  round  the  neck  a  thong,  to  the  ends  of 
which  are  hung  two  small  pieces  of  ostrich 
shell. 

When  the  season  of  mourning  is  over,  the 
tribe  return,  headed  by  the  chief,  who  goes 
to  the  grave  of  his  father,  kneels  over  it, 
and  whispers  that  he  has  returned,  together 
with  the  cattle  and  wives  which  his  father 
gave  him.  He  then  asks  for  his  parent's 
aid  in  all  his  undertakings,  and  from  that 
moment  takes  the  (ilace  which  his  father 
filled  before  him.  Cattle  are  then  slaugh- 
tered and  a  feast  held  to  the  memory  of  the 
dead  chief,  and  in  honor  of  the  living  one; 
and  each  person  present  partakes  of  the 
meat,  which  is  distributed  by  the  chief  him- 
self. Tlie  deceased  chief  sj'mbolically  par- 
takes of  the  banquet.  A  coujile  of  twigs 
cut  from  the  tree  of  the  particular  eanda  to 
which  the  deceased  behmged  are  considered 
as  his  representative,  and  with  this  emblem 
each  piece  of  meat  is  touched  before  the 
guests  consmne  it.  In  like  manner,  the 
first  pail  of  milk  that  is  drawn  is  taken  to 
the  grave,  and  poured  over  it. 

These  ceremonies  being  rightly  per- 
formed, the  village  is  built  anew,  and  is 
always  made  to  resemble  that  wliich  had 
been  deserted;  the  huts  being  built  on  the 
same  ground,  and  peculiar  care  being  taken 
that  the  fireplaces  should  occuiiy  exactly 
the  same  positions  that  they  diil  before  the 
tribe  went  into  voluutary  exile.  The  hut 
of  the  chief  is  alwaj's  upon  the  east  side  of 
the  village. 

The  Damaras  have  a  singular  kind  of 
oath,  or  asseveration  —  "By  the  tears  of  my 
mother!  "  —  a  form  of  words  so  poetical  and 
pathetic,  that  it  seems  to  imply  great  moral 
capabilities  among  a  people  that  could  in- 
vent and  use  it. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


Tin:  OVAMBO  OK  OVAMPO  TKIBE. 


LOCAI-ITY  OF  THE  TKLBE  —  THEIR  HONESTY  —  KINDNESS  TO  THE  SICK  AND  AGED  —  DOMESTIC  HABITS  — 
CUKIOCS  DBESS  — THEIR  ARCHITECTURE  —  WOMEN'S  -n-ORK — AGRICULTURE  —  WEAPONS  —  MODE 
OF  CAMPING  —  FISH-CATCHING  —  INGENIOUS  TR.iPS  —  ABSENCE  OF  PAUPERISM  —  D.iNCES  —  GOV- 
ERNMENT OF  THE  OVAMBO  —  THEIR  KING  NANGORO  —  HIS  TREACHEROUS  CHARACTER — MATRI- 
MONIAL AFFAmS  —  THE  LAW  OF  SUCCESSION  —  THEIR  FOOD  — CURIOUS  CUSTOM  AT  MEAL-TLMES  — 
MODE  OF  GREETING  FRIENDS., 


There  is  a  ratner  remarkable  tribe  inhabit- 
in";  the  country  about  lat.  18°  S.  and  long. 
15°  E.  called  by  the  name  of  Ovampo,  or 
OvAMEO,  the  latter  being  the  u.sual  form. 
In  their  own  language  their  name  is  Ova- 
herero,  or  the  Merry  People.  They  are 
remarkable  for  their  many  good  qualities, 
which  are  almost  exceptional  in  Southern 
Africa.  In  the  tirst  place,  they  are  honest, 
and,  as  we  have  already  seen,  hone.sty  is  a 
quality  which  few  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Southern  Africa  seem  to  recognize,  much 
less  to  practise. 

A  traveller  who  finds  himself  among  the 
Damaras,  Namaquas,  or  Bechuanas,  must 
keep  a  watchful  eye  on  every  article  which 
he  possesses,  and,  if  he  leaves  any  object 
exposed  for  a  moment,  it  will  probably 
vanish  in  some  mysterious  manner,  and 
never  be  seen  again.  Yet  Mr.  Auderssen, 
to  whom  we  owe  our  chief  knowledge  of  the 
Ovamljo  tribe,  mentions  that  they  were  so 
thoroughly  honest  that  they  woidd  not  even 
touch  any  of  his  property  without  permis- 
sion, much  less  steal  it;  and,  on  one  occa- 
sion, when  'his  servants  happened  to  leave 
some  trifling  articles  on  the  last  camping 
ground,  messengers  were  despatched  to  him 
with  the  missing  articles.  Among  them- 
selves, theft  is  fully  recognized  as  a  crime, 
and  they  have  arrived  at  such  a  pitch  of 
civilization  that  certain  persons  are  ap- 
pointed to  act  as  magistrates,  and  to  take 
cognizance  of  theft  as  well  as  of  other 
crimes.  If  a  man  were  detected  in  the  act 
of  stealing,  lie  would  be  brought  before  the 
house  of  the  king,  and  there  speared  to 
death. 

They  are  kind  and  attentive  to  their  sick 
and  aged,  and  in  this  respect  contrast  most 


favorably  with  other  tribes  of  Southern  Af- 
rica. Even  the  Zulus  will  desert  those  who 
are  too  old  to  work,  and  will  leave  them  to 
die  of  hunger,  thirst,  and  privation,  wliereas 
the  Ovambo  takes  care  of  the  old,  the  sick, 
and  the  lame,  and  carefully  tends  them. 
This  one  fact  alone  is  sufllcient  to  place 
them  innneasurably  above  the  neighboring 
tribes,  and  to  mark  an  incalculable  advance 
in  moral  development. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  Ovambos 
do  not  live  in  towns  or  villages,  but  in  sepa- 
rate communities  dotted  over  the  land,  each 
family  forming  a  community.  The  corn 
and  grain,  on  which  they  chiefly  live,  are 
planted  round  the  houses,  which  are  sur- 
rounded with  a  strong  and  high  enclosure. 
The  natives  are  obliged  to  live  in  this 
manner  on  account  of  the  conduct  of  some 
neighboring  tribes,  which  made  periodical 
raids  upon  them,  and  inflicted  great  dam- 
age upon  their  cottages.  And,  as  the 
Ovambos  are  a  singularly  peaceable  tribe, 
and  found  that  retaliation  was  not  success- 
ful, they  hit  upon  this  expedient,  and  formed 
each  homestead  into  a  separate  fort. 

Probably  for  the  same  reason,  very  few 
cattle  are  seen  near  the  habitations  of  the 
Ovambos,  and  a  traveller  is  rather  struck 
with  the  fact  that,  although  this  tribe  is 
exceptionally  rich  in  cattle,  possessing  vast 
herds  of  tliem,  a  few  cows  and  goats  are 
their  only  representatives  near  the  houses. 
The  fact  "is,  the  herds  of  cattle  are  sent  away 
to  a  distance  from  the  houses,  so  that  they 
are  not  only  undiseernible  by  an  enemy,  but 
can  find  plenty  of  pasturage  and  water.  It 
is  said  that  they  also  breed  large  herds  of 
swine,  and  have  learned  the  art  of  fiittcning 
them  until  they  attain  gigantic  dimensions, 

(315) 


316 


THE  OVAMBO  OR  OVAMPO  TEIBE. 


The  herds  of  swine,  however,  are  never 
allowed  to  come  near  the  houses,  partly  for 
the  reasons  already  given,  and  partly  on 
account  of  their  mischievous  projjensities. 

The  first  engraving  on  page  32!)  repre- 
sents the  architecture  of  the  Ovambos.  The 
houses,  with  their  fiat,  conical  roofs,  are  so 
low  that  a  man  cannot  stand  upright  in 
them.  But  the  Ovambos  never  want  to 
stand  upright  in  their  houses,  thinking  them 
to  be  merety  sleeping-places  into  which  they 
can  crawl,  and  in  which  they  can  be  shel- 
tered during  the  night.  Two  grain-stores 
are  also  seen,  each  consisting  of  a  huge  jar, 
standing  on  supports,  and  covered  with  a 
thatch  of  reeds.  In  the  background  is  a 
fowl-house.  Poultry  are  much  bred  among 
the  Ovambos,  and  are  of  a  small  description, 
scarcely  larger  than  an  English  bantam. 
They  are,  however,  prolific,  and  lay  an 
abundance  of  eggs. 

The  dress  of  the  Ovambos,  though  scanty, 
is  rather  remarkable.  As  to  the  men,  they 
generally  shave  the  greater  part  of  the  head, 
but  always  leave  a  certain  amount  of  their 
short,  woolly  hair  upon  the  crown.  As  the 
skull  of  the  Ovainbos  is  rather  oddly  formed, 
projecting  considerably  behind,  this  fashion 
gives  the  whole  head  a  very  curious  effect. 
The  rest  of  the  man's  dress  consists  chiefly 
of  beads  and  .sandals,  the  former  being  prin- 
cipally worn  as  necklaces,  and  the  latter 
almost  precisely  resembling  the  Bechuanan 
sandals,  which  have  already  been  described. 
They  generally  carry  a  knife  with  them, 
stuck  into  a  band  tied  round  the  upper  part 
of  the  arm.  The  knife  bears  some  resem- 
blance in  general  make  to  that  of  the  Be- 
chuanas  and  is  made  by  themselves,  thejf 
being  considerable  adepts  in  metallurgy. 
The  bellows  employed  by  the  smiths  much 
resembles  that  which  is  in  use  among  the 
Bechuanas,  and  they  contrive  to  jirocure  a 
strong  and  steady  blast  of  wind  by  fixing 
two  sets  of  bellows  at  each  forge,  and  hav- 
ing them  worked  by  two  assistants,  while 
the  chief  smith  attends  to  the  metal  and 
wields  his  stone  hammer.  The  metal,  such 
as  iron  and  copjier,  which  they  use,  they  ob- 
tain by  barter  from  neighboring  tribes,  and 
work  it  with  such  skill  that  their  weapons, 
axes,  and  agricultural  tools  are  employed  by 
them  as  a  medium  of  exchange  to  the  very 
tribes  from  whom  the  ore  had  been  pur- 
chased. 

The  women  have  a  much  longer  dress 
than  that  of  the  other  sex,  but  it  is  of  rather 
scanty  dimensions.  An  oddly-shaped  apron 
hangs  in  front,  and  another  behind,  the  ordi- 
nary form  much  resembling  the  head  of  an 
axe,  with  the  edge  downward. 

The  portrait  on  the  next  page  was  taken 
from  a  sketch  by  Mr.  Baines,and  represents 
the  only  true  Ovambo  that  he  ever  saw. 
"While  he  was  at  Otjikango  K.atiti,  or  "  Little 
Barman,"  a  Hottentot  chief,  named  Jan 
Aris,  brought  out  a  young  Ovambo  girl, 


saying  that  she  was  intrusted  to  him  for 
education.  Of  course,  the  real  fact  was,  that 
she  had  been  captured  in  a  raid,  and  was 
acting  as  servant  to  his  wife,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  the  celebrated  Jonker,  and  was 
pleased  to  entitle  herself  the  Victoria  of 
Damara-land.  The  girl  was  about  fourteen, 
and  was  exceedingly  timid  at  the  sight  of 
the  stranger,  turning  her  back  on  him,  hid- 
ing her  "fiice,  and  bursting  into  tears  of 
fright.  This  attitude  gave  an  opportunity 
of  sketching  a  remarkable  dress  of  the 
Ovambo  girl,  the  rounded  piece  of  hide 
being  decorated  with  blue  beads.  When 
she  was  persuaded  that  no  harm  would  be 
done  to  her,  she  turned  round  and  entered 
into  conversation,  thereby  giving  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  second  sketch.  Attached  to 
the  same  belt  which  sustains  the  cushion 
was  a  small  apron  of  skin,  and  besides  this 
no  other  dress  was  worn.  She  was  a  good- 
looking  girl,  and,  if  her  face  had  not  been 
disfigured  by  the  tribal  marks,  might  have 
even  been  considered  as  pretty. 

The  headdress  of  the  women  consists 
chiefly  of  their  own  hair,  but  they  con- 
tinually stiflen  it  with  grease,  which  they 
press  on  the  head  in  cakes,  adding  a  vermil- 
ion-colored cla}',  and  using  both  substances 
in  such  profu.sion  that  the  top  of  the  head 
looks  quite  flat,  and  much  larger  than  it  is 
by  nature.  The  same  mixture  of  grease 
and  clay  is  abundantly  rubbed  over  the 
body,  so  that  a  woman  in  full  dress  imparts 
a  portion  of  her  decorations  to  every  object 
with  which  she  comes  in  contact. 

Round  their  waists  they  wear  such  masses 
of  beads,  shells,  and  other  ornaments,  that  a 
solid  kind  of  cuirass  is  made  of  them,  and 
the  centre  of  the  body  is  quite  covered  with 
these  decorations.  Many  of  the  women  dis- 
play much  taste  in  the  arrangement  of  tha 
beads  and  shells,  forming  them  into  pat- 
terns, and  contrasting  their  various  hues  in 
quite  an  artistic  manner.  Besides  this  bead 
cuirass,  they  wear  a  vast  number  of  neck- 
laces and  armlets  made  of  the  same  mate- 
rials. Their  wrists  and  ankles  are  loaded 
with  a  profusion  of  huge  copper  rings,  some 
of  which  weigh  as  nnich  as  three  pounds; 
and,  as  a  woman  will  sometimes  have  two 
of  these  rings  on  each  ankle,  it  may  be 
imagined  that  the  grace  of  her  deportment 
is  not  at  all  increased  by  them.  Young 
girls,  before  they  are  of  sufficient  conse- 
quence to  obtain  "these  ornaments,  and  while 
they  have  to  be  content  with  the  slight  ap- 
jjarel  of  their  sex,  are  as  graceful  as  needs 
be,  but  no  woman  can  be  expected  to  look 
graceful  or  to  move  lightly  when  she  has  to 
carry  about  with  her  such  an  absurd  weight 
of  ornaments.  Moreover,  the  daily  twelve 
hours'  work  of  the  women  tends  greatly 
toward  the  deterioration  of  their  figures. 
To  them  belongs,  as  to  all  other  South  Afri- 
can women,  the  labor  of  building  the  houses. 

The  severity  of  this  labor  is  indeed  great, 


(,an; 


WOMEX'S  WOKE. 


319 


when  we  take  into  consideration  the  dimen- 
sious  of  the  enclosures.  The  liouses  tlieni- 
selves  do  not  require  nearly  so  much  work 
as  those  of  the  Bechuanas,  for,  althougli 
they  are  of  nearly  the  same  dimensions,  i.  e. 
from  fourteen  to  twenty  feet  in  diameter, 
they  are  comparatively  low  pitched,  and 
therefore  need  less  material  and  less  labor. 
A  number  of  these  houses  are  placed  in  each 
enclosure,  the  best  being  for  the  master  and 
his  immediate  family,  and  the  others  for  the 
servants.  There  are  besides  grain-stores, 
houses  for  cattle,  fowl-houses,  and  even  sties 
for  pigs,  one  or  two  of  the  animals  being 
generally  kept  in  each  homestead,  though 
the  herd's  are  rigidly  excluded.  Within  the 
same  enclosure  are  often  to  be  seen  a  num- 
ber of  ordinary  Bosjesman  huts.  These 
belong  to  members  of  that  strange  tribe, 
many  of  whom  have  taken  up  their  resi- 
dence with  the  Orambos,  and  live  in  a  kind 
of  relationship  with  them,  partly  considered 
as  vassals,  partly  as  servants,  and  partly  as 
kinsfolk. 

Moreover,  within  the  palisade  is  an  open 
space  in  which  the  inhabitants  can  meet  for 
amusement  and  consultation,  and  the  culti- 
vated ground  is  also  included,  so  that  the 
amount  of  labor  expended  in  making  the 
palisade  can  easily  be  imagined.  The  pali- 
sade is  composed  of  poles  at  least  eight  feet 
in  length,  and  of  corresponding  stoutness, 
each  being  a  load  for  an  ordinary  laborer. 
These  are  fixed  in  the  ground  at  short  inter- 
vals from  eacli  other,  and  firmly  secured  by 
means  of  rope  lashing. 

As  to  the  men,  they  take  the  lighter 
departments  of  field  work,  attend  to  the 
herds  of  cattle,  and  go  on  trading  expedi- 
tions among  the  Damaras  and  other  tribes. 
The  first  of  these  labors  is  not  very  severe, 
as  the  land  is  wonderfully  fertile.  The 
Ovambos  need  not  the  heavy  tools  which  a 
Kaftir  woman  is  obliged  to  use,  one  hoe  being 
a  tolerable  load.  The  surface  of  the  ground 
is  a  flinty  sand  soil,  but  at  a  short  distance 
beneath  is  a  layer  of  blue  clay,  which  appears 
to  be  very  rich,  and  to  be  able  to  nourish  the 
plants  without  the  aid  of  manures.  A  very 
small  hoe  is  used  for  agriculture,  and,  instead 
of  digging  up  the  whole  surface,  the  Ovam- 
bos merely  dig  little  holes  at  intervals,  drop 
a  handful  of  corn  into  them,  cover  them  up, 
and  leave  them.  This  task  is  always  per- 
formed at  the  end  of  the  rainy  season,  so 
that  the  ground  is  full  of  moisture,  and  the 
young  blades  soon  spring  up.  They  are 
then  thinned  out,  and  planted  separately. 

When  the  corn  is  ripe,  the  women  take 
possession  of  it,  and  the  men  are  free  to 
catch  elephants  in  pitfalls  for  the  sake  of 
their  tusks,  and  to  go  on  trading  expeditions 
with  the  ivory  thus  obtained.  When  the 
grain  is  beaten  out  of  the  husks,  it  is  placed 
in  the  storehouses,  being  kept  in  huge  jars 
made  of  palm  leaves  and  clay,  much  resem- 
bling those  of  the  Bechuauas",  and,  like  them, 


raised  a  foot  or  so  from  the  ground.  Grind- 
ing, or  rather  pounding  the  grain,  also  falls 
tothe  lot  of  the  women,  and  is  not  done 
with  stones,  but  by  means  of  a  rude  mortar. 
A  tree  trunk  is  hollowed  out,  so  as  to  form 
a  tube,  and  into  this  tube  the  grain  is  thrown. 
A  stout  and  heavy  pole  answers  the  purpose 
of  a  pestle,  and  the  whole  process  much 
resembles  that  of  making  butter  in  the  old- 
fashioned  churn. 

The  illustration  No.  2  on  page  317  is  from 
an  original  sketch  by  T.  Baines,  Esq.,  and 
exhibits  a  domestic  scene  within  an  Ovambo 
homestead.  Two  women  are  pounding  com 
in  one  of  their  mortars,  accompanied  by 
their  children.  On  the  face  of  one  of  them 
may  be  seen  a  series  of  tribal  marks.  These 
are  scars  produced  by  cutting  the  cheeks 
and  rubbing  clay  into  the  wounds,  and  are 
thought  to  be  ornamental.  In  the  fore- 
ground lies  an  oval  object  pierced  with 
holes.  This  is  a  child's  toy,  made  of  the 
fruit  of  a  baobab.  Several  holes  are  cut  in 
the  rind,  and  the  pulp  squeezed  out.  The 
hard  seeds  are  allowed  to  remain  witliin  the 
fruit,  and  when  dry  they  produce  a  rattling 
sound  as  the  child  shakes  its  simple  toy.  In 
a  note  attached  to  his  sketch,  Mr.  Baines 
states  that  this  is  the  only  example  of  a 
child's  toy  that  he  found  throughout  the 
whole  of  Southern  Africa.  Its  existence 
seems  to  show  the  real  superiority  of  this 
remarkable  tribe.  In  the  background  are 
seen  a  hut  and  two  gi'anaries,  and  against 
the  house  is  leaning  one  of  the  simple  hoes 
with  which  the  ground  is  cultivated.  The 
reader  will  notice  that  the  iron  blade  is  set 
iu  a  liue  with  the  handle,  and  not  at  right 
angles  to  it.  A  water-])i]3e  lies  on  the 
ground,  and  the  whole  is  enclosed  by  the 
lofty  palisades  lashed  together  near  the  top. 

The  weapons  of  the  Ovambo  trilje  are 
very  simple,  as  it  is  to  be  expected  from  a 
people  who  are  essentially  peaceful  and  un- 
warlike.  They  consist  chiefly  of  an  assagai 
with  a  large  blade,  much  like  that  of  the 
Damaras,  and  quite  as  useless  for  warlike 
pui'poses,  bow  and  arrows,  and  the  knob- 
kerrie.  None  of  them  are  very  formidable 
weapons,  and  the  bow  and  arrows  are  per- 
haps the  least  so  of  the  three,  as  the  Ovam- 
bos are  wretched  marksmen,  being  infinitely 
surpassed  in  the  use  of  the  bow  by  the  Da- 
maras and  the  Bosjesmaus,  who  olstain  a 
kind  of  skill  by  using  the  bow  in  the  chase, 
though  they  would  be  easily  beaten  in  range 
and  aim  by  a  tenth-rate  English  amateur 
archer. 

When  on  the  march  they  have  a  very  in- 
genious mode  of  encamping.  Instead  of 
lighting  one  large  fire  and  lying  round  it,  as 
is  the  usual  custom,  their  first  care  is  to  col- 
lect a  number  of  stones  about  as  large  as 
bricks,  and  with  these  to  build  a  series  of 
circular  fireplaces,  some  two  feet  in  diame- 
ter. These  fireplaces  are  arranged  in  a 
double  row,  and  between  them  the  travel- 


320 


THE   OVAMBO   OR  OVAMPO  TRIBE. 


lers  make  up  tlieir  primitive  couches.  This 
is  a  really  ingenious  plan,  and  especially 
suited  to  the  country.  In  a  place  where 
large  timher  is  plentiful,  the  custom  of  mak- 
ing huge  fires  is  well  enough,  though  on  a 
cold  windy  night  the  traveller  is  likely  to 
be  scorched  on  one  side  and  frozen  on  the 
other.  But  in  Ovambo-land,  as  a  rule, 
sticks  are  the  usual  fuel,  and  it  will  be  seen 
that,  by  the  employment  of  these  stones, 
the  heat  is  not  only  concentrated  but  econ- 
omized, the  stones  radiating  the  heat  long 
after  tlie  fire  has  expired.  These  small 
fires  are  even  safer  than  a  single  large  one, 
for,  when  a  large  log  is  burned  through  and 
falls,  it  is  apt  to  scatter  burning  embers  to  a 
considerable  distance,  some  of  which  might 
fall  on  the  sleepers  and  set  fire  to  tlieir 
beds. 

The  Ovambos  are  successful  cultivators, 
and  raise  vegetables  of  many  kinds.  The 
ordinary  Kaffir  corn  and  a  kind  of  millet 
are  the  two  grains  which  are  most  plentiful, 
and  the}'  possess  the  advantage  of  having 
stems  some  eight  feet  in  length,  juicy  and 
sweet.  When  the  corn  is  reaped,  the  cars 
are  merely  cut  off,  and  the  cattle  then  turned 
into  the  field  to  feed  on  the  sweet  stems, 
which  are  of  a  very  fattening  character. 
Beans,  peas,  and  similar  vegetables  are  in 
great  favor  with  the  Ovambos,  who  also  cul- 
tivate successfully  the  melon,  pumpkins, 
calabashes,  and  other  kindred  fruits.  They 
also  grow  tobacco,  which,  however,  is  of  a 
very  poor  quality,  not  so  much  on  account 
of  the  inferior  character  of  the  plant,  as  of 
the  imperfect  mode  of  curing  and  storing 
it.  Taking  the  leaves  and  stalks,  and  mash- 
ing them  into  a  hollow  piece  of  wood,  is  not 
exactly  calculated  to  improve  the  flavor  of 
the  leaf,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  the 
tobacco  is  of  such  bad  quality  that  none  but 
an  Ovambo  will  use  it. 

There  is  a  small  tribe  of  the  Ovambos, 
called  the  Ovaquangari,  inhabiting  the 
banks  of  the  Okovango  river,  who  live 
much  on  fish,  and  have  a  singularly  ingen- 
ious mode  of  capturing  them.  Mr.  Anders- 
sen  gives  the  following  account  of  the  fish- 
traps  employed  by  the  Ovoquangari:  — 
'•  The  river  Okovango  abounds,  as  I  have 
already  said,  in  fish,  and  that  in  great  vari- 
ety. During  my  very  limited  stay  on  it? 
banks,  I  collected  nearly  twenty  distinct 
species,  and  might,  though  very  inadequately 
provided  with  the  means  of  preserving  them, 
unquestionably  have  doubled  them,  had  suf- 
ficient time  been  afforded  me.  All  I  dis- 
covered were  not  only  edible,  but  highly 
palatable,  some  of  them  possessing  even  an 
exquisite  flavor. 

"  Many  of  the  natives  devote  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  their  time  to  fishing,  and 
employ  various  simple,  ingenious,  and  highly 
eflective  contrivances  for  catching  the  finny 
tribe.  Few  fish,  however,  are  caught  in  the 
river  itself.    It  is  in  the  numerous  shallows 


and  lagoons  immediately  on  its  borders,  and 
formed  by  its  animal  overflow,  that  the  great 
draughts  are  made.  The  fishing  season,  in- 
deed, only  commences  in  earnest  at  about  the 
time  that  the  Okovango  reaches  its  highest 
water-mark,  that  is,  when  it  has  ceased  to 
ebb,  and  the  temporary  lagoons  or  swamps 
alluded  to  begin  to  disappear. 

'■  To  the  best  of  my  belief,  the  Ovaquan- 
gari do  not  employ  nets,  but  trajis  of  various 
kinds,  and  what  may  not  inaptly  be  called 
aquatic  yards,  for  the  capture  of  fish.  These 
fishing  yards  are  certain  spots  of  eligible 
water,  enclosed  or  fenced  off  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  —  A  quantity  of  reeds,  of  such 
length  as  to  suit  the  water  for  which  they 
are  intended,  are  collected,  put  into  bundles, 
and  cut  even  at  both  ends.  These  reeds 
are  then  sju-ead  in  single  layers  flat  on  the 
ground,  and  sewed  together  very  much  in 
the  same  way  as  ordinary  mats,  but  b}'  a  less 
laborious  process.  It  does  not  much  matter 
what  the  length  of  these  mats  may  be,  as 
they  can  be  easily  lengthened  or  shortened 
as  need  may  require. 

"  When  a  locality  has  been  decided  on  for 
fishing  operations,  a  certain  number  of  these 
mattings  are  introduced  into  the  water  on 
their  ends,  that  is,  in  a  vertical  position, 
and  are  placed  either  in  a  circle,  semi- 
circle, or  a  line,  according  to  the  shape  of 
the  lagoon  or  shallow  which  is  to  be  en- 
closed. Open  sjiaces,  from  three  to  four 
feet  wide,  are,  however,  left  at  certain  inter- 
vals, and  into  these  apertures  the  toils,  con- 
sisting of  beehive-shaped  masses  of  reeds, 
are  introduced.  The  diameter  of  these  at 
the  mouth  varies  with  the  depth  to  which 
the}'  have  to  descend,  the  lower  side  being 
firmly  fastened  to  the  bottom  of  the  water, 
whilst  the  upper  is  usually  on  a  level  with 
its  surface,  or  slightly  rising  above  it.  In 
order  thoroughly  to  disguise  these  ingenious 
traps,  grasses  and  weeds  ai'c  thrown  care- 
lessly over  and  around  them." 

The  Ovambos  are  fond  of  amusing  them- 
selves with  a  dance,  which  seems  to  be  ex- 
ceedingly agreeable  to  the  performers,  but 
which  couhtnot  be  engaged  in  by  those  who 
are  not  well  practised  in  its  odd  evolu- 
tions. The  dancers  are  all  men,  and  stand 
in  a  doulile  row,  back  to  back.  The  music, 
consisting  of  a  drum  and  a  kind  of  guitar, 
then  strikes  up,  and  the  ])erforniers  begin 
to  move  from  side  to  side,  so  as  to  pass  and 
repass  each  other.  Suddenly,  one  of  the 
performers  spins  round,  and  delivers  a  tre- 
mendous kick  at  the  individual  who  happens 
then  to  bo  in  front  of  him;  and  the  gist  of 
the  dance  consists  in  planting  your  own 
kick  and  avoiding  that  of  others.  This 
dance  takes  ]ilace  in  the  evening,  and  is 
lighted  by  torches  made  simply  of  dried 
palm  branches.  Nangoro  used  to  give  a 
dance  every  evening  in  his  palace  yard, 
which  was  a  most  intricate  building,  a  hun- 
dred yards  or  so  in  diameter,  and  a  very 


CHAEACTER  OF  NANC40R0. 


321 


labyrinth  of  paths  leading  to  danfing-floors, 
thresliiug-tloors,  corn  stores,  women's  apart- 
ments, anil  the  like. 

Among  tlie  Ovambos  there  is  no  pauper- 
ism. This  may  not  seem  to  be  an  astonisli- 
ing  fact  to  those  who  entertain  the  pojjular 
idea  of  savage  life,  namel_y,  that  with  them 
there  is  no  distinction  of  rich  and  poor, 
master  and  servant.  But,  in  fact,  the  dis- 
tinctions of  rank  are  nowhere  more  shari)ly 
defined  than  among  savages.  The  king  oi- 
chief  is  aiiproached  with  a  ceremony  which 
almost  amounts  to  worship;  the  superior 
exacts  homage,  and  the  inferior  pays  it. 
Wealth  is  as  much  sought  after  among  sav- 
ages as  among  Europeans,  and  a  rich  man 
is  fjuite  as  much  respected  on  account  of 
his  wealth  as  if  he  had  lived  in  Europe  all 
his  life.  The  poor  become  servants  to  the 
rich,  and,  practically,  are  their  slaves,  being 
looked  down  upon  with  supreme  contempt. 
Pauperism  is  as  common  in  Africa  as  it 
is  in  Europe,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
credit  to  the  Ovambos  that  it  is  not  to  be 
found  among  them. 

The  Ovambos  are  ruled  by  a  king,  and 
entertain  great  contempt  for  all  the  trilies 
who  do  not  enjoy  th.at  privilege.  They 
acknowledge  petty  chiefs,  each  head  of  a 
family  taking  rank  as  such,  but  prefer  mon- 
archy to  any  other  form  of  government. 
As  is  the  case  witli  many  other  tribes,  the 
king  becomes  enormously  fat,  and  is  generally 
the  only  obese  man  in  the  country.  Nangoro, 
who  was  king  some  few  years  ago,  was  espe- 
cially remarkable  for  his  enormous  dimen- 
sions, wherein  he  even  exceeded  Panda,  the 
Kafhr  monarch.  He  was  so  fat  that  his  gait 
was  reduced  to  a  mere  waddle,  and  his  breath 
was  so  short  that  he  was  obliged  to  halt 
at  every  few  paces,  and  could  not  speak 
two  consecutive  sentences  without  suftering 
great  inconvenience,  so  that  in  ordinary  con- 
versation his  part  mostly  consisted  of  mono- 
syllabic grunts.  His  character  was  as  much 
in  contrast  to  those  of  his  subjects  as  was 
his  ]5erson.  He  was  a  very  unpleasant 
individual,  —  seltish,  cunning,  and  heartless. 
After  witnessing  the  eft'ect  of  the  fire-arms 
used  by  Iiis  white  visitors,  he  asked  them 
to  ]n'0ve  their  weapons  by  shooting  elephants. 
Had  the}'  iallen  into  the  trap  which  was 
laid  for  tliera,  be  would  liave  delayed  their 
departure  by  all  kinds  of  quibbles,  kept  up 
the  work  of  elephant-shooting,  and  have 
taken  all  the  ivory  himself. 

After  they  had  left  his  country,  Nangoro 
despatched  a  Ijody  of  men  after  them,  witli 
orders  to  kill  them  all.  The  commander  of 
the  party,  however,  took  a  dislike  to  his 
mission  —  probably  from  having  witnessed 
the  etfect  of  conical  bullets  when  tired  by  tlie 
white  men  —  and  took  his  men  home  again. 
One  party,  however,  was  less  fortunate,  and 
a  fight  ensued.  Mr.  Green  and  some  friends 
visited  Nangoro,  and  were  received  very 
hospitably.     But,  just    before    they  were 


about  to  leave  the  district,  they  were  sud- 
denly attacked  liy  a  strong  force  of  the 
Ovambos,  some  six  hundred  in  number,  all 
well  armed  with  tlieir  native  weapons,  the 
flow,  the  knob-kerrie,  and  the  assagai,  while 
the  armed  Europeans  were  only  thirteen  in 
uumljer. 

Fortunately,  the  attack  was  not  entirely 
unsuspected,  as  sundry  little  events  had 
ha])i)ened  wdiich  put  the  travellers  on  their 
guard.  The  conflict  was  very  severe,  and 
in  the  end  the  Ovambos  were  completely 
defeated,  having  many  killed  and  wounded, 
and  among  the  former  one  of  Nangoro's 
sons.  The  Europeans,  on  the  contrary,  only 
lost  one  man,  a  native  attendant,  wlio  was 
treacherously  stablicd  before  the  figlit  liegan. 
The  most  remarkable  part  of  the  fight  was, 
that  it  caused  the  death  of  the  treacherous 
king,  who  was  present  at  the  battle.  Al- 
though he  had  seen  tiro-arms  used,  lie  had  a 
jioor  oiiinion  of  their  power,  and  had,  more- 
over, only  seen  occasional  shots  fired  at  a 
mark.  The  repeated  discharges  that  stunned 
his  ears,  and  the  sight  of  liis  men  falling 
dead  and  dying  .aliout  him,  terrified  him  so 
exceedingly  that  he  died  on  the  spot  from 
sheer  fright. 

The  private  character  of  this  cowardly 
traitor  was  by  no  means  a  pleasant  one,  and 
he  had  a  petty  way  of  revenging  himself  for 
any  fancied  slight.  On  one  occasion,  when 
some  native  beer  was  oflered  to  Mr.  Anders- 
sen,  and  declined  in  consequence  of  an 
attack  of  illness,  Xangoro,  who  was  sitting 
in  front  of  the  traveller,  suddenly  thrust  at 
him  violently  with  his  sceptre,  and  caused 
great  ]iain.  This  he  passed  off  as  a  practical 
joke,  though,  as  the  sceptre  was  simplj-  a 
pointed  stick,  the  joke  was  anything  but 
agreeable  to  its  victim.  The  real  reason  for 
this  sudden  assault  was,  that  Mr.  Anderssen 
lia<l  refused  to  grant  the  king  some  request 
which  he  had  made. 

He  became  jealous  and  sulky,  and  took  a 
contemptilile  pleasure  in  thwarting  his  white 
visitors  in  every  way.  Their  refusal  to  shoot 
elephant?.,  ami  to  undergo  all  the  dangers  of 
the  hunt,  while  he  was  to  have  all  the  profits, 
was  a  never-failing  source  of  anger,  and 
served  as  an  excuse  for  refusing  all  accom- 
modation. They  could  not  even  go  half  a 
mile  out  of  camp  without  first  obtaining  per- 
mission, and,  when  they  asked  for  guides  to 
direct  them  on  their  journey,  he"  refused, 
saying  that  those  who  would  not  shoot  ele- 
phants for  him  should  have  no  guides  from 
him.  In  fine,  he  kept  them  in  his  country 
until  he  had  exacted  from  them  everything 
which  they  could  give  him,  and,  by  way  of 
royal  remuneration  for  their  gifts,  once  "sent 
them  a  small  baskt't  of  flour.  He  was  then 
glad  to  get  rid  of  them,  evidently  fearing 
that  he  sliould  have  to  feed  them",  and,  by 
way  of  extraordinary  generosity,  expedited 
tlieir  departure  with  a  present  of  corn,  not 
from  his  own  stores,  but  from  those  of  his 


322 


THE   OVAMBO  OR  OVAMPO  TRIBE. 


subjects,  and  which,  moreover,  arrived  too 
late.  His  treacherous  conduct  in  sendinj; 
after  tlie  European  party,  and  the  failure  of 
his  plans,  have  already  l)een  mentioned. 

Tlie  Ovambo  tribe  are  allowed  to  have  as 
many  wives  as  they  please,  provided  that 
they  can  be  purcliased  at  the  ordinary  price. 
Tills  ])rice  differs,  not  so  much  from  the 
charms  or  accomplishments  of  the  bride,  as 
from  the  wealth  of  the  suitor.  The  price  of 
wives  is  much  lower  than  among  the  Kaffirs, 
two  oxen  and  one  cow  being  considered  the 
ordinary  sum  which  a  man  in  humble  cir- 
cumstances is  expected  to  pay,  while  a  man 
of  some  wealth  cannot  purchase  a  wife  under 
three  oxen  and  two  cows.  The  only  excep- 
tion to  tliis  rule  is  afforded  liy  the  king  him- 
self, who  takes  as  many  wives  as  he  pleases 
without  jjayijig  for  them,  the  honor  of  his 
alliance  being  considered  a  sufficient  re- 
muneration. One  wife  always  takes  the 
chief  place,  and  the  successor  to  the  rank 
and  property  of  liis  father  is  always  one  of 
her  children.  The  law  of  royal  succession 
is  very  simple.  When  the  king  dies,  the 
eldest  son  of  his  chief  wife  succeeds  him,  but 
if  she  has  no  son,  then  the  daughter  assumes 
the  sce])tre.  This  was  the  case  with  the  fat 
king,  Nangoro,  whose  daughter  Chipanga 
was  the  heir-apparent,  and  afterward  suc- 
ceeded him. 

It  is,  however,  very  difficult  to  give  pre- 
cise information  on  so  delicate  a  subject. 
The  Ovamlio  tribe  cannot  endure  to  speak, 
or  even  to  think,  of  the  state  of  man  after 
death,  and  merely  to  allude  to  the  successor 
of  a  chief  gives  dire  offence,  as  the  mention 
of  an  heir  to  projjerty,  or  a  successor  to  rank, 
imjilies  the  death  of  the  present  chief.  For 
the  same  reason,  it  is  most  difficult  to  ex- 
tract any  information  from  them  respecting 
their  ideas  of  religion,  and  any  questions 
upon  the  subject  are  instantly  checked. 
That  they  have  some  notions  of  religion  is 
evident  enough,  though  they  degrade  it  into 
mere  superstition.  Charms  of  various  kinds 
they  value  exceedingly,  though  they  seem 
to  be  regarded  more  as  safeguards  against 
injury  from  man  or  beast  than  as  possessing 
any  sanctity  of  their  own.  Still,  the  consti- 
tutional reticence  of  the  Ovambo  tribe  on 
such  subjects  may  cause  them  to  deny  such 
sanctity  to  others,  though  they  acknowledge 
it  among  themselves. 

As  is  the  case  with  many  of  the  South 
African  tribes,  the  Ovambos "make  great  use 
of  a  kind  of  coarse  porridge.  They  always 
eat  it  hot,  and  mix  with  it  a  quantity  of 
clotted  milk  or  semi-liquid  butter.  They 
are  quite  independent  of  spoons  at  their 
meals,  and,  in  spite  of  the  nature  of  their 
food,  do  not  even  use  the  brush-spoon  that 
is  employed  by  the  Hottentots. 

Mr.  Anderssen,  while  ti-avelling  in  the 
land  of  the  Ovambos,  was  hospitably  re- 
ceived at  a  house,  and  invited  to  dinner. 
Ko  spoons  were  provided,  and  he  did  not 


see  how  he  was  to  eat  porridge  and  milk 
without  such  aid.  "  On  seeing  the  dilemma 
we  were  in,  our  host  (juickly  plunged  his 
greasy  fingers  into  the  middle  of  the  steam- 
ing mass,  and  Ijrought  out  a  handful,  which 
he  dashed  into  the  milk.  Having  stirred  it 
quickly  round  with  all  his  might,  he  next 
opened  his  capacious  mouth,  in  which  the 
agreealile  mixture  vanished  as  if  by  magic. 
He  finally  licked  his  fingers,  and  smacked 
his  lips  with  evident  satisfaction,  looking  at 
us  as  much  as  to  say,  '  That's  the  trick,  niy 
boys  ! '  However  unpleasant  this  initiation 
might  have  appeared  to  us,  it  would  have 
been  ungrateful,  if  not  offensive,  to  refuse. 
Therefore  we  commenced  in  earnest,  accord- 
ing to  example,  emptying  the  dish,  and 
occasionally  burning  our  fingers,  to  the 
great  amusement  ot'  our  swarthy  friends." 

On  one  occasion,  the  same  traveller,  who 
was  accompanied  by  some  Damaras,  fell  in 
with  a  party  of  Ovambos,  who  gave  them  a 
quantity  of  porridge  meal  of  millet  in  ex- 
change for  meat.  Both  jiarties  were  equally 
pleased,  the  one  having  had  no  animal  food 
for  a  long  time,  and  the  other  having  lived 
on  flesh  diet  until  they  were  thoroughly 
tired  of  it.  A  great  feast  was  the  immediate 
result,  the  Ovambos  revelling  in  the  un- 
wonted luxury  of  meat,  and  the  Europeans 
and  Damaras  only  too  glad  to  obtain  some 
vegetable  food.  The  feast  resembled  all 
others,  except  that  a  singular  ceremony  was 
insisted  upon  by  the  one  jiarty,  and"  sub- 
mitted to  by  the  other.  The  Damaras  had 
a  fair  share  of  the  lianquet,  but,  before  they 
were  allowed  to  begin  their  meal,  one  of  the 
Ovambos  went  round  to  them,  and,  after 
tilling  his  mouth  with  water,  spirted  a  little 
of  the  liquid  into  their  faces. 

Tliis  extraordinary  ceremony  was  inven- 
ted by  the  king  Nangoro  when  he  was  a 
young  man.  Among  their  other  supersti- 
tions, the  Ovambos  have  an  idea  that  a  man  is 
peculiarly  susceptible  to  witchcraft  at  meal- 
times, and  that  it  is  possible  for  a  wizard  to 
charm  away  the  life  of  any  one  with  whom 
he  may  happen  to  eat.  Consequently,  all 
kinds  of  counter-charms  are  employed,  and, 
as  the  one  in  question  was  invented  by  the 
king,  it  was  soon  adopted  by  his  loj'al  sub- 
jects, and  became  fashionable  throughout 
the  land.  So  wedded  to  this  charm  was 
Nangoro  himself,  that  when  Mr.  Galton  first 
visited  him  he  was  equally  alarmed  and 
amazed  at  the  refusal  of  the  white  man  to 
submit  to  the  aspersion.  At  last  he  agreed 
to  compromise  the  matter  by  anointing  his 
visitor's  head  with  butter,  but,  as  soon  as 
beer  was  produced,  he  again  became  sus- 
picious, and  would  not  partake  of  it,  nor 
even  remain  in  the  house  while  it  was  being 
drunk. 

He  would  not  even  have  consented  to  the 
partial  compromise,  but  for  a  hapjiy  idea 
that  white  men  were-  exceptional  beings, 
not  subject  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  Nature. 


PLEASAJSTT  CUSTOMS. 


323 


Tliat  there  was  a  country  where  they  were 
the  Idnls  of  the  soil  lie  tially  refused  to 
believe,  but,  as  Mr.  Galtou  reuiarks,  consid- 
ered them  simply  as  rare  migratory  animals 
of  considerable  intelligence. 

It  is  a  rather  curious  fact  tliat,  although 
the  Damaras  are  known  never  to  take  salt 
with  their  food,  the  Ovambos  invariably 
make  use  of  that  condiment. 

They  have  a  rather  odd  fashion  of  greet- 
ing their  friends.  As  soon  as  their  gUests 
are  seated,  a  large  dish  of  fresh  butter  is 
produced,  and  the  host  or  the  chief  man 
present  rubs  the  face  and  breast  of  each 
guest  with  the  butter.  They  seem  to  enjoy 
this  jjroeess  thoroughly,  and  cannot  under- 
stand why  their  white  guests  should  object 
to  a  ceremony  which  is  so  pleasing  to  them- 
selves. Perhaps  this  custom  may  have  some 
analogy  with  their  mode  of  treating  the 
Damaras  at  meal-times.  The  Ovambos  still 
retain  a  ceremony  which  is  precisely  similar 


to  one  which  prevails  through  the  greater 
part  of  the  East.  If  a  subject  should  come 
into  the  presence  of  his  king,  if  a  common 
man  should  appear  before  his  chief,  he 
takes  olf  his  sandals  before  presuming  to 
make  his  obeisance. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  on  page 
314,  certain  observances  connected  with 
fire  are  in  use  among  the  Damaras.  The 
Ovambo  tribe  have  a  somewhat  similar 
idea  on  the  subject,  for,  when  Mr.  Anders- 
sen  went  to  visit  Nangoro,  the  king  of  the 
Ovambos,  a  messenger  was  sent  from  the 
king  bearing  a  brand  kindled  at  the  royal 
tire.  He  first  extinguished  the  fire  that 
was  already  burning,  and  then  re-kindled  it 
with  the  glowing  brand,  so  that  the  king 
and  his  visitor  were  supposed  to  be  warmed 
by  the  same  fire.  In  this  ceremony  there  is 
a  delicate  courtesy,  not  unmixed  with  poeti- 
cal feeling. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


THE  MAJ^OLOLO  TKIBE. 


KISB  AN1>  FALL  OF  AFRICAN  TRIBES  —  ORIGIN  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO  TRIBE  — ■  ORGANIZATION  BY  SEEITUjiNE 
—  INCAPACITY  OF  HIS  SUCCESSOR,  SEItELETU  —  MODE  OF  GOVERNMENT  —  APPEARANCE  OF  THE 
MAKOLOLO  —  THEIR  GENERAL  CH.iRACTER  —  HONESTY  —  GRACEFUL  MODE  OF  MAKING  PRESENTS  — 
MODE  OF  SALUTATION  —  FOOD  AND  COOKING  —  A  MAKOLOLO  FEAST  —  ETIQUETTE  AT  5LEALS  — 
SL\NAGE1IENT  OF  CANOES — THE  WOMEN,  THEIR  DRESS  AND  MANNERS  —  THEIR  COLOR  —  EASY 
LIFE  LED  BY  THEM  —  HOUSE-BUILDING  —  CURIOUS  MODE  OF  RAISING  THE  ROOF  —  HOW  TO  HOUSE 
A  VISITOR — LAWSUITS  AND  SPECIAL  PLEADING  —  GAME  LAWS  —  CHILDREN'S  GAMES  —  A  MAKO- 
LOLO VILLAGE  —  M'boPO  AT  HOME  —  TOBY  FILLPOT  —  M.UiOLOLO  SONGS  AND  DANCES  —  HEMP- 
SMOKING,  AND  ITS  DESTRUCTIVE  EFFECTS  —  TREATMENT  OF  THE  SICK,  AND  BURIAL  OF  THE  DEAD. 


In  the  whole  of  Africa  south  of  the  equa- 
tor, we  find  the  great  events  of  tlie  civilized 
world  repeated  on  a  smaller  scale.  Civil- 
ized history  speaks  of  the  origin  and  rise  of 
nations,  and  the  decadence  and  fall  of  em- 
pires. Daring  a  course  of  many  centuries, 
dynasties  have  arisen  and  held  their  s^\'ay 
for  generations,  fading  away  by  degrees 
before  the  influx  of  mightier  races.  The 
kingdoms  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon, 
Greece,  Eome,  Persia,  and'  the  like,  have 
lasted  from  generation  after  generation, 
and  some  of  them  still  exist,  though  with 
diminished  powers.  The  Pharaohs  have 
passed  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  their 
metropolis  is  a  desert;  but  Athens  and 
Rome  still  retain  some  traces  of  their 
vanished  glories. 

In  Soutliern  Africa,  however,  the  changes 
that  take  place,  though  precisely  similar  in 
principle,  are  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  both 
of  magnitude  and  duration,  and  a  traveller 
who  passes  a  few  3'cars  in  the  country  may 
see  four  or  five  changes  of  dynasty  in  that 
brief  ]ieriod.  AVithin  the  space  of  an  ordi- 
nary life-time,  for  example,  the  fiery  genius 
of  Tchaka  gathered  a  number  of  scattered 
tribes  into  a  nation,  and  created  a  dynasty, 
which,  when  deprived  of  its  leading  spirit, 
fell  into  decline,  and  has  yearly  tended  to 
return  to  the  original  elements  "of  which  it 
was  composed.  Then  the  Hottentots  have 
come  from  some  unknown  country,  and  dis- 
possessed the  aborigines  of  the  Cape  so 
completely  that  no  one  knows  what  those 
aborigines  were.    In  the  case  of  islands, 

C3: 


such  as  the  Polynesian  group,  or  even  the 
vast  island  of  Australia,  we  know  what  the 
aborigines  must  have  been ;  but  we  have  no 
such  knowledge  with  regard  to  Southern 
Africa,  and  in  consequence  the  extent  of 
our  knowledge  is,  that  the  aborigines,  who- 
ever they  might  have  been,  were  certainly 
not  Hottentots.  Then  the  Kallirs  swejit 
down  and  ejected  the  Hottentots,  .and  the 
Dutch  and  other  white  colonists  ejected  the 
KatHrs. 

So  it  lias  been  with  the  tribe  of  the  irako- 
lolo,  which,  though  thinly  scattered,  and 
by  no  means  condensed,  h.as  contrived  to 
possess  a  large  portion  of  Southern  Alrica. 
Deriving  their  primary  origin  from  a  liranch 
of  the  great  15echuaua  tribe,  and  therefore 
retaining  many  of  the  customs  of  that  tribe 
together  with  its  skill  in  manufiictures,  they 
were  able  to  extend  themselves  far  from 
their  original  home,  and  by  degrees  con- 
trived to  gain  the  dominion  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  country  as  far  as  lat. 
14"  S.  Yet,  in  1861,  when  Dr.  Livingstone 
passed  through  the  country  of  the  Mako- 
lolo,  he  saw  .symptoms  of  its  decadence. 

Tliey  had  Vi'een  organized  by  a  great  and 
wise  chief  named  Sebituane,  who  carried 
out  to  the  fullest  extent  the  old  Konian 
principle  of  mercy  to  the  submissive,  and 
war  to  the  proud.  Sebituane  owed  much 
of  his  success  to  his  practice  of  leading  his 
troops  to  battle  in  person.  When  he  came 
within  sight  of  the  enemy,  he  significantly 
felt  the  edge  of  his  battle-axe,  and  said, 
"Aha!  it  is  sharp,  and  whoever  turns  his 

124) 


HIGH  CHAEACTEE  OF  THE   MATvOLOLO. 


back  on  the  enemy  will  feel  its  edge."  Being 
remarkably  fleet  of  foot,  none  of  his  soldiers 
could  escape  from  him,  and  they  found 
that  it  was  far  safer  to  fling  themselves  on 
the  enemy  with  the  chance  of  repelling 
him,  than  run  away  with  the  certainty  of 
being  cut  down  by  the  chief's  battle-axe. 
Sometimes  a  cowardly  soldier  skulked,  or 
hid  himself.  Sebituane,  however,  was  not 
to  be  deceived,  and,  alter  allowing  him  to 
return  home,  he  would  send  for  the  delin- 
quent, and,  after  mockingly  assuming  that 
death  at  home  was  preferable  to  death  on 
the  field  of  battle,  would  order  him  to  in- 
stant execution. 

He  incorporated  the  conquered  ti'ibes 
with  his  own  Makololo,  saying  that,  when 
they  submitted  to  his  rule,  they  were  all 
children  of  the  chief,  and  therefore  equal ; 
and  he  proved  his  words  liy  admitting  them 
to  participate  in  the  highest  honors,  and 
causing  them  to  intermarry  with  his  own 
tribe.  Under  him  was  an  organized  system 
of  head  chiefs,  and  petty  chiefs  and  elders, 
through  whom  Sebituane  knew  all  the  af- 
fairs of  his  kingdom,  and  guided  it  well  and 
wisely.  But,  when  he  died,  the  band  that 
held  together  this  nation  was  loosened,  and 
bid  fair  to  give  way  altogether.  His  son 
and  successor,  Seke'letu,  was  incapable  of 
following  the  example  of  his  father.  He 
allowed  the  prejudices  of  race  to  be  again 
developed,  and  fostered  them  himself  by 
studiously  excluding  all  women  except  the 
Makololo  from  his  harem,  and  appointing 
none  but  Makololo  men  to  oflice. 

Consequently,  he  became  exceedingly  un- 
popular among  those  very  tribes  whom  his 
lather  had  succeeded  in  conciliating,  and,  as 
a  natural  result,  his  chiefs  and  elders  being 
all  Makololo  men,  they  could  not  enjoy  the 
confidence  of  the  incorporated  tribes,  and 
thus  the  harmonious  system  of  Sebituane 
was  broken  up.  Without  confidence  in  their 
rulers,  a  people  cannot  retain  their  posi- 
tion as  a  great  nation  ;  and  Sekeletu,  in 
forfeiting  that  confidence,  sapped  with  his 
own  hands  the  foundation  of  his  throne. 
Discontent  began  to  show  itself,  and  his  peo- 
ple drew  unfavoral)le  contrasts  between  his 
rule  and  that  of  his  father,  some  even  doubt- 
ing whether  so  weak  and  purposeles.s  a  man 
could  really  be  the  son  of  their  lamented 
chief,  the  "  Great  Lion,"  as  they  called  him. 
"  In  his  days,"  said  they,  "  we  had  great 
chiefs,  and  little  chiefs,  and  elders,  to  carry 
on  the  government,  and  the  great  chief,  Seb- 
ituane, knew  them  all,  and  the  whole  coun- 
try was  wisely  ruled.  But  now  Sekeletu 
knows  nothing  of  what  his  underlings  do, 
and  they  care  not  for  him,  and  the  Makololo 
power  is  fast  passing  away." 

Then  Sekeletu  fell  ill  of  a  horrible  and 
disfiguring  disease,  shut  himself  up  in  his 
house,  and  would  not  show  himself;  allow- 
ing no  one  to  come  near  him  but  one  favor- 
ite, through  whom  his  orders  were  trans- 


mitted to  the  people.  But  the  nation  got 
tired  of  being  ruled  by  deputy,  and  conse- 
quently a  number  of  conspiracies  were 
organized,  which  never  could  have  been 
done  under  the  all-pervac(ing  rule  of  Seb- 
ituane, and  several  of  tlie  greater  chiefs 
boldly  set  their  king  at  defiance.  As  long 
as  Sekeletu  lived,  the  kingdom  retained  a 
nominal,  though  not  a  real  existence,  but 
within  a  year  after  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1864,  civil  wars  sprang  up  on 
every  side  ;  the  kingdom  thus  divided  was 
weakened,  and  unable  to  resist  the  incur- 
sions of  surrounding  tribes,  and  thus,  within 
the  space  of  a  very  few  years,  the  great  Ma- 
kololo empire  fell  to  pieces.  According 
to  Dr.  Livingstone,  this  event  was  much  to 
be  regretted,  because  the  Makololo  were 
not  slave-dealers,  whereas  the  tribes  which 
eventually  took  possession  of  their  land 
were  so  ;  and,  as  their  sway  extended  over 
so  large  a  territory,  it  was  a  great  boon  that 
the  abominable  slave  traffic  was  not  permit- 
ted to  exist. 

Mr.  Baines,  who  knew  both  the  father  and 
the  son,  has  the  very  meanest  opinion  of  the 
latter,  and  the  highest  of  the  former.  In 
his  notes,  which  he  has  kindly  placed  at  my 
disposal,  he  briefly  characterizes  them  as 
follows  :  —  "  Sebituane,  a  polished,  merciful 
man.  Sekeletu,  his  successor,  a  fast  young 
snob,  with  no  judgment.  Killed  off  his 
father's  councillors,  and  did  as  he  liked. 
Helped  the  missionaries  to  die  rather  than 
live,  even  if  he  did  not  intentionally  poi- 
son them —  then  plundered  their  provision 
stores." 

The  true  Makololo  are  a  fine  race  of  men, 
and  are  lighter  in  color  than  the  surround- 
ing tribes,  being  of  a  rich  warm  brown, 
rather  than  black,  and  they  are  rather  pecul- 
iar in  their  intonation,  pronouncing  each 
syllable  slowly  and  deliberately. 

The  general  character  of  this  people  seems 
to  be  a  high  one,  and  in  many  respects  will 
bear  comparison  with  the  Ovambo.  Brave 
tliey  have  proved  themselves  by  their  many 
victories,  though  it  is  rather  remarkable  that 
they  do  not  display  the  same  courage  when 
opposed  to  the  lion  as  when  engaged  in  war- 
flxre  against  their  fellow-men.  Yet  they  are 
not  without  courage  and  presence  of  mind 
in  the  hunting-field,  though  the  dread  king 
of  beasts  seems  to  exercise  such  an  influ- 
ence over  them  that  they  fear  to  resist  his 
inroads.  The  buflalo  is  really  quite  as  much 
to  be  dreailed  as  the  lion,  and  yet  the  Mako- 
lolo are  comparatively  indilferent  when  pur- 
suing it.  The  animal  has  an  unpleasant 
habit  of  doubling  back  on  its  trail,  crouch- 
ing in  the  liush,  allowing  the  hunters  to 
pass  its  hiding-place,  and  then  to  charge 
suddenly  at  them  with  such  a  force  and  fury 
that  it  scatters  the  bushes  before  its  head- 
long rush  like  autumn  leaves  before  the 
winil.  Yet  the  ^Makololo  hunters  are  not  in 
the  least  afraid  of  this  most  formidable  aui- 


326 


THE  MAELiLOLO  TRIBE. 


mal,  liiit  leap  behind  a  tree  as  it  charges, 
and  then  hurl  their  spears  as  it  passes  them. 

Hospitality  is  one  of  their  chief  virtues, 
and  it  is  exerci.scd  with  a  modesty  which  is 
rather  remarkable.  "  The  peojile  of  every 
village,"  writes  Livingstone,  '•  treated  us 
most  liberally,  presenting,  besides  oxen,  but- 
ter, milk,  and  meal,  more  than  we  could 
stow  away  in  our  canoes.  The  cows  in  this 
valley  are  now  yielding,  as  they  frequently 
do,  more  milk  than  the  people  can  use,  and 
both  men  and  women  present  butter  in  such 
quantities,  that  I  shall  be  able  to  refresh  my 
men  as  we  go  along.  Anointing  the  skin 
prevents  the  excessive  evaporation  of  the 
fluids  of  the  body,  and  acts  as  clothing  in 
both  sun  and  shade. 

"  They  always  made  their  presents  grace- 
fully. When  an  ox  was  given,  the  owner 
woidd  say,  'Here  is  a  little  bit  of  bread  for 
you.'  Tills  was  pleasing,  for  I  had  lieen 
accustomed  to  the  Bechuauas  presenting  a 
miserable  goat,  with  the  pompous  exclama- 
tion, 'Behold  an  ox!'  The  women  persis- 
ted in  giving  me  copious  supplies  of  shrill 
praises,  or  '  lullilooing,'  but  although  I  fre- 
qiteutly  told  them  to  modify  their  '  Great 
Lords,'  and  '  Great  Lions,'  to  more  humble 
expressions,  they  so  evidently  intended  to 
do  me  honor,  that  I  could  not  help  being 
pleased  with  the  poor  creatures'  wishes  for 
our  success." 

One  remarkable  instance  of  the  honesty 
of  this  tribe  is  afforded  bjr  Dr.  Livingstone. 
In  18.53,  he  had  left  at  Linyanti,  a  place 
on  the  Zambesi  River,  a  wagon  containing 
papers  and  stores.  He  had  been  away  from 
Linyanti,  to  which  place  he  found  that  let- 
ters and  packages  had  been  sent  for  him. 
Accordingly,  in  1860,  he  determined  on  re- 
visiting the  spot,  and,  when  he  arrived  there, 
found  that  everything  in  the  wagon  was 
exactly  in  the  same  state  as  when  lie  left  it 
in  charge  of  the  king  seven  j'ears  before. 
The  head  men  of  the  place  were  very  glad 
to  see  him  back  again,  and  only  lamented 
that  he  had  not  arrived  in  the  previous  year, 
which  happened  to  be  one  of  special  plenty. 

This  honesty  is  the  more  remarkable,  be- 
cause they  had  good  reason  to  fear  the  attacks 
of  the  Matabele,  who,  if  they  had  heard  that 
a  wagon  with  jiropcrty  in  it  was  kept  in  the 
place,  would  have  attacked  Linyanti  at  once, 
in  spite  of  its  strong  position  amid  rivers 
and  marshes.  However,  the  Makololo  men 
agreed  that  in  that  case  they  were  t(i  tight  in 
defence  of  the  wagon,  and  that  the  first  man 
who  wounded  a  Matabele  in  defence  of  the 
wagon  was  to  receive  cattle  as  a  reward.  It 
is  probable,  however,  that  the  great  per- 
sonal intiuence  which  Dr.  Livingstone  exer- 
cised o\er  the  king  and  his  tribe  had  much 
to  do  with  the  behavior  of  these  Makololo, 
and  that  a  man  of  less  capacity  and  experi- 
ence would  have  been  robbed  of  everything 
that  could  be  stolen. 

When  natives  travel,  especially  if  they 


should  be  headed  b}'  a  chief,  similar  cere- 
monies take  jjlace,  the  women  being  in- 
trusted with  the  task  of  welcoming  the 
visitors.  This  they  do  by  means  of  a  shrill, 
prolonged,  undulating  cry,  produced  by  a 
rapid  agitation  of  the  tongue,  and  expres- 
sively called  '•  lullilooing."  The  men  follow 
their  example,  and  it  is  etiquette  for  the 
chief  to  receive  all  these  salutations  with 
perfect  indifference.  As  soon  as  the  new 
comers  are  seated,  a  conversation  takes 
place,  in  which  the  two  parties  exchange 
news,  and  then  the  head  man  rises  and 
brings  out  a  quantity  of  beer  in  large  pots. 
Cahibash  goblets  are  handed  round,  and 
every  one  makes  it  a  point  of  honor  to 
drink  as  fast  as  he  can,  the  fragile  goblets 
being  often  broken  in  this  convivial  rivalry. 

Besides  the  beer,  jars  of  clotted  milk  are 
jiroduced  in  plent}-,  and  each  of  the  jars  is 
given  to  one  of  the  principal  men,  who  is  at 
liberty  to  divide  it  as  he  chooses.  Although 
originall}'  sjirung  from  the  Bechuauas,  the 
Makololo  disdain  the  use  of  spoons,  prefer- 
ring to  scoop  up  the  milk  in  their  hands, 
and,  if  a  spoon  be  given  to  them,  they 
merely  ladle  out  some  milk  from  the  jar, 
put  it  into  their  hands,  and  so  eat  it.  A 
chief  is  expected  to  give  several  feasts  of 
meat  to  his  followers.  He  chooses  an  ox, 
and  hands  it  over  to  some  favored  individ- 
ual, who  proceeds  to  kill  it  by  piercing  its 
heart  with  a  slender  vspear.  The  wound  is 
carefully  closed,  so  that  the  animal  bleeds 
internally,  the  whole  of  the  blood,  as  well 
as  the  viscera,  forming  the  perquisite  of  the 
butcher. 

Scarcely  is  the  ox  dead  than  it  is  cut  up, 
the  best  parts,  namely,  the  hump  and  ribs, 
belonging  to  the  chief,  who  also  apportions 
the  different  parts  of  the  slain  animal 
among  his  guests,  just  as  Joseph  did  with 
his  brethren,  each  of  the  honored  guests 
subdividing  his  own  portion  among  his 
immediate  followers.  The  process  of  cook- 
ing is  simple  enough,  the  meat  being  merely 
cut  into  strips  and  thrown  on  the  Are,  often 
in  such  quantities  that  it  is  nearly  extin- 
guished. Before  it  is  half  cooked,  it  is 
taken  from  the  embers,  and  eaten  while  so 
hot  that  none  Init  a  practised  meat-eater 
could  endure  it,  the  chief  object  being  to 
introduce  as  much  meat  as  possible  into  the 
stomach  in  a  given  time.  It  is  not  man- 
ners to  eat  after  a  man's  comjianions  have 
finished  their  meal,  and  so  each  guest  eats 
as  much  and  as  fast  as  he  can,  and  acts  as  if 
he  had  studied  in  the  school  ot  Sir  Dugald 
Dalgetty.  Neither  is  it  manners  for  any 
one"  to  take  a  solitary  meal,  and,  knowing 
this  custom.  Dr.  Livingstone  always  con- 
trived to  have  a  second  cup  of  tea  or  coffee 
by  his  side  whenever  he  took  his  meals,  so 
that  the  chief,  or  one  of  the  principal  men, 
might  join  in  the  repast. 

Among  the  Makololo,  rank  has  its  draw- 
backs as"  well  as  its  privileges,  and  among 


THE   WOMEN  SUPERIOR  TO  MOST  OF   THE  TRIBES. 


327 


the  former  niay  be  reckoned  one  of  the  cus- 
toms which  regulate  meals.  A  chief  may 
not  dine  alone,  and  it  is  also  necessary  that 
at  each  meal  the  whole  of  the  provisions 
should  be  consumed.  If  Sekeletu  had  an 
ox  killed,  every  particle  of  it  was  consumed 
at  a  single  meal,  and  in  consequence  he 
often  suftered  severely  from  hunger  before 
another  could  be  prepared  for  him  and  his 
followers.  So  completely  is  this  custom  in- 
grained in  the  nature  of  the  Makololo,  that, 
when  Dr.  Livingstone  visited  Sekeietu,  the 
latter  was  quite  scandalized  that  a  portion 
of  the  meal  was  put  aside.  However,  he 
soon  saw  the  advantage  of  the  plan,  and 
after  a  while  followed  it  himself,  in  spite  of 
the  remonstrances  of  the  old  men;  and, 
while  the  missionary  was  with  him,  they 
played  into  each  other'.s  hands  by  each 
reserving  a  portion  for  the  other  at  every 
inoal. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  canoes.  As 
the  Makololo  live  much  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Zambesi,  they  naturally  use  the  canoe, 
and  are  skilful  in  its  management.  These 
canoes  are  Hat-bottomed,  in  order  to  enable 
them  to  pass  over  the  numerous  sliallows  of 
the  Zambesi,  and  are  sometimes  forty  feet 
in  length,  carrying  from  six  to  ten  jiaddlers, 
besides  other  freight.  The  paddles  are  about 
eight  feet  in  length,  and,  when  the  canoe  gets 
into  shallow  water,  the  paddles  are  used  as 
punt-poles.  The  paddlers  stand  while  at 
work,  and  keep  time  as  well  as  if  they  were 
engaged  in  a  University  boat  race,  "so  that 
they  propel  the  vessel  with  considerable 
sjieed. 

Being  flat-bottomed,  the  boats  need  very 
skilful  man.agement,  especially  in  so  rapid 
and  variable  a  river  as  the  Zambesi,  where 
sluggish  depths,  rock-beset  shallows,  and 
swiff  rapids,  follow  each  other  repeatedly. 
If  the  canoe  should  happen  to  come  broail- 
side  to  the  current,  it  would  inevitably  be 
upset,  and,  as  the  Makololo  are  not  all 
swimmers,  several  of  the  crew  would  prob- 
ably be  drowned.  As  soon,  therefore,  as 
such  a  danger  seems  to  be  impending,  those 
who  can  swim  jump  into  the  water,  and 
guide  the  canoe  through  the  sunken  rocks 
and  dangerous  eddies.  Skill  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  canoe  is  especially  needed 
in  the  chase  of  the  hippopotamus,  which 
they  contrive  to  hunt  in  its  own  element, 
and  which  they  seldom  fail  in  securing,  in 
spite  of  the  enormous  size,  the  furious 
anger,  and  the  formidable  jaws  of  this 
remarkalile  animal. 

The  dress  of  the  men  differs  but  little 
from  that  which  is  in  use  in  other  parts  of 
Africa  south  of  the  equator,  and  consists 
chiefly  of  a  skin  twisted  round  the  loins, 
and  a  mantle  of  the  same  material  thrown 
over  the  shoulders,  the  latter  being  only 
worn  in  cold  weather.  The  Makololo  ai'e  a 
cleanly  race,  particularly  when  they  happen 
to  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  river  or  lake. 


in  which  tliey  bathe  several  times  daily. 
The  men,  however,  are  better  in  this  re- 
spect than  the  women,  who  seem  rather  to 
be  afraid  of  cold  water,  preferring  to  rub 
their  bodies  and  limbs  with  meltecl  butter, 
which  has  the  eflect  of  making  their  skins 
glossy,  and  keeping  off  parasites,  but  also 
imparting  a  peculiarly  unpleasant  odor  to 
themselves  and  their  clothing. 

As  to  the  women,  they  are  clothed  in  a 
far  better  manner  than  the  men,  and  are 
exceedingly  fond  of  ornaments,  wearing  a 
skin  kilt  and  kaross,  and  adorning  them- 
selves with  as  many  ornaments  as  they  can 
attbrd.  The  traveller  who  has  alreadybeen 
quoted  mentions  that  a  sister  of  the  great 
chief  Sebituane  wore  enough  ornaments  to 
be  a  load  for  an  ordinary  man.  On  each 
leg  she  had  eighteen  rings  of  solid  brass,  as 
thick  as  a  man's  finger,  and  three  of  copper 
under  each  knee;  nineteen  similar  rings  on 
her  right  arm,  and  eight  of  brass  and  cop- 
per on  her  left.  She  had  also  a  large  ivory 
ring  above  each  elbow,  a  broad  band  of 
Ijeads  round  her  waist,  and  another  round 
her  neck,  being  altogether  nearly  one  hun- 
dred large  and  heavy  rings.  The  weight  of 
the  rings  on  her  legs  was  so  great,  that  she 
was  obliged  to  wrap  soft  rags  round  the 
lower  rings,  as  they  had  begun  to  chafe  her 
ankles.  Under  this  weight  of  metal  she 
could  walk  but  awkwardly,  but  fashion 
proved  itself  superior  to  pain  with  this 
Makololo  woman,  as  among  her  European 
sisters. 

Both  in  color  and  general  manners,  the 
Makololo  women  are  superior  to  most  of 
the  tribes.  This  superiority  is  partly  due 
to  the  light  warm  brown  of  their  complex- 
ion, and  partly  to  their  mode  of  life.  Un- 
like the  women  of  ordinary  African  tribes, 
those  of  the  Makololo  lead"  a  comparatively 
easy  life,  having  their  harder  laboi-s  shared 
by  their  husbands,  who  aid  in  digging  the 
ground,  and  in  other  rough  work.  Even 
the  domestic  work  is  done  more  by  servants 
than  by  the  mistresses  of  the  household,  so 
that  the  Makololo  women  are  not  liable  to 
that  rapid  deterioration  ^yhich  is  so  evident 
among  other  tribes.  In  fact  they  have  so 
much  time  to  themselves,  and  so  little  to 
occiqiy  them,  that  they  are  apt  to  fiiU  into 
rather  dissipated  habits,  and  spend  much  of 
their  time  in  smoking  hemp  and  drinking 
beer,  the  former  habit  being  a  most  insidi- 
ous one,  and  apt  to  cause  a  peculiar  erup- 
tive disease.  Sekeletu  was  a  votary  of  the 
hemp-pipe,  and,  by  his  over-indulgence  in 
this  luxury,  he  induced  the  disease  of  which 
he  afterward  died. 

The  only  hard  work  that  falls  to  the  lot  of 
the  Mokololo  women  is  that  of  house-build- 
ing, which  is  left  entirely  to  them  and  their 
servants.  The  mode  of  making  a  house  is 
rather  remarkable.  The  first  business  is  to 
build  a  cylindrical  tower  of  stakes  and  reeds, 
plastered  with  mud,  and  some  nine  or  ten 


328 


THE   MAKOLOLO   TRIBE. 


feet  in  height,  the  walls  and  floor  being 
smootlily  plastered,  so  as  to  prevent  them 
from  harboring  insects.  A  large  conical 
roof  is  then  put  together  on  the  ground, 
and  completely  thatched  with  reeds.  It  is 
then  lifted  by  many  hands,  and  lodged  on 
top  of  the  circular  tower.  As  tlie  roof  jjro- 
jects  far  be_vond  the  central  tower,  it  is  sup- 
ported by  stakes,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  the 
spaces  Ijetween  these  stakes  are  filled  up 
with  a  «'all  or  fence  of  reeds  plastered  with 
mud.  This  roof  is  not  permanently  fixed 
either  to  the  supporting  stakes  or  the  cen- 
tral tower,  and  can  be  removed  at  pleasure. 
When  a  visitor  arrives  among  the  M.iko- 
lolo,  he  is  often  lodged  by  the  simple  pro- 
cess of  lifting  a  finished  roof  oft'  an  unfin- 
ished house,  and  putting  it  on  the  ground. 
Although  it  is  then  so  low  that  a  man  can 
scarcely  sit,  much  less  stand  ujjright,  it 
answers  very  well  for  Southern  Africa, 
where  the  whole  of  active  life  is  spent,  as  a 
rule,  in  the  ojjen  air,  and  where  houses  are 
only  used  as  sleeping-boxes.  The  door- 
way that  gives  admission  into  the  circular 
chamber  is  always  small.  In  a  house  that 
was  assigned  to  Dr.  Livingstone,  it  was 
only  nineteen  inches  in  total  height,  twenty- 
two  in  width  at  the  floor,  and  twelve  at  the 
top.  A  native  Makololo,  with  no  jiarticular 
encundjrance  in  the  way  of  clothes,  makes 
his  way  through  the  doorway  easily  enough; 
but  an  European  with  all  the  impediments 
of  dress  about  him  finds  himself  sadly  ham- 
pered in  attempting  to  gain  the  penetration 
of  a  Makololo  house.  Except  through  this 
door,  the  tower  has  neither  light  nor  venti- 
lation. Some  of  the  best  houses  have  two, 
and  even  three,  of  these  towers,  built  con- 
centrically within  each  other,  and  each  hav- 
ing its  entrance  about  as  large  as  tlie  door 
of  an  ordinary  dog-kennel.  Of  course  the 
atmosphere  is  very  close  at  night,  but  the 
people  care  nothing  about  that. 

The  illustration  No.  2,  upon  the  next  page, 
is  from  a  sketch  furnished  by  Mr.  Baines. 
It  represents  a  nearly  completed  Makololo 
house  on  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi  river,  just 
above  the  great  Victoria  Falls.  The  women 
have  placed  the  roof  on  the  building,  and 
are  engaged  in  the  final  process  of  fixing  the 
thatch.  In  the  centre  is  seen  the  cylindrical 
tower  which  forms  the  inner  chamljer,  to- 
gether with  a  portion  of  the  absurdly  small 
door  by  which  it  is  entered.  Round  it  is 
the  inner  wall,  which  is  also  furnished  with 
its  doorway.  These  are  made  of  stakes  and 
withes,  upon  which  is  worked  a  quantity  of 
clay,  well  patted  on  by  hand,  so  as  to  form  a 
^hick  and  strong  wall.  The  clay  is  obtained 
from  ant-hills,  and  is  generally  kneaded  up 
with  cow-dung,  the  mixfin-e  producing  a 
kind  of  plaster  that  is  ver^  solid,  and  can  be 
made  beautifully  smooth.  Even  the  wall 
which  surrounds  the  Iniilding  .and  the  whole 
of  the  fl(x)r  are  made  of  the  same  material. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  four  concen- 


tric walls  in  this  building.  First  comes  the 
outer  wall,  wluch  encircles  the  whole  jirem- 
ises.  Next  is  a  low  wall  which  is  Iniilt  up 
against  the  posts  that  support  the  ends  of 
the  rafters,  and  which  is  jiartly  supported  by 
them.  Within  this  is  a  third  wall,  wliicli  en- 
closes what  may  be  called  the  ordinary  living 
room  of  the  house  ;  and  within  all  is  the  in- 
ner chamber,  or  tower,  which  is  in  fact  only 
another  circular  wall  of  much  less  diameter 
and  much  greater  height.  It  will  be  seen 
that  the  walls  of  the  house  itself  increase 
regularly  in  height,  and  decrease  regularly 
in  diameter,  so  as  to  correspond  with  the 
conical  roof. 

On  the  left  of  the  illusti-ation  is  part  of  a 
millet-field,  beyond  which  are  some  com- 
]ileted  houses.  Among  them  are  some  of 
the  fan-palms  with  recurved  leaves.  That 
on  the  left  is  a  young  tree,  and  retains  all  its 
leaves,  while  that  on  the  right  is  an  old  one, 
and  has  shed  tlie  leaves  toward  the  base  of 
the  stem,  the  foliage  and  the  thickened  por- 
tion of  the  trunk  having  worked  their  way 
gradually  u]iA\'ard.  IMore  palms  are  grow- 
ing on  the  Zambesi  River,  and  in  the  back- 
ground are  seen  the  vast  spray  clouds  arising 
ii'om  the  Falls. 

The  comparatively  easy  life  led  by  the 
Makololo  women  makes  polygamy  less  of  a 
hardship  to  them  than  is  the  case  among 
neigboring  tribes,  and,  in  fiict,  even  if  the 
men  were  willing  to  abandon  the  .system, 
the  women  would  not  consent  to  do  so. 
With  them  marriage,  though  it  never  rises 
to  the  rank  which  it  holds  in  civilized  coun- 
tries, is  not  a  mere  matter  of  barter.  It  is 
true  that  the  husband  is  expected  to  pay  a 
certain  sum  to  the  parents  of  his  bride,  as  a 
recompense  for  her  services,  and  as  purchase- 
money  to  retain  in  his  own  family  the  chil- 
dren that  she  may  have,  and  which  would 
bylaw  belong  to  her  father.  Then  again, 
when  a  wife  dies  her  husband  is  obliged  to 
send  an  ox  to  her  family,  in  order  to  recom- 
pense them  for  their  loss,  she  being  still  reck- 
oned as  forming  part  of  her  jiarcnt's  fam- 
ily, and  her  individuality  not  being  totally 
merged  into  that  of  her  husband. 

Piur.ality  of  wives  is  in  vogue  among 
the  Makololo,  and  is,  indeed,  an  absolute 
necessity  under  the  present  conditions  of 
the  race,  and  the  women  would  be  quite  as 
unwilling  as  the  men  to  have  a  sjstem  of  mo- 
nogamy imposed  upon  them.  No  man  is 
res'pected  by  his  neighl)ors  who  does  not  pos- 
sess several  wives,  and  indeed  without  them 
he  could  not  be  wealthy,  each  wife  tilling  a 
certain  quantity  of  ground,  and  the  produce 
belonging  to  a"  common  stock.  Of  course, 
there  "arecases  where  polygamy  is  certauily 
a  hardship,  as,  for  example,  when  old  men 
choose  to  marry  very  young  wives.  But,  ou 
the  whole,  and  under  existing  conditions, 
polygamy  is  the  only  possible  system. 

Another  reason  for  the  plurality  of  wives, 
as  given  by  themselves,  is  that  a  man  with 


(1.)  OVAMBO  HOUSES. 

(See  page  310.) 


(2.)   HOUSE   BUILDING. 

(Seepage  328.) 

(329) 


LAW-SUITS. 


331 


one  wife  would  not  l)e  able  to  exercise  that 
hospitality  which  is  one  of  the  special  duties 
of  the  tribe.  Strangers  are  taken  to  the  luits 
and  there  entertained  as  honored  guests,  and 
as  the  women  are  the  principal  providers  of 
food,  chief  cultivators  of  the  soil,  and  sole 
guardians  of  tlie  corn  stores,  their  co-opera- 
tion is  absolutely  necessary  for  any  one  who 
desires  to  carry  out  the  hospitable  institu- 
tions of  his  tribe.  It  has  been  mentioned 
that  tlie  men  often  take  their  .share  in  the 
hard  work.  Tliis  laudable  custom,  however, 
prevailed  most  among  the  true  Makololo 
men,  the  incorporated  triljes  preferring  to 
follow  the  usual  African  custom,  and  to  make 
the  women  work  while  they  sit  down  and 
smoke  their  pipes. 

Tlie  men  liave  become  adepts  at  carving 
wood,  making  wooden  pots  with  lids,  and 
bowls  and  jars  of  all  sizes.  Moreover,  of 
late  years,  "the  Makololo  have  learned  to 
think  that  sitting  on  a  stool  is  more  com- 
fortable than  squatting  on  the  bare  ground, 
and  have,  in  consequence,  begun  to  carve 
the  legs  of  their  stools  into  various  patterns. 

Like  the  people  from  whom  they  are  de- 
scended, the  Makololo  are  a  law-loving  race 
and  manage  their  government  by  means  of 
councils  or  parliaments,  resembling  the  pi- 
chos  of  the  Bechuanas,  and  consisting  of  a 
number  of  individuals  assembled  in  a  circle 
round  the  chief,  who  occupies  the  middle. 
On  one  occasion,  when  there  was  a  large 
halo  round  the  sun.  Dr.  Livingstone  pointed 
it  out  to  his  chief  boatman.  The  man  im- 
mediately replied  that  it  was  a  parliament 
of  the  Barimo,  i.  e.  the  gods,  or  departed 
spirits,  who  were  assembled  round  their 
chief,  i.  e.  the  sun. 

For  major  crimes  a  picho  is  generally 
held,  and  the  accused,  if  found  guilty,  is  con- 
demned to  deatli.  The  usual  mode  of  execu- 
tion is  for  two  men  to  grasp  the  condemned 
by  his  wrists,  lead  him  a  mile  from  the  town, 
and  then  to  spear  him.  Resistance  is  not 
oft'ered,  neither  is  the  criminal  allowed  to 
speak.  So  quietly  is  the  whole  proceeding 
that,  on  one  very  remarkable  occasion,  a 
rival  cliief  was  carried  off  within  a  few  yards 
of  Dr.  Livingstone  without  his  being  aware 
of  the  fact. 

Shortly  after  Sebituane's  death,  while  his 
son  Sekeletu  was  yet  a  young  man  of  eigh- 
teen, and  Ijut  newly  raised  to  the  throne,  a 
rival  named  Mpepe,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  Sebituane  chief  of  a  division  of  the  trilie, 
aspired  to  the  throne.  He  strengthened  his 
pretensions  by  superstition,  having  held  for 
some  years  a  host  of  incantations,  at  which 
a  number  of  native  wizards  assembled,  and 
performed  a  number  of  enchantments  so 
potent  that  even  the  strong-minded  Sebit- 
uane was  afraid  of  him.  After  the  death 
of  that  great  chief  Mpepe  organized  a  con- 
spiracy whereby  he  shf)uld  be  able  to  mur- 
der Sekeletu  and  to  take  his  throne.  The 
plot,  however,  was  discovered,  and  on  the  I 
17 


night  of  its  failure  his  executioners  came 
quietly  to  Mpepe's  fire,  took  his  wrists,  led 
him  out,  and  speared  him. 

Sometimes  the  otlender  is  taken  into  the 
river  in  a  boat,  strangled,  and  tiung  into  the 
water,  where  the  crocodiles  are  waiting  to 
receive  him.  Disobedience  to  the  chief's 
command  is  thought  to  be  quite  sufficient 
cause  for  such  a  punishment.  To  lesser 
offences  fines  are  inflicted,  a  parliament  not 
being  needed,  but  the  case  being  heard  be- 
fore the  chief.  Dr.  Livingstone  relates  in  a 
very  graphic  style  the  manner  in  which 
these  cases  are  conducted.  "  The  complain- 
ant asks  the  man  against  whom  he  means 
to  lodge  his  complaint  to  come  with  him  to 
the  chief.  This  is  never  refused.  "When 
both  are  in  the  kotla,the  complainant  stands 
up  and  states  the  whole  case  before  the  chief 
and  people  usually  assembled  there.  He 
stands  a  few  seconds  after  he  has  done  this 
to  recollect  if  he  has  forgotten  anything. 
The  witnesses  to  whom  he  has  referred  then 
rise  up  and  tell  all  that  tliey  themselves  have 
seen  or  heard,  but  not  anything  that  they 
have  heard  from  others.  The  defendant, 
after  allowing  some  minutes  to  elapse,  so 
that  he  may  not  interrupt  any  of  the  oppo- 
site party,  slowly  rises,  folds  his  cloak  about 
him,  and  in  the  most  quiet  and  deliberate 
way  he  can  assume,  yawning,  blowing  his 
nose,  &c.,  begins  to  explain  the  affair,  deny- 
ing the  charge  or  admitting  it,  as  the  case 
may  be. 

"  Sometimes,  when  galled  by  his  remarks, 
the  complainant  utters  a  sentence  of  dissent. 
The  accused  turns  quietly  to  him  and  says, 
'  Be  silent,  I  sat  still  wliile  you  were  speak- 
ing. Cannot  you  do  the  same?  Do  you 
want  to  have  it  all  to  yourself '? '  And,  as 
the  audience  acquiesce  in  this  bantering,  and 
enforce  silence,  he  goes  on  until  he  has  fin- 
ished all  he  wishes  to  say  in  his  defence.  If 
he  has  any  witnesses  to  the  truth  of  the 
facts  of  his  defence,  they  give  their  evidence. 
No  oath  is  administered,  but  occasionally, 
when  a  statement  is  questioned,  a  man  will 
say,  '  By  my  fatlier,'  or  '  By  the  chief,  it  is 
so.'  Their  truthfulness  among  each  other 
is  quite  remarkalde,  but  their  system  of 
government  is  such  that  Euro]ieans  are  not 
in  a  position  to  realize  it  readily.  A  poor 
man  will  say  in  his  defence  against  a  rich 
one,  '  I  am  astonished  to  hear  a  man  .so 
great  as  he  make  a  f^xlse  accusation,'  as  if 
the  oftence  of  falsehood  were  felt  to  be  one 
against  the  society  which  the  individual 
referred  to  had  the  greatest  interest  in  up- 
holding." 

AVhen  a  case  is  brought  before  the  king 
by  chiefs  or  other  influential  men,  it  is 
expected  that  the  councillors  who  attend  the 
royal  presence  shall  give  their  opinions,  and 
the  permission  to  do  so  is  inferred  whenever 
the  king  remains  silent  after  having  lieard 
both  parties.  It  is  a  point  of  etiquette  that 
all  the  speakers  stand  except  the  king,  who 


332 


THE  MAKOLOLO  TKIBE. 


alone  has  the  privilege  of  speaking  while 
seated. 

Tliere  is  even  a  series  of  game-laws  in  the 
countrj',  all  ivory  belonging  of  right  to  the 
kiug,  and  everj'  tusk  being  brought  to  him. 
This  right  is,  however,  only  nominal,  as  the 
king  is  expected  to  share  the  ivory  among 
his  people,  and  if  he  did  not  do  so,  he  would 
not  be  able  to  enforce  the  law.  In  fact,  the 
whole  law  practicallv  resolves  itself  into  this; 
that  the  king  gets  one  tusk  and  the  hunters 
get  the  other,  while  the  flesh  bebmgs  to 
those  who  kill  the  animal.  And,  as  the 
fiesh  is  to  the  people  far  more  valuable  than 
the  ivory,  the  arrangement  is  much  fairer 
than  a])pears  at  first  sight. 

Practically  it  is  a  system  of  make-believes. 
The  successful  hunters  kill  two  elephants, 
taking  four  tusks  to  the  king,  and  make 
believe  to  ofler  them  for  his  accejitance.  He 
makes  believe  to  take  them  as  his  riyht,  and 
then  makes  believe  to  present  them  with 
two  as  a  free  gift  from  himself  They  ac- 
knowledge the  royal  bounty  with  aliundant 
thanks  and  recapitulation  of  titles,  such  as 
Great  Lion,  &c.,  and  so  all  parties  are  equallj' 
satisfied. 

On  page  319  I  have  described,  from  Mr. 
Baines'  notes,  a  child's  toj',  the  onl_v  exam- 
ple of  a  genuine  toy  which  he  found  in  the 
whole  of  Southern  Africa.  Among  the  jNIa- 
kololo,  however,  as  well  as  among  Euro- 
peans, the  spirit  of  play  is  strong  in  children, 
and  they  engage  in  various  games,  chiefly 
consisting  in  childish  imitation  of  the  more 
serious  pursuits  of  their  parents.  The  fol- 
lowing account  of  their  play  is  given  by  Dr. 
Livingstone: — "  The  children  have  merry 
times,  especially  in  the  cool  of  the  evening. 
One  of  their  games  consists  of  a  little  girl 
being  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  two  others. 
She  sits  with  outstretched  arms,  as  they 
walk  about  with  her,  and  all  the  rest  clap 
their  hands,  and  stopping  before  each  hut, 
sing  pretty  airs,  some  beating  time  on  their 
little  kilts  of  cow-skin,  and  others  making  a 
curious  humming  sound  between  the  songs. 
Excepting  this  and  the  skipping-rope,  the 
play  of  the  girls  consists  in  imitation  of  the 
.serious  work  of  their  mothers,  Innlding  little 
huts,  making  small  pots,  and  cooking,  pound- 
ing corn  in  miniature  mortars,  or  hoeing 
tiny  gardens. 

"  The  boys  play  with  spears  of  reeds 
pointed  with  wood,  and  small  shields,  or 
bows  and  arrows;  or  amuse  themselves  in 
making  little  cattle-pens,  or  cattle  in  clay, 
—  they  .show  great  ingenuity  in  the  imit,a- 
tion  of  variously  shaped  horns.  Some,  too, 
are  said  to  use  slings,  but,  as  soon  as  they 
can  watch  the  soats  or  calves,  they  are  sent 
to  the  field.  We  saw  many  boys  riding  on 
the  calves  they  had  in  charge,  but  this  is  an 
innovation  since  the  arrival  of  the  English 
with  their  horses.  Tselane,  one  of  the 
ladies,  on  observina;  Dr.  Livingstone  noting 
observations  on  thic  wet  and  dry  bulb  ther- 


mometers, thought  that  he  too  was  engaged 
in  play.  On  receiving  no  n-ply  to  her  ques- 
tion, which  was  rather  tliflicult  to  answer, 
as  their  native  tongue  has  no  scientific 
terms,  she  said  with  roguish  glee,  •  Poor 
thins:  playins  like  a  little  child!'" 

On  the  o]i]iosite  page  I  jiresent  my  read- 
ers with  another  of  Mr.  Baines's  sketches. 
The  scene  is  taken  from  a  jVlakololo  village 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the  time  is 
supposed  to  be  evening,  after  the  day's  work 
is  over.  In  the  midst  are  the  yoims;  sirls 
plaj'ina;  the  game  mentioned  by  Mr.  Anders- 
sen,  the  central  girl  being  carried  by  two 
others,  and  her  compani(ins  singing  and 
clapping  their  hands.  The  dress  of  the 
young  girls  is,  as  may  be  seen,  very  simple, 
and  consists  of  leathern  thongs,  varying 
greatly  in  length,  but  always  so  slight  and 
scanty  fhat  the}'  do  not  hide  the  contour  of 
the  limbs.  Several  girls  are  walkina:  behind 
them,  carrying  pots  and  bundles  on  the  head, 
another  is  breaking  up  the  ground  with  a 
toy  hoe,  while  in  the  foreground  is  one  girl 
pretending  to  grind  corn  between  two  stones, 
another  i)oundiug  in  a  small  model  mortar, 
and  a  third  with  a  rude  doll  carried  as  a 
mother  carries  her  child.  The  parents  ai-e 
leaning  against  their  houses,  and  looking  at 
the  sports  of  the  children.  On  the  left  are 
seen  some  girls  building  a  miniature  hut, 
the  roof  of  which  they  are  just  lifting  upon 
the  posts. 

In  the  foreground  on  the  left  are  the  boys 
engaged  in  their  particular  games.  Some 
are  employed  in  making  rude  models  of  cat- 
tle and  otiier  animals,  while  others  are  en- 
gaged in  mimic  warfare.  In  the  background 
ts  a  boy  who  has  gone  out  to  fetch  the  flock 
of  goats  home,  and  is  walking  in  fi-ont  of 
them,  followed  by  his  charge.  A  singular 
free  often  overhangs  the  houses  and  is  very 
characteristic  of  that  part  of  Africa.  In  the 
native  language  it  is  called  Mosaawe,  and  by 
the  Portuguese,  Paopisa.  It  has  a  leaf  some- 
what like"  that  of  the  acacia,  and  the  blos- 
soms and  fruit  are  seen  hanging  side  by 
side.  The  latter  very  much  resembles  a 
wooden  cucumber,  and  is  about  as  eatable. 

On  the  same  page  is  another  sketch  by 
Mr.  Baines,  representing  a  domestic  scene 
in  a  Makololo  family.  The  house  belongs 
to  a  chief  named  M'Bopo,  who  was  very 
friendly  to  Mr.  Baines  and  his  companions, 
and  was  altogether  a  fine  specimen  of  a  sav- 
age gentleman.  He  was  exceedingly  hos- 
pitable to  his  guests,  not  (uily  feeding  them 
well,  but  producing  great  jars  of  pombe,  or 
native  beer,  which'they  were  obliged  to  con- 
sume either  personally  or  l)y  deputy.  He 
even  apologized  for  his  inability  to  ofler 
them  some  young  ladies  as  temi)orary  wives, 
according  to  thecustom  of  the  country,  the 
girls  being  at  the  time  all  absent,  and  en- 
gaged in  ceremonies  very  similar  to  those 
which  have  been  described  when  treating 
of  the  Bechuanas. 


(^  )  M  I50PO   AT   HOME      (See  page  332  ) 
(333) 


THE   MAKOLOLO  DANCE. 


335 


M'Bopo  is  seated  in  the  middle,  and  may 
be  distinguislied  by  tlie  fact  tliat  lie  is  wear- 
ing all  his  hair,  the  general  fashion  lieing  to 
crop  it  and  dress  it  in  various  odd  ways. 
Just  behind  him  is  one  of  his  chief  men, 
whom  Mr.  Baines  was  accustomed  to  desig- 
nate as  T(jby  Fillpot,  partly  because  he  was 
very  assiduous  in  filling  the  visitor's  jars 
with  pombe,  and  partly  because  he  was 
more  than  equally  industrious  in  emptying 
them.  It  will  be  noticed  that  ho  has  had 
his  head  shaved,  and  that  the  hair  is  Ijegin- 
ning  to  gro\v  in  little  patches.  Behind  him 
is  another  man,  who  has  shaved  his  head 
at  the  sides,  and  allowed  a  mere  tuft  of 
hair  to  grow  along  the  top.  In  front  of 
M'Bopo  is  a  huge  earthen  vessel  full  of 
pombe,  and  by  the  side  of  it  is  the  calabash 
ladle  by  which  the  liquid  is  transferred  to 
the  drinking  vessels. 

M'Bopo's  chief  wife  sits  beside  him,  and  is 
distinguished  by  the  two  ornaments  which 
she  wears.  On  her  foi'ehead  is  a  circular 
piece  of  hide,  kneaded  while  wet  so  as  to 
form  a  shallow  cone.  The  inside  of  this 
cone  is  entirely  covered  with  beads,  mostly 
white,  and  scarlet  in  the  centre.  Upon  her 
neck  is  another  ornament,  which  is  valued 
very  highly.  It  is  the  base  of  a  shell,  a 
species  of  conus  —  the  whole  of  which  has 
been  ground  away  e.xcept  the  base.  This 
ornament  is  thought  so  valuable  that  A\dien 
the  great  chief  Shinte  presented  Dr.  Living- 
stone with  one,  he  took  the  precaution  of 
coming  alone,  and  carefully  closing  the 
tent  door,  so  that  none  of  his  people  should 
witness  an  act  of  such  extravagant  gener- 
osity. 

This  lady  was  good  enongh  to  express  her 
opinion  of  the  wliite  travellers.  Tliey  were 
not  so  ugly,  said  she,  as  she  had  expected. 
All  that  hair  on  their  heads  and  faces  was 
certainly  disagreeable,  but  their  faces  were 
pleasant  enough,  and  their  hands  were  well 
formed,  but  the  great  defect  in  them  was, 
that  they  had  no  toes.  The  wortliy  lady 
had  never  heard  of  boots,  and  evidently 
considered  them  as  analogous  to  the  hoofs 
of  cattle.  It  was  found  necessary  to  remove 
the  boots,  and  convince  her  that  the  white 
man  really  had  toes. 

Several  of  the  inferior  wives  are  also 
sitting  on  the  ground.  One  of  them  has  her 
scalp  entirely  shaved,  and  the  other  has  ca- 
priciously diversified  her  head  by  allowing 
a  few  streaks  of  hair  to  go  over  "the  top  of 
the  head,  and  another  to  surround  it  like  a 
band.  The  reed  door  is  seen  turned  aside 
from  the  opening,  and  a  few  baskets  are 
hanging  here  and  there  upon  the  wall. 

The  Makololo  have  plenty  of  amusements 
after  their  own  fashion,  which  is  certainly 
not  that  of  an  European.  Even  those  who 
have  lived  among  them  for  some  time,  and 
have  acknowledged  that  they  are  among  the 
most  favorable  specimens  of  African  heath- 
endom, have    been  utterly  disgusted    and 


wearied  with  the  life  which  they  had  to  lead. 
There  is  no  quiet  and  no  repose  day  or  night, 
and  Dr.  Livingstone,  wdio  might  be  expected 
to  be  thoroughly  hardened  against  annoy- 
ance by  trifles,  states  broadly  that  the  danc- 
ing, singing,  roaring,  jesting,  story-telling, 
grumbling,  and  quarrelling  of  the  Makololo 
were  a  severer  penance  than  anything  which 
he  had  undergone  in  all  his  experiences. 
He  had  to  live  with  them,  and  was  therefore 
brought  in  close  contact  with  them. 

The  first  three  items  of  savage  life,  namely, 
dancing,  singing,  and  roaring,  seem  to  be 
inseparably  united,  and  the  savages  seem  to 
be  incapable  of  getting  up  a  dance  unless  ac- 
companied by  roaring  on  the  part  of  the  per- 
formers, and  singing  on  the  part  of  the 
sjjectators — the  latter  sounds  being  not  more 
melodious  than  the  former.  Dr.  Living- 
stone gives  a  very  graphic  account  of  a  Ma- 
kololo dance.  "  As  this  was  the  first  visit 
which  Sekeletu  had  paid  to  this  part  of  his 
dominions,  it  was  to  many  a  season  of  great 
joy.  The  head  men  of  each  village  pre- 
sented oxen,  milk,  and  beer,  more  than  the 
horde  which  accompanied  him  could  devour, 
though  their  abilities  in  that  way  are  some- 
thing wonderful. 

"The  people  usually  show  their  joy  and 
work  off  their  excitement  in  dances  and 
songs.  The  dance  consists  of  the  men  stand- 
ing nearly  naked  in  a  circle,  with  clubs  or 
small  battle-axes  in  their  hands,  and  each 
roaring  at  the  loudest  pitch  of  his  voice, 
while  they  simultaneously  lift  one  leg,  stamp- 
ing twice  with  it,  then  lift  the  other  and  give 
one  stamp  with  it ;  this  is  the  only  move- 
ment in  common.  The  arms  and  head  are 
thrown  al)out  also  in  every  direction,  and 
all  this  time  the  roaring  is  kej)t  up  with 
the  utmost  possible  vigor.  The  continued 
stamping  makes  a  cloud  of  dust  ascend, 
and  they  leave  a  deep  ring  in  the  ground 
where  they  have  stood. 

"  If  the  scene  were  witnessed  in  a  lunatic 
asylum,  it  would  be  nothing  out  of  the  way, 
and  quite  appropriate  as  a  means  of  letting 
off  the  excessive  excitement  of  the  brain. 
But  here,  gray-headed  men  joined  in  the 
performance  with  as  much  zest  as  others 
whose  youth  might  be  an  excuse  for  making 
the  perspiration  start  off  their  bodies  with 
the  exertion.  Motebe  asked  what  I  thought 
of  the  Makololo  dance.  I  replied,  'It  is 
very  hard  work,  and  brings  but  small  profit.' 
'  It  is,'  he  replied  ;  '  but  it  is  very  nice,  and 
Sekeletu  will  give  us  an  ox  for  dancing  for 
him.'  He  usually  does  slaughter  an  ox  for 
the  dancers  when  the  work  is  over.  The 
women  stand  by,  clapping  their  hands,  and 
occasionally  one  advances  within  the  circle, 
composed  of  a  hundred  men,  makes  a  few 
movements,  and  then  retires.  As  I  never 
tried  it,  and  am  unable  to  enter  into  the 
spirit  of  the  thing,  I  cannot  recommend  the 
Makololo  polka  to  the  dancing  world,  but  I 
have  the  authority  of  no  less  a  person  than 


336 


THE  MAKOLOLO  TRIBE. 


Motebe,  Sekeletu's  father-in-law,  for  saying 
tliat  it  is  ver_y  nice." 

Many  of  the  Makololo  are  inveterate 
smokers,  preferring  hemp  even  to  tobacco, 
because  it  is  more  intoxicating.  They  de- 
light in  smoking  themselves  into  a  positive 
frenzy,  "  which  passes  away  in  a  rapid  stream 
of  unmeaning  words,  or  short  sentences,  as, 
'  The  green  grass  grows,'  '  The  fat  cattle 
thrive,'  The  fishes  swim.'     No   one  in   the 

froup  pays  the  slightest  attention  to  the  ve- 
emunt  eloquence,  or  the  sage  or  silly  utter- 
ances of  the  or.icle,  who  stops  abruptly,  and, 
the  instant  common  sense  returns,  looks 
foolish."  They  smoke  the  hemp  through 
water,  using  a  koodoo  horn  for  their  pipe, 
much  in  the  way  that  the  Damaras  and 
other  tribes  use  it. 

Over  indulgence  in  this  luxury  has  a  very 
prejudicial  effect  on  the  health,  producing 
an  eruption  over  the  whole  body  that  is  quite 
unmistakable.  In  consequence  of  this  effect, 
the  men  prohibit  their  wives  from  using  the 
hemp,  but  the  result  of  the  prohibition  seems 
only  to  be  that  the  women  smoke  secretly 
instead  of  openly,  and  are  afterward  dis- 
covered by  the  appearance  of  the  skin.  It 
ie  the  more  fascinating,  because  its  use  im- 


parts a  spurious  strength  to  the  body,  while 
it  enervates  the  mind  to  such  a  degree  tliat 
the  user  is  incapable  of  perceiving  the  state 
in  which  lie  is  gradually  sinking,  or  of  exer- 
cising sufficient  self-control  to  abandon  or 
even  to  modify  the  destructive  habit.  Se- 
keletu  was  a  complete  victim  of  the  hemp- 
pipe,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  illness, 
something  like  the  dreaded  "  craw-craw " 
of  Western  Africa,  was  aggravated,  if  not 
caused,  by  over-indulgence  m  smoking  hemp. 

The  Makololo  have  an  unbounded  faith 
in  medicines,  and  lielieve  that  there  is  no  ill 
to  which  humanity  is  subject  which  cannot 
be  removed  by  white  man's  medicine.  One 
woman  who  thought  herself  too  thin  to  suit 
the  African  ideas  of  beauty,  asked  ibr  the 
medicine  of  fatness,  and  a  chief,  whose  six 
wives  had  only  produced  one  boy  among  a 
number  of  girls,  was  equally  importunate  for 
some  medicine  that  would  chauge  the  sex 
of  the  future  offspring. 

The  biu-ial-places  of  the  Makololo  are 
seldom  conspicuous,  but  in  some  cases  the 
relics  of  a  deceased  chief  are  preserved,  and 
regarded  with  veneration,  so  that  (he  guard- 
ians cannot  be  induced  to  sell  them  even  for 
the  most  tempting  prices. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


THE  BATEYE  AND   MAKOBA  TRIBES. 


MBANINS  OF  THE  NAME  —  GENERAL  APPEARANCE  AND  CHARACTER  —  THIEVING  —  ABILITY  IN  FISHINQ 
—  CANOES  —  ELEPH/iNT-CATCHING  —  DRESS — THE  MAKOBA  TRIBE — THEIR  LOCALITY  —  A  MAKOBA 
CHXEF'S  ROGUERY  — SKILL  IN  MANAGING  CANOES  —  ZANGUELL AH  AND  HIS  BOATS  —  HITPOPOTAMLTS 
HUNTING  WITH  THE  CANOE  —  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HARPOON  —  THE  REED-RAFT  AND  ITS  USES  — 
SUPERSTITIONS  —  PLANTING  TREES — TRANSMIGRATION  —  THE  PONDORO  AND  HIS   WIFE. 


THE   BATEYE   TRIBE. 


As  the  Bayeye  tribe  has  been  mentionerl 
once  or  twice  during  the  account  of  the 
Maliololo,  a  few  lines  of  notice  will  be  given 
to  them.  They  originally  inhabited  the 
country  about  Lake  Ngarai,  liut  were  con- 
quered by  another  tribe,  the  Batoanas,  and 
reduced  to  comparative  serfdom.  The  con- 
querors called  them  Bakoba,  i.  e.  serfs,  but 
they  themselves  take  the  pretentious  title 
of  Bayeye,  or  Men.  They  attrilnite  their 
defeat  to  the  want  of  shields,  though  the 
superior  discipline  of  their  enemies  had 
probably  more  to  do  with  their  victory  than 
the  mere  fact  of  possessing  a  shield. 

On  one  notable  occasion,  the  Bayeye 
proved  conclusively  that  the  shield  does  not 
make  the  warrior.  Their  chief  had  taken 
the  trouble  to  furnish  them  with  shields, 
hoping  to  make  soldiers  of  them.  They 
received  the  gift  with  groat  joy,  and  loudly 
boasted  of  the  prowess  which  they  were 
going  to  show.  Unfortunately  for  them,  a 
marauding  party  of  the  Makololo  came  in 
sight,  when  the  valiant  warriors  forgot  all 
about  their  shields,  jumped  into  their 
canoes,  and  paddled  away  day  and  night 
down  the  river,  until  they  had  put  a  hun- 
dred miles  or  so  between  them  and  the 
dangerous  spot. 

In  general  appearance,  the  Bayeye  bear 
some  resemblance  to  the  Ovambo  tribe,  the 
complexion  and  general  mould  of  features 
being  of  a  similar  cast.  They  seem  to  have 
retained  but  few  of  their  own  characteris- 
tics, having  accepted  those  of  their  con- 
querors, whose  dress  and  general  manners 
they  have  assumed.  Their  language  bears 
some  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Ovambo 
tribe,  but  they  have  contrived  to  impart 


into  it  a  few  clicks  which  are  evidently 
derived  from  the  Hottentots. 

They  are  amusing  and  cheerful  creatures, 
and  as  arrant  thieves  and  liars  as  can  well 
he  found.  If  they  can  only  have  a  pot  on 
the  fire  full  of  meat,  and  a  pipe,  their  hap- 
piness seems  complete,  and  they  will  feast, 
dance,  sing,  smoke,  and  tell  anecdotes  .all 
night  long.  Perhaps  their  thievishness  is 
to'be  attributed  to  their  servile  condition. 
At  .all  events,  they  will  steal  everything 
that  is  not  too  hot  or  he.avy  for  them,  and 
are  singul.arly  expert  in  their  art,  Mr.  An- 
derssen  mentions  that  l>y  degrees  his  Bay- 
eye  attendants  contrived  to  steal  nearly  the 
w'hole  of  his  stock  of  beads,  and,  as  those 
articles  are  the  money  of  Africa,  their  loss 
was  equivalent  to  failure  in  his  journey. 
Accordingly,  he  divided  those  which  were 
left  into  "parcels,  marked  each  separately, 
and  put  them  away  in  the  packages  as 
usual.  .lust  before  the  canoes  landed  for 
the  night,  ho  went  on  shore,  and  stood  by 
the  head  of  the  first  canoe  while  his  servant 
opened  the  packages,  in  order  to  see  if  any- 
thing had  been  stolen.  Scarcely  was  the 
first  package  opened  when  the  servant  ex- 
cl.aimed  that  the  Bayeye  had  been  at  it. 
The  next  move  was  to  present  his  doulile- 
b.arrelled  gun  <at  the  native  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  canoe,  and  threaten  to  Islow 
out  his  brains  if  .all  the  stolen  property  was 
not  restored. 

At  first  the  natives  took  to  their  arms, 
and  appeared  inclined  to  fight,  but  the  sight 
of  the  ominous  barrels,  which  they  knew 
were  in  the  haliit  of  hitting  their  mark, 
proved  too  much  for  them,  and  they  agreed 
to  restore  the  beads  provided   that  their 


(337) 


338 


THE  BATEYE  TRIBE. 


conduct  was  not  mentioned  to  their  chief 
Lecholctebe.  Tlie  goods  being  restored, 
pardon  was  granted,  witli  the  remark  that, 
if  anytliing  were  stolen  for  tlie  future,  Mr. 
Auderssen  would  shoot  the  first  man  whom 
he  s,aw.  This  threat  was  all-sulUeient,  and 
ever  afterward  the  Bayej' e  left  his  goods  in 
peace. 

In  former  daj's  the  Baj^eye  used  to  be  a 
bucolic  n.ation,  having  large  herds  of  cattle. 
These,  however,  were  all  seized  by  their 
conquerors,  who  only  permitted  them  to 
rear  a  few  goats,  which,  however,  they  value 
less  for  the  flesh  and  milk  than  for  the 
skins,  which  are  converted  into  karosses. 
Fowls  are  also  kept,  but  they  are  small,  and 
not  of  a  good  breed.  In  consequence  of 
the  deprivation  of  their  herds,  the  Bayeye 
are  forced  to  live  on  the  produce  of  the 
ground  and  the  flesh  of  wild  animals.  For- 
tunately for  them,  their  country  is  particu- 
larly fertile,  so  that  the  women,  who  are 
the  only  practical  agriculturists  have  little 
trouble  in  tilling  the  soil.  A  light  hoe  is 
the  only  instrument  used,  and  with  this  the 
ground  is  scratched  rather  than  dug,  just 
before  the  rainy  season;  the  seed  deposited 
almost  at  random  immediately  after  the  first 
rains  have  fallen.  Pumpkins,  melons,  cala- 
bashes, and  earth  fruits  are  also  cultivated, 
and  tobacco  is  grown  by  energetic  natives. 

There  are  also  several  indigenous  fruits, 
one  of  which,  called  the  "moshoma,"  is 
largely  used.  The  tree  on  which  it  grows 
is  a  very  tall  one,  the  trunk  is  very  straight, 
and  the  lowermost  branches  are  at  a  great 
height  from  the  ground.  The  fruit  can 
therefore  only  be  gathered  when  it  falls  by 
its  own  ripeness.  It  is  first  dried  in  the 
sun,  and  then  prepared  for  stoi-age  by  being 
pounded  in  a  wooden  mortar.  When  used, 
it  is  mixed  with  water  until  it  assumes  a 
cream-like  consistency.  It  is  very  sweet, 
almost  as  sweet  as  honey,  which  it  much 
resembles  in  appearance.  Those  who  are 
accustomed  to  its  use  find  it  very  nutritious, 
but  to  strangers  it  is  at  first  unwholesome, 
being  apt  to  derange  the  digestive  system. 
The  timber  of  the  moshama-tree  is  useful, 
being  mostly  employed  in  building  canoes. 

The  Bayeye  are  very  good  huntsmen,  and 
are  remarkable  for  their  skill  in  capturing 
fish,  which  they  either  pierce  \vith  spears 
or  entangle  in  nets  made  of  the  fibres  of  a 
native  aloe.  These  fibres  are  enormously 
strong,  as  indeed  is  the  case  with  all  the 
varieties  of  the  aloe  plant.  The  nets  axe 
formed  very  ingeniously  from  other  plants 
besides  the  aloe,. such  for  example  as  the! 
hibiscus,  which  grows  plentifully  on  river 
banks,  and  moist  jilaces  in  general.  The 
f  oat-ropes,  i.  e.  those  that  carry  the  upper 
edge  of  the  nets,  are  made  from  the  "  ife  " 
(Scmseviere  Aiigolensis),  a  plant  that  some- 
what resembles  the  common  water-flag  of 
England.  The  floats  themselves  are  formed 
of  stems  of  a  water-plant,  which  has  the 


peculiarity  of  being  hollow,  and  divided 
into  cells,  about  an  inch  in  length,  by  trans- 
verse valves.  The  mode  in  which  "the  net 
is  made  is  almost  identical  with  that  which 
is  iU  use  in  England.  The  shaft  of  the 
spear  which  the  Bayeye  use  in  catching  h  h 
is  made  of  a  very  light  wood,  so  that,  whr  a 
the  fish  is  sti'uck,  the  shaft  of  the  spea : 
ascends  to  the  surface,  and  discharges  tht 
doul)le  duty  of  tiring  tlie  wounded  fish,  anf 
giving  to  the  fisherman  the  means  of  lifting; 
his  fiuny  prey  out  of  the  water. 

The  Bayeye  are  not  very  particular  as  tc 
their  food,  and  not  only  eat  the  ten  fishes, 
which,  as  they  boast,  inhabit  their  rivers, 
but  also  kill  and  eat  a  certain  water-snake, 
brown  in  color  and  spotted  with  yellow, 
which  is  often  seen  undulating  its  devious 
course  across  the  river.  It  is  rather  a  curi- 
ous circumstance  that,  although  the  Bayeye 
live  so  much  on  fish,  and  are  even  proud  of 
the  variety  of  the  finny  tribe  which  their 
waters  afford  them,  the  more  southern  Be- 
chuanas  not  only  refuse  themselves  to  eat 
fish,  but  look  with  horror  and  disgust  upon 
all  who  do  so. 

The  canoes  of  the  Bayeye  are  simply 
trunks  of  trees  hollowed  out.  As  they  are 
not  made  for  speed,  but  for  use,  elegance  of 
shape  is  not  at  all  considered.  If  the  tree 
trunk  which  is  destined  to  be  hewn  into  a 
canoe  happens  to  be  straight,  well  and  good. 
But  it  sometimes  has  a  bend,  and  in  that 
case  the  canoe  has  a  bend  also.  The  Bayeye 
are  pardonably  fond  of  their  canoes,  not  to 
say  proud  of  them.  As  Dr.  Livingstone 
well  observes,  they  regard  their  rude  ves- 
sels as  an  Arab  does  his  camel.  "  They 
have  always  fires  in  them,  and  prefer  sleep- 
ing in  them  wlien  on  a  journey  to  spending 
the  night  on  shore.  'On  land  you  have 
lions,' "say  they,  'serpents,  hya-nas,  as  your 
enemies  ;  but  \n  your  canoe,  behind  a  bank 
of  reeds,  nothing  can  harm  you.' " 

"Their  submissive  disposition  leads  to 
their  villages  being  frequently  visited  by 
hungry  strangers.  We  had  a  pot  on  the 
fire  in  the  canoe  by  the  way,  and  when  we 
drew  near  the  villages,  devoured  the  con- 
tents. When  fully"  satisfied  ourselves,  I 
found  that  we  could  all  look  upon  any  in- 
truders with  much  complaisance,  and  show 
tlie  pot  in  proof  of  having  devoured  the  last 
morsel." 

They  are  also  expert  at  catching  the  larger 
animals  in  pitfalls,  which  they  ingeniously 
dig  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  so  as  to 
entrap  the  elephant  and  otlier  animals  as 
they  come  to  drink  at  night.  They  plant 
their  pitfalls  so  closely  together  that  it  is 
scarcely  possible  lor  a  herd  of  elephants  to 
escape  altogether  unharmed,  as  many  as 
thirty  or  forty  being  sometimes  dug  in  a 
row,  and  close  together.  Although  the  o.d 
and  experienced  elephants  have  learned  to 
go  in  front  of  their  comrades,  and  sound 
the   earth   for  concealed  traps,  the  great 


CHARACTER  OF  THE   MAKOBA. 


339 


number  of  these  treacherous  pits  often 
makes  these  precautions  useless. 

The  dress  of  the  Bayej'e  is  much  the  same 
as  tliat  of  the  Batoauas  aud  tlieir  kinsfollj, 
namely,  a  skin  wrapped  round  the  waist,  a 
kaross,  and  as  many  beads  and  other  orna- 
ments as  can  be  attbrded.  Brass,  copper, 
and  iron  are  in  great  request  as  materials 
for  ornaments,  especially  among  the  women, 
who  disjilay  considerable  taste  in  arranging 
and  contrasting  the  colors  of  their  simple 
iewelry.  Sometimes  a  wealthy  woman  is  so 
loaded  with  beads,  rings,  and  other  decora- 
tions, that,  as  the  chief  Secholetebe  said, 
"they  actually  grunt  under  their  burden" 
as  they  walk  along. 

Their  architecture  is  of  the  simplest  de- 
scription, and  much  resembles  that  of  the 
Hottentots,  the  houses  being  mere  skele- 
tons of  sticks  covered  with  reed  mats.  Their 
amusements  are  as  simple  as  their  habita- 
tions.    They  are   fond  of  dancing,  and   in 


their  gestures  they  endeavor  to  imitate  the 
movements  of  various  wild  animals  —  their 
walk,  their  mode  of  feeding,  their  sports, 
and  their  battles.  Of  course  they  drink, 
smoke,  and  take  snuff  whenever  they  have 
the  opportunity.  The  means  for  the  first 
luxury  they  can  themselves  supply,  making 
a  sort  of  beer,  on  which,  by  drinking  vast 
quantities,  they  manage  to  intoxicate  them- 
selves. Snuff-taking  is  essentially  a  manly 
practice,  while  smoking  hemp  seems  to  be 
principally  followed  by  the  women.  Still, 
there  are  few  men  who  will  refuse  a  pi]ie 
of  hemp,  and  perhaps  no  woman  who  will 
refuse  snuff  if  offered  to  her.  On  the 
whole,  setting  aside  their  inveterate  habits 
of  stealing  and  lying,  they  are  toleraldy 
pleasant  people,  and  their  naturally  cheerful 
and  lively  disposition  causes  the  traveller 
to  feel  almost  an  affection  for  them,  even 
though  he  is  obliged  to  guard  every  portion 
of  his  property  from  their  nimble  fingers. 


THE   MAKOBA  TRIBE. 


TOTTARD  the  east  of  Lake  Jfgami,  there 
is  a  river  called  the  Bo-tlet-le,  one  end 
of  which  communicates  indirectly  with  the 
lake,  and  the  other  with  a  vast  salt-pan. 
The  consequence  of  this  course  is,  that  occa- 
sionally the  river  runs  in  two  directions, 
westward  to  the  lake,  and  eastward  to  the 
salt-pan  ;  the  stream  which  causes  this  curi- 
ous change  flowing  into  it  somwhere  about 
the  middle.  The  jjeople  who  inhaljit  this 
district  are  called  Makoba,  and,  even  if  not 
allied  to  the  Bayej'e,  have  much  in  common 
with  them.  In  costume  and  general  ap- 
pearance they  bear  some  resemblance  to  the 
Bechuanas,  except  that  they  are  rather  of  a 
blacker  complexion.  The  dress  of  the  men 
sometimes  consists  of  a  snake-skin  some  six 
or  seven  feet  in  length,  and  five  or  six 
inches  in  width.  The  women  wear  a  small 
square  apron  made  of  hide,  ornamented 
round  the  edge  with  small  beads. 

Their  character  seems  much  on  a  par 
with  that  of  most  savages,  namely,  impul- 
sive, irreflective,  kindly  when  not  crossed, 
revengeful  when  angered,  and  honest  when 
there  "is  nothing  to"  steal.  To  judge  from 
the  behavior  of  some  of  the  Makoba  men, 
they  are  craftj',  dishonest,  and  churlish  ; 
while,  if  others  are  taken  as  a  sample,  they 
are  simple,  good-natured,  and  hospitable. 
Savages,  indeed,  cannot  be  judged  by  the 
same  tests  as  would  he  applied  to  civilized 
races,  having  the  strength  and  craft  of  man 
with  the  moral  weakness  of  children.  The 
very  same  tribe,  and  even  the  very  same 
individuals,  have  obtained — and  deserved 
—  exactly  opposite  characters  from  those 
who  have  known  them  well,  one  person 
describing   them   as  perfectly   honest,   and 


another  as  arrant  cheats  and  thieves.  The 
tact  is,  that  savages  have  no  moral  feelings 
on  the  subject,  not  considering  theft  to  be 
a  crime  nor  honesty  a  virtue,  so  that  they 
are  honest  or  not,  according  to  circum- 
stances. The  subjugated  tribes  about  Lake 
Xgami  are  often  honest  from  a  very  curious 
motive. 

They  are  so  completely  enslaved  that  they 
cannot  even  conceive  the  notion  of  possess- 
ing property,  knowing  that  their  oppressors 
would  take  by  force  any  article  which  they 
happened  to  covet.  They  are  so  completely 
cowed  that  food  is  the  only  kind  of  property 
that  they  can  appreciate,  and  they  do  not 
consider  even  that  to  lie  their  own  until 
it  is  eaten.  Consequently  they  are  honest 
because  there  would  be  no  use  in  stealing. 
But,  when  white  men  come  and  take  them 
under  their  protection,  the  case  is  altered. 
At  first,  they  are  honest  for  the  reasons 
above  mentioned,  but  when  they  begin  to 
find  that  they  are  paid  for  their  sei'viccs, 
and  allowed  to  retain  their  wages,  the  idea 
of  property  begins  to  enter  their  minds,  and 
they  desire  to  procure  as  much  as  they  can. 
Therefore,  from  being  honest  they  become 
thieves.  They  naturally  wish  to  obtain 
property  without  trouble,  and,  as  they  find 
that  stealing  is  easier  than  w(n'king,  they 
steal  accordingly,  not  attacliing  any  moral 
guilt  to  taking  the  property  of  another,  but 
looking  on  it  in  exactly  the  same  light  as 
hunting  or  fishing. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  white  man  is  often  ac- 
cused of  demoralizing  savages,  and  convert- 
ing them  from  a  simple  and  honest  race  into 
a  set  of  cheats  and  thieves.  Whereas,  para- 
doxical as  it  may  seem,  the  very  develop- 


340 


THE   MAKOBA  TRIBE. 


ment  of  roguerj-  is  a  proof  tliat  the  savages 
in  question  have  not  been  demoralized,  but 
have  actually  lieeu  raised  in  the  social  scale. 

Mr.  Chapman's  experiences  of  the  Ma- 
koba  tribe  were  anything  but  agreeable. 
They  stole,  and  they'lied,  and  they  cheated 
liim.  He  had  a  large  cargo  of  ivory,  and 
found  that  his  oxen"  were  getting  weaker, 
and  could  not  draw  their  costly  load.  So  he 
applied  to  the  Makoba  for  canoes,  and  found 
that  they  were  perfectly  aware  of  his  dis- 
tress, anil  were  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
it,  by  demanding  exorbitant  sums,  and 
robbing  him  whenever  they  could,  knowing 
that  he  could  not  well  proceed  without  their 
assistance.  At  last  he  succeeded  in  hiring 
a  boat  in  which  the  main  part  of  his  cargij 
could  be  carried  along  the  river.  By  one 
excuse  and  another  the  Makoba  chief  de- 
layed the  start  until  the  light  wagon  had 
gone  on  past  immediate  recall,  and  then 
said  that  he  really  could  not  convey  the 
ivory  by  boat,  but  that  he  would  be  very 
generous,  and  take  his  ivory  across  the 
river  to  the  same  side  as  the  wagon.  Pres- 
ently, the  traveller  lound  that  the  chief  had 
contrived  to  open  a  tin-box  in  which  he 
kept  the  beads  that  were  his  money,  and 
had  stolen  the  most  valuable  kinds.  As  all 
the  trade  de]iended  on  the  beads  he  saw 
that  determined  measures  were  needful, 
presented  his  rifle  at  the  breast  of  the 
chiefs  son,  who  was  on  board  during  the 
absence  of  his  father,  and  assumed  so  men- 
acing an  aspect  that  the  young  man  kicked 
aside  a  lump  of  mud,  which  is  always  plas- 
tered into  the  bottom  of  the  boats,  and  dis- 
covered some  of  the  missing  property.  The 
rest  was  produced  fr<:)m  another  spot  by 
means  of  the  same  inducement. 

As  soon  as  the  threatening  muzzles  were 
removed,  he  got  on  shore,  and  ran  oft"  with  a 
rapidity  that  convinced  Mr.  Chapman  that 
some  roguery  was  as  yet  undiscovered.  On 
counting  the  tusks  it  was  found  that  the 
thief  had  stolen  ivory  as  well  as  beads,  Init 
he  had  made  such  good  use  of  his  legs  that 
he  could  not  be  overtaken,  and  the  traveller 
had  to  put  up  with  his  loss  as  he  best  could. 

Yet  it  would  be  unfair  to  give  all  the 
Makoba  a  bad  character  on  account  of  this 
conduct.  They  can  be,  and  for  the  most 
part  are,  very  pleasant  men,  as  far  as  can  be 
expected  from  savages.  Mr.  Baines  had  no 
particular  reason  to  complain  of  them,  and 
seems  to  have  liked  them  well  enough. 

The  Makoba  are  esentially  a  boatman 
tribe,  being  accustomed  to  their  canoes  from 
earliest  infancy,  and  being  obliged  to  navi- 
gate them  through  the  jierpetual  changes  of 
this  capricious  river,  which  at  one  time  is 
tolerably  quiet,  and  at  another  is  changed 
into  a  series  of  whirling  eddies  and  danger- 
ous rapids,  the  former  being  aggravated  by 
occasional  back-flow  of  the  waters.  The 
canoes  are  like  the  racing  river-boats  of  our 
own  country,  enormously  long  in  proportion 


to  their  width,  and  appear  to  be  so  frail  that 
they  could  hardly  endure  the  weight  of  a 
single  human  being.  Yet  they. are  much 
less  perilous  than  they  look,  and  their  safety 
is  as  much  owing  to  their  construction  as  to 
the  slcill  of  their  navigator.  It  is  scarcely 
possible,  without  having  seen  the  Makoba 
at  work,  to  appreciate  the  wonderful  skill 
with  which  they  manage  their  frail  barks, 
and  the  enormous  cargoes  which  tliey  will 
take  safely  through  the  rapids.  It  often  hap- 
pens that  the  waves  breakover  the  side, and 
rush  into  the  canoe,  so  that,  unless  the  water 
were  baled  out,  down  tlie  vessel  must  go. 

The  Makoba,  however,  do  not  take  the 
trouble  to  stop  when  engaged  in  baling  out 
their  l)oats,  nor  do  they  use  any  tool  ft>r  this 
purpose.  ^Vhen  the  canoe  gets  too  full  of 
\vater,  the  boatman  goes  to  one  end  of  it  so 
as  to  depress  it,  and  cause  the  water  to  run 
toward  him.  With  one  foot  he  then  kicks 
out  the  water,  making  it  fly  from  his  instep 
as  if  from  a  rai)idl_v-wielded  scoop.  In  fact, 
the  canoe  is  to  the  Makoba  what  the  camel 
is  to  the  Arab,  and  the  horse  to  the  Coman- 
ches,  and,  however  they  may  feel  an  inferi- 
ority on  shore,  they  are  the  masters  ^^■hen  on 
board  their  canoes.  The  various  warlike 
tribes  which  surround  them  have  proved 
their  superioj'ity  on  land,  but  when  once 
they  are  fairly  launched  into  the  rapids  of 
the  river  or  the  wild  waves  of  the  lake,  the 
Makoba-s  are  masters  of  the  situation,  and  the 
others  are  obliged  to  be  very  civil  to  them. 

One  of  the  typical  men  of  this  tribe  was 
Makata,  a  petty  chief,  or  headman  of  a  vil- 
lage. He  was  considered  to  be  the  best 
boatman  and  hunter  on  the  river,  especially 
distinguishing  himself  in  the  chase  of  the 
hippopotamus.  The  illustration  No.  1  on 
page  351  is  from  a  sketch  Ijy  ilr.  Baines, 
who  depicts  forcibly  the  bold  and  graceful 
manner  in  which  the  Makolias  manage  their 
frail  craft.  The  spot  on  which  the  sketch 
was  taken  is  a  portion  of  the  Bo-tlet-le  river, 
and  shows  the  fragile  nature  of  the  canoes, 
as  well  as  the  sort  of  water  through  which 
the  daring  boatman  will  take  them.  The 
figure  in  the  front  of  the  canoe  is  a  cele- 
brated boatman  and  hunter  named  Zanguel- 
lah.  He  was  so  successful  in  the  latter  pur- 
suit that  his  house  and  court-yard  were 
tilled  with  the  skulls  of  the  hippopotami 
which  he  had  slain  with  his  own  hand.  He 
is  standing  in  the  place  of  honor,  and  guid- 
ing his  boat  with  a  light  but  strong  pole. 
The  other  figure  is  that  of  his  assistant.  lie 
has  been  hunting  up  the  river,  and  has  killed 
two  sable  antelopes,  which  he  is  bringing 
home.  The  canoe  is  only  fifteen  or  sixteen 
feet  long,  and  eighteen  inches  wide,  and  yet 
Zangueilah  ventured  to  load  it  with  two 
large  and  heavy  antelopes,  besides  the  weight 
of  himself  and  assistant.  So  small  are  some 
of  these  canoes,  that  if  a  man  sits  in  them, 
and  places  his  hands  on  the  sides,  his  fingers 
are  in  the  water. 


HIPPOPOTAMUS  nUXTING. 


341 


The  reeds  that  are  seen  on  the  left  of  the 
ilkistration  are  very  characteristic  of  the 
country.  Wherever  they  are  seen  the  water 
is  sure  to  be  tolerably  deep — ^say  at  least 
four  or  five  feet  —  and  they  grow  to  a  great 
height,  forming  thick  c!um]i.s  some  fifteen 
feet  iu  height.  It  often  happens  that  they 
are  broken  by  the  hipjiopotamus  or  other 
aquatic  creatures,  and  iheu  they  lie  recum- 
bent on  the  water,  with  their  heads  pointing 
down  the  stream.  When  this  is  the  case, 
they  seem  to  grow  ad  libitum,  inasmuch  as 
the  water  supports  their  weight,  and  the 
root  still  continues  to  supply  nourishment. 

In  the  background  are  seen  two  cauoes 
propelled  by  paddles.  The  scene  which  is 
here  represented  really  occurred,  and  was 
rather  a  ludicrous  one.  The  first  canoe 
belongs  to  the  Makololo  chief,  M'Bopo,  who 
was  carrying  Messrs.  Baines  and  Chapman 
in  his  canoe.  He  was  essentially  a  gentle- 
man, being  free  from  the  habit  of  constant 
begging  which  makes  so  many  savages  dis- 
agreeable. He  had  been  exceedingly  useful 
to  the  white  men,  who  intended  to  present 
him  with  beads  as  a  recompense  for  his  ser- 
vices. It  so  happened  that  another  chief, 
named  Moskotlani,  who  was  a  thorough 
specimen  of  the  begging,  pilfering,  unpleas- 
ant native,  suspected  that  his  countryman 
might  possibly  procure  beads  from  the  white 
men,  and  wa,ntod  to  have  his  share.  So  he 
stuck  close  by  M'Bopo's  canoe,  and  watched 
it  so  jealously  that  no  beads  could  pass  with- 
out his  knowledge.  However,  Moskotlani 
had  his  paddle,  and  M'Bopo  had  his  beads, 
though  they  were  given  to  him  on  shore, 
where  his  jealous  compatriot  could  not  see 
the  transaction. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  Makdta  was  a 
mighty  hunter  as  well  as  an  accomplished 
boatman,  and,  indeed,  great  skill  iu  the 
management  of  canoes  is  an  absolute  essen- 
tial in  a  hunter's  life,  inasmuch  as  the  chief 
game  is  the  hippopotamus.  The  next  few 
pages  will  be  given  to  the  bold  and  sports- 
manlike mode  of  hunting  the  hippopotamus 
which  is  employed  by  the  Makoba  and  some 
other  triljes,  and  the  drawings  which  illus- 
trate the  account  are  from  sketches  by  Mr. 
Baines.  As  these  sketches  were  taken  on 
the  spot,  they  have  the  advantage  of  per- 
fect accuracy,  while  the  fire  and  spirit  which 
animates  them  could  only  have  been  attained 
by  one  who  was  an  eye-witness  as  well  as  an 
artist. 

According  to  Dr.  Livingstone,  these  peo- 
ple are  strangely  fearful  of  the  lion,  while 
they  meet  with  perfect  unconcern  animals 
which  are  quite  as  dangerous,  if  not  more 
so.  That  they  will  follow  unconcernedly 
the  buffalo  into  the  bush  has  already  been 
mentioned,  and  yet  the  buftalo  is  even  more 
to  be  dreaded  than  the  lion  himself,  being 
quite  as  fierce,  more  cunning,  and  more 
steadily  vindictive.  A  lion  will  leap  on  a 
man  with  a  terrific  roar,  strike  him  to  the 


ground,  carry  him  off  to  the  den.  and  then 
eat  him,  so  that  the  pressure  of  hunger 
forms  some  excuse  for  the  act.  But,  with 
the  butfalo  no  such  excuse  can  be  found. 

A  "  rogue  "  buftalo,  i.  e.,  one  wdiicli  has 
been  driven  from  his  fellows,  and  is  obliged 
to  lead  a  solitary  life,  is  as  fierce,  as  cun- 
ning, and  as  treacherous  an  animal  as  can 
be  found.  He  does  not  eat  mankind,  and 
yet  he  delights  in  hiding  in  thick  bushes, 
rushing  out  unexpectedly^  on  any  one  who 
may  happen  to  approach,  and  killing  him  at 
a  blow.  Nor  is  he  content  with  the  death 
of  his  victim.  He  stands  over  the  body, 
kneels  on  it,  pounds  it  into  the  earth  with 
his  feet,  walks  away,  comes  back  again,  as  if 
drawn  by  some  irresistitde  attraction,  and 
never  leaves  it,  until  nothing  is  visible  save 
a  mere  shapeless  mass  of  bones  and  flesh. 

Yet  against  this  animal  the  Makoba  hunt- 
ers will  match  themselves,  and  they  will 
even  attack  tlie  hippopotamus,  an  animal 
which,  iu  its  own  element,  is  quite  as  formi- 
dable as  the  buffalo  on  land.  Their  first 
care  is  to  prepare  a  number  of  harpoons, 
which  are  made  in  the  following  manner. 
A  stout  pole  is  cut  of  hard  and  very  heavy 
wood  some  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  and 
three  or  four  inches  in  thickness.  At  one 
end  a  hole  is  bored,  and  into  this  hole  is 
slipped  the  iron  head  of  the  harpoon.  The 
shape  of  this  head  can  be  seen  iu  the  illus- 
tration No.  1  on  page  343.  It  consists  of  a 
spear-shaped  piece  of  iron,  with  a  bold  barb, 
and  is  about  a  foot  in  length. 

The  head  is  attached  to  the  shaft  by  a 
strong  band  composed  of  a  great  number  of 
small  ropes  or  strands  laid  parallel  to  each 
other,  and  being  quite  loosely  arranged. 
The  object  of  this  multitude  of  ropes  is  to 
prevent  the  hiiipopotamus  from  severing 
the  cord  with  his  teeth,  which  are  shar]!  as 
a  chisel,  and  would  cut  through  any  single 
cord  with  the  greatest  ease.  The  animal  is 
sure  to  snap  at  the  cords  as  soon  as  he  feels 
the  wound,  but,  on  account  of  the  loose 
manner  in  which  they  are  laid,  they  only 
become  entangled  among  the  long  curved 
teeth,  and,  even  if  one  or  two  are  severed, 
the  others  retain  their  hold.  To  the  other 
end  of  the  shaft  is  attached  a  long  and 
strongly-made  rope  of  palm-leaf,  which  is 
coiled  up  in  such  manner  as  to  be  carried 
out  readily  when  loosened.  Each  canoe 
has  on  board  two  or  three  of  these  har- 
poons, and  a  quantity  of  ordinary  spears. 
Preserving  perfect  silence,  the  boatmen 
allow  themselves  to  float  down  the  stream 
until  they  come  to  the  spot  which  has  been 
chosen  by  the  herd  for  a  bathing-place. 
They  do  not  give  chase  to  any  particular 
animal,  but  wait  until  one  of  them  comes 
close  to  the  boat,  when  the  harpooner  takes 
his  weapon,  strikes  it  into  the  animal's  back 
and  loosens  his  hold. 

The  first  illustration  on  page  343  repre- 
sents this  phase  of  the  proceetOugs.    In  the 


342 


THE  MAKOBA  TRIBE. 


front  is  seen  the  head  of  a  hippopotamus  as 
it  usually  appears  when  the  aiiinial  is  swiin- 
miut;,  the  only  portiou  seen  above  tlie  water 
being  the  ears,  tlie  eyes,  and  the  nostrils. 
It  is  a  remarkable  faet  that  when  the  hip- 
potamus  is  at  liberty  in  its  native  stream, 
not  only  the  ears  and  the  nostrils,  but  even 
the  ritlge  over  the  ej'es  are  of  a  briglit  scar- 
let color,  so  brilliant  indeed  that  color  can 
scarcely  convey  an  idea  of  the  hue.  The 
specimens  in  the  Zoological  Gardens,  al- 
though tine  examples  of  the  species,  never 
exhibit  this  brilliancy  of  color,  and,  indeed, 
are  no  more  like  the  hippopotamus  in  its 
own  river  than  a  prize  hog  is  like  a  wild 
boar. 

A  very  characteristic  attitude  is  sho\vn  in 
the  second  animal,  which  is  represented  as 
it  appears  when  lifting  its  head  out  of  the 
water  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitring. 
The  horse-like  expression  is  easily  i-ecog- 
nizable,  and  Mr.  Baines  tells  me  th.at  he 
never  understood  how  appropriate  was  the 
term  Kiver  Horse  (which  i.s  the  literal 
translation  of  the  word  hippopotamus)  until 
he  saw  the  animals  disporting  themselves  at 
liberty  in  their  own  streams. 

In  the  front  of  the  canoes  is  standing 
Makuta,  aljout  to  plunge  the  harpoon  into 
the  back  of  the  hippopotamus,  while  his 
assistants  are  looking  after  the  rojie,  and 
keeping  themselves  in  readiness  to  paddle 
out  of  the  way  of  the  animal,  should  it  make 
an  attack.  Perfect  stillness  is  requii'ed  for 
planting  the  harpoon  properly,  as,  if  a 
splash  were  made  in  the  water,  or  a  sudden 
noise  heard  on  land,  the  animals  would  take 
flight,  and  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  canoes. 
On  the  left  is  a  clump  of  the  tall  reeds  which 
have  already  been  mentioned,  accompanied 
by  some  iiapyrus.  The  huge  trees  seen  on 
the  bank  are  baobabs,  which  sometimes 
attain  tlie  enormous  girth  of  a  hundred  feet 
and  even  more.  The  small  white  flowers 
that  are  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
are  the  white  lotus.  They  shine  out  very 
conspicuously  on  the  bosom  of  the  clear, 
deep-blue  water,  and  sometimes  occur  in 
such  numbers  that  they  look  like  stars  in 
the  blue  firmament,  rather  than  mere  flow- 
ers on  the  water.  It  is  rather  curious,  by 
the  way,  that  the  Damaras,  who  are  much 
more  familiar  with  the  land  than  the  water, 
call  the  hippopotamus  the  Water  Rhinoce- 
ros, whereas  the  Makotia,  Batoka,  and  other 
tribes,  w\w  are  more  at  home  on  the  water, 
call  the  rhinoceros  the  Land  Hippopotamus. 

Now  comes  the  next  scene  in  this  savage 
and  most  exciting  drama.  Stung  by  tlie 
sudden  and  unexpected  pang  of  the  wound, 
the  hippoiiotamus  gives  a  convulsive  spring, 
which  shakes  the  head  of  the  harpoon  out 
of  its  socket,  and  leaves  it  only  attached  to 
the  shaft  by  its  many-stranded  rope.  At 
tills  period,  the  animal  seldom  shows  flght, 
but  dashes  down  the  stream  at  its  full 
speed,  only  the  upper  pai-t  of  its  head  and 


back  being  visible  above  the  surface,  and 
towing  the  canoe  along  as  if  it  were  a  cork. 
Meanwhile,  the  harpooner  and  his  com- 
rades hold  tightly  to  the  rope,  jiaying  out  if 
necessary,  and  hauling  in  whenever  possi- 
ble—  in  tact,  playing  their  gigantic  i)rey 
just  as  an  angler  plays  a  large  fish.  Their 
object  is  twofold,  first  to  tire  the  animal,  and 
then  to  get  it  into  shallow  water;  tor  a  hip- 
popotamus in  all  its  strength,  and  with  the 
advantage  of  deep  water,  would  be  too  much 
even  for  these  courageous  hunters.  The 
I'.ace  that  the  animal  attains  is  something 
wonderlul,  and,  on  looking  at  its  aiipareiitly 
clumsy  means  of  propulsion,  the  swiftness 
of  its  course  is  really  astonishing. 

Sometimes,  but  very  rarely,  it  happens 
that  the  animal  is  .so  active  and  fierce,  that 
the  hunters  are  obliged  to  cast  loose  the 
rope,  and  make  ofl'  as  they  best  can.  They 
do  not,  however,  think  of  abandoning  so  valu- 
able a  prej'  —  not  to  mention  the  harpoon 
and  rope  —  and  manage  as  well  as  they  can 
to  keep  the  animal  in  sight.  At  the  ear- 
'liest  opportunity,  they  paddle  toward  the 
wounded,  and  by  this  time  weakened  ani- 
mal, and  renew  the  chase. 

The  hip])opotanius  is  most  dangerous 
when  he  feels  his  strength  failing,  and  with 
the  courage  of  despair  dashes  at  the  canoe. 
Tlie  hunters  have  then  no  child's  play  be- 
fore them.  Regardless  of  everything  but 
pain  and  fury,  the  animal  rushes  at  the 
canoe,  tries  to  knock  it  to  pieces  by  blows 
from  his  enormous  head,  or  seizes  the  edge 
in  his  jaws,  and  tears  out  the  side.  Should 
he  succeed  in  cap.sizing  or  destroying  the 
canoe,  the  hunters  have  an  anxious  time  to 
pass;  for  if  the  furious  animal  can  gripe 
one  of  them  in  his  huge  jaws,  the  curved, 
chisel-like  teeth  inflict  certain  death,  and 
have  been  known  to  cut  an  unfortunate  man 
fairly  in  two. 

Whenever  the  animal  does  succeed  in  up- 
sotting  or  breaking  the  boat,  the  men  have 
recourse  to  a  curious  expedient.  They  dive 
to  the  bottom  of  the  river,  and  grasp  a 
stone,  a  root,  or  anything  that  will  keep 
them  below  the  surface,  and  hold  on  as  long 
as  their  lungs  will  allow  them.  The  reason 
for  this  manceuvre  is,  that  when  the  animal 
has  sent  the  crew  into  the  river,  it  raises  its 
head,  as  seen  on  page  000,  and  looks  about 
on  the  surface  for  its  enemies.  It  has  no 
idea  of  foes  beneath  the  surface,  and  if  it 
docs  not  see  anything  that  looks  like  a  man, 
it  makes  off,  and  so  allows  the  hunters  to 
emerge,  half  drowned,  into  the  air.  In 
order  to  keep  oft"  the  animal,  spears  are 
freely  used;  some  being  thrust  at  him  liy 
hand,  and  others  flung  hke  javelins.  They 
cannot,  however,  do  much  harm,  unless  one 
should  happen  to  enter  the  eye.  which  is  so 
well  protected  by  its  bony  penthouse  that 
it  is  almost  impregn.able  to  anything  except 
a  bullet.  The  head  is  one  huge  mass  of 
solid  bone,  so  thick  and  hard  that  even  fire- 


(1.)  SPEAKING  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS, 
(See  page  342.) 


(2.)  THE  FINAL  ATTACK. 
(See  page  345.) 

(343) 


DANGERS   OF  HIPPOPOTAMUS   HUNTING. 


345 


arms  make  little  impression  on  it,  except  in 
one  or  two  small  spots.  The  hunters,  there- 
fore, cannot  expect  to  inflict  any  material 
damasie  on  the  animal,  and  only  hope  to 
deter  it  from  charging  by  the  pain  which 
the  spears  can  cause. 

The  last  scene  is  now  approaching.  Hav- 
ing effectually  tired  the  animal,  which  is 
also  weakened  by  loss  of  blood  from  the 
,ound,  and  guided  it  into  shallow  water, 
several  of  the  crew  jump  overboard,  carry 
the  end  of  the  rope  ashore,  and  pass  it  with 
a  "  double  turn  "  round  a  tree.  The  fate  of 
the  animal  is  then  sealed.  Finding  itself 
suddenly  checked  in  its  course,  it  makes 
new  ellbrts,  and  fights  and  struggles  as  if  it 
were  quite  fresh.  Despite  the  pain,  it  tries 
to  tear  itself  away  from  the  fatal  cord;  but 
the  rope  is  too  strong  to  be  broken,  and  the 
inch-thick  hide  of  the  hippopotamus  holds 
the  Ijarb  so  firmly  that  even  the  enormous 
strength  and  weight  of  the  animal  cannot 
cause  it  to  give  way.  Finding  that  a  fierce 
pull  in  one  direction  is  useless,  it  rushes  in 
another,  and  thus  slackens  the  rope,  which 
is  immediately  hauled  taut  by  the  hunters 
on  shore,  so  that  the  end  is  much  shortened, 
and  the  animal  brought  nearer  to  the  bank. 
Each  struggle  only  has  the  same  result,  the 
hunters  holding  the  rope  fast  as  long  as 
there  is  a  strain  upon  it,  and  hauling  it  in 
as  soon  as  it  is  slackened.  The  reader  may 
easily  see  how  this  is  done  by  watching  a 
sailor  make  fast  a  steamer  to  the  pier,  a 
single  man  being  able  to  resist  the  strain  of 
several  tons. 

As  soon  as  the  hippopotamus  is  hauled  up 
close  to  the  bank,  and  its  range  of  move- 
ments limited,  the  rope  is  made  fast,  and 
the  hunters  all  combine  for  the  final  assault. 
Armed  with  large,  heavy,  long-bladed  spears, 
made  for  the  express  purpose,  they  boldly 
approach  the  infuriated  animal,  and  hurl 
their  weapons  at  him.  Should  the  water  be 
deep  beyond  him,  some  of  the  hunters  take 
to  their  canoes,  and  are  able  to  attack  the 
animal  with  perfect  securits^  because  the 
rope  which  is  affixed  to  the  tree  prevents 
him  from  reaching  tliem.  At  last,  the  unfor- 
tunate animal,  literally  worried  to  death  liy 
numerous  wounds,  none  of  which  would  be 
immediately  fatal,  succumbs  to  fatigue  and 
loss  of  blood,  and  falls,  never  to  rise  again. 

The  second  illustration  on  page  .343  repre- 
sents this,  the  most  active  and  exciting  scene 
of  the  three.  In  the  centre  is  the  hippopo- 
tamus, which  has  been  driven  into  shallow 
■water,  and  is  plunging  aljout  in  mingled 
rage  and  terror.  With  his  terriljle  jaws  he 
has  already  crushed  the  shaft  of  the  har- 
poon, and  is  trying  to  bite  the  cords  which 
Becure  the  head  to  the  shaft.  He  has  sev- 
ered a  few  of  them,  but  the  others  are  lying 
entangled  among  his  teeth,  and  retain  their 
hold.  Some  of  the  hunters  have  just  car- 
ried the  end  of  the  rope  ashore,  and  are 
going  to  pass  it  round  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 


while  some  of  their  comrades  are  boldly 
attacking  the  animal  on  foot,  and  others  are 
coming  up  behind  him  in  canoes. 

On  the  Zambesi  River,  a  harpoon  is  used 
which  is  made  on  a  similar  principle,  but 
which  dilfers  in  several  details  of  construc- 
tion. The  shaft  is  made  of  light  wood, 
and  acts  as  a  float.  The  head  fits  into  a 
socket,  like  that  which  has  already  been 
mentioned;  but,  instead  of  being  secured 
to  the  shaft  by  a  number  of  small  cords,  it 
is  fastened  to  one  end  of  the  long  rope,  the 
other  end  of  which  is  attached  to  the  butt 
of  the  sliaft.  When  arranged  for  use,  the 
rope  is  wound  spirally  round  the  shaft, 
whiclr  it  covers  completely.  As  .soon  as  the 
hippopotamus  is  struck,  the  shaft  is  shaken 
from  the  head  by  the  wounded  animafs 
struggles,  the  rope  is  unwound,  and  the 
light  shaft  acts  as  a  buoy,  whereby  the  rope 
can  be  recovered,  in  case  the  hippopotamus 
should  sever  it,  or  the  hunters  should  be 
obliged  to  cast  it  loose. 

Sometimes  these  tribes,  i.  e.  the  Makololo, 
Bayeye,  and  others,  use  a  singularly  ingen- 
ious raft  in  this  sport.  Nothing  can  be  sim- 
pler than  the  construction  of  this  raft.  A 
quantity  of  reeds  are  cut  down  just  above 
the  surface,  and  are  thrown  in  a  heap  upon 
the  water.  More  reeds  are  then  cut,  and 
thrown  crosswise  upon  the  others,  and  so 
the  natives  proceed  until  the  raft  is  formed. 
No  poles,  beams,  nor  other  supports,  are 
used,  neither  are  the  reeds  lashed  together 
in  bundles.  They  are  merely  flung  on  the 
water,  and  left  to  entangle  themselves  into 
form.  By  degrees  the  lower  reeds  become 
soaked  with  water,  and  sink,  so  that  fresh 
material  must  be  added  above.  Nothing 
can  look  more  insecure  or  fragile  than  this 
rude  reed-raft,  and  yet  it  is  far  safer  than 
the  canoe.  It  is,  in  fact,  so  strong  that  it 
allows  a  mast  to  be  erected  on  it.  A  stout 
pole  is  merely  thrust  into  the  centre  of  the 
reedy  mass,  and  remains  fixed  without  the 
assistance  of  stays.  To  this  mast  is  fastened 
a  long  rope,  by  means  of  which  the  raft  can 
be  moored  when  the  voyagers  wish  to  land. 
One  great  advantage  of  the  raft  is,  the  ex- 
treme ease  with  which  it  is  made.  Three 
or  four  skilful  men  can  in  the  course  of  an 
hour  build  a  raft  which  is  strong  enough  to 
bear  them  and  all  their  baggage. 

The  canoes  are  always  kept  fastened  to 
the  raft,  so  that  the  crew  can  go  ashore 
whenever  they  like,  though  they  do  not 
seem  to  tow  or  guide  the  ra."'^,  which  is  sim- 
ply allowed  to  float  down  the  stream,  and 
steers  itself  without  the  aid  of  a  rudder. 
Should  it  meet  with  any  obstacle,  it  only 
swings  round  and  disentangles  itself;  and 
the  chief  difflculty  in  its  management  is  its 
aptitude  to  become  entangled  in  overhang- 
ing branches. 

Such  a  raft  as  this  is  much  used  in  the 
chase  of  the  hippopotamus.  It  looks  like  a 
mere  mass  of  reeds  floating  down  the  stream, 


346 


THE   MAKOBA  TEIBE. 


and  does  not  alarm  the  wary  animal  as  much 
as  a  boat  would  be  likely  to  do.  When  the 
natives  use  the  raft  in  pursuit  of  the  hippo- 
potauuis,  they  always  haul  their  canoes  ujion 
it,  so  that  they  are  ready  to  be  launched  in 
pursuit  of  the  buoy  as  soon  as  the  animal  is 
struck. 

The  same  tribes  use  reeds  if  they  wish  to 
cross  the  river.  They  cut  a  quantity  of 
them,  and  throw  them  into  the  river  as  if 
they  were  going  to  make  a  raft.  They  then 
twist  up  some  of  the  reeds  at  each  corner, 
so  as  to  look  like  small  posts,  and  connect 
these  posts  by  means  of  sticks  or  long  reeds, 
by  way  of  bulwarks.  In  this  primitive  fer- 
ry-boat the  man  seats  himself,  and  is  able 
to  carry  as  much  luggage  as  he  likes,  the 
simple  bulwarks  preventing  it  from  falling 
overboard. 

It  is  rather  a  strange  thing  that  a  Mako- 
lolo  cannot  be  induced  to  plant  the  mango 
tree,  the  men  having  imbibed  the  notion 
from  other  tribes  among  whom  they  had 
been  travelling.  They  are  exceedingly  fond 
of  its  fruit,  as  well  they  may  be,  it  being 
excellent,  and  supplying  the  natives  witli 
food  for  several  weeks,  while  it  may  be 
plucked  in  tolerable  abundance  during  four 
months  of  the  j'car.  Yet  all  the  trees  are 
self-planted,  the  natives  believing  that  any 
one  who  plants  one  of  these  trees  will  soon 
die.  This  superstition  is  prevalent  through- 
out the  whole  of  this  part  of  Africa,  the 
Batoka  being  almost  the  only  tribe  among 
whom  it  does  not  prevad. 

The  Makololo  have  contrived  to  make 
themselves  victims  to  a  wonderful  number 
of  superstitions.  This  is  likely  enough, 
seeing  that  they  are  essentially  usurpers, 
having  swept  through  a  vast  number  of 
tribes,  and  settled  themselves  in  the  country 
of  the  vanquished.  Now,  there  is  nothing 
more  contagious  than  superstition,  and,  in 
such  a  case,  the  superstitions  of  the  con- 
quered tribes  are  sure  to  be  added  to  those 
of  the  victors. 

The  idea  that  certain  persons  can  change 
themselves  into  the  forms  of  animals  pre- 
vails among  them.  One  of  these  potent 
conjurers  came  to  Dr.  Livingstone's  jiarty, 
and  began  to  shake  and  ti'emble  in  ever}' 
limb  as  lie  approached.  Tlie  Makololo 
explained  that  the  Pondoro,  as  these  men 
are  called,  smelled  the  gunpowder,  and,  on 
account  of  his  leonine  halaits,  he  was  very 
much  afraid  of  ''■.  The  interjireter  was 
asked  to  oft'er  ^ae  Pondoro  a  bribe  of  a 
cloth  to  change  himself  into  a  lion  forth- 
with, but  tlie  man  declined  to  give  the  mes- 
sage, through  genuine  fear  that  the  trans- 
formation might  really  take  place. 

The  Pondoro  in  question  was  really  a 
clever  man.  He  used  to  go  oft'  into  the 
woods  for  a  month  at  a  time,  during  which 
period  he  was  supposed  to  be  a  lion.  His 
wife  bad  built  him  a  liut  under  the  shade  of 
a  baobab  tree,  and  used  to  bring  him  regular 


supplies  of  food  and  beer,  his  leonine  appe- 
tite being  supposed  to  be  subsidiary  to  that 
which  belonged  to  him  as  a  human  being. 
No  one  is  allowed  to  enter  this  hut  except 
the  Pondoro  and  his  wife,  and  not  even  the 
chief  will  venture  so  mucli  as  to  rest  his 
weapons  against  the  baoliab  tree;  and  so 
strictly  is  this  rule  observed  that  the  chief 
of  the  village  wished  to  inflict  a  fine  on 
some  of  Dr.  Livingstone's  party,  because 
they  had  placed  their  guns  against  the  sacred 
hut. 

Sometimes  the  Pondoro  is  believed  to  be 
hunting  for  the  benefit  of  the  village,  catch- 
ing and  killing  game  as  a  lion,  and  then 
resuming  his  human  form,  and  telling  the 
jieople  where  the  dead  animal  is  lying. 
There  is  also  among  these  tribes  a  belief 
that  the  spirits  of  departed  chiefs  enter  the 
bodies  of  lions,  and  this  belief  ma}'  ])rob- 
ably  account  for  the  fear  which  they  feel 
when  opposed  to  a  lion,  and  their  unwilling- 
ness to  attack  the  animal.  In  Livingstone's 
"  Zambesi  and  its  tributaries,"  there  is  a 
passage  which  well  illustrates  the  preva- 
lence of  this  feeling. 

"On  one  occasion,  when  we  had  shot  a 
buflalo  in  the  path  beyond  the  Kapie,  a 
hungry  lion,  attracted  probably  by  the  smell 
of  the  meat,  came  close  to  our  camp,  and 
roused  up  all  hands  by  his  roaring.  Tuba 
Moroko  (the  'Canoe-smasher'),  imbued 
with  the  ])opular  belief  that  the  beast  was 
a  chief  in  disguise,  scolded  him  roundly 
during  his  brief  intervals  of  .silence.  '  You 
a  chief!  Eh!  You  call  j-ourself  a  chief,  do 
j'ou?  What  kind  of  a  chief  are  you,  to 
come  sneaking  about  in  the  dark,  trying 
to  steal  our  bufl'alo-meat?  Are  you  not 
ashamed  of  j-ourself?  A  pretty  chief,  truly! 
You  are  like  the  scavenger-beetle,  and  think 
of  yourself  only.  You  have  not  the  heart 
of  a  chief;  why  don't  you  kill  your  own 
beef '?  You  must  have  a  stone  in  your 
chest,  and  no  heart  at  all,  indeed.' " 

The  "  Canoe-smasher  "  producing  no  ef- 
fect by  his  impassioned  outcry,  the  lion  was 
addressed  by  another  man  named  Malonga, 
the  most  sedate  and  taciturn  of  the  party. 
"In  his  slow,  quiet  way  he  expostulated 
with  him  on  the  impropriety  of  such  conduct 
to  strangers  who  had  never  injured  him. 
'We  were  travelling  peaceably  through  the 
country  back  to  our  own  chief.  We  never 
killed  people,  nor  stole  anything.  The  buf- 
falo-meat was  ours,  not  his,  and  it  did  not 
become  a  great  chief  like  him  to  be  prowling 
about  in  the  dark,  trying,  like  a  hyrena,  to 
steal  the  meat  of  strangers.  He  might  go 
and  hunt  for  himself,  as"  there  was  plenty  of 
game  in  the  forest.'  The  Pondoro  being 
deaf  to  reason,  and  only  roaring  the  louder, 
the  men  became  angry,  and  threatened  to 
send  a  hall  through  him  if  he  did  not  go 
away.  They  snatched  wyi  their  guns  to 
shoot  him,  biit  he  prudently  kept  in  the  dark, 
outside  of  the  luminous  circle  made  by  our 


SPECIAL  MEDICINES. 


347 


camp  fires,  and  there  they  did  not  like  to 
venture." 

Another  superstition  is  very  prevalent 
among  these  tribes.  It  is  to  the  eflect  that 
every  animal  is  specially  attected  by  an  ap- 
propriate medicine.  Ordinary  medicines  are 
prepared  by  the  regidar  witch-doctors,  of 
whom  there  are  plenty;  but  special  medi- 
cines require  special  professionals.  One 
man,  for  example,  takes  as  his  specialty  the 
preparation  of  elc^phant  medicine,  and  no 
hunter  will  go  after  the  elephant  witliout 
providing  himself  with  some  of  the  potent 
medicine.  Another  makes  crocodile  medi- 
cine, the  use  of  which  is  to  protect  its  owner 
from  the  crocodile.  On  one  occasion,  when 
the  white  man  had  shot  a  crocodile  as  it  lay 
basking  in  the  sun,  the  doctors  came  in 
■wrath,  and  remonstrated  with  their  visitors 
for  shooting  an  animal  which  they  looked 


uj)on  as  their  special  property.  On  another 
occasion,  when  a  baited  hook  was  laid  for 
the  crocodile,  the  doctors  removed  the  bait, 
partly  because  it  was  a  dog,  and  they  pre- 
ferred to  eat  it  themselves,  and  partly  be- 
cause any  diminution  in  the  number  of 
crocodiles  would  cause  a  corresponding  loss 
of  fees. 

Then  since  the  introduction  of  fire-arms 
there  are  gim-doctors,  who  make  medicines 
that  enable  the  gun  to  shoot  straight.  Sul- 
phur is  the  usual  gun  medicine,  and  is 
mostly  administered  by  making  little  inci- 
sions in  the  hands,  and  rubbing  the  sulphur 
into  them.  Magic  dice  are  also  used,  and 
are  chiefly  employed  for  the  discovery  of 
thieves.  Even  the  white  men  have  come  to 
believe  in  the  efHcacy  of  the  dice,  and  the 
native  conjurer  is  consulted  as  often  by  the 
Portuguese  as  by  his  own  countrymen. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


THE  BATOKA  AND  MANGANJA  TRIBES. 


IiOCAUTr  OF  THE  BATOKA  — THEIB  GENERAL  APPEARANCE  AND  DRESS  —  THEIR  SKILL  AS  BOATMEN  — 
THE  BAENDA-PEZI,  OK  GO-NAKEDS  —  AGRICULTURE — MODE  OF  HUNTING  —  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS 
—  WAR  CUSTOMS  —  THE  M.iNGANJA  TRIBE  —  GOVERNArENT  —  INDUSTRY  OF  BOTH  SEXES  —  SALUTA- 
TION—  DRESS — THE  PELELE,  OR  LIP-RING  —  TATTOOING  —  WANT  OF  CLEANLrN'ESS  —  BEEH-BKEW- 
ING  AND  DRINKING  —  EXCHANGING  NAMES — SUPERSTITIONS  —  FUNERAL  AND  MOURNING. 


SOMEM'HEKE  about  lat.  17°  S.  and  long.  27° 
E.  is  a  tribe  called  the  Batoka,  or  Batonga, 
of  which  there  are  two  distinct  varieties  ;"of' 
whom  those  who  live  on  low-lying  lauds, 
such  as  the  Iianks  of  the  Zambesi,  are  very 
dark,  and  somewhat  resemble  the  negro  iii 
appearance,  while  those  of  the  higher  lands 
are  light  broun,  much  of  the  same  hue  as 
cafe  uu  luit.  Their  character  seems  to  differ 
with  their  complexions,  the  former  variety 
being  dull,  stupid,  and  intractable,  while  the 
latter  are  comparatively  intellectual. 

They  do  not  improve  their  personal  ajj- 
pearance  by  an  odd  habit  of  depri\-ing  them- 
selves of  their  two  upper  incisor  teeth.  The 
want  of  these  teeth  makes  the  corresponding 
incisors  of  the  lower  jaw  jn'oject  outward, 
and  to  force  the  lip  with  them;  so  that  even 
in  youth  they  all  have  an  aged  exin-ession  of 
countenance.  Knocking  out  these  teeth  is 
part  of  a  ceremony  which  is  practised  on 
both  sexes  when  they  are  admitted  into  the 
ranks  of  men  and  women,  and  is  probably 
the  remains  of  some  religious  rite.  The 
reason  which  they  give  is  absurd  enough, 
namely,  that  they  like  to  resemble  oxen, 
which  have  no  upper  incisors,  and  not  to 
have  all  their  teeth  like  zebras.  It  is  proba- 
ble, however,  that  this  statement  may  be 
merely  intended  as  an  evasion  of  questions 
which  they  think  themselves  bound  to  parry, 
but  which  may  also  have  reference  to  the 
extreme  veneration  for  oxen  which  prevails 
in  an  African's  mind. 

Ill  spite  of  its  disfiguring  effect,  the  cus- 
tom is  universal  among  the  various  sub- 
tribes  of  which  the  Batoka  are  composed. 


and  not  even  the  definite  commands  of  the 
chief  himself,  nor  the  threats  of  punishment, 
could  induce  the  people  to  forego  it.  Girls 
and  lads  would  suddenly  make  their  ajipear- 
ance  without  their  teeth,  and  no  amount  of 
questioning  could  induce  them  to  state  when, 
and  by  whom,  they  were  knocked  out. 
Fourteen  or  fifteen  is  the  usual  age  for  per- 
forming the  operation. 

Their  dress  is  not  a  little  remarkable, 
especially  the  mode  in  which  some  of  them 
arrange  their  hair.  The  hair  on  the  top  of 
the  head  is  drawn  and  plastered  together  in 
a  circle  some  six  or  seven  inches  in  diame- 
ter. B}'  dint  of  careful  training,  and  jilenty 
of  grease  and  other  appliances,  it  is  at  last 
formed  into  a  cone  some  eight  or  ten  inches 
in  height,  and  slightly  leaning  forward.  In 
some  cases  the  cone  is  of  wonderful  height, 
the  head-man  of  a  Batoka  village  wearing 
one  which  was  trained  into  a  long  spike 
that  projected  a  full  yard  from  his  head, 
and  which  must  have  caused  him  consider- 
able incinivenience.  In  this  case  other  ma- 
terials were  evidently  mixed  with  the  hair: 
and  it  is  said  that  the  long  hair  of  various 
animals  is  often  added,  so  as  to  mingle  with 
the  real  growth,  and  aid  in  raising  the  edi- 
fice. Around  the  edges  of  this  cone  the 
hair  is  shaven  closely,  so  that  the  appearance 
of  the  bead  is  very  remarkable,  and  some- 
what ludicrous. 

The  figures  of  the  second  engraving  on 
page  357  are  portraits  by  Mr.  Baines.  Man- 
tanyani,  the  man  who  is"  sitting  (ni  the  edge 
of  the  boat,  was  a  rather  remarkable  man. 
He  really  belongs    to    the    Batoka    tribe, 


(318) 


THEIK  SKILL   AS  BOATMEK. 


349 


thoujili  he  was  thought  at  first  to  be  one  of 
the  Makololo.  Perhaps  he  thought  it  better 
to  assume  the  membership  of  tlie  victorious 
than  the  conquered  tribe.  This  was  cer- 
tainly tlie  case  witli  many  of  the  men  who, 
like  "Mantanyani,  accompanied  Dr.  Living- 
stone. He  was  a  singularly  skilful  boat- 
man, and  managed  au  ordinary  whaling 
boat  as  easily  as  one  of  his  oavu  canoes. 
The  ornament  which  he  wears  in  his  hair  is 
a  comb  made  of  bamboo.  It  was  not  man- 
ufactured by  himself,  but  was  taken  from 
Shimbesi's  tribe  on  the  Shire,  or  Sheereh 
Kiver.  He  and  his  companions  forced  the 
boat  up  the  many  rapids,  and,  on  being 
interrogated  as  to  the  danger,  he  said  that 
he  had  no  fears,  for  that  he  could  swim  like 
a  fish,  and  that,  if  by  any  mischance  he 
should  allow  Mr.  Baiues  to  fall  overboard 
and  be  drowned,  he  should  never  dare  to 
show  his  face  to  Dr.  Livingstone  again. 

Mr.  Baines  remarks  in  his  M.S.  notes, 
that  Mantanyani  ought  to  have  made  a 
good  sailor,  for  he  was  not  only  an  adejjt  at 
the  management  of  boats,  but  could  appre- 
ciate rum  as  well  as  any  British  tar.  It  so 
happened  that  at  night,  after  the  day's  boat- 
ing was  over,  grog  was  served  out  to  the 
men,  and  yet  for  two  or  three  nights  Man- 
tanyani would  not  touch  it.  Accordingly 
one  night  the  following  colloquy  took 
place : — 

"  Mantanyani,  non  quero  grog  ?"  (t  e.  Can- 
not you  take  grog?) 

"  Non  quero."     (I  cannot.) 

"Porquoi  non  quero  grogV"  (Why  can- 
not you  take  grog?) 

"Garatfa  poco,  Zambesi  munta."  (The 
bottle  is  little  and  the  Zambesi  is  l)ig.) 

The  hint  was  taken,  and  rum  unmixed 
with  water  was  offered  to  Mantanyani,  who 
drank  it  off  like  a  sailor. 

A  spirited  account  of  the  skill  of  the 
natives  in  managing  canoes  is  given  in 
"  The  Zambesi  and  its  Tributaries."  The 
canoe  belonged  to  a  man  named  Tuba- 
Mokoro,  or  the  "  Canoe  -  smasher,"  a  rather 
ominous,  but  apparently  undeserved,  title, 
inasmuch  as  he  proved  to  be  a  most  skilful 
and  steady  boatman.  He  seemed  also  to  be 
modest,  for  he  took  no  credit  to  himself  for 
his  management,  but  attributed  his  success 
entirely  to  a  certain  charm  or  medicine 
which  he  had,  and  which  he  kept  a  pro- 
found secret.  He  was  employed  to  take  the 
party  through  the  rapids  to  an  island  close 
to  the  edge  of  the  great  Mosi-oa-tunya,  i.  e. 
Smoke  Sounding  Falls,  now  called  the  Vic- 
toria Falls.  This  island  can  only  be  reached 
when  the  water  happens  to  be  very  low, 
and,  even  in  that  case,  none  but  the  most 
experienced  boatmen  can  venture  so  near 
to  the  Fall,  which  is  double  the  depth  of 
Niagara,  and  a  mile  in  width,  formed  en- 
tirely by  a  vast  and  sudden  rift  in  the  basal- 
tic bed  of  the  Zambesi. 

"  Before  entering  the  race  of  water,  we 


were  requested  not  to  speak,  as  our  talking 
might  diminish  the  value  of  the  medicine, 
and  no  one  with  such  boiling,  eddying 
rapids  before  his  eyes  would  think  of  diso- 
beying the  orders  of  a  'canoe-smasher.'  It 
soon  became  evident  that  there  was  sound 
sense  in  the  request  of  Tulia's,  though  the 
reason  assigned  was  not  unlike  that  of  the 
canoe  man  from  Sesheke,  who  begged  one 
of  our  party  not  to  whistle,  because  whis- 
tling made  the  wind  come. 

"  It  was  the  duty  of  the  man  at  the  bow 
to  look  out  ahead  for  the  proper  course,  and, 
when  he  saw  a  rock  or  a  snag,  to  call  out 
to  the  steersman.  Tuba  doubtless  thought  • 
that  talking  on  board  might  divert  the 
attention  of  his  steersman  at  a  time  when 
the  neglect  of  an  order,  or  a  slight  mistake, 
would  be  sure  to  spill  us  all  into  the  chafing 
river.  There  were  places  where  the  utmost 
exertions  of  both  men  had  to  be  put  forth 
in  order  to  force  the  canoe  to  the  only  safe 
part  of  the  rapid  and  to  jH-event  it  from 
sweeping  broadside  on,  when  in  a  twinkling 
we  should  have  found  ourselves  among  the 
plotuses  and  cormorants  which  were  en- 
gaged in  diving  for  their  breakfast  of  small 
fish. 

"  At  times  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  could 
save  us  from  dashing  in  our  headlong  race 
against  the  rocks,  which,  now  that  the  river 
was  low,  jutted  out  of  the  water;  but,  just 
at  the  very  nick  of  time,  Tulia  passed  the 
word  to  the  steersman,  and  then,  with  ready 
pole,  turned  the  canoe  a  little  aside,  and  we 
glided  swiftly  past  the  threatened  danger. 
Never  was  canoe  more  admirably  managed. 
Once  only  did  the  medicine  seem  to  have 
lost  something  of  its  efficacy. 

"  We  were  driving  swiftly  down,  a  black 
rock  over  which  the  white  foam  flew  lay 
directly  in  our  path,  the  pole  was  planted 
against  it  as  readily  as  ever,  but  it  slipped 
just  as  Tuba  put  forth  his  strength  to  turn 
the  bow  oft".  We  struck  hard,  and  were 
half  full  of  water  in  a  moment.  Tuba  re- 
covered hinisr  U'  as  speedily,  shoved  oft"  the 
bow,  and  ^hot  the  cnnoe  into  a  still,  shallow 
place,  to  bail  the  water  out.  He  gave  us  to 
understand  that  it  was  not  the  medicine 
which  was  at  fault — that  had  lost  none  of 
of  its  virtue;  the  accident  was  owing  to 
Tuba  having  started  without  his  breakfast. 
Need  it  be  said  that  we  never  let  Tuba  go 
without  that  meal  again." 

Among  them  there  is  a  body  of  men 
called  in  their  own  language  the  "  Baenda- 
pezi,"  i.  e.  the  Go-nakeds.  These  men  never 
wear  an  atom  of  any  kind  of  clothing,  but 
are  entirely  naked,  their  only  coat  being 
one  of  red  ochre.  These  Baenda-pezi  are 
rather  a  remarkable  set  of  men,  and  why 
they  should  voluntarily  live  without  cloth- 
ing is  not  very  evident.  Some  travellers 
think  that  they  are  a  se)iarate  order  among 
the  Batoka,  but  this  is  not  at  all  certain.  It 
is  not  that  they  are  devoid  of  vanity,  for 


350 


THE  BATOKA  TKIBE. 


they  are  extremely  fond  of  ornaments  upon 
their  heads,  which  tliey  dress  in  various 
fantastic  ways.  The  conical  style  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned,  Ijut  they  have  many 
other  fashions.  One  of  their  favorite  modes 
is,  to  ]ilait  a  lillet  of  liark,  some  two  inches 
wide,  and  tie  it  round  tlie  head  in  diadem 
fashion.  They  then  rub  grease  and  red 
ochre  plentifully  into  the  hair,  and  fasten 
it  to  the  fillet,  which  it  completely  cover.s. 
The  head  beins;  then  shaved  as  far  as  the 
edge  of  the  fillet,  the  native  looks  as  if  he 
were  weai'ing  a  red,  polished  fomge-cap. 

Rings  of  iron  wire  and  beads  are  worn 
round  the  arms  ;  and  a  fashionable  member 
of  this  order  thinks  himself  scarcely  fit  for 
society  unless  he  carries  a  pipe  and  a  small 
I)air  of  iron  tongs,  with  which  to  lift  a  coal 
from  the  fire  and  kindle  his  pipe,  the  stem 
of  which  is  often  ornamented  by  being 
bound  with  polished  iron  wire. 

The  Baenda-pezi  seem  to  be  as  devoid  of 
the  sense  of  shame  as  their  bodies  are  of 
covering.  They  could  not  in  the  least  bo 
made  to  see  that  they  ought  to  wear  cloth- 
ing, and  quite  laughed  at  the  absurdity  of 
such  an  idea  ;  evidently  looking  on  a  pro- 
posal to  wear  clothing  much  as  we  should 
entertain  a  request  to  dress  ourselves  in 
plate  armor. 

The  pipe  is  in  constant  requisition  among 
these  men,  who  are  seldom  seen  without  a 
pipe  in  their  mouths,  and  never  without  it 
in  their  possession.  Yet,  whenever  they 
came  into  the  presence  of  their  white  vis- 
itors, they  always  asked  permission  before 
lighting  their  pipes,  an  innate  politeness 
being  strong  within  them.  Their  toljacco  is 
exceedingly  powerful,  and  on  that  .account 
is  much  valued  by  other  tribes,  who  will 
travel  great  distances  to  purchase  it  from 
the  Batoka.  It  is  also  very  cheap,  a  lew 
beads  purchasing  a  sufficient  quantity  to 
last  even  these  inveterate  smokers  for  six 
months.  Their  mode  of  smoking  is  very 
peculiar.  Tliey  first  take  a  whiff'  after  the 
usual  manner,  and  puff  out  the  smoke.  But, 
when  they  have  expelled  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  smoke,  they  make  a  kind  of  catch  at 
the  last  tiny  wreath,  and  swallow  it.  This 
they  are  pleased  to  consider  the  very  essence 
or  spirit  of  the  tobacco,  which  is  lost  if  the 
smoke  is  exhaled  in  tlie  usual  manner. 

The  Batoka  are  a  polite  people  in  their 
way,  though  they  have  rather  an  odd  method 
of  "expressing  their  feelings.  The  ordinary 
mode  of  salutation  is  for  the  women  to  clap 
their  hands  and  produce  that  ululating  sound 
which  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  for 
the  men  to  stoop  and  clap  their  hands  on 
their  hips.  But,  when  they  wish  to  be  es- 
pecially respectful,  they  have  another  mode 
of  salutation.  They  throw  themselves  on 
tlieir  backs,  and  roll  from  side  to  side,  slap- 
ping the  outside  of  their  thighs  vigorously, 
and  calling  out "  Kina-bomba!  kina-bomba! " 
with  great  energy.     Dr.  Livingstone  says 


that  he  never  could  accustom  his  eyes  to 
like  the  spectacle  of  great  naked  men  wal- 
lowing on  their  backs  and  slapjiing  them- 
selves, and  tried  to  stop  them.  They,  how- 
ever, always  thought  that  he  was  not  satis- 
fied with  the  heartiness  of  his  reception, 
and  so  rolled  about  and  slapped  themselves 
all  the  more  vigoroush".  This  rolling  and 
slapping  seems  to  lie  reserved  for  the  wel- 
coming of  great  men,  and,  of  course,  when- 
ever the  Batoka  present  themselves  before 
the  chief,  the  performance  is  doubly  vigor- 
ous. 

When  a  gift  is  presented,  it  is  etiquette  for 
the  donor  to  hold  the  present  in  one  hand, 
and  to  slap  the  thigh  with  the  other,  as  he 
apin'oaches  the  person  to  whom  he  is  aljout 
to  give  it.  He  then  delivers  the  gift,  claps 
his  hands  together,  sits  down,  and  then 
strikes  his  thighs  with  both  hands.  The 
same  formalities  are  observed  when  a  return 
gift  is  presented  ;  and  so  tenacious  are  they 
of  this  branch  of  etiquette,  that  it  is  taught 
regularly  to  children  by  their  parents. 

They  are  an  industrious  people,  cultivat- 
ing wonderfidly  large  tracts  of  laud  with 
the  simple  but  effective  hoe  of  their  country. 
With  this  hoe,  which  looks  something  like 
a  large  adze,  they  not  only  break  up  the 
ground,  but  perform  other  tasks  of  less  im- 
portance, such  as  smootliing  the  earth  as  a 
foundation  for  their  beds.  Some  of  these 
fields  are  so  large,  that  the  traveller  may 
walk  for  hours  through  the  native  corn,  and 
scarcely  come  upon  an  uncultivated  spot. 
The  quantity  of  corn  which  is  grown  is  very 
large,  and  the  natives  make  such  numbers 
of  granaries,  that  their  villages  seem  to  be 
far  more  populous  than  is  really  the  case. 
Plenty,  in  consequence,  reigns  among  this 
people.  But  it  is  a  rather  remarkable  fact 
that,  in  spite  of  the  vast  quantities  of  grain, 
which  they  produce,  they  cannot  keep  it  in 
store. 

The  corn  has  too  many  enemies.  In  the 
first  place,  the  neighboring  tribes  are  apt  to 
send  out  marauding  parties,  who  prefer 
stealing  the  corn  which  their  industrious 
neighbors  have  grown  and  stored  to  culti- 
vating the  ground  for  themselves.  Mice, 
too,  are  very  injurious  to  the  corn.  Bui; 
against  these  two  enemies  the  Batoka  can 
tolerably  guard,  by  tying  up  quantities  of 
corn  in  bundles  of  grass,  plastering  them 
over  with  cLay,  and  hiding  them  in  the  low 
sand  islands  left  by  the  subsiding  waters  of 
the  Zambesi.  But  the  worst  of  all  enemies  is 
the  native  weevil,  an  insect  so  small  that  no 
precautions  are  available  against  its  ravages, 
and  which,  as  we  too  often  find  in  this  coun- 
try, destroys  an  enormous  amount  of  corn 
in  a  very  short  time.  It  is  impossilde  for 
the  Batoka  to  preserve  their  corn  more  than 
a  year,  and  it  is  as  much  as  thej'  can  do  to 
make  it  last  until  the  next  crop  is  ready. 

As,  therefore,  the  whole  of  the  annual 
crop  must  be  consumed  by  themselves  or 


(1.)   BOATING   SCKNK   ON   THE    BO-TLET-LE   RIVER. 
(See  page  340.) 


(-'.)  BATOKA   SALUTATION. 
(.See  page  350.) 


(351) 


ORDEAL  OF  THE   MUAVE. 


353 


the  weevil,  they  prefer  the  former,  and  what 
they  cannot  eat  they  make  into  beer,  wliich 
tliey  brew  in  large  quantities,  and  drink 
abundantly;  yet  they  seldom,  if  ever,  intox- 
icate themselves,  in  spite  of  the  quantities 
which  they  consume.  This  beer  is  called 
by  them  either  "boala"  or  "pomlie,"  just 
as  we  speak  of  beer  or  ale  ;  and  it  is  sweet 
in  flavor,  with  just  enough  acidity  to  render 
it  agreeable.  Even  Europeans  soon  come 
to  like  it,  and  its  effect  on  the  natives  is  to 
make  them  plump  and  well  nourished.  The 
Batoka  do  not  content  themselves  with 
simply  growing  corn  and  vegetables,  but 
even  plant  fruit  and  oil-bearing  trees  —  a 
practice  which  is  not  found  among  the  other 
tribes. 

Possibly  on  account  of  the  plenty  with 
which  their  land  is  blessed,  they  are  a  most 
hospitable  race  of  men,  always  glad  to  see 
guests,  and  receiving  them  in  the  kindest 
manner.  If  a  traveller  passes  through  a 
village,  he  is  continually  hailed  from  the 
various  huts  with  invitations  to  eat  and 
drink,  wliile  the  men  welcome  the  visitor 
by  clapping  their  hands,  and  the  women  by 
'■  lullilooing."  They  even  feel  pained  if  the 
stranger  passes  the  village  without  being 
entertained.  When  he  halts  in  a  village  for 
the  niglit,  the  inhabitants  turn  out  to  make 
him  comfortable;  some  running  to  fetch  tire- 
wood,  othei's  bringing  jars  of  water,  while 
some  engage  themselves  in  preparing  the 
bed,  and  erecting  a  fence  to  keep  off  the 
wind. 

They  are  skilful  and  fearless  hunters, 
and  are  not  afraid  even  of  the  elephant  or 
buflalo,  going  up  closely  to  these  formidable 
animals,  and  killing  them  with  large  spears. 
A  complete  system  of  game-laws  is  m  opera- 
tion among  the  Batoka,  not  for  the  purpose 
of  prohibiting  the  chase  of  certain  game,  but 
in  order  to  settle  the  disposal  of  "the  game 
when  killed.  Among  them,  the  man  who 
inflicts  the  first  wound  on  an  animal  has  the 
right  to  the  spoil,  no  matter  how  ti-ifling 
may  be  the  wound  which  he  inflicts.  In 
case  he  does  not  kill  the  animal  liimself, 
he  is  bound  to  give  to  the  hunter  who  in- 
flicts the  fatal  wound  both  legs  of  one  side. 

As  to  the  laws  which  regulate  ordinary 
life,  there  is  but  little  that  calls  for  special 
notice,  except  a  sort  of  ordeal  for  whicli  they 
have  a  great  veneration.  This  is  called  the 
ordeal  of  the  Muave,  and  is  analogous  to  the 
corsned  and  similar  ordeals  of  the  early  ages 
of  England.  The  dread  of  witchcraft  is  very 
strong  here,  as  iu  other  parts  of  Southerii 
Africa;  but  among  the  Batoka  the  accused 
has  the  opportunity  of  clearing  himself  by 
drinking  a  poisonous  preparation  called 
muave.  Sometimes  the  accused  dies  from 
the  draught,  and  in  that  case  his  guilt  is 
clear;  out  in  others  the  poison  acts  as  an 
emetic,  which  is  supposed  to  prove  his  inno- 
cence, the  poison  tinding  no  congenial  evil 
in  the  body,  and  therefore  being  rejected. 

18 


No  one  seems  to  be  free  from  such  au 
accusation,  as  is  clear  from  Dr.  Livingstone's 
account:  "  Near  the  confluence  of  the  Kapoe 
the  Mambo,  or  chief,  with  some  of  his  head- 
men, came  to  our  sleeping-place  with  a 
present.  Their  foreheads  were  smeared 
with  white  flour,  and  an  unusual  seriousness 
marked  their  demeanor.  Shortly  before  our 
arrival  they  had  been  accused  of  witchcraft: 
conscious  of  innocence,  they  accepted  the 
ordeal,  and  undertook  to  drink  the  poisoned 
muave.  For  this  purpose  they  made  a  jour- 
ney to  the  sacred  hill  of  Nehomokela,  on 
which  repose  the  bodies  of  tlieir  ancestors, 
and,  after  a  solemn  appeal  to  the  unseen 
spirit  to  attest  the  innocence  of  their  cliil- 
dren,  they  swallowed  the  muave,  vomited, 
and  were  therefore  declared  not  guilty. 

"  It  is  evident  that  they  believe  that  the 
soul  has  a  continued  existence,  and  that  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  know  what  those  tliey 
have  left  behind  are  doing,  and  are  pleased 
or  not,  according  as  their  deeds  are  good  or 
evil.  This  belief  is  universal.  The  owner 
of  a  large  canoe  refused  to  sell  it  because  it 
belonged  to  the  spirit  of  his  fixther,  who 
helped  him  when  he  killed  the  hippopota- 
mus. Another,  when  the  bargain  lor  Ids 
canoe  was  nearly  completed,  seeing  a  large 
serpent  on  a  branch  of  a  tree  overhead,  re- 
fused to  complet;e  the  sale,  alleging  that  this 
was  the  spirit  of  his  father,  come  to  protest 
against  it. 

Some  of  the  Batoka  believe  that  a  medi- 
cine could  be  prepared  which  would  cure 
the  bite  of  the  tsetse,  that  small  but  terrible 
fly  which  makes  such  destruction  among  the 
cattle,  but  has  no  hurtful  influence  on  man- 
kind. Tills  medicine  was  discovered  l)y  a 
chief,  whose  son  Moyara  showed  it  to  Dr. 
Livingstone.  It  consisted  chiefly  of  a  plant, 
which  was  apparently  new  to  botanical  sci- 
ence. The  root  was'  peeled,  and  the  peel 
sliced  and  reduced  to  powder,  together  with 
a  dozen  or  two  of  the  tsetse  themselves. 
The  remainder  of  the  plant  is  also  dried. 
When  an  animal  shows  symptoms  of  being 
bitten  by  the  tsetse,  some  of  the  powder  is 
administered  to  the  animal,  and  the  rest  of 
the  dried  plant  is  burned  under  it  so  as  to 
fumigate  it  thoroughly.  Moyara  did  not 
assert  that  the  remedy  was  infallible,  but 
only  stated  that  if  a  herd  of  cattle  were  to 
stray  into  a  district  infested  with  the  tsetse, 
some  of  them  would  be  saved  by  the  use  of 
the  medicine,  whereas  they  would  all  die 
without  it. 

The  Batoka  are  fond  of  using  a  musical 
instrument  that  prevails,  with  some  modirt- 
cations,  over  a  consideralile  portion  of  (Cen- 
tral Africa.  In  its  simplest  form  it  consists 
of  a  board,  on  which  are  fixed  a  number  of 
flat  wooden  strips,  which,  when  pressed 
down  and  suddenly  released,  ]iroduce  a  kind 
of  musical  tone.  In  fact,  the  principle  of  tlie 
sansa  is  exactly  that  of  our  musical-boxes, 
the   only  difference   being   that  the   teeth, 


354 


THE   BATOKA  TRIBE. 


or  keys,  of  our  instrument  are  steel,  and 
tha.t  they  are  sounded  by  little  pegs,  and 
not  by  the  fingers.  Even  among  this  one 
tribe  there  are  great  difl'erences  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  sansa. 

The  best  and  most  elaborate  form  is  that 
in  which  the  sounding-board  of  the  sansa  is 
hollow,  in  order  to  increase  the  resonance; 
and  the  keys  are  made  of  iron  instead  of 
wood,  so  that  a  really  musical  sound  is  pro- 
duced. Moreover,  the  instrument  is  en- 
closed in  a  hollow  calabash,  for  the  purpose 
of  intensifying  the  sound;  and  both  the 
sansa  and  the  calabash  are  furnished  with 
bits  of  steel  and  tin,  which  make  a  jingling 
accompaniment  to  the  music.  The  calabash 
is  generally  covered  with  carvings.  When 
the  sansa  is  used,  it  is  held  with  the  hollow 
or  ornamented  end  toward  the  player,  and 
the  keys  are  struck  with  the  thumbs,  the 
rest  of  the  hand  being  occupied  in  holding 
the  instrument. 

This  curious  instrument  is  used  in  accom- 
panying songs.  Dr.  Livingstone  mentions 
that  a  genuine  native  poet  attached  himself 
to  the  party,  and  composed  a  poem  in  honor 
of  the  white  men,  singing  it  whenever  tliey 
halted,  and  accompanying  himself  on  the 
sansa.  At  first,  as  he  did  not  know  much 
about  his  subject,  he  modestly  curtailed  his 
poem,  but  extended  it  day  by  day,  until  at 
last  it  became  quite  a  long  ode.  Tliere  was 
an  evident  rhythm  in  it,  each  line  consisting 
of  five  syllables.  Another  native  poet  was 
in  the  habit  of  solacing  himself  every  eve- 
ning with  an  extempore  song,  in  which  he 
enumerated  everything  that  the  white  men 
had  done.  He  was  not  so  accomplished  a 
poet  as  his  brother  improvisatore,  and  occa- 
sionally found  words  to  fail  him.  However, 
his  sansa  helped  him  when  he  was  at  a  loss 
for  a  word,  just  as  the  piano  helps  out  an 
unskilful  singer  when  at  a  loss  for  a  note. 

They  have  several  musical  instruments 
besides  the  sansa.  One  is  called  the  ma- 
rimlja,  and  is  in  fact  a  simple  sort  of  har- 
monicon,  the  place  of  the  glass  or  metal  keys 
being  supplied  by  strips  of  hard  wood  fixed 
on  a  frame.  These  strips  are  large  at  one 
end  of  the  instrument,  and  diminish  regu- 
larly toward  the  other.  Under  each  of  the 
wooden  keys  is  fixed  a  hollow  gourd,  or 
calabash,  the  object  of  which  is  to  increase 
the  resonance.  Two  sticks  of  hard  wood 
are  used  for  striking  the  keys,  and  a  skilful 
performer  really  handles  them  with  won- 
derful agility.  Simple  as  is  this  instrument, 
pleasing  sounds  can  be  produced  from  it. 
It  has  even  been  introduced  into  England, 
under  the  name  of  "  xylophone,"  and,  when 
played  by  a  dexterous  and  energetic  per- 
former, really  produces  eftects  that  could 
hardly  have  Ijeen  expected  from  it.  The 
sounds  are,  of  course,  deficient  in  musical 
tone;  but  still  the  various  notes  can  be  ob- 
tained with  tolerable  accuracy  by  trimming 
the  wooden  keys  to  the  proper  dimensions. 


A  similar  instrument  is  made  with  strips  of 
stone,  the  sounds  of  which  are  superior  to 
those  produced  by  the  wooden  bars. 

The  Batoka  are  remarkable  for  their  clan- 
nish feeling;  and,  when  a  large  party  are 
travelling  in  company,  those  of  one  tribe 
always  keej)  together,  and  assist  each  other 
in  every  difficulty.  Also,  if  they  should 
happen  to  come  upon  a  village  or  dwelling 
belonging  to  one  of  their  own  tribe,  they 
are  sure  of  a  welcome  and  plentiful  hospi- 
tality. 

The  Batoka  appear  from  all  accounts  to 
be  rather  a  contentious  people,  quarrelsome 
at  home,  and  sometimes  extending  their 
strife  to  other  villages.  In  domestic  fights 
— i.  e.  in  combats  between  inhabitants  of 
the  same  village — the  antagonists  are  care- 
ful not  to  inflict  fatal  injuries.  But  when 
village  fights  against  village,  as  is  sometimes 
the  case,  the  loss  on  both  sides  may  be  con- 
siderable. The  result  of  such  a  battle  would 
be  exceedingly  disagreeable,  as  the  two  vil- 
lages would  always  be  in  a  state  of  deadly 
feud,  and  an  inhabitant  of  one  would  not 
dare  to  go  near  the  other.  The  Batoka, 
however,  have  invented  a  plan  by  which  the 
feud  is  stopped.  When  the  victors  have 
driven  their  opponents  ofl"  the  field,  they 
take  the  Iwdy  of  one  of  the  dead  warriors, 
quarter  it,  and  perform  a  series  of  ceremo- 
nies over  it.  This  appears  to  be  a  kind  of 
challenge  that  they  are  masters  of  the  field. 
The  conquered  party  acknowledge  their  de- 
feat )jy  sending  a  deputation  to  ask  for  the 
body  of  their  comrade,  and,  when  they 
receive  it,  they  go  through  the  same  cere- 
monies; after  which  peace  is  supposed  to  be 
restored,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  villages 
may  visit  each  other  in  safety. 

i)r.  Livingstone's  informant  further  said, 
that  when  a  warrior  had  slain  an  enemy,  he 
took  the  head,  and  placed  it  on  an  ant-hill, 
until  all  the  flesh  was  taken  from  the  bones. 
He  then  removed  the  lower  jaw,  and  wore 
it  as  a  trophy.  He  did  not  see  one  of  these 
trophies  worn,  and  evidently  thinks  that  the 
above  account  maj'  be  inaccurate  in  some 
places,  as  it  was  given  through  an  interpre- 
ter; and  it  is  very  possible  that  both  the 
interpreter  and  the  Batoka  may  have  inven- 
ted a  tale  for  the  occasion.  The  account  of 
the  pacificatory  ceremonies  really  seems  to 
be  too  consistent  with  itself  to  be  falsehood  ; 
but  the  wearing  of  the  enemy's  jaw,  uncor- 
roborated by  a  single  example,  seems  to  be 
rather  doubtful.  Indeed,  Dr.  Livingstone 
expressly  warns  the  reader  against  receiv- 
ing with  implicit  belief  accounts  that  are 
given  by  a  native  African.  The  dark  inter- 
locutor amiably  desires  to  please,  and,  hav- 
ing no  conception  of  truth  as  a  principle, 
says  exactly  what  he  thinks  will  be  most 
acceptable  to  the  great  white  chief,  on  whom 
he  looks  as  a  sort  of  erratic  suiiernatnral 
being.  Ask  a  native  whether  the  moun- 
tains in  his  own  district  are  lofty,  or  whether 


HOSPITALITY   OF  THE  MAXGAXJAS. 


355 


gold  is  found  there,  and  he  will  assuredly 
answer  in  the  atiirmative.  So  he  will  if 
he  be  asked  whether  unicorns  live  in  his 
country,  or  whether  he  knows  of  a  race  of 
tailed  men,  being  only  anxious  to  please,  and 
not  thinking  that  the  truth  or  falsehood  of 
the  answer  can  be  of  the  least  consequence. 
If  the  white  sportsman  shoots  at  an  animal, 
and  makes  a  palpable  miss,  his  dusky  attend- ) 


ants  are  sure  to  say  that  the  bullet  went 
through  the  animal's  heart,  and  that  it  only 
bounded  away  for  a  short  distance.  "  lie  is 
our  father,"  say  the  natives,  "  and  he  would 
be  displeased  "if  we  told  him  that  he  Imd 
missed."  It  is  even  worse  with  the  slaves, 
who  are  often  used  as  interpreters  ;  and  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  induce  them  to  interpret 
with  any  modicum  of  truth. 


THE  M^Vi^GANJA  TKIBE. 


On  the  river  Shire  (pronounced  Sheereh), 
a  northern  tributary  of  the  Zaml)esi,  there 
is  a  rather  curious  tribe  called  the  Manganja. 
The  country  which  they  inhabit  is  well  and 
fully  watered,  abounding  in  clear  and  cool 
streams,  which  do  not  dry  up  even  in 
the  dry  season.  Pasturage  is  consequently 
abundant,  and  yet  the  people  do  not  trouble 
themselves  about  cattle,  allowing  to  lie  un- 
used tracts  of  land  which  would  feed  vast 
herds  of  oxen,  not  to  mention  sheei)  and  goats. 

Their  mode  of  government  is  rather  curi- 
ous, and  yet  simple.  The  country  is  divided 
into  a  number  of  districts,  the  head  of  which 
goes  by  the  title  of  Eundo.  A  great  num- 
ber of  villages  are  under  the  command  of 
each  Rundo,'though  each  of  the  divisions  is 
independent  of  the  others,  and  they  do  not 
acknowledge  one  common  chief  or  king. 
The  chieftainship  is  not  restricted  to  the 
male  sex,  as  in  one  of  the  districts  a  woman 
named  iSTyango  was  the  liundo,  and  exercised 
her  authority  judiciously,  by  improving  the 
social  status  of  the  women  througl\out  her 
dominions.  An  annual  tribute  is  paid  to  the 
Rundo  by  each  village,  mostly  consisting  of 
one  tusk  of  each  elephant  killed,  and  he  in 
return  is  bound  to  assist  and  protect  them 
should  they  be  threatened  or  attacked. 

The  Manganjas  ai'C  an  industrious  race, 
being  good  workers  in  metal,  especially 
ii'on,  growing  cotton,  making  baskets,  and 
cultivating  the  ground,  in  which  occupation 
both  sexes  equally  share  ;  and  it  is  a  pleas- 
ant thing  to  see  men,  women,  and  children 
all  at  work  together  in  the  fields,  with  per- 
haps the  baby  lying  asleep  in  the  shadow 
of  a  bush.  They  clear  the  forest  ground 
exactly  as  is  done  in  America,  cutting  down 
the  trees  with  their  axes,  piling  up  the 
branches  and  trunks  in  heajis,  burning  them, 
and  scattering  the  ashes  over  the  ground  by 
way  of  manure.  The  stumps  are  left  to  rot 
in  the  ground,  and  the  corn  is  sown  among 
them.  Grass  land  is  cleared  in  a  ditterent 
manner.  The  grass  in  that  country  is 
enormously  thick  and  long.  The  cultivator 
gathers  a  bundle  into  his  hands,  twists  the 
ends  together,  and  ties  them  in  a  knot.  He 
then  cuts  the  roots  withhis  adze-like  hoe,  .so 
as  to  leave  the  bunch  of  grass  still  stand- 
ing, like  a  sheaf  of  wheat.  ""When  a  field  has 
been  entirely  cut,  it  looks  to  a  stranger  as  if 


it  were  in  harvest,  the  bundles  of  grass 
standing  at  intervals  like  the  grain  shocks. 
Just  before  the  rainy  season  comes  on,  the 
bundles  are  fired,  the  ashes  are  roughly  dug 
into  the  soil,  and  an  abundant  harvest  is  the 
result. 

The  cotton  is  prepared  after  a  very  sim- 
ple and  slow  fashion,  the  fibre  being  picked 
by  hand,  drawn  out  into  a''roving,"  partially 
twisted,  and  then  rolled  up  into  a  l)all.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  those  who  have  had  practi- 
cal experience  of  this  cotton,  that,  if  the 
natives  could  be  induced  to  plant  and  dress 
it  in  large  quantities,  an  enormous  market 
might  be  found  for  it.  The  "staple,"  or  fibre, 
of  this  cotton  is  not  so  long  as  that  which 
comes  from  America,  and  has  a  harsh,  woolly 
feeling  in  the  hand.  But,  as  it  is  very  strong, 
and  tiie  fabrics  made  from  it  are  very  dura- 
ble, the  natives  prefer  it  to  the  foreign  plant. 
Almost  every  Manganja  family  of  impor- 
tance has  its  own  little  cotton  patch,  from 
half  an  acre  to  an  acre  in  size,  which  is  kept 
carefully  tended,  and  free  from  weeds.  The 
loom  in  which  they  weave  their  simple  cloth 
is  very  rude,  and  is  one  of  the  primitive 
forms  of  a  weaver's  apparatus.  It  is  placed 
horizontally,  and  not  vertically,  and  the 
weaver  has  to  squat  on  the  ground  when 
engaged  in  his  work.  The  shuttle  is  a  mere 
stick,  with  the  thread  wound  spirally  round 
it,  and,  when  it  is  passed  between  the  crossed 
threads  of  the  warp,  the  warp  is  l^eaten  into 
its  yilace  with  a  flat  stick. 

They  are  a  hospitable  people,  and  have  a 
well-understood  code  of  ceremony  in  the 
reception  of  strangers.  In  each  village  there 
is  a  .spot  called  the  Boala,  i.e.  a  space  of 
about  thirty  or  forty  yards  diameter,  which 
is  sheltered  by  baolsab,  or  other  spreading 
trees,  and  which  is  always  kept  neat  and 
clean.  This  is  chiefly  used  as  a  place  where 
the  basket  makers  and  others  who  are  en- 
gaged in  sedentary  occupations  can  work  in 
company,  and  also  serves  as  a  meeting-place 
in  evenings,  where  they  sing,  dance,  smoke, 
and  drink  beer  after  the  toils  of  the  day. 

As  soon  as  a  stranger  enters  a  village,  ho 
is  conducted  to  the  Boala,  where  he  takes 
his  seat  on  the  mats  that  are  spread  for  him, 
and  awaits  the  coming  of  the  chief  man  of 
the  village.  As  soon  as  he  makes  his  appear- 
ance, his  people  welcome  him  by  clapping 


356 


THE  MAXGANJA  TRIBE. 


their  hands  in  unison,  and  continue  this  salu- 
tation until  he  has  taken  his  scat,  accom- 
panied by  his  councillors.  "  Our  guides," 
writes  Livingstone,  "  then  sit  down  in  front 
of  the  chief  and  his  councillors,  and  both 
parties  lean  forward,  looking  earnestly  at 
each  other.  The  chief  repeats  a  word,  such 
as  '  Ambuiata '  (our  father,  or  master),  or 
'  Moio  '  (life),  and  all  clap  their  hands.  An- 
other word  is  followed  by  two  claps,  a  third 
by  still  more  clapping,  when  each  touches 
the  ground  with  both  hands  placed  together. 
Then  all  rise,  and  lean  forward  with  meas- 
ured clap,  and  sit  down  again  with  clap,  clap, 
clap,  fainter  and  still  fainter,  until  the  last 
dies  away,  or  is  brought  to  au  end,  by  a  smart 
loud  clap  from  the  chief.  They  keep  jjerlect 
time  in  this  species  of  court  etiquette." 

Thi.s  ciu'ious  salutation  is  valued  very 
highly,  and  the  people  are  carefully  in- 
structed in  it  from  childhood.  The  "chief 
guide  of  the  stranger  party  then  addresses 
the  chief,  and  tells  him  about  his  visitors, — 
•who  they  are,  why  they  have  come,  &c. ;  and 
mostly  does  so  in  a  kind  of  blank  verse  —  the 
power  of  improvising  a  poetical  narrative 
being  valued  as  highly  as  the  court  salu- 
tations, and  sedulously  cultivated  b\'  all  of 
any  pretensions  to  station.  It  is  "rather 
amusing  at  first  to  the  tr-aveller  to  find 
that,  if  he  should  happen  to  inquire  his 
way  at  a  hut,  his  own  guide  addresses  the 
owner  of  the  hut  in  blank  verse,  and  is  an- 
swered in  the  same  fashion. 

The  dress  of  this  tribe  is  rather  peculiar, 
the  head  being  the  chief  part  of  the  person 
which  is  decorated.  Some  of  the  men  save 
themselves  the  trouble  of  dressing  their  hair 
by  shaving  it  ofl'  entirely,  liut  a  greater  num- 
ber take  a  pride  in  decorating  it  in  various 
ways.  The  headdress  which  seems  to  be 
most  admired  is  that  in  which  the  hair  is 
trained  to  resemble  the  horns  of  the  buttalo. 
This  is  done  by  taking  two  pieces  of  hide 
while  they  are  wet  and  pliable,  and  bending 
them  into  the  required  shape.  When  the 
two  horns  are  dry  and  hard,  they  are  fastened 
on  the  head,  and  the  hair  is  trained  over 
them,  and  fixed  in  its  place  tiy  grease  and 
clay.  Sometimes  only  one  horn  is  used, 
which  projects  immediately  over  the  fore- 
head ;  but  the  double  horn  is  the  form  which 
is  most  in  vogue. 

Others  divide  their  hair  into  numerous 
tufts,  and  se])arate  them  by  winding  round 
each  tuft  a  thin  bandage,  made  of  the  inner 
bark  of  a  tree,  so  that  they  radiate  from  the 
head  in  all  directions,  and  produce  an  efl'ect 
which  is  much  valued  by  this  simple  race. 
Some  draw  the  hair  together  toward  the 
back  of  the  head,  and  train  it  so  as  to  hang 
down  their  backs  in  a  shape  closely  resem- 
bling the  pigtail  which  was  so  fashion.able  an 
ornament  of  the  British  sailor  in  Nelson's 
time.  Others,  again,  allow  the  hair  to  grow 
much  as  nature  formed  it,  but  train  it  to 
grow  in  heavy  masses  all  round  their  heads. 


The  women  are  equally  fastidious  with 
the  men,  but  have  in  addition  a  most  singu- 
lar ornament  called  the  •'  pelele."'  This  is  a 
ring  that  is  not  fixed  into  the  ear  or  nose, 
but  into  the  upper  lip,  and  gives  to  the 
wearer  an  appearance  that  is  most  repulsive 
to  an  European.  The  artist  has  illustrated 
its  form  and  eflect,  in  an  engraving  on  iiage 
357.  The  pclele  is  a  ring  made  of  ivory, 
metal,  or  bamboo,  nearly  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness, and  variable  in  diameter,  sometimes 
measuring  two  inches  across.  AVhen  the 
girl  is  very  young,  the  upper  lip  is  pierced 
close  to  the  nose,  and  a  small  pin  inserted 
to  prevent  the  orifice  from  closing.  Wlien 
the  wound  is  healed,  the  small  pin  is  with- 
drawn, and  a  larger  one  introduced;  and 
this  plan  is  carried  on  for  years,  until  at  last 
the  full-sized  "  pelele  "  can  be  worn. 

The  commonest  sort  of  pelele  is  made  of 
bamboo,  and  is  in  consequence  very  light. 
When  a  wearer  of  this  pelele  smiles,  or 
rather  tries  to  smile,  the  contraction  of  the 
muscles  turns  the  ring  upward,  so  that  its 
upper  edge  comes  in  front  of  the  eyes,  the 
nose  appearing  through  its  middle.  The 
whole  front  teeth  are  exposed  by  this  mo- 
tion, so  as  to  exhibit  the  fashionable  way  in 
which  the  teeth  have  been  chipped,  and, 
as  Livingstone  says,  tliey  resemble  the 
fangs  of  a  cat  or  a  crocodile.  One  old  lady, 
named  Chikanda  Kadze,  had  a  pelele  so 
wide  and  heavy  that  it  hung  below  her  chin. 
But  then  she  was  a  chief,  and  could  conse- 
quently afford  to  possess  so  valuable  an 
ornament. 

The  use  of  the  pelele  quite  alters  the  nat- 
ural shape  of  the  jaws.  In  the  natural  state 
the  teeth  of  the  upper  jaw  are  set  in  an 
outward  curve,  but  in  a  wearer  of  the  pelele 
the  constant,  though  slight,  pressure  of  the 
ring  first  diminishes  the  curve,  then  flattens 
it,  and,  lastly,  reverses  it.  Livingstone  sug- 
gests that  a  similar  application  of  gradual 
pressure  should  be  applied  to  persons  whose 
teeth  project  forward,  not  knowing  that  such 
a  plan  has  long  been  practised  by  dentists. 

IIow  this  frightful  ornament  came  to  be 
first  introduced  is  unknown.  The  reasons 
which  they  give  for  wearing  it  are  rather 
amusing.  A  man,  say  they,  has  whiskers 
and  a  beai'd,  whereas  a  woman  has  none. 
"What  kind  of  a  creature  would  a  woman 
be,  without  whiskers  and  without  the  pel- 
ele'? She  would  have  a  mouth  like  a  man, 
and  no  beard!"  As  a  natural  result  of 
wearing  this  instrument,  the  language  has 
undergone  a  modification  as  well  as  the  lips. 
The  labial  letters  cannot  be  pronounced 
properly,  the  under  lip  having  the  whole 
duty  thrown  upon  them. 

I"n  different  parts  of  the  country  the  pel- 
ele takes  different  shapes.  The  most  valued 
pelele  is  a  piece  of  pure  tin  hammered  into 
a  dish-like  shape.  Some  are  made  of  a  red 
kind  of  pipeclay,  and  others  of  a  white 
quartz.    These  Tatter  ornaments  are  gcnei'- 


(1.)   rKI.ELE,  OK    LIP-RING. 
(See  page  356.) 


(2.)   B ATOKA   MEN. 
(See  page  348.) 


C3573 


TATTOOING. 


359 


ally  cylindrical  in  form,  so  that,  as  has  been 
well  "observed,  the  wearer  looks  as  if  she 
had  an  inch  or  so  of  wax-candle  thrust 
through  the  lips,  and  projecting  beyond  the 
nose.  Some  of  them  are  so  determined  to 
be  fashionable  that  they  do  not  content 
themselves  with  a  pelele  in  the  upper  lip, 
but  also  wear  one  in  the  lower,  the  eft'ect 
upon  the  expression  of  countenance  being 
better  imagined  than  described.  The  pelele 
is  seen  to  tlie  greatest  advantage  in  the  lake 
district,  where  every  woman  wears  it,  and 
where  it  takes  the  greatest  variety  of  form. 
Along  the  river  it  is  not  so  universally 
worn^and  the  form  is  almost  always  that  of 
the  ring  or  dish. 

In  this  part  of  the  country  the  sub-ti-ibes 
are  distinguished  by  certain  marks  where- 
with they  tattoo  themselves,  and  thereby 
succeed  in  still  farther  disfiguring  counte- 
nances which,  if  allowed  to  remain  un- 
touched, would  be  agreeable  enough.  Some 
of  them  have  a  fashion  of  pricking  holes  all 
over  their  faces,  and  treating  the  wounds  in 
such  a  way  that,  when  they  heal,  the  skin  is 
raised  in  little  knobs,  and  the  foce  looks 
as  if  it  were  covered  with  warts.  Add  to 
this  fashion  the  pelele,  and  the  reader  may 
form  an  opinion  of  the  beauty  of  a  fashion- 
able woman.  If  the  object  of  fashion  be  to 
conceal  age,  this  must  be  a  most  successful 
fashion,  as  it  entirely  destroys  the  lines  of 
the  countenance,  and  hardens  and  distorts 
the  features  to  such  an  extent,  that  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  judge  by  the  face  whether  the 
owner  be  sixteen  or  sixty. 

One  of  the  women  had  her  body  most 
curiously  adorned  by  tattooing,  and,  indeed, 
was  a  remarkable  specimen  of  Manganja 
fashion.  She  had  shaved  all  her  head,  and 
supplied  the  want  of  hair  by  a  feather  tuft 
over  her  forehead,  tied  on  by  a  band.  From 
a  point  on  the  top  of  her  forehead  ran  lines 
radiating  over  the  cheeks  as  fiir  as  the  ear, 
looking  something  like  the  marks  on  a  New 
Zealander's  face.  This  radiating  principle 
was  carried  out  all  over  her  body.  A  simi- 
lar point  was  marked  on  each  shoulder 
blade,  from  which  the  lines  radiated  down 
the  back  and  over  the  shoulders,  and  on 
the  lower  part  of  the  spine  and  on  each  arm 
were  other  patterns  of  a  similar  nature. 
She  of  com-se  wore  the  pelele;  but  she 
seemed  ashamed  of  it,  probably  because  she 
was  a  travelled  woman,  and  had  seen  white 
men  before.  So  when  she  was  about  to 
speak  to  them,  she  retired  to  her  hut,  re- 
moved the  pelele,  and,  while  speaking,  held 
her  hand  before  her  mouth,  so  as  to  conceal 
the  ugly  aperture  in  her  lip. 

Cleanliness  seems  to  be  unsuitable  to  the 
Manganja  constitution.  They  could  not  in 
the  least  understand  why  travellers  should 
wash  themselves,  and  seemed  to  be  person- 
ally ignorant  of  the  process.  One  very  old 
man,  however,  said  that  he  did  remember 
imce  to  have  washed  himself;  but  that  it 


was  so  long  ago  that  he  had  quite  forgotten 
how  he  felt.  A  very  amusing  use  was  once 
made  of  this  antipathy  to  cold  water.  One 
of  the  Mauganjas  took  a  fancy  to  attach 
himself  to  the'  expedition,  and  nothing 
could  drive  him  away.  He  insisted  on 
accompanying  them,  and  annoyed  them 
greatly  by  proclaiming  in  every  village  to 
which  they  came,  "  These  people  have  wan- 
dered; they  do  not  know  where  they  are 
going."  He  was  driven  off  repeatedly;  but, 
as  soon  as  the  march  was  resumed,  there  he 
was,  with  his  little  bag  over  his  shoulder, 
ready  to  proclaim  the  wandering  propensi- 
ties of  the  strangers,  as  usual.  At  last  a 
happy  idea  struck  them.  They  threatened 
to  take  him  down  to  the  river  and  wash 
him;  whereupon  he  made  oft'  in  a  fright, 
and  never  made  his  appearance  again. 

Perhaps  in  consequence  of  this  unclean- 
liness,  skin  diseases  are  rife  among  the 
Manganjas,  and  appear  to  be  equally  con- 
tagious and  durable;  many  persons  having 
wiiite  blotches  over  their  bodies,  and  many 
others  being  afflicted  with  a  sort  of  leprosy, 
which,  however,  does  not  seem  to  trouble 
them  particularly.  Even  the  fowls  are  lia- 
l)le  to  a  similar  "disease,  and  have  their  feet 
deformed  by  a  thickening  of  the  skin. 

Sobriety  seems  as  rare  with  the  Man- 
ganjas as  cleanliness;  for  they  are  nota- 
ble topers,  and  actually  contrive  to  intox- 
icate themselves  on  their  native  beer,  a 
liquid  of  so  exceedingly  mild  a  character 
that  nothing  but  strong  determination  and 
a  capability  of  consuming  vast  quantities 
of  liquid  would  produce  tlie  desired  eft'ect. 
The  beer  is  totally  unlike  the  English  drink. 
In  the  first  place,  it  is  quite  thick  and  opaque, 
and  looks  much  Uke  gruel  of  a  pinkish  hue. 
It  is  made  by  pounding  the  vegetating  grain, 
mixing  it  with  water,  boiling  it,  and  allowing 
it  to  ferment.  AVhen  it  is  about  two  days 
old,  it  is  pleasant  enough,  having  a  slightly 
sweetish-acid  flavor,  which  has  the  property 
of  immediately  quenching  thirst,  and  is 
therefore  most  valuable  to  the  traveller, 
for  whose  refreshment  the  hospitable  peo- 
ple generally  produce  it. 

As  to  themselves,  there  is  some  excuse 
for  their  intemperate  habits.  They  do  not 
possess  hops,  or  any  other  substance  that 
will  preserve  the  beer,  and  in  consequence 
they  are  obliged  to  consume  the  whole  brew- 
ing within  a  day  or  two.  When,  therefore, 
a  chief  lias  a  great  brew  of  beer,  the  people 
assemble,  and  by  day  and  night  they  con- 
tinue drinking,  drumming,  dancing,  and 
feasting,  until  the  whole  of  the  beer  is  gone. 
Yet,  probably  on  account  of  the  nourishing 
qualities  of  the  beer  —  which  is,  in  fact, 
little  more  than  very  thiu  porridge  —  the 
excessive  drinking  does  not  seem  to  have 
any  injurious  eft'ect  on  the  people,  many 
being  seen  who  were  evidently  very  old, 
and  yet  who  had  been  accustomed  to  drink 
beer  in  the  usual  quantities.    The  women 


300 


THE   MA^GANJA  Tlillit.. 


seem  to  appreciate  the  beer  as  well  as  the 
men,  thou<,4i  they  do  not  appear  to  be  so 
liable  to  intoxication.  Perhaps  the  reason 
for  this  comparative  temperance  is,  that 
their  husbands  do  not  give  them  enough  of 
it.  In  their  dispositions  they  seem  to  be 
lively  and  agreeable,  and  have  a  peculiarlj- 
merry  laugh,  which  seems  to  proceed  from  the 
heart,  and  is  not  in  the  least  like  the  sense- 
less laugh  of  the  Western  negro. 

In  this  part  of  the  country,  not  only 
among  the  Manganjas,  but  in  other  tribes, 
the  custom  of  changing  names  is  prevalent, 
and  sometimes  leads  to  odd  results.  One 
day  a  headman  named  Siuinyane  was  called 
as  usual,  but  made  no  answer;  nor  did  a 
third  and  fourth  call  produce  any  result.  At 
last  one  of  his  men  replied  that  he  was  no 
longer  Sininyane,  but  Moshoshama,  and  to 
that  name  he  at  once  responded.  It  then 
turned  out  that  he  had  exchanged  names 
with  a  Zulu.  The  object  of  the  exchange 
is,  that  the  two  persons  are  thenceforth 
bound  to  consider  each  other  as  comrades, 
and  to  give  assistance  in  every  way.  If,  for 
example,  Siuinyane  had  happened  to  travel 
into  the  country  where  Moshoshama  lived, 
the  latter  was  bound  to  receive  him  into  his 
house,  and  treat  him  like  a  brother. 

They  seem  to  be  an  intelligent  race,  and 
to  appreciate  the  notion  of  a  Creator,  and 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul;  but,  like 
most  African  races,  they  cannot  believe  that 
the  white  and  the  black  races  have  anything 
in  common,  or  that  the  religion  of  the  former 
can  suit  the  latter.  They  are  very  ready 
to  admit  that  Christianity  is  an  admirable 
religion  for  white  men,  but  will  by  no  means 
be  persuaded  that  it  would  be  equally  good 
for  themselves. 

They  have  a  hazy  sort  of  idea  of  their 


Creator,  the  invisilde  head-chief  of  the  spirits, 
and  ground  their  belief  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  on  the  fact  that  their  dejiarted 
relatives  come  and  sjjeak  to  them  iu  their 
dreams.  They  have  the  same  idea  of  tlie 
muave  poison  that  has  already  been  men- 
tioned; and  so  strong  is  their  belief  in  its 
efficacy  that,  in  a  dispute,  one  man  will 
challenge  the  other  to  drink  muave;  and 
even  the  chiefs  themselves  will  often  ofler 
to  test  its  discriminating  powers. 

When  a  Mauganja  dies,  a  great  wailiug  is 
kept  up  in  his  house  for  two  days;  his  tools 
and  weapons  are  broken,  together  witU  the 
cooking  vessels.  All  food  in  the  house  is 
taken  out  and  destroyed;  and  even  thb  beer 
is  i)oured  on  the  earth. 

The  burial  grounds  seem  to  be  carefully 
cherished  —  as  carefully.  indeed,^as  manj-  of 
the  churchyards  iu  England.  The  graves 
are  all  arranged  north  and  south,  and  the 
sexes  of  the  dead  are  marked  by  the  imple- 
ments laid  on  the  grave.  These  implements 
are  always  lu-oken;  partly,  perhaps,  to  signify 
that  the}'  can  be  used  no  more,  and  jiartly 
to  save  them  from  being  stolen.  Thus  a 
broken  mortar  and  pestle  for  pounding  corn, 
together  with  the  fragments  of  a  sieve,  tell 
that  there  lies  below  a  woman  who  once 
had  used  them;  whilst  a  piece  of  a  net  and 
a  shattered  paddle  are  emblems  of  the  fish- 
erman's trade,  and  tell  that  a  fisherman  is 
interred  below.  Broken  calabashes,  gourds, 
and  other  vessels,  are  laid  on  almost  every 
grave;  and  in  some  instances  a  banana  is 
planted  at  the  head.  The  relatives  wear  a 
kind  of  mourning,  consisting  of  narrow 
stri)5S  of  palm  leaf  wound  round  their  heads, 
necks,  arms,  legs,  and  breasts,  and  allowed 
to  remain  there  until  they  drop  off  by  de- 
cay. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 


THE   BAI^YAI  ASB  BADEMA  TRIBES. 


GENERAL  APPEAEAJfCE  OF  THE  BANYAI  TRIBE  —  GOVERNlNrENT  AJTD  LAW  OF  STJCCESSION — DISCTPLDTE 
OF  YOUTH  —  MARRIAGE  CUSTOSIS  —  HUNTING  —  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS-TRAP  —  SIANGROVE  SWAMP  — 
RAPACITY  OF  THE  BANY'AI  CHIEF  —  BANYAI  AXES,  AND  MODE  OF  MAKING  THEM  —  ELEPHANT 
HUNTING  —  BOLDNESS  OF  THE  MEN  — SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  BANYAI  —  IDEA  ABOUT  THE  HY'-ENA 
—  THE  "taboo" — CURIOUS  BEEHIVES  — THE  BADEMA  TRIBE  —  FISHING  AND  HUNTLNG  WITH 
NETS  —  CONCEALMENT  OF  PROPERTY. 


On  the  south  bank  of  the  Zambesi,  some- 
where about  lat..l6°  S.  and  long.  .30°  E.,  there 
is  a  tribe  called  the  Banyai,  who  inhabit  a 
tract  of  country  called  Shidima.  The  Ban- 
yai are  a  remarkably  fine  race  of  men,  being 
tall,  well  made,  and  agile,  and  are  moreover 
very  fair,  being  of  that  ca/c  an  lait  cohn- 
which  is  so  fashionable  in  many  parts  of 
Africa.  As  some  of  their  customs  are  unlike 
those  of  other  tribes,  a  short  mention  will  be 
made  of  them. 

Their  appearance  is  rather  plea.«ing,  and 
they  have  a  curious  fashion  of  dressing  their 
hair,  which  much  resemliles  that  which  was 
in  use  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.  The 
fashionable  Banyai  youth  first  divides  his 
hair  into  small  tufts,  and  draws  them  out  as 
far  as  he  can,  encircling  each  tuft  with  a  sjii- 
ral  bandage  of  vegetable  tissue.  The  vari- 
ous tufts  are  then  dj^ed  red,  and  as  they  are 
sometimes  a  foot  in  length,  and  hang  upon 
the  shoulders,  they  present  a  very  remarka- 
ble aspect.  When  the  Banyai  travel,  they 
are  fearful  of  damaging  their  elaborate  head- 
dress, and  so  they  gather  it  up  in  a  bundle, 
and  tie  it  on  the  top  of  the  head. 

Their  government  is  equally  simple  and 
sensible.  They  choose  their  own  chief,  al- 
though they  always  keep  to  the  same  fam- 
ily. When  a  chief  dies,  his  people  consult 
together  as  to  his  successor.  His  immediate 
descendants  are  never  selected,  and.  if  possi- 
ble, one  of  his  brothers,  or  a  ne]ihew,  is 
chosen.  If  they  cannot  find  a  qualified  per- 
son at  home,  they  go  further  afield,  and  look 
out  for  those  relatives  who  have  mingled 
with  other  tribes,  thus  bringing  a  new  popu- 


lation into  their  own  tribe.  Traders  from 
other  tribes  are  always  very  cautious  aliout 
visiting  the  Banyai  during  the  interreg- 
num, as  the  people  think  that  while  there  is 
no  chief  there  is  no  law,  and  will  in  con- 
sequence rob  without  compunction  those 
whom  they  would  never  veuturp  to  touch  as 
long  as  the  chief  was  living. 

When  the  future  chief  is  chosen,  the  elec- 
tors go  to  him  and  tell  him  of  their  choice. 
It  is  then  thought  manners  for  him  to  assume 
a  nolo  episcopari  air,  to  modestly  deprecafe 
his  own  character,  and  to  remonstrate  with 
the  de]nitation  for  having  elected  a  person 
so  unworthy  to  fill  the  place  of  his  revered 
predecessor,  who  possessed  all  the  virtues 
and  none  of  the  weaknesses  of  humanity. 
In  fact,  the  speech  of  the  Banyai  king-elect 
would  answer  excellently  for  newly-elected 
dignitaries  of  our  own  country,  who  make 
exactly  the  same  kind  of  orati(jn,  and  would 
be  equally  otfended  were  they  to  be  taken  at 
their  word. 

Of  course  the  new  chief,  after  his  depre- 
catory speech,  assumes  the  vacant  otlice, 
together  with  all  the  property,  including  the 
wives  and  children,  of  his  predecessor,  and 
takes  very  good  care  to  keep  the  latter  in 
subservience.  Sometimes  one  of  the  sons 
thinks  that  he  ought  to  he  a  man,  and  set  up 
for  a  kind  of  chief  himself  and  accordingly 
secedes  from  the  paternal  roof  gathers  ronniT 
him  as  many  youths  as  he  can  persuade  to 
accomiiany  him,  and  becomes  a  petty  chief 
accordingly.  The  principal  chief,  however, 
has  no  idea  of  allowing  an  iniperium  in  impe- 
rio  in   his  dominions,  and,  when  the  young 


(361) 


362 


THE  BAXYAI  TKIBE. 


chieftain  has  built  his  village  and  fairly  set- 1 
tied  down,  he  sends  a  body  of  his  own  sol- 
diery to  oft'er  his  congratnlatious.  If  the 
young  chieftain  receives  them  with  clapping 
of  hands  and  humble  obeisance,  all  is  well, 
as  the  supreme  authority  of  the  chief  is 
thereby  acknowledged.  If  not,  they  burn 
down  all  the  village,  and  so  teach  by  very 
intelligible  language  that  before  a  youth 
dares  to  be  a  chieftain  he  had  better  perform 
the  duties  which  a  vassal  owes  to  his  sover- 
eign. 

There  is  a  system  among  the  Banyai  which 
has  a  singular  rcsemlilauce  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  pages  in  the  days  of  chivalry.  When 
a  man  attains  to  eminence,  he  gathers  around 
him  a  band  of  young  boys,  who  are  placed 
by  their  parents  under  his  charge,  and  who 
are  taught  to  become  accomiilislied  gentle- 
men after  Banj'ai  ideas.  While  tliey  are  3'et 
in  the  condition  of  pagehood,  they  are  kept 
under  strict  discipline,  and  obliged  to  be 
humble  and  inmctilious  toward  their  superi- 
ors, whom  they  recognize  with  the  hand-clap- 
ping which  is"  the  salute  common  through- 
out Central  Africa.  At  meal-times  they  are 
not  allowed  to  help  themselves,  but  are 
obliged  to  wait  patiently  until  the  food  is 
divided  for  them  by  one  of  the  men.  They 
are  also  instructed  in  the  Banyai  law;  and 
when  they  return  to  their  parents,  a  case  is 
submitted  to  them,  and  the  progress  which 
they  have  made  is  ascertained  by  their 
answers.  To  their  teachers  they  are  exceed- 
ingly useful.  They  are  all  sons  of  free  men 
who  are  tolerably  well  oft',  and  who  send  ser- 
vants to  accompany  their  sons,  and  to  till  the 
ground  for  their  maintenance.  They  also 
send  ivory  to  the  teacher,  with  which  he 
purchases  clothing  for  the  young  scholars. 

This  custom  shows  that  a  certain  amount 
of  culture  has  been  attained  )5v  the  Banyai, 
and  the  social  condition  of  their  women  is  a 
still  stronger  proof.  In  most  parts  of  sav- 
age Africa  the  woman  is  little  more  than  a 
beast  of  burden,  and  has  no  more  to  do 
with  the  management  of  aftairs  or  with  her 
husband's  counsels  than  the  cows  for  which 
he  has  bought  her.  In  Banyai-land,  how- 
ever, the  women  have  not  only  their  full 
share  of  power,  but  rather  more  than  their 
Share,  the  husbands  never  venturing  to 
undertake  any  business  or  to  conduct  any 
bargain  without  the  consent  of  their  wives. 
The  women  even  act  as  traders,  visiting 
other  towns  with  merchandise,  and  acting 
fairly  toward  both  the  purchaser  and  them- 
selves. 

Their  marriages  are  conducted  in  a  man- 
ner whii'h  shows  that  the  wife  is  quite  the 
equal  of  her  husband.  In  most  parts  of 
Southern  Africa  a  wife  is  bought  for  a  stip- 
ulated number  of  cows,  and,  as  soon  as  the 
bargain  is  concluded,  and  the  girl  handed 
over  to  the  purchaser,  she  becomes  his 
property,  and  is  treated  as  such.  But, 
among  the  Banyai,  the  young  bridegroom 


does  not  take  his  wife  to  his  hut;  he  goes 
to  the  house  of  her  parents.  Here  he  is 
quite  the  inferior,  and  is  the  special  servant 
of  his  mother-in-law,  cutting  wood  for  her 
use,  and  being  very  respectful  in  demeanor. 
Should  he  not  like  this  kind  of  life,  and  be 
desirous  of  leaving  it,  he  may  do  so  when- 
ever ho  likes;  but  he  has  to  relinquish  wife 
and  children,  vuiless  he  can  pay  the  parents 
of  the  wife  a  sufficient  sum  to  compensate 
them  for  their  loss.  Nevertheless,  tliis  is 
the  principle  on  which  the  custom  of  buy- 
ing wives  is  founded:  but  there  are  few 
places  where  tlie  theory  is  reduced  to  prac- 
tice. 

Among  the  Banyai,  as  among  many  of 
the  tribes  along  the  river,  the  nesh  of  the 
hippopotamus  is  much  eaten,  and  the  cap- 
ture of  the  animal  is  consequently  a  matter 
of  importance.  They  do  not  care  for  boldly 
chasing  the  hippojjotamus,  as  do  the  tribes 
which  have  already  been  mentioned,  but 
they  prefer  to  resort  to  the  pitfall  and 
the"  drop-trap.  Tlie  pitfalls  are  always  dug 
in  places  where  the  animal  is  likely  to  tread; 
and  the  pits  are  not  only  numerous,  but 
generally  placed  in  pairs  close  to  each 
other.  On  one  occasion  a  white  traveller 
happened  to  fall  into  one  of  these  i)its,  and 
after  he  h;ul  recovered  from  the  shock  of 
finding  himself  suddenly  deprived  of  the 
light  of  day  and  enclosed  in  a  deep  hole,  he 
set  to  work,  and  after  many  hours'  labor 
managed  to  free  himself  from  his  unpleas- 
ant position.  But  no  sooner  had  he  fairly 
got  out  of  the  pit  than  he  unfortunately 
stepped  upon  its  companion,  and  fell  into  it 
just  as  he  had  fallen  into  the  other. 

The  most  ingenious  mode  of  capturing 
the  animal  is  by  means  of  the  drop-trap. 
For  this  purpose  the  native  cuts  a  rather 
long  and  heavy  log  of  wood,  and,  in  order  to 
make  it  still  heavier,  a  couple  of  large  stones 
are  tied  to  it  near  one  end,  or  a  quantity  of 
clay  is  kneaded  round  it.  At  the  loaded  end 
a  hole  is  made,  into  which  is  set  a  spear- 
head, sometimes  that  of  a  large  assagai,  but 
mostly  a  sort  of  harpoon  like  that  which  has 
been  "described  on  page  341.  A  rope  loop  is 
then  fastened  to  the  other  end,  and  the 
weapon  is  ready.  The  hunter  now  goes  to 
a  hippopotamus  track,  and  looks  out  for  a 
branch  that  overhangs  it.  Generally  he  can 
find  a  branch  that  will  suit  his  purpose;  but 
if  not,  he  rigs  up  a  sort  of  gallows  on  which 
he  can  suspend  the  armed  log.  When  he 
has  found  a  convenient  branch,  he  takes  a 
long  rope,  one  end  of  which  is  fastened  to  a 
stick,  places  the  stick  across  the  branc-h,  and 
hangs  the  loop  of  the  harjioon  upon  the 
other  end.  He  next  passes  the  cord  round 
a  peg  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  about  eighteen 
inches  or  so  from  the  ground,  draws  it  across 
the  path,  and  then  makes  it  fast. 

The  engraving  No.  1,  opposite,  will  ex- 

jtlain  how  the  whole  business  is  managed. 

I  The  tree  on  which  the  weapon  is  suspended 


(363) 


TRAPPING  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS. 


365 


fs  the  man2;rove,  a  tree  utterly  unlike  any  of 
those  which  we  have  in  this  land.  The 
extraordinary  vitality  of  this  tree  is  well 
shown  by  the  sketch,  which  w'as  made  by 
Mr.  Baines.  The  trunk  has  been  broken 
off,  but  the  upper  part  has  fiiUen  against 
another  tree  and  been  supported  by  it.  It 
has  then  thrown  out  a  number  of  roots, 
which  have  descended  to  the  moist  ground, 
and  give  the  tree  a  new  support  of  its  own. 
In  such  a  case,  the  branches  that  tend  down- 
ward wither  away  and  die,  those  that  tend 
upward  increase  rapidly,  while  those  that 
project  sideways  take  a  turn,  and  then  curve 
themselves  upward.  Examples  of  the.se 
branches  may  be  seen  in  the  sketch. 

The  mangrove  is  a  self-sowing  tree,  and 
performs  this  act  in  a  very  curious  maimer. 
The  seeds  are  very  long,  and  furnished  at 
the  end  with  a  hard,  pointed  tip.  As  soon 
as  it  is  ripe,  the  seed  falls,  burying  the 
pointed  tip  several  inches  into  the  soft, 
swampy  soil,  which  mangroves  love,  and 
there  remains.  The  object  of  this  curious 
provision  of  Nature  is,  that  the  seed  shnll 
not  be  washed  away  b}'  the  periodical  floods 
which  inundate  the  country. 

In  such  a  soil  there  is  no  difficulty  in  flnd- 
ing  the  path  of  the  hip])opotamus,  for  the 
heavy  and  clumsy  animal  leaves  a  track 
which  could  be  followed  in  the  darkest 
night.  Owing  to  the  great  width  of  its 
body,  the  feet  of  the  opposite  sides  are  set 
rather  wider  apart  than  is  the  case  with 
lighter  animals,  so  that  wdien  the  hippopot- 
amus walks  through  gi-ass  it  makes  a  dis- 
tinct double  path,  with  a  ridge  of  grass  in 
the  middle.  When  it  walks  on  the  .soft 
muddy  soil  of  the  river  bank,  the  animal 
makes  a  most  curious  track,  the  feet  linking 
deeply  into  the  earth,  and  forming  a  sort  of 
double  rut  studded  with  holes  at  the  distance 
of  an  inch  or  two  from  each  other,  a  ridge 
some  two  inches  in  width  dividing  the  rut.s. 

There  is  no  path  so  trying  to  a  traveller 
as  a  hippopotamus  track.  In  that  part  of 
the  country  it  is  necessary  to  walk  barefoot, 
or,  at  all  events,  to  use  nothing  more  than 
the  native  sandals.  If  the  traveller  tries  to 
walk  on  the  central  ridge,  he  finds  that  the 
exertion  of  keeping  the  balance  is  almost 
equivalent  to  walking  on  a  tight-rope  or  a 
Bornean  "  batang,"  and  that  the  pressure  on 
the  middle  of  the  foot  soon  becomes  too 
painful  to  be  borne.  If  he  tries  to  walk  in 
the  ruts,  he  is  no  better  off,  for  his  feet  sink 
deeply  into  the  holes  punched  by  the  limljs 
of  the  hippopotamus,  the  toes  are  forcibly 
pressed  upward,  and  the  leg  is  fixed  so 
tightly  in  the  hole  that  the  traveller  cannot 
withdraw  it  until  the  earth  has  been  re- 
moved. 

Over  one  of  these  tracks  the  native  hunter 
suspends  his  harpoon,  taking  care  that  the 
blade  shall  hang  exactly  above  the  central 
ridge.  As  the  hijipopotamus  comes  walking 
along  he  strikes  his  foot  against   the   cord. 


The  blow  releases  the  harpoon,  which  falls 
with  tremendous  violence,  burying  the  iron 
head  deep  into  the  animal's  back.  Now  and 
then  the  head  comes  exactly  on  the  spine, 
and  in  that  case  the  animal  falls  helpless  on 
the  spot.  Usually,  however,  the  wound  is 
not  immediately  fatal,  and  the  hippopotamus 
rushes  to  the  "river,  hoping  thus  to  shake 
off  the  cruel  weapon  which  had  tortured 
him  on  land.  Sooner  or  later,  he  is  sure  to 
die  from  the  wound,  and  then  the  natives, 
who,  like  the  hippopotamus,  never  hurry 
themselves,  drag  the  huge  carcass  to  land, 
and  hold  a  mighty  feast  upon  it. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  these  fall- 
traps  are  set  nearly  as  thickly  as  the  pits 
which  have  already  been  mentioned,  and 
the  result  is,  that  the  animals  have  become 
exceedingly  suspicious,  and  will  not  ap- 
Ijroach  anything  that  looks  like  a  trap. 
They  are  so  thoroughly  afraid  of  being  in- 
jured, that  the  native  agriculturists  are  in 
the  habit  of  imitating  traps  by  susjiending 
mangrove  seeds,  bits  of  sticks,  and  other 
objects,  to  the  branches  of  the  trees,  know- 
ing that  the  wary  animal  will  keep  very 
clear  of  so  dangerous-looking  a  locality. 
The  trap  has  to  be  .set  with  considerable 
skill,  and  much  care  must  be  taken  to  con- 
ceal the  rope  which  crosses  the  path,  or  the 
animal  will  not  strike  it.  Large  and  heavy, 
and  apparently  clumsy,  as  he  is,  he  can  look 
out  for  himself,  and,  in  places  where  traps 
are  plentiful,  he  becomes  so  suspicious  that 
if  even  a  twig  lie  across  his  path  he  will 
rather  go  round  it  than  tread  it  under  foot. 

The  Banyai  chiefs  do  not  neglect  the 
usual  African  custom  of  demanding  toll  from 
every  traveller  who  passes  through  their 
territories,  although  they  do  not  ajipear  to 
he  quite  so  rapacious  as  some,  of  whom  we 
shall  presently  treat.  The  Banyai  enforce 
their  tribute  much  as  the  owner  of  a  ferry 
compels  payment  for  the  passengers.  Know- 
ing that  their  permission,  and  even  assist- 
ance, is  needed  in  passing  through  the 
country,  they  set  a  very  high  price  upon 
their  services,  and  will  not  allo^^■  the  trav- 
eller to  proceed  until  he  has  complied  with 
their  demands.  Feeling  sure  of  their  posi- 
tion, they  are  apt  to  be  violent  as  well  as 
extortionate,  flinging  down  the  offered  sum 
with  contemptuous  gestures,  and  abusing 
their  victims  with  a  wonderful  flow  of  dis- 
paraging language. 

Dr.  Livingstone,  knowing  their  customs, 
contrived  to  get  the  better  of  the  Banyai 
in  a  place  where  they  were  accustomed  to 
carry  things  witli  a  high  hand,  even  over  the 
Portuguese  traders.  At  night,  when  the 
time  came  for  repose,  instead  of  going 
ashore,  after  the  usual  custom  of  the  native 
canoe  men,  he  anchored  in  the  middle  of 
the  stream,  and  had  couches  made  on  board. 
This  device  completely  disconcerted  the 
jilnns  of  the  Banyai,  who  expected  the  trav- 
ellers to  come  ashore,  and,  of  course,  would 


3GG 


THE   BANYAI   TRIBE. 


have  kept  them  prisoners  until  they  had 
paid  a  lieavy  toll  for  permission  to  embark 
again.  They  even  shouted  invitations  from 
the  river  l)ank  to  come  and  sleep  on  land, 
but  dared  not  attack  a  boat  tilled  with  armed 
men  commanded  by  Europeans.  The  odd- 
est part  of  the  whole  proceedins;  was,  that 
the  Makololo  and  Batoka  boatmen,  who 
were  accompanying  Dr.  Livingstone,  liad 
never  thought  of  so  simple  a  device,  and 
roared  exultant  jeers  from  their  boat  to  the 
Banyai  on  shore. 

The  country  in  which  the  Banyai  live 
furnishes  various  kinds  of  food  of  which 
an  European  would  be  ignorant,  and  there- 
fore would  run  a  great  risk  of  starving  in 
a  place  where  the  Banyai  would  be  revel- 
ling in  jjleuty.  Ant-hills,  for  example, 
almost  always  furnish  huge  mushrooms, 
■which  are  at  once  palatable  and  nutritious; 
and  there  are  several  kinds  of  subterra- 
nean tubers  that  are  only  to  be  found  by 
striking  the  ground  with  stones  and  lis- 
tening to  the  sound.  One  of  these  tubers 
is  remarkable  tor  the  fact  that  in  winter 
time  it  has  a  slight  but  perceptible  quan- 
tity of  salt  in  it. 

The  Banyai,  like  other  African  tribes, 
have  their  peculiar  superstitions,  such  as 
pouring  out  the  contents  of  their  snuff  box 
as  an  otferiug  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead 
when  they  are  engaged  in  hunting,  hoping 
thereby  to  propitiate  them  and  procure 
their  aid.  One  man  who  had  performed 
this  act  of  devotion  was  quite  scandalized 
at  the  irreverence  of  hunters  who  belonged 
to  other  tribes,  and  who,  as  he  said,  did  not 
know  how  to  pray.  The  same  man  took  to 
himself  the  credit  of  having  destroyed  an 
elephant  which  had  been  killed  by  others, 
his  jiravers  and  snuff,  and  not  tlie  weajjons 
of  the  hunters,  having,  according  to  his 
idea,  been  the  real  instruments  by  which 
the  animal  fell. 

The  particular  animal,  by  the  way,  was 
killed  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  some  of  the 
tribes  in  this  jiart  of  Africa.  These  native 
hunters  are  very  Nimrods  for  skill  and 
courage,  going  after  the  elephant  into  the 
depths  of  his  own  forest,  and  lioldly  coping 
with  him,  though  armed  with  weapons 
which  an  European  would  despise. 

The  cliief  weapon  which  is  used  by  these 
tribes  is  a  kind  of  axe.  It  is  made  much 
after  the  fashion  of  those  used  by  the 
Bechuanas  described  on  page  290.  The 
"tang,"  however,  which  is  fastened  into  the 
handle,  is  at  least  three  feet  in  length,  and 
the  handle  is  sometimes  six  or  seven  feet 
long,  so  that  the  instruni'^'nt  looks  more  like 
a  scythe  than  an  axe.  The  handle  is  made 
by  cutting  off  a  branch  of  convenient  thick- 
ness, and  also  a  foot  or  two  of  the  trunk  at 
its  junction.  A  hole  is  then  bored  through 
the  piece  of  the  trunk,  the  tang  of  the  head 
inserted  into  it,  and  the  rough  wood  then 
dressed    into    shape;    thus    the    necessary 


weight  is  gained  without  the  expenditure 
of  valuable  metal. 

The  illustration  No.  2  on  page  363  will 
make  this  ingenious  process  clear.  Fig.  2 
represents  part  of  the  trunk  of  a  free, 
marked  A,  from  which  starts  a  con\euient 
branch.  Seeing  that  this  branch  will  an- 
swer for  the  handle  of  an  axe,  the  native 
cuts  across  the  trunk,  and  thus  has  a  very 
rude  kind  of  mallet,  possessed  of  consider- 
able weight.  A  hole  is  next  bored  through 
the  p.art  of  the  trunk,  and  the  iron  tang  of 
the  axeliead  thrust  through  it.  The  super- 
abundant wood  is  then  trimmed  oft",  as 
shown  in  the  cut,  the  branch  is  scraped  and 
smoothed,  and  the  simple  but  eflective  axe 
is  complete. 

Figs.  4  and  5  represent  a  convertible  axe 
which  is  much  used  by  this  people.  As  in 
their  work  they  sometimes  need  an  adze, 
and  somefimcs  an  axe,  they  have  ingen- 
iously made  a  tool  which  will  serve  either 
purpose.  The  handle  and  butt  are  made 
exactly  as  lias  already  been  described,  but, 
instead  of  piercing  a  single  hole  for  the  iron 
head,  the  Banyai  cut  two  holes  at  right 
angles  to  each  other,  as  seen  in  the  dia- 
gram, fig.  4.  Tlie  iron,  therefore,  can  he 
fixed  in  either  of  these  sockets,  and,  accord- 
ing to  the  mode  in  which  it  is  inserted,  the 
tool  becomes  either  an  axe  or  an  adze.  At 
fig.  4  it  is  placed  in  the  horizontal  socket, 
and  accordingly  the  tool  is  an  adze;  but  at 
fig.  .5  it  is  traiLsformed  into  an  axe,  merely 
by  shifting  the  iron  head  into  the  perpen- 
dicular socket. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  Water  Dyaks 
of  Borneo  have  a  very  similar  tool,  which 
they  use  in  boat-buildiug.  It  is  much 
smaller  than  the  Banyai  axe,  being  only 
used  in  one  hand,  and  the  head  is  fixed  to 
the  handle  by  an  elaborate  binding  of  split 
rattan,  which  is  so  contrived  that  the  head 
can  be  turned  at  pleasure  with  its  edge  par- 
allel to  or  across  the  handle. 

Fig.  3  represents  a  rather  curious  form  of 
axe,  which  is  sometimes  found  among  the 
Banyai  and  other  tribes.  The  head  is  made 
very  long,  and  it  is  made  so  that,  when  the 
owner  wishes  to  cany  it  from  oue  jilace  to 
another,  he  does  not  trouble  himself  to  hold 
it  in  his  hand,  but  merely  hangs  it  over  his 
shoulder. 

The  elephant  axe  is  shown  at  fig.  1,  but  it 
is  hardly  long  enough  in  the  handle.  In 
one  part  of"  Central  Africa  the  head  is 
fastened  to  the  handle  by  means  of  a 
socket;  but  this  form  is  exceedingly  rare, 
and,  in  such  a  climate  as  is  afforckd  liy  trop- 
ical Africa,  is  far  inferior  to  that  which  has 
been  described. 

The  hunters  who  use  this  curious  weapon 
go  in  pairs,  one  having  the  axe,  which 
has  been  most  carefully  sharpened,  and 
the  other  not  troubling  himself  about  any 
wea])on,  except  perhaps  a  s])ear  or  two. 
When  thejf  have  found  an  elephant  with 


SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  BANYAI. 


307 


good  tusks,  they  separate,  and  work  their 
way  round  a  wide  circuit,  so  as  to  come 
upon  him  from  ditferent  quarters,  the  axe- 
mau  always  approaching  from  tieliiiid,  and 
the  assistant  coming  toward  the  front.  As 
soon  as  ihey  kao^v,  by  well-understood  sig- 
nals, that  they  are  near  the  animal,  they 
begin  their  work.  The  assistant  begins  to 
rustle  among  the  branches  at  some  distance 
in  front,  not  in  such  a  manner  as  to  alarm 
the  elephant,  but  to  keep  his  attention  fixed, 
and  make  him  wonder  what  the  singular 
movements  can  mean.  While  he  is  en- 
gaged with  the  man  in  front,  the  axeman 
steals  gradually  on  him  from  behind,  and 
with  a  sweep  of  his  huge  weapon  severs  the 
tendon  of  the  hock,  which  in  the  elephant 
is  at  a  very  short  distance  from  the  ground. 
From  that  moment  the  animal  is  helpless, 
its  enormoas  weight  requiring  the  full  use 
of  all  its  limbs;  and  the  hunters  can,  if  they 
choose,  leave  it  there  and  go  after  anothjr, 
being  quite  sure  that  they  will  find  the 
lamed  animal  in  the  same  ])lace  where  it 
was  left.  Even  if  the  axe  blow  should  not 
quite  sever  the  tendon,  it  is  sure  to  cut  so 
deeply  that  at  the  tirst  step  which  the  ani- 
mal takes  the  tendon  gives  way  with  a  loud 
snap. 

To  return  to  the  religious  notions  of  the 
Banyai.  The  man  who  made  oblation  of 
his  snuff  said  that  the  elephant  was  specially 
directed  by  the  Great  Spirit  to  come  to  the 
hunters,  because  they  were  liungry  and 
wanted  food  ;  a  plain  proof  tliat  they  have 
some  idea,  liowever  confused  and  imperfect 
it  maj'  be,  of  a  superintending  and  guiding 
Providence.  The  other  Banyai  showed  by 
their  conduct  that  this  feeling  was  common 
to  the  tribe,  and  not  peculiar  to  the  individ- 
ual ;  for  when  tliey  brought  corn,  poultry, 
and  beads,  as  thank-oflerings  to  the  hunters 
who  had  killed  the  elephant,  they  mentioned 
that  they  had  already  given  thanks  to  the 
Barinio,  or  gods,  for  the  successful  chase. 
The  Banyai  seem  to  have  odd  ideas  aljout 
animals  ;  for  when  the  hyreuas  set  up  their 
hideous  laugh,  the  men  said  that  they  were 
laughing  because  they  knew  that  the  men 


could  not  eat  all  the  elephaht,  and  must 
leave  some  for  the  hyanias.  In  some  parts 
of  the  country  the  hyffinas  and  lions  are  so 
numerous,  that  when  the  inhabitants  are 
benighted  at  a  distance  from  human  habi- 
tations, they  build  little  resting  places  in 
the  branche's  of  trees,  and  lodge  there  tor 
liiu  night,  leaving  their  little  huts  in  the 
branches  as  memorials  of  their  visit. 

Among  the  peculiar  superstitions  is  one 
which  is  much  in  vogue.  This  is  a  mode  of 
protecting  property  from  thieves,  and  con- 
sists of  a  strip  of  palm  leaf,  smeared  with 
some  compound,  and  decorated  with  tutts 
of  grass,  bits  of  wood,  little  roots,  and  the 
like.  It  is  chiefly  used  for  the  protection  of 
honey,  which  is  sometimes  wild,  the  bees 
making  a  nest  for  themselves  in  the  hollow 
of  a  tree,  and  sometimes  preserved  in  hives, 
which  are  made  of  bark,  and  placed  in  the 
branches.  The  hives  are  long  and  cylin- 
drical, and  laid  on  their  sides.  The  protect- 
ing palm  leaf  is  tied  round  the  tree,  and  the 
nalives  firmly  believe  that  if  a  thief  were  to 
climb  over  it,  much  more  to  remove  it,  he 
would  be  at  once  atflicted  with  illness,  and 
soon  die.  The  reader  will  see  liere  an  anal- 
ogous superstition  to  the  "  tapu,"  or  taboo, 
of  Polynesia. 

The'hives  are  made  simply  enough.  Two 
incisions  are  made  completely  round  tlie 
tree,  about  five  feet  apart,  aiid  a  longitu- 
dinal slit  is  tlien  cut  from  one  incision  to 
the  other.  The  bark  is  carefully  opened  at 
this  slit,  and  by  proper  management  it  comes 
oft'tlie  tree  witliout  being  broken,  returning 
by  its  own  elasticity  to  its  original  shape. 
The  edges  of  the  .slit  are  then  sewed  to- 
gether, "or  fastened  by  a  series  of  little 
wooden  pegs.  The  ends  are  next  closed 
witli  grass  ropes,  coiled  up  just  like  tlie 
targets  which  are  used  by  modern  archers  ; 
and,  a  hole  being  made  in  one  of  the  ends, 
the  hive  is  complete.  Large  quantities  of 
honey  and  wax  are  thus  collected  and  used 
(or  exportation  ;  indeed  all  the  wax  that 
comes  Irom  Loiida  is  collected  from  these 
hives. 

1 


THE   BADEMA  TEIBE. 


Theee  is  still  left  a  small  fragment  of 
one  of  the  many  African  tribes  which  are 
rapidly  expiring.  These  people  are  called 
BadeSia,  and  from  their  ingenuity  seem  to 
deserve  a  better  fate.  They  are  careful 
husbandmen,  and  cultivate  small  quantities 
of  tobacco,  maize,  and  cotton  in  tlie  hollows 
of  the  valleys,  where  sufficient  moisture 
hngers  to  support  vegetation.  They  are 
clever  sportsmen,  and  make  great  use  of  the 
net,  as  well  on  the  land  as  in  the  water. 
For  fishing  they  have  a  kind  of  casting 
net,  and  when  they  go  out  to  catch  zebras, 


antelopes,  and  other  animals,  they  do  so  by 
stretching  nets  across  the  narrow  outlets 
of  ravines,  and  then  driving  the  game  into 
them.  The  nets  are  made  of  baobab  bai'k, 
and  are  very  strong. 

They  have  a  singularly  ingenious  mode 
of  preserving  their  corn.  Like  many  other 
failing  tribes,  tliey  are  much  persecuted  by 
their  stronger  neighbors,  who  are  apt  to 
make  raids  iipon  them,  and  carry  off  all  their 
property,  tlie  cliief  part  of  which  consists  of 
corn.  Oonsequently  they  are  obliged  to  con- 
ceal their  stores  in  the  hiUs,  and  only  keep 


<368 


THE   BADEMA  TEIBE. 


a  small  portiofl  iu  their  huts,  just  sufficient 
for  tlie  day's  eousumptiou.  But  the  mice 
and  monkeys  are  quite  as  ibud  of  corn 
as  their  human  enemies,  and  would  soon 
destroy  all  their  stores,  had  not  the  men 
a  plan  by  which  they  can  be  preserved. 
The  Badema  have  found  out  a  tree,  the 
bark  of  which  is  hateful  both  to  the  mice 
and  the  monkeys.  Accordingly  they  strip 
off  the  bark,  which  is  of  a  very  bitter  char- 


acter, roll  it  up  into  cylindrical  vessels,  and 
in  these  vessels  they  keep  their  corn  safely 
in  caves  and  crevices  among  tlie  rocks. 

Of  course,  when  their  enemies  come  upon 
them,  they  always  deny  that  they  have  any 
food  except  that  which  is  iu  their  huts,  ancl 
when  Dr.  Livingstone  came  among  them 
for  the  first  time  they  made  the  stereotyped 
denial,  stating  that  they  had  been  robbed 
only  a  few  weeks  before. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


THE  BALOisrDO  OE  BALONDA  AND  THE  ANGOLESE. 


GENEBAI/  APPEAKANCE  —  MODE  OF  GOVERNIVIENT — WOMAN  S  DRESS — MANENKO  AND  HER  STRANGE 
COSTtTME  — FASHIONS  I>  HAIR-DRESSLNO  —  COSTUME  OF  THE  MEN  —  THEIR  ORNAMENTS  —  PECOLIAB 
GAIT  —  MODE  OF  SALUTATION  —  CURIOSITY  —  MILDNESS  OF  TEMPERAMENT  —  AN  ATTEMPT  AT  EX- 
TORTION—  A  SCENE  AT  COURT  —  BALONDA  MUSIC  —  MANENKO  IN  COMMAND  —  KATEMA  AST)  HIS 
BEARER  —  LOVE  OF  CATTLE  —  FOOD  OF  THE  BALONDA  —  FISH-CATCHING  —  BALONDA  ARCHITECTURE 
—  CEMENTING  FRIENDSHIP  —  RELIGION  AND  IDOLS  —  A  WILD  LEGEND  —  FUNERAL  CtTSTOMS  —  THE 
ANGOLESE— THEIR  CHARACTER  —  AGRICULTURE —  THE  MANIOC,  AND  ITS  USES  —  MEDICLNES  AND 
CUPPING — SUPERSTITIONS  —  MARRIAGES  AND  FUNERALS  —  DR.    LIVINGSTONE'S  SUJIMARY. 


"We  now  come  to  a  rather  important  tribe 
that  lives  very  close  to  the  equator.  This 
is  called  the  Baloudo  or  Balonda  tribe,  i.  e. 
the  people  who  inhabit  Londa-land,  a  very 
large  district  on  tlie  western  side  of  Africa. 
A  great  number  of  small  tribes  inhabit  this 
country,  but,  as  they  really  are  oftshoots  of 
the  one  tribe,  we  will  treat  of  them  all  under 
the  common  name  of  Balondo. 

The  chief  ruler,  or  king,  of  the  Balonda 
tribes  is  Matiamvo,  a  name  which  is  hered- 
itary, like  that  of  the  Czar  or  Pharaoh.  He 
has  absolute  power  of  life  and  death,  and 
one  of  them  had  a  way  of  proving  this  au- 
thority by  occasionally  running  about  the 
town  and  lieheading  every  one  whom  he 
met,  until  sometimes  quite  a  heap  of  human 
heads  Avas  collected.  He  said  that  his  peo- 
ple were  too  numerous  to  be  prosperous, 
and  so  he  took  this  simple  method  of  dimin- 
ishing their  numbers.  There  seems  to  be 
no  doubt  that  he  was  insane,  and  his  people 
thought  so  too;  but  their  reverence  for  his 
office  was  so  great  that  he  was  allowed  to 
pursue  his  mad  course  without  check,  and 
at  length  died  peaceably,  instead  of  being 
murdered,  as  might  have  been  expected. 

He  was  a  great  slave-dealer,  and  used  to 
conduct  the  transaction  in  a  manner  re- 
markable for  its  simplicity.  When  a  slave- 
merchant  came  to  his  town,  he  took  all  his 
visitor's  property,  and  kept  him  as  a  guest 
for  a  week  or  ten  days.  After  that  time, 
having  shown  his  hospitality,  he  sent  out  a 
party  of  armed  men  against  some  populous 


village,  killed  the  headman,  and  gave  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  slave  merchant 
in  payment  for  his  goods.  Thus  he  en- 
riched his  treasury  and  thinned  his  popula- 
tion by  the  same  act.  Indeed,  he  seemed 
always  to  look  upon  villages  as  property 
whicli  could  be  realized  at  any  time,  and 
had,  besides,  the  advantage  of  steadily  in- 
creasing in  value.  If  he  heard  of  or  saw 
anything  which  he  desired  exceedingly, 
and  the  owner  declined  to  part  with  it,  he 
would  destroy  a  whole  village,  and  oft'er  the 
plunder  to  the  owner  of  the  coveted  prop- 
erty. 

Still,  under  this  rdgime,  the  people  lead, 
as  a  general  rule,  tolerably  happy  and  con- 
tented lives.  They  are  not  sul:ijected  to  the 
same  despotism  as  the  tribes  of  the  Southern 
districts,  and,  indeed,  often  refuse  to  obey 
the  orders  of  the  chief  Once,  when  Katema 
sent  to  the  Balobale,  a  sub-tribe  under  his 
protection,  and  ordered  them  to  furnish  men 
to  carry  Dr.  Livingstone's  goods,  they  flatly 
refused  to  do  so,  in  spite  of  Katema's  threat 
that,  if  they  did  not  obey,  he  would  deprive 
them  of  his  countenance,  and  send  them  back 
to  their  former  oppressors.  The  fact  is, 
each  of  the  chiefs  is  anxious  to  collect  round 
himself  as  many  people  as  possible,  in  order 
to  swell  his  own  importance,  and  he  does 
not  like  to  do  anything  that  might  drive 
them  away  from  him  into  the  ranks  of  some 
rival  chief  Dr.  Livingstone  remarks,  that 
this  disobedience  is  the  more  remarkable,  as 
it  occurs  in  a  country  where  the  slave-trade 


(369) 


370 


THE   BALONDO   OR  BALONDA  TRIBE. 


is  ill  full  force,  and  where  people  may  be 
kidnapped  and  sold  under  any  pretext  that 
may  happen  to  occur  to  the  chief. 

A.S  is  frequently  the  case  with  African 
tribes,  tliere  is  considerable  variety  of  color 
among  the  Baloiido,  some  being  of  a  no- 
tably pale  chocolate  hue,  while  others  are 
so  lilack  as  to  rival  the  negro  in  darkness  of 
comjilexion.  They  appear  to  be  a  rather 
pleasing  set  of  men,  tainted,  as  must  be  the 
case,  with  the  ordinary  vices  of  savage  life, 
but  not  morose,  cruel,  or  treacherous,  as  is 
too  often  the  case.  The  women  appear  to 
be  almost  exceptionally  lively,  being  full  of 
animal  spirits,  and  spending  all  their  leisure 
time,  which  seems  to  be  considerable,  in 
chattering,  weddings,  funerals,  and  similar 
amusements.  Dr.  Livingstone  offers  a  sug- 
gestion that  this  flow  of  spirits  may  be  one 
reason  why  they  are  so  indestructible  a 
race,  and  thinks  that  their  total  want  of 
care  is  caused  by  the  fatalism  of  their  relig- 
ious theories,  such  as  they  are.  Indeed,  he 
draws  rather  a  curious  conclusion  fron  their 
happy  and  cheerful  mode  of  life,  considering 
that  it  would  be  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a 
missionary,  though  why  a  lively  disposition 
and  Christianity  should  be  opposed  to  each 
other  is  not  easy  to  see. 

One  woman,  named  Manenko,  afforded  a 
curious  example  of  mixed  energy,  liveli- 
ness, and  authority.  She  was  a  chief,  and, 
though  married,  retained  the  command  in 
her  own  hands.  "When  she  first  visited  Dr. 
Livingstone,  she  was  a  remarkably  tall  and 
fine  w'oman  of  twenty  or  thereabouts,  and 
rather  astonished  her  guest  l\v  appearing 
before  him  in  a  bright  coat  of  red  ochre, 
and  nothing  else,  except  some  charms  hung 
round  her  neck.  This  absence  of  clothing 
was  entirely  a  voluntary  act  on  her  part,  as, 
being  a  chief,  she  might  have  had  any 
amount  of  clothing  that  she  liked;  but  she 
evidently  thought  "that  her  dignity  required 
her  to  outdo  "the  generality  of  Balondo 
ladies  in  the  scantiness  of  apparel  which 
distinguishes  them. 

In  one  part  of  Londa-land  the  women  are 
almost  wholly  without  clothes,  caring  noth- 
ing for  garments,  except  those  of  European 
manufacture,  which  they  wear  with  much 
pride.  Even  in  this  latter  case  the  raiment 
is  not  worn  so  much  as  a  covering  to  the 
body  as  a  kind  of  ornament  whicli  shows 
the  wealth  of  the  wearer,  for  the  women  will 
purchase  calico  and  other  stufTs  at  extrava- 
gant prices.  They  were  willing  to  give 
twenty  jiounds'  weight  of  meal  and  a  fowl 
for  a  little  strip  of  calico  barely  two  feet  in 
length,  and,  having  put  it  on,  were  quite 
charmed  with  their  new  dress. 

The  fact  is,  they  have  never  been  accus- 
tomed to  dress,  and  '"  are  all  face,'"  the 
weather  having  no  more  effect  on  their 
bodies  than  it  does  on  our  faces.  Even  the 
very  babies  are  deprived  of  the  warm  fur- 
clad  wrapper  in  which  the  generality  of 


African  mothers  carry  them,  and  the  infant 
is  as  exposed  to  the  weather  as  its  mother. 
The  Londa  mother  carries  her  child  in  a 
very  simiilc  manner.  She  plaits  a  bark  belt, 
some  four  inches  or  so  in  width,  and  hangs 
it  over  one  shoulder  and  under  the  other, 
like  the  sash  of  a  light  infantry  othcer.  The 
child  is  partly  seated  on  its  mother's  hip, 
and  partly  supported  liy  the  licit,  \\hich.  as 
is  evident,  does  not  afford  the  least  protec- 
tion against  the  we.ither.  They  even  sleep 
in  the  same  state  of  nudity,  keeping  up  a 
fire  at  night,  which  they  say  is  their  cloth- 
ing. The  women  tried  very  hard  to  move 
the  compassionate  feelings  of  their  white 
visitors  by  holding  up  their  little  naked 
babies,  and  begging  for  clothes;  but  it  was 
clear  that  the"  real  destination  of  such 
clothes  was  for  ornaments  for  themselves. 

As  is  the  case  with  several  other  tribes 
which  care  little  for  clothes,  they  decorate 
their  heads  with  the  greatest  care,  weaving 
their  hair  info  a  variety  of  patterns,  that 
must  cost  infinite  trouble  to  make,  and 
scarcely  less  to  preserve.  They  often  em- 
ploy the  "  buffalo-horn  "  pattern,  which  has 
already  been  mentioned,  sometimes  working 
their  hair  info  two  horns,  and  sometimes 
info  one,  which  projects  over  the  forehead. 
Some  of  them  divide  the  hair  info  a  number 
of  cords  or  plaits,  and  allow  them  to  hang 
all  round  the  face.  The  most  singular 
method  of  dressing  the  hair  is  one  which  is 
positively  startling  at  first  sight,  on  account 
of  the  curious  resemblance  which  it  bears 
to  the  "  nimbus  "  with  which  the  heads  of 
saints  are  conventionally  surrounded.  The 
hair  is  dressed  in  plaits,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  but,  instead  of  being  allowed  to 
hang  down,  each  plait  or  strand  is  drawn 
out  in  a  radiating  fashion,  and  the  ends  are 
fastened  to  a  hoop  of  light  wood.  When 
this  is  done,  the  hoop  itself  represents  the 
nimbus,  and  the  strands  of  hair  the  radi- 
ating beams  of  light.     (See  next  page.) 

The  features  of  the  Balondo  women  are 
pleasing  enough,  and  in  some  cases  are 
even  tolerably  regular.  The  teeth  are  al- 
lowed to  retain  "their  original  form  and 
whiteness;  and  it  is  a  pity  that  so  many 
good  countenances  are  disfigured  by  the 
custom  of  thrusting  pieces  of  reed  through 
the  septum  of  the  nose. 

The  dress  of  the  Balondo  men  is  more 
worthy  of  the  name  than  that  of  the  wom- 
en, as  it  consists  of  a  girdle  round  the 
waist,  with  a  softly-dressed  skin  of  a  jackal 
in  front,  and  a  similar  skin  behind.  Dr. 
Livingstone  relates  an  anecdote  concerning 
this  dress,  which  shows  how  arbitrarv  is  the 
feelinct  of  decency  and  its  opposite,  lie  had 
with  him  a  number  of  Makololo  men,  whose 
dress  is  similar  to  that  of  many  other  tribes, 
and  consists  merely  of  a  piece  of  soft  hide 
fastened  to  the  girdle  in  front,  brought 
under  the  legs,  and  tucked  into  the  girdle 
behind.      Kow   this    dress    is   much  more 


(1.)  THE  MARIMBA  OK  AFRICAN  PIANO.    fSw  pa^p  375.) 


(2.)  HEADDRESSES.    (See  page  370.) 
(371) 


MODE   OF   .SALUTATIO]!^. 


373 


■worthy  of  the  name  than  tins  double  skin  of 
the  Balonda.  Yet  the  Balonda  sirls,  them- 
selves in  a  state  of  almost  complete  nudity, 
were  very  much  shocked  when  they  found 
that  the  Makololo  men  wore  no  back-apron. 
Whenever  a  Makololo  man  happened  to 
turn  his  back  upon  the  women  and  girls, 
they  laughed  and  jeered  at  him  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  was  made  quite  wretched  by 
their  scorn.  Had  they  lieen  even  moder- 
ately clad,  such  behavior  might  seem  ex- 
cusable, but,  when  it  is  remembered  that 
the  dress  of  the  despised  visitor  would  have 
furnished  costumes  to  four  or  Ave  of  the 
women  who  were  laughing  at  him,  we  can 
but  wonder  at  the  singular  hold  which  fash- 
ion takes  of  the  human  mind. 

The  Balondo  men  are  as  fond  of  orna- 
ments as  their  wives,  and,  as  with  them,  the 
decorations  chiefly  belong  to  the  head  and 
the  feet.  In  some  places  they  have  a  fashion 
of  dressing  their  hair  into  a  conical  form, 
similar  to  that  which  has  Iseen  already  men- 
tioned; while  a  man  who  is  fond  of  dress 
will  generally  show  his  foppery  by  twisting 
his  beard  into  three  distinct  plaits.  Some 
of  the  Balondo  men  have  a  considerable 
quantity  of  thick  woolly  hair,  and  dress  it 
in  a  singular  fashion.  They  begin  by  part- 
ing it  down  the  middle,  and  then  forming 
the  hair  of  each  side  into  two  thick  rolls, 
which  pass  between  the  ears  and  tall  down 
as  far  as  the  shoulders.  The  rest  of  the  hair 
is  gathered  up  into  a  bundle,  and  hangs  on 
the  back  of  the  neck. 

Whenever  they  can  afford  it,  the  Balondo 
men  will  carry  one  of  the  large  knives  which 
are  so  prevalent  in  this  part  of  the  continent. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  Western  Africa 
there  is  one  type  of  knife,  which  undergoes 
various  modifications  according  to  the  par- 
ticular district  in  which  it  is  made,  and  this 
type  is  as  characteristic  of  Western  Africa 
as  the  Bechuana  knife  is  of  the  southern 
parts.  Their  curious  form  is  almost  identi- 
cal with  that  of  weapons  taken  from  tuniuli 
in  Europe.  The  sheath  is  always  very  wide, 
and  is  made  with  great  care,  being  mostly 
ornamental  as  well  as  useful. 

Heavy  rings  of  copper  and  other  metals 
are  as  much  in  vogue  as  among  the  Dama- 
ras;  only  the  men  prefer  to  wear  them  on 
their  own  limbs,  instead  of  handing  them 
over  to  their  wives.  As  wealth  is  mostly 
carried  on  the  person  in  this  country,  a  rich 
Balondo  man  will  have  six  or  seven  great 
copper  rings  encircling  his  ankles,  each  ring 
weighing  two  pounds  or  so.  The  gait  of  a 
rich  man  is  therefore  singularly  ungraceful, 
the  feet  being  planted  widely  apart,  so  that 
the  massive  rings  should  not  come  in  con- 
tact. The  peculiar  gait  which  is  caused  by 
the  presence  of  the  treasured  rings  is  much 
admired  among  the  Balondo,  and  is  studi- 
ously imitated  by  those  who  have  no  need 
to  use  it.  A  young  man,  for  example,  who 
is  only  worth  half  a  dozen  rings  weighing 


half  an  ounce  or  so  each,  will  strut  about 
with  his  feet  wide  apart,  as  if  he  could  hardly 
walk  for  the  weight  of  his  anklets. 

The  ornament  which  is  most  (irized  is 
made  from  a  large  species  of  shell  belonging 
to  the  genus  Conus.  The  greater  jiart  of 
the  shell  is  chipped  away,  and  only  the  flat 
and  spiral  base  is  left.  This  is  pierced  in 
the  middle,  and  a  string  is  passed  through 
the  middle,  so  that  it  can  be  hung  round  the 
neck.  Dr.  Livingstone  tells  an  anecdote 
which  shows  the  estimation  in  which  this 
ornament  is  held.  Just  before  his  departure 
the  king,  Shinte,  came  into  his  tent,  and 
passed  aconsideralile  time  in  examining  his 
Ijooks,  watch,  and  other  curiosities.  At  last 
he  carefully  closed  the  door  of  the  tent,  so 
that  none  "of  his  people  might  see  the  ex- 
travagance of  which  he  was  aliout  to  be 
guilty,  and  drew  one  of  these  sliells  from  his 
clothing,  hung  it  round  his  host's  neck,  with 
the  words,  "  There,  now  you  have  a  proof  of 
my  friendship."  These  shells  are  used,  like 
stars  and  crosses  in  England,  as  emblems  of 
rank;  and  they  have  besides  a  lieavy  intrin- 
sic value,  costing  the  king  at  the  rate  of  a 
slave  for  two,  or  a  large  elephant's  tusk  for 
five. 

The  very  fact  that  they  possess  insignia  of 
rank  shows  that  they  must  possess  some 
degree  of  civilization;  and  this  is  also  shown 
by" the  manner  in  which  inferiors  are  bound 
to  salute  those  above  them.  If  a  man  of  low 
rank  should  meet  a  superior,  the  former  im- 
mediately drops  on  his  knees,  picks  up  a 
little  dirt,  rubs  it  on  his  arms  and  chest,  and 
then  claps  his  hands  until  the  great  man  has 
passed.  So  punctilious  are  they  in  their 
manner,  that  when  Sambauza,  the  husband 
of  Manenko,  was  making  a  speech  to  the 
people  of  a  village,  he  interspersed  his  dis- 
course with  frequent  salutations,  altliough 
he  was  a  man  of  consequence  himself,  being 
the  liusbaud  of  the  chief 

There  are  many  gradations  in  the  mode 
of  saluting.  Great  chiefs  go  through  the 
movements  of  rubbing  the  sand,  but  they 
only  make  a  pretence  of  picking  up  sand. 
If  a  man  desires  to  be  very  polite  indeed,  he 
carries  with  him  some  white  ashes  or  pow- 
dered pipe-clay  in  a  piece  of  skin,  and,  after 
kneeling  in  the  usual  manner,  rubs  it  on  his 
chest  and  arms,  the  white  powder  being  an 
ocular  proof  that  the  salutation  has  been 
properly  conducted.  He  then  claps  his 
hands,  stoops  forward,  lays  first  one  cheek 
and  then  the  other  on  the  ground,  and  con- 
tinues his  clapping  for  some  little  time. 
Sometimes,  instead  of  clapping  his  hands,  he 
drums  with  his  elbows  against  his  rilis. 

On  the  whole,  those  travellers  who  have 
passed  through  Londa  seem  to  be  jileased 
with  the  character  of  the  inhaljitants.  Dr. 
Livingstone  appears  to  have  had  but  little 
trouble  with  them,  except  when  resisting 
the  extortionate  demands  which  they,  like 
other  tribes,  were  apt  to  make  for  leave 


374 


THE  BALONDO  OR  BALONDA  TRIBE. 


of  passage    through    their    country.      He 

writes:  — 

"  One  could  detect,  in  passing,  the  variety 
of  cliaracter  found  among  the  owners  of 
gardens  and  villages.  Some  villages  were 
the  picture  of  neatness.  We  entered  others 
envelo])ed  in  a  wilderness  of  weeds,  so  high 
that,  when  sitting  on  an  ox-back  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  village,  we  could  only  see  the  tops 
of  tlie  huts.  If  we  entered  at  mid-day,  tlie 
owners  would  come  lazily  forth,  pipe  in 
hand,  and  leisurely  puft'  away  in  dreamy 
indifference.  In  some  villages  weeds  were 
not  allowed  to  grow;  cotton,  tobacco,  and 
different  plants  used  as  relishes,  are  planted 
round  the  huts;  fowls  are  kept  in  cages;  and 
tlie  gardens  present  the  pleasant  spectacle 
of  different  kinds  of  grain  and  pulse  at 
various  periods  of  their  growth.  I  some- 
times admired  the  one  class,  and  at  times 
wished  I  could  have  taken  the  world  easy, 
like   the  other. 

'•  Every  village  swarms  with  children,  who 
turn  out  to  see  the  white  man  pass,  and  run 
along  with  strange  cries  and  antics;  some 
run  up  trees  to  get  a  good  view  —  all  are 
agile  climbers  through  Londa.  At  friendly 
villages  they  have  scampered  alongside  our 
party  for  miles  at  a  time.  We  usually  made 
a  little  hedge  round  our  sheds;  crowds  of 
women  came  to  the  entrance  of  it,  with  chil- 
dren on  their  backs,  and  pipes  in  their 
mouths,  gazing  at  us  for  hours.  The  men, 
rather  than  disturb  them,  crawled  through 
a  hole  in  the  hedge ;  .and  it  was  common  to 
hear  a  man  in  running  off  say  to  them,  "  I 
am  going  to  tell  my  mamma  to  come  and 
see  the  white  man's  oxen." 

According  to  the  same  authority,  the  Ba- 
londa  do  not  appear  to  be  a  very  quarrel- 
some race,  generally  restricting  themselves 
to  the  tongue  as  a  weapon,  and  seldom  re- 
sorting to  anj'thing  more  actively  offensive. 
The  only  occasion  on  which  he  saw  a  real 
quarrel  take  place  was  rather  a  curious  one. 
An  old  woman  had  been  steadily  abusing  a 
young  man  for  an  liour  or  two,  with  tliat 
singular  fluency  of  invective  with  which 
those  women  seem  to  be  gifted.  He  endured 
it  p.atieutly  for  some  time,  but  at  last  uttered 
an  exclamation  of  anger.  On  which  another 
man  sprang  forward,  and  angrily  demanded 
why  the  other  had  cursed  his  mother.  They 
immediately  closed  with  e.ach  other,  and  a 
scuffle  commenced,  in  the  course  of  which 
they  contrived  to  tear  oft'  the  whole  of  each 
other's  clothing.  The  man  who  began  the 
assault  then  picked  up  his  clothes  and  ran 
away,  threatening  to  bring  his  gun,  but  he 
did  not  return,  and  the  old  woman  pro- 
ceeded with  her  abuse  of  the  remaining 
combatant.  In  their  quarrels  the  Balonda 
make  plenty  of  noise,  but  after  a  while  they 
suddenly  cease  from  their  mutual  invective, 
and  conclude  the  dispute  with  a  hearty 
laugh. 

Once  a  most  flagrant  attempt  at  extortion 


was  made  by  Kawawa,  a  Balonda  cliief  wlio 
had  a  very  b.ad  character,  and  was  in  disfa- 
vor with  Matiamvo,  the  supreme  chief  of 
the  Balonda.  He  sent  a  body  of  men  to  a 
ferry  which  they  had  to  cross,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  boatman  taking  them  over  the 
river.  The  canoes  were  removed;  and  as 
the  river  was  at  least  a  hundred  yards  wide, 
and  very  deep,  Kawawa  thought  he  had  the 
strangers  at  his  mercy,  and  that  if  the  cart, 
the  ox,  the  gun,  the  powder,  and  the  slave, 
which  he  required,  were  not  ibrthcoming, 
he  could  keep  the  strangers  until  they  were 
forced  to  comply  with  his  demands.  How- 
ever, during  the  night  Dr.  Livingstone 
swam  to  the  place  where  the  canoes  were 
hidden,  ferried  the  whole  jiarty  across,  re- 
placed the  canoe,  together  with  some  beads 
as  payment  for  its  use,  and  quietly  swam  to 
the  side  on  which  their  party  were  now 
safely  landed.  Kawawa  had  no  idea  that 
any  of  the  travellers  could  swim,  and  the 
whole  party  were  greatly  amused  at  the 
astonishment  which  they  knew  he  must  feel 
when  he  found  the  travellers  vanished  and 
the  canoes  still  in  their  place  of  concealment. 

Some  of  the  Balonda  have  a  very  clever 
but  rather  mean  method  of  extorting  money 
from  travellers.  When  they  ferry  a  party 
over  the  river,  they  purposelj^  drop  or  leave 
in  a  canoe  a  knife  or  some  other  object  of 
value.  They  then  watch  to  see  if  any  one 
will  pick  it  iip,  and,  if  so,  seize  their  victim 
and  accuse  him  of  the  theft.  They  always 
manage  to  do  so  just  before  the  headman  of 
the  party  has  been  ferried  across,  and 
threaten  to  retain  him  as  a  hostage  until 
their  demand  be  paid.  Dr.  Livingstone 
once  fell  a  victim  to  this  trick,  a  lad  belong- 
ing to  his  party  having  picked  up  a  knife 
which  was  thrown  down  as  a  bait  by  one  of 
the  rascally  boatmen.  As  the  lad  happened 
to  possess  one  of  those  precious  shells  which 
have  been  mentioned,  he  was  forced  to 
surrender  it  to  secure  his  lil)erty.  Such 
conduct  was,  however,  unusual  with  the 
Balonda,  and  the  two  great  chiefs,  Shinte 
and  Kate  ma,  behaved  with  the  greatest  kind- 
ness to  the  travellers.  The  former  chief 
gave  them  a  grand  reception,  which  exhib- 
ited man}'  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  people. 

The  royal  throne  was  placed  under  the 
shade  of  "a  spreading  banian  tree,  and  was 
covered  with  a  leopard  skin.  The  chief  had 
disfigured  himself  with  a  checked  jacket  and 
a  green  baize  kilt;  but,  besides  these  por- 
tions of  civilized  costume,  he  wore  a  multi- 
tude of  native  ornaments,  the  most  conspic- 
uous being  the  number  of  copper  and  iron 
rings  round  his  arms  and  ankles,  and  a  sort 
of  bead  helmet  adorned  with  a  large  plume  of 
feathers.  His  three  pages  were  close  to 
him,  and  behind  him  sat  a  number  of 
women  headed  by  his  chief  wife,  who  was 
distinguished  froin  the  others  by  a  cap  of 
scarlet  material. 


LIVINGSTONE'S  RECEPTION. 


375 


In  many  other  parts  of  Africa  the  women 
■would  have  been  rigidly  excluded  from  a 
public  ceremony,  and  at  the  best  might  have 
been  permitted  to  see  it  from  a  distance; 
but  among  the  Balonda  the  women  take 
their  own  part  in  such  meetings:  and  on 
the  present  occasion  Shinte  often  turned  and 
spoke  to  them,  as  if  asking  their  opinion. 

Manenko's  husband,  Sambaiiza,  intro- 
duced the  party,  and  did  so  in  the  usual 
manner,  by  saluting  with  ashes.  After  him 
the  various  subdivisions  of  the  tribe  came 
forward  in  their  order,  headed  by  its  chief 
man,  wlio  carried  ashes  with  him,  and  .sa- 
hited  the  king  on  behalf  of  his  company. 
Then  came  the  soldiers,  who  dashed  for- 
ward at  the  white  visitor  in  their  usually 
impetuous  manner,  shaking  their  spears  in 
his  face,  brandishing  their  shields,  and  mak- 
ing all  kinds  of  menacing  gestures,  which  in 
this  country  is  their  usual  way  of  doing 
honor  to  a  visitor.  They  then  turned  and 
saluted  the  king,  and  took  their  places. 

Next  came  the  speeches,  Sambanza  march- 
ing about  before  Shinte,  and  announcing  in 
a  stentorian  voice  and  with  measuredac- 
cents  the  whole  history  of  the  white  men 
and  their  reasons  for  visiting  the  country. 
His  argument  for  giving  the  travellers  leave 
to  pass  through  the  territory  was  rather  an 
odd  one.  The  white  man  certainly  said  that 
he  had  come  for  the  purpose  of  opening  the 
country  for  trade,  making  peace  among  the 
various  tribes,  and  teaching  them  a  better 
religion  than  their  own.  Perhaps  he  was 
telling  lies;  for  it  was  not  easy  to  believe 
that  a  white  man  who  had  such  treasures  at 
home  would  take  the  trouble  of  coming  out  of 
the  sea  where  he  lived  for  the  mere  purpose 
of  conferring  benetits  on  those  whom  he  had 
never  seen.  On  the  whole,  they  rather 
thought  he  was  not  speaking  the  truth.  But 
still,  though  ho  had  plenty  of  fire-arms,  he 
had  not  attacked  the  Balonda;  and  it  was 
perhaps  more  consistent  with  Shinte's  char- 
acter as  a  wise  and  humane  chief,  that  he 
should  receive  the  white  men  kindlj',  and 
allow  them  to  pass  on. 

Between  the  speeches  the  women  filled  up 
the  time  by  chanting  a  wild  and  plaintive 
melody;  and  that  they  were  allowed  to  take 
more  than  a  passive  part  in  the  proceedings 
was  evident  from  tlie  frequency  with  which 
they  applauded  the  various  speeclies.  Music 
was  also  employed  at  the  reception,  the 
instruments  being  the  marimba,  which  has 
already  been  mentioned,  and  drums.  These 
latter  instruments  are  carved  I'rom  solid 
blocks  of  wood,  cut  into  hollow  cylinders, 
the  ends  of  which  are  covered  with  antelope 
skin,  and  tightly  fastened  by  a  row  of  small 
wooden  pegs.  There  is  no  method  of  bra- 
cing the  skins  such  as  we  use  with  our  drums, 
and  when  the  drum-heads  become  slack  they 
are  tightened  by  being  held  to  the  fire 
These  drums  are  played  with  the  hand,  and 
not  with  sticks. 

79 


The  most  curious  part  of  these  drums  is 
the  use  of  a  small  square  hole  in  the  side, 
which  seems  to  serve  the  same  purpose  aa 
the  percussion  hole  in  the  European  instru- 
ment. Instead,  however,  of  being  left  open-, 
it  is  closed  with  a  piece  of  spider's  web, 
which  allows  the  needful  escape  of  air,  while 
it  seems  to  have  a  resonant  effect.  The  web 
which  is  used  for  this  purpose  is  taken  from 
the  egg-case  of  a  large  species  of  spider.  It 
is  of  a  yellow  color,  rather  larger  than  a 
crown  piece  in  diameter,  and  is  of  wonder- 
ful toughness  and  elasticity.  The  custom  of 
using  spider's  web  in  this  manner  prevails 
through  a  very  large  portion  of  Africa,  and 
is  even  found  in  those  parts  of  Western 
Africa  which  have  introduced  many  Euro- 
pean instruments  among  those  which  be- 
longed to  them  before  they  had  made 
acquaintance  with  civilization. 

The  drums  and  marimba  are  played 
together;  and  on  this  occasion  the  perform- 
ers walked  round  and  round  the  enclosure, 
producing  music  which  was  really  not 
unpleasant  even  to  European  ears.  The 
marimba  is  found,  with  various  modifica- 
tions, throughout  the  whole  of  this  part  of 
Africa.  Generally  the  framework  is  straight, 
and  in  that  case  the  instrument  is  mostlj 
placed  on  the  ground,  and  the  musician 
plays  it  while  in  a  sitting  or  kneeling  pos- 
ture. But  in  some  places,  especially  where 
it  is  to  be  played  by  the  musician  on  the 
march,  the  framework  is  curved  like  the 
tire  of  a  cart-wheel,  so  that,  when  the  instru- 
ment is  suspended  in  front  of  the  performer, 
he  can  reach  the  highest  and  lowest  keys 
without  difficulty.  The  illustration  on  page 
371  represents  one  of  the  straight-framed 
marimbas,  and  is  drawn  from  a  sjjecimen  in 
Colonel  Lane  Fox's  collection. 

After  this  interview  Shinte  always  be- 
haved very  kindly  to  the  whole  party,  and, 
as  wo  have  already  seen,  invested  Dr.  Liv- 
ingtone  with  the  precious  shell  ornament 
before  his  departure. 

As  to  Shinte's  niece,  Manenko,  the  female 
chief,  she  was  a  woman  who  really  deserved 
her  rank,  from  her  bold  and  energetic  char- 
acter. She  insisted  on  conducting  the  party 
in  her  owm  manner;  and  when  they  set  out, 
she  headed  the  expedition  in  person.  It 
happened  to  be  a  singularly  unpleasant  one, 
the  rain  falling  in  torrents,  and  yet  this  very 
energetic  lady  marched  on  at  a  pace  that 
could  bo  equalled  by  few  of  the  men,  and 
without  the  slightest  protection  from  the 
weather,  save  the  coat  of  red  grease  and  a 
charmed  necklace.  When  asked  why  she 
did  not  wear  clothes,  she  said  that  a  chief 
ought  to  despise  such  luxuries,  and  ought  to 
set  an  example  of  fortitude  to  the  rest  of 
the  tribe.  Nearly  all  the  members  of  the 
expedition  complained  of  cold,  wet,  and 
hunger,  but  this  indefatigable  lady  pressed 
on  in  the  very  lightest  marching  order,  and 
not  until  they  were  all  thoroughly  wearied 


37G 


THE   BALONDO   OR  BALONDA  TRIBE. 


would  she  consent  to  halt  for  the  night. 
Her  husband,  Sambanza,  had  to  march  in 
her  train,  accompanied  by  a  man  who  had 
instructions  to  beat  a  drum  incessantly,  which 
he  did  until  the  perpetual  rain  soaked  the 
skin-heads  so  completely  that  they  would 
not  produce  a  sound.  Sambanza  had  then 
to  chant  all  kinds  of  invocations  to  the  rain, 
which  he  did,  but  without  any  particular 
effect. 

She  knew  well  what  was  her  dignity,  and 
never  allowed  it  to  be  encroached  upon.  On 
one  occasion  Dr.  Livingstone  had  presented 
an  ox  to  Shinte.  Maneuko  heard  of  it,  and 
was  extremely  angry  that  such  a  gift  should 
have  been  made.  She  .said  that,  as  slie  was 
the  chief  of  the  party  who  had  brought  the 
white  men,  the  ox  was  hers,  and  not  theirs, 
as  long  as  she  was  in  command.  So  she 
sent  for  the  ox  straightway,  had  it  slaugh- 
tered by  her  own  men,  and  then  sent  Shinte 
a  leg.  The  latter  chief  seemed  to  think  that 
she  was  justified  in  what  she  had  done,  took 
the  leg,  and  said  nothing  about  it. 

Yet  she  did  not  forget  that,  although  she 
was  a  chief,  she  was  a  woman,  and  ought 
therefore  to  perform  a  woman's  duties. 
When  the  party  stopped  for  the  night  in 
some  village,  Maneuko  was  accustomed  to 
go  to  the  huts  and  ask  for  some  maize, 
which  she  ground  and  prepared  with  lier 
own  hands  and  brought  to  Dr.  Livingstone, 
as  he  could  not  eat  the  ordinary  country 
meal  without  being  ill  afterward.  She  was 
also  careful  to  inform  liim  of  the  proper 
mode  of  approaching  a  Balonda  town  or 
village.  It  is  bad  manners  to  pass  on  and 
enter  a  town  without  having  first  sent  no- 
tice to  the  headman.  As  soon  as  a  traveller 
comes  within  sight  of  the  houses,  he  ought 
to  halt,  and  send  forward  a  messenger  to 
state  his  name,  and  ask  for  permission  to 
enter.  The  headman  or  chief  then  comes 
out,  meets  the  stranger  under  a  tree,  just  as 
Shinte  received  Dr.  Livingstone,  giving  him 
a  welcome,  and  appointing  him  a  place 
where  he  may  sleep.  Before  he  learned 
this  piece  of  etiquette,  several  villages  had 
been  much  alarmed  by  the  unannounced 
arrival  of  the  visitors,  who  were  in  conse- 
quence looked  upon  with  fear  and  suspi- 
cion. 

Afterward,  when  they  came  to  visit  the 
great  chief  Katema,  they  found  liim  quite  as 
friendly  as  Shinte  had  been.  He  received 
them  much  after  the  same  manner,  being 
seated,  and  having  around  him  a  number  of 
armed  men  or  guards,  and  about  thirty 
women  behind  him.  In  going  to  or  coining 
from  the  place  of  council,  he  rode  on  tlie 
shoulders  of  a  man  appointed  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  who,  through  dint  of  long  prac- 
tice, performed  his  task  with  apparent  ease, 
though  he  was  slightly  made,  and  Katema 
was  a  tall  and  iioworful  man.  He  nad  a 
great  idea  of  his  own  dignity,  and  made  a 
speech  in  which  he  compared  himself  with 


Matiamvo,  saying  that  he  was  the  great 
Moene,  or  lord,  the  fellow  of  Matiamvo. 

He  was  very  proud  of  a  small  herd  of 
cattle,  about  thirty  in  number,  mostly  white 
in  color,  and  as  active  as  antelopes.  He 
had  bred  tlii'in  all  himself,  but  had  no  idea 
of  utilizing  them,  and  was  quite  delighted 
when  told  that  they  could  be  milked,  and 
the  milk  used  for  food.  It  is  strange  that 
the  Balonda  are  not  a  more  pastoral  people, 
as  the  country  is  admiiabty  adapted  for  the 
nurture  of  cattle,  and  all  those  which  were 
possessed  by  Katema,  or  even  )jy  Matiamvo 
himself,  were  in  splendid  condition.  So 
wild  were  Katema's  cattle,  that  when  the 
chief  had  presented  the  party  with  a  cow, 
they  were  obliged  to  stalk  and  shoot  it,  as  if 
it  had  been  a  bufialo.  The  native  w  ho  shot 
the  cow  being  a  bad  marksman,  the  cow 
was  only  wounded,  and  dashed  off  into  the 
forest,  together  with  the  rest  of  the  herd. 
Even  the  herdsman  was  afraid  to  go  among 
them,  and,  after  two  days'  hunting,  the 
wounded  cow  was  at  last  killed  by  another 
ball. 

The  Balonda  are  not  only  fond  of  cattle, 
but  they  do  their  best  to  improve  the  breed. 
When  a  number  of  them  went  with  Dr. 
Livingstone  into  Angola,  they  expressed 
muchcontemptuous  wonder  at  the  neglect 
both  of  land  and  of  domesticated  animals. 
They  themselves  are  always  on  the  look-out 
for  better  specimens  than  their  own,  and 
even  took  the  trouble  of  carrying  some  large 
fowls  all  the  way  from  Angola  to  Shinte  s 
village.  When  they  saw  that  even  the 
Portuguese  settlers  .slaughtered  little  cows 
and  heifer  calves,  and  made  no  use  of  the 
milk,  they  at  once  set  the  white  men  down 
as  an  inferior  race.  When  they  heard  that 
the  flour  used  by  these  same  settlers  was 
nearly  all  imported  from  a  foreign  country, 
they  "were  astonished  at  the  neglect  of  a 
land  so  suited  for  agriculture  as  Angola. 
"  These  know  nothing"  but  buying  and  sell- 
ing; they  are  not  men,"  was  the  verdict 
given  by  the  so  called  savages. 

The  food  of  the  Balonda  is  mostly  of  a 
vegetaljle  character,  and  consists  in  a  great 
measure  of  the  manioc,  or  cassava,  which 
grows  in  great  abundance.  There  are  two 
varieties  of  this  jdant,  namely,  the  sweet  and 
the  bitter,  i.  e.  the  poisonous.  The  latter, 
however,  is  the  quicker  of  growth,  and  con- 
sequently is  chiefly  cultivated.  In  order  to 
prepare  it  for  consumption,  it  is  steeped  in 
water  for  four  days,  when  it  becomes  par- 
tially rotten,  the  skin  comes  off  easily,  and 
the  poisonous  matter  is  easily  extracted.  It 
is  then  dried  in  the  sun,  andean  be  pounded 
into  a  sort  of  meal. 

When  this  meal  is  cooked,  it  is  simply 
stirred  into  boiling  water,  one  man  holding 
the  vessel  and  putting  in  the  meal,  while 
the  other  stirs  it  with  all  his  might.  The 
natives  like  this  simple  diet  very  much,  but 
to  ail  European  it  is  simply  detestable.    It 


ETIQUETTE  IN  EATIXG. 


377 


has  no  flavor  except  that  which  arises  from 
partial  decomposition,  and  it  looks  exactly 
like  ordinary  starch  when  ready  for  the 
laundress.  It  has  but  little  nutritive  power, 
and,  however  much  a  man  may  contrive  to 
eat,  he  is  as  hungry  two  hours  afterward  as 
if  he  had  fasted.  "  Dr.  Livingstone  compares 
it  in  a]ipearance,  taste,  and  odor,  to  potato 
starch  made  from  diseased  tubers.  Mcjre- 
over,  owing  to  the  mode  of  preparing  it, 
the  cooking  is  exceedingly  imperfect,  and, 
in  consequence,  its  effects  upon  ordinary 
European  digestions  may  be  imagined. 

The  manioc  plant  is  largely  cultivated, 
and  requires  but  little  labor,  the  first  plant- 
ing involving,  nearly  all  the  trouble.  In  the 
low-lying  valleys  the  earth  is  dug  with  the 
cm-ious  IJalonda  hoe,  whicli  has  two  han- 
dles and  one  blade,  and  is  scraped  into  par- 
allel beds,  about  three  feet  wide  and  one 
foot  in  height,  much  resembling  those  in 
which  asparagus  is  jjlanted  in  England. 
In  these  beds  pieces  of  the  manioc  stalk  are 
planted  at  four  feet  apart.  In  order  to  save 
space,  ground-nuts,  beans,  or  other  plants 
are  sown  between  the  beds,  and,  after  the 
crop  is  gathered,  the  ground  is  cleared  of 
weeds,  and  the  manioc  is  left  to  nurture 
itself.  It  is  fit  for  eating  in  a  year  or  eigh- 
teen mouths,  according  to  the  character  of 
the  soil ;  but  there  is  no  necessity  for  dig- 
ging it  at  once,  as  it  may  be  left  in  the 
ground  for  three  years  before  it  becomes 
dry  and  bitter.  When  a  root  is  dug,  the 
womau  cuts  off  two  or  three  pieces  of  the 
stalk,  puts  them  in  tlie  hole  whicli  she  has 
made,  and  thus  a  new  crop  is  begun.  Not 
only  the  root  is  edible,  but  also  the  leaves, 
which  are  boiled  and  cooked  as  vegetables. 

The  Balonda  seldom  can  olitain  meat,  and 
even  Shinte  himself,  great  chief  as  he  was, 
had  to  ask  for  an  ox,  saying  that  his  mouth 
was  bitter  for  the  want  of  meat.  The  reader 
may  remember  that  when  the  ox  in  question 
was  given,  he  was  very  thankful  for  the 
single  leg  which  Manenko  allowed  him  to 
receive.  The  people  are  not  so  fastidious 
in  their  food  as  many  other  tribes,  and  they 
are  not  above  eating  mice  and  other  small 
animals  with  their  tasteless  porridge.  They 
also  eat  fowls  and  eggs,  and  are  fond  of  fisli, 
which  they  catch  in  a  very  ingenious  man- 
ner. 

When  the  floods  are  out,  many  fish,  espe- 
cially the  silurus,  or  mosala,  as  the  natives 
call  it,  spread  themselves  over  the  land. 
Just  before  the  waters  retire,  the  Balonda 
construct  a  number  of  earthen  banks  across 
the  outlets,  leaving  only  small  apertures  for 
the  water  to  pass  through.  In  these  aper- 
tures they  fix  creels  or  baskets,  so  made 
that  the  fish  are  forced  to  enter  them  as 
they  follow  the  retreating  waters,  but,  once 
in,  they  cannot  get  out  again.  Sometimes, 
instead  of  earthen  walls,  they  plant  rows 
of  mats  sti-etched  between  sticks,  which 
answer  the  same  purpose. 


They  also  use  fish  traps  very  like  our 
own  lobster  pots,  and  place  a  bait  inside  in 
order  to  attract  the  fish.  Hooks  are  also 
employed  ;  and  in  some  places  they  descend 
to  the"  practice  of  poisoning  the  water,  by 
which  means  they  destroy  every  fish,  small 
and  great,  that  comes  within  range  of  the 
deadly  juice.  The  fish  when  taken  are 
cleaned,"  split  open,  and  dried  in  the  smoke, 
so  that  they  can  be  kept  for  a  considerable 
time. 

Like  other  Africans,  the  Balonda  make 
great  quantities  of  beer,  which  has  more  a 
stujiefy-ing  than  an  intoxicating  character, 
those  'who  drink  it  habitually  being  often 
seen  lying  on  their  faces  fast  asleep.  A 
more  intoxicating  drink  is  a  kind  of  mead 
which  they  make,  and  of  which  some  of 
them  are  as  fond  as  the  old  Ossianic  heroes. 
Shinte  had  a  great  idea  of  the  medicinal 
properties  of  this  mead,  and  recommended 
it  to  Dr.  Livingstone  when  he  was  very  ill 
with  a  fever  :  ""Drink  plenty  of  mead,"  said 
he,  '•  and  it  will  drive  the  fever  out."  Prob- 
ably on  account  of  its  value  as  a  febrifuge, 
Shinte  took  plenty  of  his  own  prescrii)tion. 

They  have  a  most  elaborate  code  of  eti- 
quette in  eating.  They  will  not  partake  of 
food  which  has  been  cooked  by  strangers, 
neither  will  they  eat  it  except  when  alone. 
If  a  party  of  Balonda  are  travelling  with 
men  of  other  tribes,  they  always  go  aside  to 
cook  their  food,  and  then  come  back,  clap 
their  hands,  and  return  thanks  to  the  leader 
of  the  party.  Each  hut  has  always  its  own 
fire,  and,  instead  of  kindling  it  at  the  chief's 
fire,  as  is  the  custom  with  the  Damaras, 
they  always  light  it  at  once  with  fire  pro- 
duced by  friction. 

So  careful  are  the  Balonda  in  this  respect, 
that  when  Dr.  Livingstone  killed  an  o.x,  and 
oft'ered  some  of  the  cooked  meat  to  his  part3% 
the  Balonda  would  not  take  it,  in  spite  of 
their  fondness  for  meat,  and  the  very  few 
chances  which  they  have  of  ol)taining  it. 
They  did,  however,  accept  some  of  the  raw 
meat,  which  they  took  away  and  cooked 
after  their  own  fashion.  One  of  them  was 
almost  absurd  in  the  many  little  fashions 
which  he  followed  and  probably  invented. 
When  the  meat  was  offered  to  him,  he 
would  not  take  it  himself,  as  it  was  below 
his  dignity  to  carry  meat.  Accordingly  he 
marched  home  in  state,  with  a  servant  be- 
hind him  carrying  a  few  ounces  of  meat  on  a 
platter.  Neitlier  would  he  sit  on  the  grass 
beside  Dr.  Livingstone.  '-He  had  never 
sat  on  the  ground  during  the  late  Mati- 
amvo's  reign,  and  was  not  going  to  degrade 
himself  at  his  time  of  life."  So  he  seated 
himself  on  a  log  of  wood,  and  was  happ}'  at 
his  untarnished  dignity. 

One  of  the  little  sub-tribes,  an  off'shoot  of 
the  Balonda,  was  remarkable  for  never  eat- 
ing beef  on  principle,  saying  that  cattle  are 
like  human  beings,  and  live  at  home  like 
men.     (There  are  other  tribes  who  will  not 


378 


THE   BALONDO   OR  BALONDA  TRIBE. 


keep  cattle,  becnnsc,  as  they  rightly  say,  the 
oxen  bring  enemies  and  war  ujion  them. 
But  they  are  alw.ays  glad  to  eat  Ijeef  when 
they  can  get  it.)  This  tribe  seems  to  be 
unique  in  its  abstinence.  Although  they 
have  this  idea  .about  cattle,  they  will  eat 
without  compunction  the  Hesh  of  most  wild 
animals,  and  in  many  cases  disphiy  great 
ingenuity  in  limiting  them.  They  stalk  the 
animals  through  the  long  grass  and  brush- 
wood, disguising  themselves  by  wearing  a 
cap  made  of  the  skin  taken  from  the  head 
of  an  antelope,  to  which  the  horns  are  still 
att.ached.  When  the  animal  which  they 
are  pursuing  begins  to  be  alarmed  at  the 
rustling  of  the  boughs  or  shaking  of  the 
grass,  they  only  thrust  the  horned  mask 
into  view,  and  move  it  about  as  if  it  were 
the  head  of  a  veritable  antelope.  This 
device  quiets  suspicion,  and  so  the  hunter 
proceeds  until  he  is  near  enough  to  deliver 
his  arrow.  Some  of  tliese  hunters  prefer 
the  head  and  ueck  of  the  jabiru,  or  great 
African  crane. 

As  far  as  is  known,  the  Balouda  are  not 
a  warlike  people,  though  they  are  in  the 
habit  of  carrying  arms,  and  have  a  very 
formidable  look.  Their  weapons  are  short 
knife-like  swords,  shields,  and  bows  and  ar- 
rows, the  latter  being  iron  headed.  The 
shields  are  made  of  reeds  plaited  firmly 
together.  They  are  square  or  rather  ob- 
long, in  form,  measuring  about  five  feet  in 
length  and  three  in  width. 

The  architecture  of  the  ]5alonda  is  simple, 
but  ingenious.  Every  house  is  surrounded 
with  a  palisade  which  to  all  appearance  has 
no  door,  and  is  always  kept  closed,  so  that 
a  stranger  may  walk  round  and  round  it, 
and  never  find  the  entrance.  In  one  part 
of  the  palisade  the  stakes  are  not  fast- 
ened to  each  other,  but  two  or  three  are 
merely  stuck  into  their  holes  in  the  ground. 
When  the  inhabitants  of  the  huts  wish  to 
enter  or  leave  tlieir  dwellings,  they  simply 
pull  up  two  or  three  stakes,  squeeze  them- 
selves through  the  aperture,  and  replace 
tliem,  so  that  no  sign  of  a  doorway  is  left. 
The  reader  may  perhaps  remember  tliat 
the  little  wooden  bird-cages  in  which  cana- 
ries are  brought  to  England  are  opened 
and  closed  in  exactly  the  same  manner, 
some  movable  bars  sujjplying  the  place  of  a 
door. 

Sometimes  they  vary  tlie  material  of  their 
fences,  and  make  them  of  tall  and  compara- 
tively slight  rods  fastened  tightly  together. 
Shinte's  palace  was  formed  after  this  man- 
ner, and  file  interior  space  was  decorated 
with  clumps  of  trees  which  had  been  planted 
for  the  sake  of  the  shade  which  they  af- 
forded. That  these  trees  had  really  been 
planted,  and  not  merely  left  standing,  was 
evident  from  the  fact  that  several  young 
trees  were  seen  recently  set,  with  a  quan- 
tity of  grass  twisted  round  their  stems  to 
protect  them  against  the  sun.    Even  the 


corners  of  the  streets  were  planted  with 
sugar-canes  and  bananas,  so  that  tlie  social 
system  of  the  Balonda  seems  to  be  of  rather 
a  high  order.  One  petty  chief,  called  ]Mo- 
ziiikwa,  had  made  the  hedge  of  his  enclosure 
of  green  banian  branches  which  had  taken 
root,  and  so  formed  a  li\ing  hedge. 

It  is  a  pity  that  so  nuieli  care  and  skill 
.should  be  so  often  thrown  a^vay.  As  the 
traveller  passes  througli  the  Lcjuda  districts 
ho  often  sees  deserted  liouses.  and  even  vil- 
lages. The  fact  is,  lliat  either  the  husband 
or  the  chief  wife  has  died,  and  the  invaria- 
ble custom  is  to  desert  the  locality,  and  never 
to  revisit  it  except  to  make  offerings  to  the 
dead.  Thus  it  happens  tliat  permanent 
localities  are  impossible,  because  the  death 
of  a  chiefs  wife  would  cause  the  whole  vil- 
lage to  be  deserted,  just  as  is  the  case  with 
a  house  when  an  ordinary  man  dies.  This 
very  house  and  garden  underwent  the  usual 
lot,  for  Mozinkwa  lost  his  favorite  wife,  and 
in  a  few  months  house,  garden,  and  hedges 
had  all  gone  to  ruin. 

The  Balonda  have  a  most  remarkable  cus- 
tom of  cementing  frieiidsliip.  When  two 
men  agree  to  be  special  friends,  they  go 
through  a  singular  ceremony.  The  men 
sit  opposite  each  other  with  clasped  hands, 
and  by  the  side  of  each  is  a  vessel  of  beer. 
Slight  cuts  are  then  made  on  the  clasjied 
hands,  on  the  pit  of  the  stuniach,  on  the  right 
cheek,  and  on  the  foreliead.  The  jioint  of 
a  grass  blade  is  then  pressed  against  each  of 
these  cuts,  so  as  to  t.ake  up  a  little  of  the 
blood,  and  each  man  washes  the  grass  blade 
in  his  own  beer-vessel.  The  vessels  are  then 
exchanged  and  the  contents  drunk,  so  that 
each  inil)ibes  the  blood  of  the  other.  They 
are  then  considered  as  blood  relations,  and 
are  bound  to  assist  each  other  in  every  pos- 
sible manner.  While  the  beer  is  being 
drunk,  tlie  friends  of  eacli  of  the  men  beat  on 
the  ground  with  clubs,  and  bawl  out  certain 
sentences  as  ratification  of  the  treaty.  It  is 
thought  correct  for  all  the  friends  of  each 
party  to  the  contract  to  drink  a  little  of  the 
beer.  This  ceremony  is  called  "  kasendi."' 
After  the  ceremony  has  been  completed,  gifts 
are  exchanged,  and  botli  parties  always  give 
their  most  precious  possessions. 

Dr.  Livingstone  once  liecame  related  to  a 
young  woman  in  rather  a  curious  manner. 
Slie  had  a  tumor  in  lier  arm,  and  asked  liim 
to  remove  it.  As  he  was  doing  so,  a  little 
blood  spirted  from  one  of  the  small  arteries 
and  entered  his  eye.  As  he  was  wiping  it 
out,  she  h.ailed  him  as  a  blood  relation,  and 
said  that  whenever  be  passed  through  tlie 
country  he  was  to  send  word  to  her,  that  she 
might  wait  upon  him,  and  cook  for  him. 
Men  of  dilfercnt  tribes  often  go  through  this 
ceremony,  and  on  the  present  occasion  all 
Dr.  Livingstone's  men,  whether  they  were 
Batoka,  Makololo,  or  of  other  tribes,  became 
Molekuncs,  or  friends,  to  the  Balonda. 

As  to  their  religious  belief,  it  is  but  con- 


EELIGIOX  AND  IDOLS. 


379 


f-^ed  and  hazy,  still  it  exercises  a  kind  of 
iiiriuence  over'them.  They  have  a  toleralily 
clear  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  whom  tliey 
call  by  dilferent  names  according  to  their 
dialect.  Tlie  Balonda  use  the  word  Zambi, 
but  Morinio  is  one  name  which  is  understood 
through  a  very  large  tract  of  country.  The 
Balonda  believe  that  Zaml)i  rules  over  all 
otiier  spirits  and  minor  deities  just  as  their 
king  Matiamvo  rules  over  the  greater  and 
lesser  chiefs.  When  they  undergo  the  poi- 
son ordeal,  which  is  used  as  much  among 
them  as  in  other  tribes,  they  hold  up  their 
hands  to  heaven,  and  thus  appeal  to  the 
Great  Spirit  to  judge  according  to  right. 

Among  the  Balonda  we  come  for  the  first 
time  among  idols  or  fetishes,  whichever  may 
be  the  correct  title.  One  form  of  idol  is  very 
common  in  Balonda  villages,  and  is  called  by 
the  name  of  a  lion,  though  a  stranger  uniniti- 
ated in  its  mysteries  would  certainly  take  it 
for  a  crocodile,  or  at  all  events  a  lizard  of 
some  kind.  It  is  a  long  cylindrical  roll  of 
grass  plastered  over  with  clay.  One  end 
represents  the  head,  and  is  accordingly  fur- 
nished with  a  mouth,  and  a  couple  of  cow- 
rie shells  by  way  of  eyes.  The  other  end 
tapers  gradually  into  a  tail,  and  the  whole  is 
sujjported  on  four  short  straight  legs.  The 
native  modeller  seems  to  have  a  misgiving 
that  the  imitation  is  not  quite  so  close  as 
might  be  wished,  and  so  sticks  in  the  neck 
a  number  of  hairs  from  an  elephant's  tail, 
which  are  supposed  to  represent  the  n>ane. 

These  singular  idols  are  to  be  seen  in  most 
Balonda  villages.  They  are  supposed  to 
represent  the  deities  who  have  dominion 
over  disease  ;  and  when  any  inhaliitant  of 
the  village  is  ill,  his  friends  go  to  the  lion 
idol,  and  pray  all  night  before  it,  beating 
their  drums,  and  producing  that  amount  of 
noise  which  seems  to  be  an  essential  ac- 
companiment of  religious  rites  among  Afri- 
cans. Some  idols  may  be  perhaps  more 
properly  called  teraphim,  as  by  their  means 
the  medicine  men  foretell  future  events. 
These  idols  generally  rest  on  a  horizontal 
beam  fastened  to  two  uprights  —  a  custom 
which  is  followed  in  Dahome  when  a  human 
sacrifice  has  been  made.  The  medicine  men 
tell  their  clients  that  by  their  ministrations 
they  can  force  the  teraphim  to  speak,  and 
that  thus  they  are  acquainted  with  the  fu- 
ture. They  are  chiefly  brought  into  requi- 
sition in  war-time,  when  they  are  supposed 
to  give  notice  of  the  enemy's  approach. 

These  idols  take  various  shajies.  Some- 
times they  are  intended  to  represent  certain 
animals,  and  sometimes  are  fashioned  into 
the  rude  semblance  of  the  human  head. 
AVhen  the  superstitious  native  does  not  care 
to  take  the  trouble  of  carving  or  modelling 
an  idol,  he  takes  a  crooked  stick,  fixes  it  in 
the  ground,  rulis  it  with  some  strange  com- 
pound, and  so  his  idol  is  completed.  Trees 
are  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  heathen 
worshipper.    OtTerings  of  maize  or  manioc 


root  are  laid  on  the  branches,  and  incisions 
are  made  in  the  liark,  some  lieing  mere 
knife-cuts,  and  others  rude  outlines  of  the 
human  face.  Sticks,  too,  are  thrown  on  the 
ground  in  heaps,  and  each  traveller  that 
passes  by  is  supposed  to  throw  at  least  one 
stick  on  the  heap. 

Sometimes  little  models  of  huts  are  made, 
and  in  them  are  placed  pots  of  medicine  ; 
and  in  one  instance  a  small  farmhouse  was 
seen,  and  in  it  was  the  skull  of  an  ox  by 
way  of  an  idol.  The  oft'erings  whicli  are 
made  are  generally  some  article  of  food  ;  and 
some  of  the  Balonda  are  so  fearful  of  offend- 
ing the  denizens  of  the  unseen  world,  that 
whenever  they  receive  a  present;  they  al- 
ways offer  a  portion  of  it  to  the  spirits  of 
their  dead  relations. 

One  curious  legend  was  told  to  Dr.  Liv- 
ingstone, and  is  worthy  of  mention,  be- 
cause it  bears  a  resemblance  to  the  old 
mythological  story  of  Latona.  There  is  a 
certain  lake  called  in  Londa-land  Dilolo, 
respecting  which  the  following  story  was 
told  to  the  white  visitors; — 

"  A  female  chief,  called  Moene  (lord) 
Monenga,  came  one  evening  to  the  village 
of  Miisogo,  a  man  who  lived  in  the  vicinity, 
but  who  had  gone  to  hunt  with  his  dog's. 
She  asked  for  a  supply  of  food,  and  Moso- 
go's  wife  gave  her  a  sufficient  quantity. 
Proceeding  to  another  village,  standing  on 
the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  water,  she 
preferred  the  same  demand,  and  was  not 
only  refused,  but,  when  she  uttered  a  threat 
for  their  niggardliness,  was  taunted  with 
the  question,  '  AVhat  could  she  do  though 
she  were  thus  treated? ' 

"  In  order  to  show  what  she  covdd  do,  she 
liegan  a  song  in  slow  time,  and  uttered  her 
own  name,  '  Monenga-wo-o.'  As  she  pro- 
longed the  last  note,  the  village,  people, 
fowls,  and  dogs  sank  into  the  space  no\v 
called  Dilolo.  When  Kasimakate,  the  head- 
man of  the  village,  came  home  and  foimi^ 
out  the  catastrophe,  he  cast  himself  into 
the  lake,  and  is  supposed  to  be  in  it  still. 
The  name  is  taken  from  '  ildlo,'  despair, 
because  this  man  gave  up  all  hope  when  his 
family  was  destroyed.  Monenga  was  put  to 
death." 

The  Balonda  are  certainly  possessed  of  a 
greater  sense  of  religion  than  is  the  case 
with  tribes  which  have  been  described. 
They  occasionally  exhibit  a  feeling  of  rev- 
erence, which  implies  a  religious  turn  of 
mind,  though  the  object  toward  which  it 
may  manifest  itself  be  an  unworthy  one. 
During  Dr.  Livingstone's  march  through 
the  Londa  country  the  party  was  accompa- 
nied by  a  medicine  man  belonging  to  tlie 
tribe  which  was  ruled  by  Manenfco.  The 
wizard  in  question  carried  his  sacred  imple- 
ments in  a  basket,  and  was  very  reverential 
in  his  manner  toward  them.  When  near 
these  sacred  objects,  he  kept  silence  as  far 
as  possible,  and,  if  he  were  forced  to  speak, 


380 


THE  jXJSTGOLESE  TRIBES. 


never  raised  his  voice  above  a  wliispor. 
Once,  when  a  Batoka  man  hajipened  to 
speak  in  his  usual  loud  tones  when  close  to 
the  hasket,  the  doctor  administered  a  sharp 
reproof,  his  anxious  glances  at  the  basket 
showing  that  he  was  really  in  earnest.  It 
so  happened  that  another  female  chief, 
called  Nyamoana,  was  of  the  party,  and, 
when  they  had  to  cross  a  stream  that  passed 
by  her  own  village,  she  would  not  venture 
to  do  so  until  the  doctor  had  waved  his 
charms  over  her,  and  she  had  further  forti- 
fied herself  by  taking  some  in  her  hands, 
and  hanging  others  round  her  neck. 

As  the  Balonda  believe  in  a  Supreme 
Being,  it  is  evident  that  they  also  believe  in 
the  immortality  of  the  human  spirit.  Here 
their  belief  has  a  sort  of  consistency,  and 
opposes  a  curious  obstacle  to  the  eftbrts  of 
missionaries;  even  Dr.  Livingstone  being 
imable  to  make  any  real  impression  on 
them.  They  fancy  that  when  a  Balonda 
man  dies,  he  may  perhaps  take  the  form  of 
some  animal,  or  he  may  assume  his  place 
among  the  Barimo,  or  inferior  deities,  this 
word  being  merely  the  plural  form  of  Mor- 
imo.  In  either  case  the  enfranchised  s])irit 
still  belongs  to  earth,  and  has  no  aspirations 
for  a  higher  state  of  existence. 

Nor  can  the  missionary  make  any  im- 
pression on  their  minds  with  regard  to  the 
ultimate  destiny  of  human  souls.  They 
admit  the  existence  of  the  Supreme  Being; 
they  see  no  objection  to  the  doctrine  that 
the"  Maker  of  mankind  took  on  Himself  the 
humanity  which  He  had  created;  they  say 
that  they  always  have  believed  that  man 
lives  after  the  death  of  the  body;  and  appa- 
rently afford  a  good  basis  for  instruction  in 
the  Christian  religion.  But,  although  the 
teachers  can  advance  thus  far,  they  are  sud- 
denly checked  by  the  old  objection  that 
white  and  black  men  are  totally  different, 
and  that,  although  the  spirits   of  deceased 


white  men  may  go  into  a  mysterious  and 
incomprehensible  heaven,  the  deceased  Ba- 
londa prefer  to  remain  near  their  villages 
which  were  familiar  to  them  in  life,  and  to 
assist  those  who  have  succeeded  them  in 
their  duties.  This  idea  maj'  probably  ac- 
count for  the  habit  of  deserting  their  houses 
after  the  death  of  any  of  the  family. 

During  the  funeral  ceremonies  a  perpet- 
ual aud  deafening  clamor  is  kept  up,  the 
popular  notion  seeming  to  be,  that  the  more 
noise  they  can  make,  the  greater  honor  is 
due  to  the  deceased.  Wailing  is  carried  on 
with  loud  piercing  cries,  drums  are  beaten, 
and,  if  fire-arms  have  been  introduced 
among  them,  guns  are  fired.  These  drums 
are  not  beaten  at  random,  but  with  regular 
measured  beats.  The}-  are  played  all  night 
long,  aud  their  sound  has  been  compared 
to  the  regular  beating  of  a  paddle-wheel 
engine.  Oxen  are  slaughtered  and  the  flesh 
cooked  for  a  feast,  and  great  quautities  of 
beer  and  mead  are  drunk.  The  cost  of  a 
funeral  in  these  parts  is  therefore  very 
great,  and  it  is  thought  a  point  of  lionor  to 
expend  as  much  wealth  as  can  be  got 
together  for  the  purpose. 

The  religious  element  is  represented  b}'  a 
kind  of  idol  or  figure  covered  with  feathers, 
which  is  carried  about  during  some  parts  of 
the  ceremony;  and  in  some  places  a  man, 
in  a  strange  dress,  covered  with  feathers, 
dances  with  the  mourners  all  night,  and 
retires  to  the  feast  in  the  early  morning. 
He  is  supposed  to  be  the  representative  of 
the  Barimo,  or  spirits. 

The  position  of  the  grave  is  usually  marked 
with  certain  objects.  One  of  these  graves 
was  covered  with  a  huge  cone  of  sticks  laid 
together  like  the  roof  of  a  hut,  and  a  pali- 
sade was  erected  round  the  cone.  Tliere 
was  an  opening  on  one  side,  in  which  was 
placed  an  ugly  idol,  and  a  number  of  bits  of 
cloth  and  strings  of  beads  were  hung  around. 


THE  ANGOLESE. 


Westward  of  the  country  which  has  just 
been  described  is  a  large  district  that  em- 
braces a  considerable  portion  of  the  coast, 
and  extends  far  inward.  This  country  is 
well  known  under  the  name  of  Angola. 
As  this  country  has  been  held  for  several 
centuries  by  the  Portuguese,  who  have 
extended  their  settlements  for  six  or  seven 
hundred  miles  into  the  interior,  but  few  of 
the  oi'iginal  manners  and  customs  have  sur- 
vived, and  even  those  have  been  modified 
by  the  contact  with  white  settlers.  As, 
however,  Angola  is  a  very  important,  as 
well  as  large  country,  a  short  account  will 
be  given  of  the  natives  before  we  proceed 
more  northward. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Angolese  are  elected, 
and  the  choice  must  be  made  from  certain 


families.  In  one  place  there  are  three 
families  from  which  the  chief  is  chosen  in 
rotation.  The  law  of  succession  is  rather 
remarkable,  the  eldest  brother  inheriting 
property  in  preference  to  the  son;  and  if  a 
married  man  dies,  his  children  belong  to  his 
widow's  eldest  brother,  who  not  unfre- 
quently  converts  them  into  property  by 
selling  them  to  the  slave  dealers.  It  is  in 
this  manner,  as  has  been  well  remarked, 
that  the  slave  trade  is  supplied,  rather  than 
by  war. 

The  inhabitants  of  this  land,  although 
dark,  are  seldom  if  ever  black,  their  color 
being  brownish  red,  vvith  a  tinge  of  yellow; 
and,"although  they  are  so  close  to  the  coun- 
try inhabited  by  the  true  negroes,  they  have 
but  few  of  the  negro  traits.     Their  features 


THE   MANIOC-KOOT. 


381 


ate  not  those  of  the  negro,  the  nose  being 
rather  aquiline,  and  broad  at  base,  their  hair 
woolly,  but  tolerably  long  and  very  abun- 
dant, "and  their  lips  moderately  thick.  The 
hands  and  feet  are  exquisitely  small,  and,  as 
Mr.  Reade  observes,  Angolese  slaves  aftbrd 
a  bold  contrast  with  those  who  are  brought 
from  the  Congo. 

Of  the  women  the  same  traveller  writes 
in  terms  of  considerable  praise,  as  far  as 
their  personal  appearance  goes.  There  are 
girls  in  that  country  who  liave  such  soft 
dark  eyes,  such  sweet  smiles,  and  such 
graceful  ways,  that  they  involuntarily  win  a 
kind  of  love,  only  it  is  that  sort  of  semi- 
love  which  is  extended  to  a  dog,  a  horse,  or 
a  bird,  and  has  in  it  nothing  of  the  intellect. 
They  are  gentle,  and  faithful,  and  loving  in 
their  own  way;  but,  though  they  can  in- 
spire a  passion,  they  cannot  retain  the  love 
of  an  intellectual  man. 

As  is  the  case  with  the  Balonda,  the  An- 
golese live  greatly  on  manioc  roots,  chietly 
for  the  same  reason  as  the  Irish  peasantry 
live  so  much  on  the  potato,  i.  c.  because  its 
culture  and  cooking  give  very  little  trouble. 
The  preparation  of  the  soil  and  planting  of 
the  slirub  are  the  work  of  slaves,  the  true 
Angolese  having  a  very  horror  of  hard 
work.  Consequently  the  labor  is  very 
imperfectly  performed,  the  ground  being 
barely  scratched  by  the  double-handled  hoe, 
which  is  used  by  dragging  it  along  the 
ground  rather  than  by  striking  it  into  the 
earth. 

The  manioc  is,  however,  a  far  more  use- 
ful plant  than  the  potato,  especially  the 
"sweet"  variety,  which  is  free  from  the  pois- 
onous principle.  It  can  be  eaten  raw,  just 
as  it  comes  out  of  the  ground,  or  it  can  be 
roasted  or  boiled.  Sometimes  it  is  partially 
fermented,  then  dried  and  ground  into  meal, 
or  reduced  to  powder  by  a  rasp,  mixed  with 
sugar,  and  made  into  a  sort  of  confectionery. 
The  leaves  can  be  boiled  and  eaten  as  a  vege- 
table, or,  if  they  be  given  to  goats,  the  lat- 
ter yield  a  bountiful  supply  of  milk.  The 
wood  affords  an  excellent  fuel,  and,  when 
burned,  it  furnishes  a  large  quantity  of  pot- 
ash. On  the  average,  it  takes  about  a  year 
to  come  to  perfection  in  Angola,  and  only 
requires  to  be  weeded  once  during  that 
time. 

The  meal  or  roots  cannot  be  stored,  as 
they  are  liable  to  the  attacks  of  a  ■^•eevil 
which  quickly  destroys  them,  and  tberefore 
another  jjlan  is  followed.  The  root  is 
scraped  like  horseradish,  and  laid  0,1  a  cloth 
which  is  held  over  a  vessel.  Water  is  then 
poured  on  it,  and  the  white  shavings  are 
well  rubbed  with  the  hands.  All  the  starch- 
globules  are  thus  washed  out  of  their  cells, 
and  pass  through  the  cloth  into  the  vessel 
below  together  with  the  water.  When  this 
mixture  has  been  allowed  to  stand  for  some 
time,  the  starchy  matter  collects  in  a  sort  of 
sediment,  and  the  water  is  poured  away. 


The  sediment  is  then  scraped  out,  and 
placed  <-vi  an  iron  plate  which  is  held  over 
a  fire.  The  gelatinous  mass  is  then  continu- 
ally stirred  with  a  stick,  and  by  degrees  it 
forms  itself  into  little  translucent  globules, 
which  are  almost  exactly  identical  wilh  the 
tapioca  of  commerce.  The  advantage  of 
converting  the  manioc-root  into  tapioca  is, 
that  in  the  latter  state  it  is  impervious  to 
the  destructive  weevil. 

Some  parts  of  Angola  are  low,  marshy, 
and  fever-breeding,  and  even  the  natives 
feel  the  effects  of  the  damp,  hot,  malarious 
climate.  Of  medicine,  however,  they  have 
but  little  idea,  their  two  principal  remedies 
being  cupping  and  charms.  The  former  is  a 
remedy  which  is  singularly  popular,  and  is 
conducted  in  much  the  same  way  through- 
out the  whole  of  Africa  south  of  the  equator. 
The  operator  has  three  implements,  namely, 
a  small  born,  a  knife,  and  a  piece  of  wax. 
The  horn  is  cut  quite  level  at  the  base,  and 
great  care  is  taken  that  the  edge  be  perfectly 
smooth.  The  smaller  end  is  perforated  with 
a  very  small  hole.  This  horn  is  generally 
tied  to  a  string  and  hung  round  the  neck  of 
the  owner,  who  is  usually  a  professional 
physician.  The  knife  is  small,  and  shaped 
exactly  like  the  little  Bechuana  knife  shown 
at  the  top  of  jiage  '281. 

When  the  cupping  horn  is  to  be  used,  the 
wide  end  is  placed  on  the  afflicted  part,  and 
pressed  down  tightly,  while  the  mouth  is 
applied  to  the  small  end,  and  the  air  ex- 
hausted. The  operator  continues  to  suck 
for  some  moments,  and  then  removes  the 
horn,  and  suddenly  makes  three  or  four 
gashes  with  the  knife  on  the  raised  and 
reddened  skin.  The  horn  is  again  applied, 
and  when  the  operator  has  sucked  out  the 
air  as  far  as  his  lungs  will  allow  him,  he 
places  with  his  tongue  a  small  piece  of  wa.x 
on  the  end  of  the  horn,  introduces  his  linger 
into  his  mouth,  presses  the  wax  tirmly  on 
the  little  aperture  so  as  to  exclude  the  air, 
and  then  allows  the  horn  to  remain  adherent 
by  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  The 
blood  of  course  runs  into  the  horn,  and  in  a 
short  time  coagulates  into  a  flat  circular 
cake.  The  wax  is  then  removed  from  the 
end  of  the  horn,  the  latter  is  taken  olf,  the 
cake  of  blood  put  aside,  and  the  process 
repeated  until  the  operator  and  patient  are 
satisfied. 

Dr.  Livingstone  mentions  a  case  in  which 
this  strange  predilection  for  the  cupping 
horn  clearly  hastened,  even  if  it  did  not  pro- 
duce, the  death  of  a  child.  The  whole  story 
is  rather  a  singular  one,  and  shows  the  stale 
of  religious,  or  rather  superstitious,  feeling 
among  the  native  Angolese.  It  so  happened 
that  a  Portuguese  trader  died  in  a  village, 
and  after  his  death  the  other  traders  met 
and  disposed  of  his  property  among  them- 
selves, each  man  accounting  for  his  portion 
to  the  relations  of  the  deceased,  who  lived  at 
Loanda,  the  j^rincipal  town  of  Angola.    The 


382 


THE   ANGOLESE. 


generality  of  tlio  natives,  not  understanding 
the  nature  of  written  obligations,  tliought 
that  tlie  traders  had  simijly  sold  the  goods 
and  appropriated  the  money. 

Some  time  afterward  the  child  of  a  man 
who  liad  bought  some  of  this  property  fell 
ill,  and  the  mother  sent  for  the  diviner  in 
order  to  tind  out  the  cause  of  its  ailment. 
After  throwing  his  magic  dice,  and  working 
hiinself  up  to  the  proper  pitch  of  ecstatic 
fury,  the  projihet  announced  that  the  child 
was  being  killed  by  the  spirit  of  the  deceased 
trader  in  revenge  for  his  stolen  property. 
The  mother  was  quite  satisfied  with  tlie  rev- 
elation, and  wanted  to  give  the  prophet  a 
slave  by  way  of  a  fee.  The  father,  however, 
was  less  amenable,  and,  on  learning  the 
result  of  the  investigation,  he  took  a  friend 
with  him  to  the  i)lace  where  the  diviner  was 
still  in  his  state  of  trance,  and  by  the  appli- 
cation of  two  sticks  to  his  back  restored  him 
to  his  senses.  Even  after  this  the  ignorant 
mother  would  not  allow  the  child  to  Ijc 
treated  with  European  medicines,  but  in- 
sisted on  cupping  it  on  the  cheek;  and  the 
consequence  was,  that  in  a  short  time  the 
child  died. 

The  Angolese  are  a  marvellously  super- 
stitious people,  and,  so  far  from  having  lost 
any  of  their  superstitions  by  four  centuries 
of  connection  with  the  Portuguese,  they 
seem  rather  to  have  infected  their  white 
visitors  with  them.  Ordeals  of  several  kinds 
are  in  great  use  among  them,  especially  the 
poison  ordeal,  which  has  extended  itself 
through  so  large  a  portion  of  Africa,  and 
slays  its  thousands  annually.  One  curious 
point  in  the  Angolese  ordeal  is,  that  it  is 
administered  in  one  particular  spot  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Dua,  and  that  persons 
who  are  accused  of  crime,  especially  of 
witchcraft,  will  travel  hundreds  of  miles  to 
the  sacred  spot,  strong  in  their  belief  that 
the  poison  tree  will  do  them  uo  harm.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  state  that  the  guilt  or 
innocence  of  the  person  on  trial  depends 
wholly  on  the  caprice  of  the  medicine  man 
who  prepares  the  poisonous  draught,  and 
that  he  may  either  weaken  it  or  substitute 
another  material  without  being  discovered 
by  these  credulous  people. 

As,  according  to  Balonda  ideas,  the  spirits 
of  the  deceased  are  always  with  their  friends 
on  earth,  partaking  equally  in  their  joys  and 
sorrows,  helping  those  whom  they  love,  and 
thwarting  those  whom  they  hate,  they  are 
therefore  supjiosed  to  share  in  an  ethereal 
sort  of  way  in  the  meals  taken  by  their 
friends;  and  it  follows  that  when  a  man 
denies  himself  food,  he  is  not  only  starving 
himself,  but  afflicting  the  spirits  of'bis  ances- 
tors. Sacrifices  are  a  necessary  result  of 
this  idea,  as  is  the  cooking  and  eating  of  the 
flesh  by  those  who  oiler  them. 

Their  theory  of  sickness  is  a  very  simple 
one.  They  fancy  that  if  the  spirits  of  the 
dead  find  that  their  living  friends  do  not 


treat  them  properly,  nnd  give  them  plenty 
to  eat  and  drink,  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to 
take  out  of  the  world  such  useless  allies,  in 
order  to  make  room  for  others  who  will  treat 
them  better.  The  same  idea  also  runs  into 
their  propitiator}-  sacrifices.  If  one  man 
kills  another,  tlie  murderer  ofters  sacrifices 
to  his  victim,  thinking  that  if  when  he  first 
finds  himself  a  sjiirit,  instead  of  a  man,  he 
is  treated  to  an  abundant  feast,  he  will  not 
harbor  feelings  of  revenge  against  the  man 
who  sent  him  out  of  the  world,  and  dejirived 
him  of  all  its  joys  and  pleasures.  It  is  said 
that  in  some  parts  of  the  counti-y  human 
sacrifices  are  used,  a  certain  sect  existing 
who  kill  men  in  order  toofler  their  hearts  to 
the  spirits. 

Marriages  among  the  Angolese  still  retain 
some  remnant  of  their  original  ceremonies. 
The  bride  is  taken  to  a  hut,  anointed  with 
various  charmed  preparations,  and  then  left 
alone  while  prayers  are  oflered  for  a  hajipy 
marriage  and  plenty  of  male  children,  a 
large  family  of  sons  being  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  that  can  fall  to  the  lot  of 
an  Angolese  household.  Daughters  are 
comparatively  despised,  but  a  woman  who 
has  never  presented  her  husband  with  chil- 
dren of  cither  sex  is  looked  upon  with  the 
greatest  scorn  and  contempt.  Her  more 
fortunate  companions  are  by  no  means  slow 
in  expressing  their  opinion  of  her,  and  in  the 
wedding  songs  sung  in  honor  of  a  bride  are 
sure  to  introduce  a  line  or  two  refiecting  upon 
her  uselessness,  and  hopi ng  that  the  bride  will 
not  be  so  unprofitable  a  wife  as  to  give  neither 
sons  nor  daughters  to  her  husband  as  a  rec- 
ompense for  "the  money  which  he  has  paid 
for  her.  So  bitter  are  these  words,  that  the 
woman  at  whom  they  were  aimed  has  been 
more  than  once  known  to  rush  ofl'  and 
destroj'  herself. 

After  several  days  of  this  performance, 
the  bride  is  taken  to  another  hut,  clothed  in 
all  the  finery  that  she  possesses  or  can  bor- 
row for  the  occasion,  led  out  in  public,  and 
acknowledged  as  a  married  woman.  She 
then  goes  to  her  husband's  dwelling,  but 
always  has  a  hut  to  herself 

Into  their  funeral  ceremonies  the  Ango- 
lese contrive  to  introduce  many  of  their 
superstitions.  Just  before  death  the  friends 
set  up  their  wailing  cry  (which  nuist  be 
very  consolatory  to  the  (lying  person),  and 
continue  this  oiitcry  for  a  day  or  two  almost 
without  cessation,  accompanying  themselves 
with  a  peculiar  musical  instrument  which 
produces  tones  of  a  similar  character.  For 
a  day  or  two  the  survivors  are  employed  in 
gathering  materials  for  a  grand  feast,  in 
which  they  expend  so  much  of  their  )irop- 
erty  tiiat  "they  are  often  impoverished  for 
years.  They  even  keep  pigs  and  other  ani- 
mals in  case  some  of  their  friends  might 
die,  when  they  would  be  useful  at  the 
funeral.  True  to  the  idea  that  the  spirit  of 
the  dead  partakes  of  the  pleasures  of  the  liv- 


DR.   LIVINGSTONE'S   SUMMAEY. 


383 


ing,  they  feast  continually  until  all  the  food 
is  expended,  interposing  their  revellinjr  with 
songs  and  dances.  The  usual  drum  beating 
goes  on  during  the  time,  and  scarcely  one  of 
the  party  is  to  be  found  solxn-.  Indeed,  a 
man  who  would  voluntarily  remain  sober 
would  be  looked  upon  as  despising  the 
memory  of  the  dead.  Dr.  Ijivingstone  men- 
tions that  a  native  who  appeared  in  a  state 
of  intoxication,  and  was  blamed  for  it, 
remarked  in  a  surprised  tone,  "Why,  my 
mother  is  dead!  " 

They  have  a  curious  hankering  after 
cross-roads  as  a  place  of  interment,  and 
although  the  Portuguese,  the  real  masters  of 
the  land,  have  endeavored  to  .abolish  the  cus- 
tom, they  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  doing 
so,  even  though  they  intiict  heavy  fines  on 
those  who  disobeyed  them,  and  apjiointed 
jilaces  of  public  interment.  Even  when  the 
interment  of  the  body  in  the  cross-road 
itself  has  been  prevented,  the  natives  have 
succeeded  in  digging  the  grave  by  the  side 
of  the  path.  On  and  around  it  they  plant 
certain  species  of  euphorbias,  and  on  the 
grave  they  laj'  various  articles,  such  as  cook- 
ing vessels,  water  bottles,  pipes,  and  arms. 
These,  however,  are  all  broken  and  useless, 
being  thought  equally  servicealde  to  the 
dead  as  the  perfect  specimens,  and  aflbrding 
no  temptation  to  thieves. 

A  very  remarkable  and  striking  picture 
of  the  Angolese,  their  superstitions,  and  their 
country,  is  given  by  Dr.  Livingstone  iu  the 
following  passage: — 

"  When  the  natives  turn  their  eyes  to  the 
future  world,  they  have  a  view  cheerless 
enough  of  their  own  utter  helplessness  and 
hopelessness.  They  fancy  themselves  com- 
pletely in  the  power  of  the  disembodied 
spirits,  and  look  upon  the  prospect  of  fol- 
lowing thenr  as  the  greatest  of  misfortunes. 
Hence  they  are  constantly  deprecating  the 
wrath  of  departed  souls, "believing  that,  if 


they  are  appeased,  there  is  no  other  cause  of 
death  tnit  witchcraft,  which  may  be  averted 
by  charms. 

"  The  whole  of  the  colored  population  of 
Angola  are  sunk  in  these  gross  superstitions, 
but  have  the  opinion,  notwithstanding,  that 
they  are  wiser  iu  these  matters  than  their 
white  neighbors.  Each  trtbe  has  a  conscious- 
ness of  following  its  own  best  interests  in 
the  best  way.  They  are  by  no  means  desti- 
tute of  that  self-esteem  which  is  so  common 
in  other  nations;  yet  they  fear  all  manner  of 
phantom,  and  have  hall-developed  ideas  and 
traditions  of  something  or  other,  they  know 
not  what.  The  jdeasures  of  animal  life  are 
ever  present  to  their  minds  as  the  supreme 
good;  and,  Init  for  the  innumerable  invisibil- 
ities, tliey  might  enjoy  their  luxurious  cli- 
mate as  much  as  it  is  possible  for  man 
to  do. 

"  I  have  often  thought,  in  travelling 
through  their  land,  that  it  presents  pictures 
of  beauty  which  angels  might  enjoy.  How 
ofteu  have  I  beheld  in  still  mornings  scenes 
the  very  essence  of  beauty,  and  all  bathed  in 
a  quiet  air  of  delicious  warmth!  yet  the 
occasional  soft  motion  imparted  a  pleasing 
sensation  of  coolness,  as  of  a  fan.  Green 
grassy  meadows,  the  cattle  feeding,  the  goats 
browsing,  the  kids  skipping;  the  groups  of 
herdboys  with  miniature  bows,  arrows,  and 
spears;  the  women  wending  their  way  to 
the  river,  with  water-pots  poised  jauntily  on 
their  heads;  men  sewing  under  the  shady 
banians;  and  old  gray-headed  fathers  sitting 
on  the  ground,  with  staff'  in  hand,  listening 
to  the  morning  gossip,  while  others  carry 
trees  or  branches  to  repair  their  hedges;  and 
all  this,  flooded  with  the  bright  African  sun- 
shine, and  the  birds  singing  among  the 
branches  before  the  heat  of  the  day  has 
become  intense,  form  pictures  which  can 
never  be  forgotten." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


THE  WAGOGO  AND  WANTAMUEZI. 


THE  MANT  AND  TRANSITORY  TUmES  OP  AFRICA  — UGOGO  AND  THE  PEOPLE  —  UNPLEASANT  CHARACTER 
OF  THE  WAGOGO  —  THEFT  AND  EXTORTION  —  WAGOGO  GREEDINESS  —  THE  WANYAMUEZI  OR  WEEZEE 
TRIBE  —  THEIR  VALUE  AS  GUIDES  —  DRESS  OF  THE  MEN — "sAMBO"  RINGS  —  WOMEN'S  DRESS  AND 
ORNAMENTS  —  HAIR-DRESSING  —  GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  WOMEN — WEEZEE  ARCHITECTURE 
—  USE  OF  THE  DRUM  —  SALUTATION  —  SULTAN  STIRAP.OUT  —  THE  HUSBAND'S  WELCOME  —  GAMES 
AND  DANCES  —  SHAM  FIGHTS — PITCH  AND  TOSS  —  NIGHT  IN  A  WEEZEE  VILLAGE  —  BREWING  AND 
DRINKING  POMBE  —  HARVEST  SCENE  —  SUPERSTITIONS  —  FUNERALS. 


We  will  now  pass  froin  the  west  to  the  east 
of  AfVicn,  and  accom]);iny  Captains  Speke 
and  Grant  in  their  journey  through  the 
extraordinary  tribes  that  "exist  between 
Zanzibar  and  Northern  Africa.  It  will  bo 
impossiljle  to  describe  in  detail  the  many 
tribes  that  inhabit  this  tract,  or  even  to 
give  the  briefest  account  of  them.  We 
shall  therefore  select  a  few  of  the  most  im- 
portant among  them,  and  describe  them  as 
fully  as  our  very  limited  space  will  permit. 

Perhaps  the  reader  may  think  it  strange 
that  we  are  lingering  so  long  in  this  part 
of  the  world.  The  reason  is,  that  Africa, 
southern  and  equatorial,  is  filled  with  a  be- 
wililering  variety  of  singular  tribes,  each  of 
which  has  manners  and  customs  unique  in 
themselves,  and  presents  as  great  a  contrast 
to  its  neighbors  as  if  they  were  separated 
by  seas  or  mountain  ranges.  )Sometimes 
they  merge  into  each  other  by  indefinable 
gradations,  but  often  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion is  boldly  and  sharply  drawn,  so  that 
the  tribe  which  inhabits  one  liank  of  a  river 
is  utterly  unlike  that  which  occupies  the 
opposite  bank,  in  appearance,  in  hal)its,  iind 
in  language.  In  one  case,  for  example,  the 
people  who  live  on  one  side  of  the  river  are 
remarkalile  for  the  scrupulous  completeness 
with  which  both  sexes  are  clad,  while  on 
the  other  side  no  clothing  whatever  is  worn. 

The  same  cause  which  has  given  us  the 
knowledge  of  these  remarkable  tribes  will 
inevitably  be  the  precursor  of  tlieir  disap- 
pearance. The  white  man  has  set  his  foot 
on  their  soil,  and  from  that  moment  may 


be  dated  their  gradual  but  certain  deca- 
dence. They  have  learned  the  value  of 
fire-arms,  and  covet  them  beyond  every- 
thing. Their  chiefs  have  already  aban- 
doned the  use  of  their  native  weapons, 
having  been  wealthy  enough  to  jnirchase 
muskets  from  the  white  men,  or  jiowerful 
enough  to  extort  tliem  as  presents.  The 
example  which  they  have  set  is  sure  to  ex- 
tend to  the  people,  and  a  few  years  will 
therefore  witness  the  entire  abandonment 
of  native-made  weapons.  AV'ith  the  weap- 
ons their  mode  of  warfare  will  be  changed, 
and  in  course  of  time  the  whole  people  will 
undergo  such  modifications  that  they  will 
be  ail  essentially  diflerent  race.  It  is  the 
object  of  this  work  to  bring  together,  as  far 
as  possible  in  a  limited  space,  the  most 
remarkable  of  these  perishing  usages,  and 
it  is  therefore  necessary  to  expend  the  most 
s]iace  on  the  country  that  alibrds  most  of 
them. 

The  line  that  we  noiv  have  to  follow  can 
be  seen  by  referring  to  a  map  of  Africa. 
We  shall  start  from  Zanzibar  on  the  east 
coast,  go  westward  and  northward,  jiass- 
ing  by  the  ITnyamuezi  and  AVahuma  to 
the  great  N'yanza  lakes.  Here  we  sliall 
come  upon  the  track  of  Sir  Samuel  Baker, 
and  shall  then  accompany  him  northward 
among  the  tribes  which  he  visited. 

Passing  by  a  number  of  tribes  which  we 
cannot  stop  to  investigate,  we  come  upon 
tlie  Wagogo,  wdio  inhabit  Ugogo,  a  district 
about  lilt.'  4°  S.  and  long.  3(;°  E.  Here  I 
may  mention  that,  although  the  language  of 


(384) 


THEFT  AND  EXTORTION". 


385 


some  of  these  tribes  is  so  different  that  the 
people  cannot  understand  each  other,  in 
most  of  them  the  prelix  "Wa"  indicates 
plnralitv,  like  the  word  "men"  in  Eng- 
lish. Thus  the  people  of  Ugogo  are  the 
Wagogo,  and  the  inhabitants  ot  Unyamuezi 
are  the  Wanyamuezi,  pronounced,  for  brev- 
ity's sake,  Weezee.  An  individual  of  the 
Wagogo  is  called  Mgogo. 

The  Wagogo  are  a  wild  set  of  people, 
such  as  might  be  expected  from  the  country 
in  which  they  live.  Their  color  is  reddish- 
brown,  with  a  tinge  of  black  ;  and  when  the 
skin  happens  to  be  clean,  it  is  said  to  look 
like  a  very  ripe  plum.  They  are  scanty 
dressers,  wearing  little  except  a  cloth  of 
some  kind  round  the  waist ;  but  they  are 
exceedingly  fond  of  ornaments,  by  means 
of  which  they  generally  contrive  to  make 
themselves  as  ugly  as  possible.  Their  prin- 
cipal ornament  is  the  tubular  end  of  a 
gourd,  which  is  thrust  through  the  ear ; 
but  they  also  decorate  their  heads  with 
hanks  of  bark  fibre,  which  they  twist 
among  their  thick  woolly  hair,  and  which 
have  a  most  absurd  appearance  when  the 
wearer  is  running  or  leaping.  Sometimes 
they  weave  strings  of  beads  into  the  hair 
in  a  similar  manner,  or  fasten  an  ostrich 
feather  upon  their  heads. 

They  are  not  a  warlike  people,  but,  like 
others  who  are  not  remarkaljle  for  courage, 
they  always  go  armed ;  a  Mgogo  never 
walking  without  his  spear  and  shield,  and 
]ierhaps  a  short  club,  also  to  ))e  used  as  a 
missile.  The  shield  is  olilong,  and  mada  of 
leather,  and  the  spear  has  nothing  remarka- 
ble abaut  it ;  and,  as  Captain  Speke  re- 
marks, these  weapons  are  carried  more  for 
show  than  for  usa. 

They  are  not  a  pleasant  people,  being 
avaricious,  intrusive,  and  inquisitive,  in- 
grained liars,  and  sure  to  bully  if  they 
think  they  can  do  so  with  safety.  If  trav- 
ellers pass  through  their  country,  they  are 
annoying  beyond  endurancs,  jeering  at 
them  with  words  and  insolent  gestures, 
intruding  themselves  among  the  party,  and 
turning  over  everything  that  they  can 
reach,  and  sometimes  even  forcing  them- 
selves into  the  tents.  Consequently  the 
travellers  never  enter  the  villages,  but 
encamp  at  some  distance  from  them,  under 
the  shelter  of  the  wide-spreading  "  gouty- 
limbed  trees "  that  are  found  in  this  coun- 
try, an.l  surround  their  camp  with  a  strong 
hedge  of  thorns,  which  the  naked  Mgogo 
does  not  choose  to  encounter. 

Covetous  even  beyond  the  ordinary  ava- 
rice of  African  tribes,  the  Wagogo  seize 
every  opportunity  of  fleecing  travellers  who 
come  into  their  territory.  Beside  the  usual 
tax  or  "hongo,"  which  is  demanded  for 
permission  to  pass  through  the  country, 
they  demand  all  sorts  of  presents,  or  rather 
bribes.  When  one  of  Captain  Speke's  por- 
ters happened  to  break  a  bow  by  accident, 


the  owner  immediately  claimed  as  compen- 
sation something  of  ten  times  its  value. 

Magomba,  the  chief,  proved  himself  an 
adept  at  extortion.  First  he  sent  a  very 
polite  message,  requesting  Captain  Speke  to 
reside  in  his  own  house,  but  this  flattering 
though  treacherous  proposal  was  at  once 
declined.  In  the  first  place,  the  houses  of 
this  part  of  the  country  are  small  and  in- 
convenient, being  nothing  more  than  mud 
huts  with  flat-topped  roofs,  this  kind  of 
architecture  being  called  by  the  name  of 
"  tembe."  In  the  next  place,  the  chiefs 
object  was  evidently  to  isolate  the  leader 
of  the  expedition  from  his  companions,  and 
so  to  have  a  hold  upon  him.  This  he  could 
more  easily  do,  as  the  villages  are  strongly 
walled,  so  that  a  traveller  who  is  once 
decoyed  inside  them  could  not  escape  with- 
out submitting  to  tlie  terms  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. Unlike  the  villages  of  the  Southern 
Africans,  which  are  invariably  circular,  these 
are  invariably  oldoug,  and  both  the  walls  and 
the  houses  are  made  of  mud. 

Next  day  Magomlia  had  drunk  so  much 
ponibd  that  he  was  quite  unfit  for  Isusiness, 
but  on  the  following  day  the  hongo  was 
settled,  through  the  chiefs  prime  minister, 
who  straightway  did  a  little  business  on  his 
own  account  by  presenting  a  small  quantity 
of  food,  and  asking  for  an  adequate  return, 
which,  of  course,  meant  one  of  twenty 
times  its  value.  Having  secured  this,  he 
proceeded  to  further  extortion  by  accusing 
Captain  Grant  of  having  shot  a  lizard  on  a 
stone  which  he  was  pleased  to  call  sacred. 
So,  too,  none  of  them  would  give  any  infor- 
mation without  being  paid  for  it.  And, 
because  they  thought  that  their  extortion 
was  not  sufficiently  successful,  they  re- 
venged themselves  by  telling  the  native 
porters  such  horrifying  tales  of  the  coun- 
tries which  they  were  about  to  visit  and  the 
cruelty  of  the  \vhite  men,  that  the  porters 
were  frightened,  and  ran  away,  some  for- 
getting to  put  down  their  loads.  These 
tactics  were  re;ieated  at  every  village  near 
which  th'  party  had  to  pass,  and  at  one 
place  the  chief  threatened  to  attack  Captain 
Speke's  party,  and  at  the  same  time  sent 
word  to  all  the  porters  that  they  had  better 
escape,  or  they  would  be  killed.  Half  of 
them  did  escape,  taking  with  them  the 
goods  which  would  have  been  due  to  them 
as  payment ;  and,  as  appeared  afterward, 
the  rascally  Wagogo  had  arranged  that 
they  should  do  so,  and  then  they  would 
go  shares  in  the  plunder. 

They  were  so  greedy,  that  they  not  only 
refused  to  sell  provisions  except  at  an  ex- 
orbitant rate,  but,  when  the  leaders  of  the 
expedition  shot  game  to  supply  food  for 
their  men,  the  Wagogo  flocked  to  the  spot 
in  multitudes,  each  man  with  his  arms,  and 
did  their  best  to  carry  ort'  the  meat  before 
the  rightful  owners  could  reach  it.  Once, 
when  they  were  sadly  in  want  of  food,  Cap- 


THE  WANYAMUEZI. 


tain  Speke  went  at  night  in  search  of  game, 
and  shot  a  rhinoceros.  By  earliest  dawn 
he  gave  notice  to  his  men  that  there  was 
plenty  of  meat  for  them. 

"  We  had  all  now  to  hurry  back  to  the 
carcass  before  the  Wagogo  could  find  it; 
but,  though  this  precaution  was  quickly 
taken,  still,  before  the  tough  skin  of  the 
beast  could  be  cut  through,  the  Wagogo 
began  assembling  like  vultures,  and  fighting 
with  my  men.  "A  more  savage,  filthy,  dis- 
gusting," but  at  the  same  time  grotesque, 
scene  than  that  which  followed  cannot  be 
described.  All  fell  to  work  with  swords, 
spears,  knives,  and  hatchets,  cutting  and 
slashing,  thumping  and  bawling,  fighting 
and  tearing,  up  to  their  knees  in  tilth  and 
blood  in  the  middle  of  the  carcass.  When 
a  tempting  morsel  fell  to  the  possession  of 
any  one,  a  stronger  neighbor  would  seize 


and  bear  off  the  prize  in  triumpli.  All  right 
was  now  a  matter  of  pure  might,  and  lucky 
it  was  that  it  did  not  end  in  a  tight  Ijetween 
our  men  and  the  villagers.  These  might 
be  afterward  seen,  covered  with  bluod, 
scampering  home  each  one  with  his  spnil-«. 
a  piece  of  tripe,  or  liver,  or  lights,  or  what- 
ever else  it  might  l^ave  been  his  fortune  to 
get  off  with."'  The  artist  lias  represented 
this  scene  on  the  next  page. 

It  might  be  imagined  that  the  travellers 
were  only  too  glatl  to  be  fairly  out  of  the 
dominions  of  this  tribe,  who  liad  contrived 
to  cheat  and  rob  them  in  every  way,  and 
had  moreover,  through  sheer  spite  and  cov- 
etousness,  frightened  away  more  than  a  hun- 
dred porters  who  had  been  engaged  to  carry 
the  vast  quantities  of  goods  with  wliich  the 
traveller  must  bribe  the  chiefs  of  the  difier- 
ent  places  through  which  he  passes. 


THE  WANYAMUEZI. 


The  next  tribe  which  we  shall  mention 
is  that  which  is  called  Wauyamuezi.  For- 
tunately the  natives  seldom  use  this  word 
in  full,  "and  speak  of  themselves  as  Weezee, 
a  word  much  easier  to  say,  and  certainly 
simpler  to  write.  In  the  singular  the  name 
is  Myamuezi.  The  country  which  they 
inhabit  is  called  Uuyamuezi,  The  Country 
of  the  Moon.  Unyaniuezi  is  a  large  dis- 
trict about  the  size  of  England,  in  lat.  5°  S. 
and  between  long.  3°  and"  5'  E.  Formerly 
it  must  have  been  a  great  empire,  but  it  has 
now  suffered  the  fate'of  most  African  trilies, 
and  is  split  into  a  number  of  petty  tribes, 
each  jealous  of  the  other,  and  each  liable  to 
continual  subdivision. 

For  many  reasons  this  is  a  most  remark- 
able trilie.  They  are  almost  the  only  peo- 
ple near  Central  Africa  who  will  willingly 
leave  their  own  country,  and,  for  the  sake 
of  wages,  will  act  as  porters  or  guides  to 
distant  countries.  It  seems  that  this  capa- 
bility of  travel  is  liereditary  among  them, 
and  "that  they  have  been  from  time  imme- 
morial the  greatest  trading  tribe  in  Africa. 
It  was  to  this  tribe  that  the  porters  belonged 
who  were  induced  by  the  Wagogo  to  desert 
Captain  Speke,  and  none  knew  better  than 
themselves  that  in  no  other  tribe  could  he 
find  men  to  supply  their  places. 

The  Weezee  are  not  a  handsome  race, 
being  inferior  in  personal  appearance  to  the 
Wagogo,  though  handsome  individuals  of 
both  sexes  niay  be  found  among  them. 
Like  the  Wagogo,  they  are  not  a  martial 
race,  though  they  always  travel  with  their 
weapons,  such  as  they  are,  i.  e.  a  very  ineffi- 
cient bow  and  a  couple  of  arrows.  Their 
dress  is  simple  enough.  They  wear  the 
ordinary  cloth  round  the  loins;  but  when 
they  start  on  a  journey  they  hang  over  their 
shoulders  a  dressed  goatskin,  which  passes 


over  one  shoulder  and  under  the  other.  On 
account  of  its  narrowness,  it  can  hardly 
answ'er  any  purpose  of  warmth,  and  for  the 
same  reason  can  hardly  be  intended  to  serve 
as  a  covering.  However,  it  seems  to  be  tlie 
fashion,  and  they  all  wear  it. 

They  decorate  themselves  with  plentj'  of 
ornaments,  some  of  which  are  used  as  amu- 
lets, and  the  others  merely  worn  as  decora- 
tion. They  have  one  very  curious  mode  of 
making  their  bracelets.  They  take  a  .single 
hair  of  a  giraffe's  tail,  wrap  it  round  with 
wire,  just  like  the  bass  string  of  a  violin, 
and  then  twist  this  compound  rope  I'ound 
their  wrists  or  ankles.  These  rings  are 
called  by  the  name  of"  sambo,"  and,  though 
they  are  mostly  worn  by  women,  the  men 
will  put  them  on  when  they  have  nothing 
better.  Their  usual  bracelets  are,  however, 
heavy  bars  of  copper  or  iron,  beaten  into 
the  proper  shape.  Like  other  natives  in 
the  exti'eme  South,  they  knock  out  the  two 
central  incisor  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw,  and 
chip  a  V-like  space  between  the  correspond- 
ing teeth  of  the  upper  jaw. 

The  women  are  far  better  dressed.  They 
wear  tolerably  large  cloths  made  bj-  them- 
selves of  native  cotton,  and  cover  the  whole 
body  from  under  the  arms  to  below  the 
knees.  They  wear  the  sambo  rings  in  vast 
jirofusion,  winding  them  round  and  round 
their  wrists  and  ankles  until  the  limbs  aro 
sheathed  in  metallic  armor  for  six  or  seven 
inches.  ■  If  they  can  do  so,  they  naturally 
prefer  wearing  calico  and  other  materials 
brought  from'Europe,  partly  because  it  is  a 
sign  of  wealth,  and  partly  because  it  is  much 
lighter  than  the  native-made  cotton  cloths, 
though  not  so  durable. 

Their  woolly  hair  is  plentifully  dressed 
with  oil  and  twisted  np,  until  at  a  little  dis- 
tance they  look  as  if  they  had  a  headdress 


(2.)  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  WELZFE     (bee  page  ib'  ) 
(380) 


SULTAX  STIRABOUT. 


389 


of  black-beetle  sliards.  Sometimes  they 
sci-ew  it  into  tassels,  and  hang  beads  at  the 
end  of  each  tassel,  or  decorate  them  with 
little  charms  made  of  beads.  The  manner 
in  wliich  these  "  tags "  are  made  is  very 
simple.  There  is  a  kind  of  lianian  tree 
called  the  miarabo,  and  from  this  are  cut  a 
quantity  of  slender  twigs.  These  twi.^s  are 
then  split  longitudinally,  the  outer  and  inner 
bark  separated,  and  then  well  chewed  until 
the  fibres  are  properly  arranged.  At  first 
they  are  much  lighter  in  color  than  the 
black  woolly  hair  to  which  they  are  fastened, 
but  they  soon  become  blackened  by  use  and 
grease.  They  use  a  little  tattooing,  but  not 
much,  making  three  lines  on  each  temple, 
and  another  down  the  middle  of  the  nose. 
Lines  of  blue  are  often  seen  on  the  foreheads 
of  both  sexes,  but  these  are  the  permanent 
remains  of  the  peculiar  treatment  which  they 
pursue  for  the  headache,  and  which,  with 
them,  seems  to  be  effectual. 

The  character  of  the  women  is,  on  the 
whole,  good,  as  they  are  decent  and  well-con- 
ducted, and,  for  savages,  tidy,  though  scarcely 
clean  in  their  persons.  They  will  sometimes 
accompany  their  husbands  on  the  march,  and 
have  a  weakness  for  smoking  all  the  time  that 
they  walk.  They  carry  their  children  on 
their  backs,  a  stool  or  two  and  other  imple- 
ments on  their  heads,  and  yet  contrive  to 
act  as  cooks  as  soon  as  they  halt,  preparing 
some  savory  dish  of  hei'bs  for  their  huslmnds. 
They  have  a  really  wonderful  practical  knowl- 
edge of  botany,  and  a  Weezee  will  live  in  com- 
fort where  a  man  from  another  tribe  would 
starve.  Besides  cooking,  they  also  contrive 
to  run  up  little  huts  made  of  boughs,  in 
shape  like  a  reversed  bell,  and  very  tiny,  but 
yet  large  enough  to  afford  shelter  during 
sleep. 

The  houses  of  the  "Weezee  are  mostly  of 
that  mud-walled,  flat-topped  kind  which  is 
called  "  tembe,"  though  some  are  shaped 
like  haystacks,  and  they  are  built  with  con- 
siderable care.  Some  of  these  have  the 
roof  extending  beyond  the  walls,  so  as  to 
form  a  verandah  like  that  of  a  Bechuana 
nouse;  and  the  villages  are  surrounded  with 
a  strong  fence.  The  door  is  very  small, 
and  only  allows  one  person  to  pass  at  a  time. 
It  is  made  of  boards,  and  can  be  lifted  to 
allow  ingress  and  egress.  Some  of  the 
stakes  above  and  at  the  side  of  the  door 
are  decorated  with  blocks  of  wood  on  their 
tojjs;  and  some  of  the  chiefs  are  in  the  habit 
of  fixing  on  the  posts  the  skulls  of  those 
whom  they  have  put  to  death,  just  as  in 
former  years  the  heads  of  traitors  were  fixed 
over  Temple  Bar.  The  architecture  of  the 
Weezee  is  illustrated  on  page  387. 

Some  of  the  villages  may  lay  claim  to  the 
title  of  fortified  towns,  so  elaborately  are 
they  constructed.  The  palisading  which 
surrounds  them  is  very  high  and  strong, 
and  defended  in  a  most  artistic  manner,  first 
by  a  covered  way,  then  a  quickset  hedge  of 


euphorbia,  and,  lastly,  a  broad  dry  ditch,  or 
moat.  Occasionally  the  wall  is  built  out  in 
bastion-fashion,  so  as  to  give  a  good  fi;mking 
fire.  Within  the  valleys  the  houses  extend 
to  the  right  and  left  of  the  entrances,  and 
are  carefully  railed  off",  so  that  the  whole 
structure  is  really  a  very  strong  one  in  a 
military  point  of  view. 

They  are  a  tolerably  polite  race,  and 
have  a  complete  code  of  etiquette  for  re- 
ceiving persons,  whether  friends  or  stran- 
gers. If  a  chief  receives  another  chief,  he 
gets  up  quite  a  ceremony,  assembling  all  the 
people  of  the  village  with  their  drums  and 
other  musical  instruments,  and  causing  them 
to  honor  the  coming  guest  with  a  dance,  and 
as  much  noise  as  can  be  extracted  out  of 
their  meagre  band.  If  they  have  fire-arms, 
they  will  discharge  them  as  long  as  their 
powder  lasts;  and,  if  not,  they  content  them- 
selves with  their  voices,  which  are  naturally 
loud,  the  drums,  and  any  other  musical  in- 
strument that  they  may  possess. 

But,  whatever  may  be  used,  the  drum  Is 
a  necessity  in  these  parts,  and  is  indispensa- 
ble to  a  proper  welcome.  Even  when  the 
guest  takes  his  leave,  the  drum  is  an  essen- 
tial accompaniment  of  his  departure;  and, 
accordingly,  "  beating  the  drum  "  is  a  phrase 
which  is  frequently  used  to  signify  depar- 
ture from  a  place.  For  example,  if  a  travel- 
ler is  passing  through  a  district,  and  is  bar- 
gaining with  the  chief  for  the  "  liongo " 
which  lie  has  to  pay,  the  latter  will  often 
threaten  that,  unless  he  is  paid  his  demands 
in  full,  he  will  not  "  beat  the  drum,"  i.  e.  will 
not  permit  the  traveller  to  pass  on.  So  well 
is  this  known,  that  the  porters  do  not  take 
up  their  burdens  until  they  hear  the  wel- 
come sound  of  the  drum.  This  instrument 
often  calls  to  war,  and,  in  fact,  can  be  made 
to  tell  its  story  as  completely  as  the  bugle  of 
European  armies. 

When  ordinary  men  meet  their  chief, 
they  bow  themselves  and  clap  their  hands 
twice,  and  the  women  salute  him  by  making 
a  courtesy  as  well  as  any  lady  at  court. 
This,  however,  is  an  obeisance  which  is 
only  vouchsafed  to  very  great  chiefs,  the 
petty  chiefs,  or  headmen  of  villages,  having 
to  content  themselves  with  the  simple  clap- 
ping of  hands.  If  two  women  of  unequal 
rank  meet,  the  inferior  drops  on  one  knee, 
and  bows  her  head;  the  superior  lays  one 
hand  on  the  shoulder  of  the  other;  and  they 
remain  in  this  position  for  a  few  moments, 
while  they  mutter  some  words  in  an  under- 
tone.    They  then  rise  and  talk  freely. 

To  judge  from  Captain  Grant's  accoimt  of 
the  great  chief  Ugalee  (i.  e.  Stirabout),  ivho 
was  considered  a  singularly  favorable  speci- 
men of  the  sultans,  as  these  great  chiefs  are 
called,  the  deference  paid  to  them  is  given  to 
the  office,  and  not  to  the  individual  wlio  holds 
it.  Ugalee,  who  was  the  finest  specimen 
that  had  been  seen,  was  supposed  to  be  a 
clever  man,  though  he  did  not  know  his 


390 


THE   WANYAMUEZI. 


own  a2;e,  nor  could  count  above  ten,  nor 
had  any  names  for  the  day  of  the  week, 
the  month,  or  the  year. 

"  Alter  we  had  been  about  a  month  in  his 
district.  Sultan  Ugalee  arrived  at  Mineenga 
on  the  '21st  of  April,  and  was  saluted  by  tile- 
firing  from  our  volunteers  and  shrill  cries 
from  the  women.  He  visited  us  in  the 
verandah  the  day  following.  He  looks  aljout 
twenty-two  years  of  ago;  has  three  children 
and  thirty  wives;  is  six  feet  high,  stout,  with 
a  stupid,  heavy  expression.  His  bare  head 
is  in  tassels,  hanks  of  fibre  being  mixed  in 
with  the  hair.  His  body  is  loosely  wrapped 
round  with  a  blue  and  yellow  cotton  cloth, 
his  loins  are  covered  with  a  dii'ty  bit  of  oily 
calico,  and  his  feet  are  large  and  naked.  A 
monster  ivory  ring  is  on  his  left  wrist,  while 
the  right  one  bears  a  copper  ring  of  rope 
pattern;  several  hundred.s'  of  wire  rings  are 
massed  round  his  ankles. 

"  He  was  asked  to  be  seated  on  one  of  our 
iron  stools,  but  looked  at  first  frightened, 
and  did  not  open  his  mouth.  An  old  man 
spoke  lor  him,  and  a  crowd  of  thirty  fol- 
lowers squatted  behind  him.  Speke,  to 
amuse  him,  produced  his  six-barrelled  re- 
volver, but  he  merely  eyed  it  intently.  The 
book  of  Ijirtls  antl  animals,  on  being  shown 
to  him  upside  down  by  Sirboko,  the  head- 
man of  the  village,  drew  from  him  a  sickly 
smile,  and  he  was  pleased  to  imply  that  he 
preferred  the  animals  to  the  birds.  He  re- 
ceived some  snutf  in  the  palm  of  his  hand, 
took  a  good  pinch,  and  gave  the  rest  to  his 
spokesman. 

"  He  wished  to  look  at  my  mosquito-cur- 
tained bed,  and  in  moving  away  was  invited 
to  dine  with  us.  We  sent  him  a  message  at 
seven  o'clock  that  the  feast  was  prepared, 
but  a  reply  came  that  he  was  full,  and  could 
not  be  tempted  even  with  a  glass  of  rum. 
The  following  day  he  came  to  bid  us  good- 
by,  and  left  without  any  exchange  of  pres- 
ents, being  thus  very  diflereut  from  the 
grasping  race  of  Ugogo." 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  Wanya- 
muezi  act  as  traders,  and  go  to  great  dis- 
tances, and  there  is  even  a  separate  mode  of 
greeting  by  which  a  wife  welcomes  her  hus- 
band back  from  his  travels.  The  engraving 
No.  1,  on  the  next  page,  illustrates  this 
wifely  welcome.  As  soon  as  she  hears 
that  her  husband  is  about  to  arrive  home 
after  his  journey  to  the  coast,  she  puts  ou 
all  her  ornaments,  decorates  herself  with 
a  featliered  cap,  gathers  her  friends  round 
her,  and  proceeds  to  the  hut  of  tlie  chiefs 
jirineipal  wife,  before  whose  door  they  all 
dance  and  sing.  Dancing  and  singing  are 
with  them,  as  with  other  tribes,  their  chief 
amusement.  There  was  a  blind  man  who 
was  remarkable  for  his  powers  of  song,  being 
able  to  send  his  voice  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance with  a  sort  of  ventriloquial  effect.  He 
was  extremely  popular,  and  in  the  evenings 
the  chief  himself  would  form  one  of  tlie 


audience,  and  join  in  the  chorus  with  which 
his  song  was  accompanied.  They  have  sev- 
eral national  airs  which,  according  to  Cap- 
tains Speke  and  Grant,  are  really  fine. 

Inside  each  village  there  is  a  club-house, 
or  "  Iwansa,''  as  it  is  called.  This  is  n  struc- 
ture much  larger  tlian  those  which  are  used 
for  dwelling-houses,  and  is  built  in  a  dilt'er- 
eut  manner.  One  of  these  iwansas,  which 
was  visited  by  Captain  Grant,  "  was  ;i  long, 
low  room,  twelve  by  eighteen  feet,  with  one 
door,  a  low  fiat  root',  well  blackened  with 
smoke,  and  no  chimney.  Along  its  length 
there  ran  a  high  inclined  bench,  on  which 
cow-skins  were  spread  for  men  to  take  their 
seats.  Some  huge  drvuns  were  hung  in  one 
corner,  and  logs  smouldered  on  the  floor. 

"  Into  this  place  strangers  are  ushered 
when  they  first  enter  the  village,  and  here 
they  resule  until  a  house  can  be  ajipro- 
priated  to  them.  Here  the  young  men  all 
gather  at  the  close  of  day  to  hear  the  news, 
and  join  in  that  interminable  talk  which 
seems  one  of  the  chief  joj's  of  a  native  Afri- 
can. Here  they  perform  kindly  offices  to 
each  other,  such  as  pulling  out  the  hairs  of 
the  eyelashes  and  e3"el)rows  with  their  curi- 
ous little  tweezers,  chipping  the  teeth  into 
the  correct  form,  and  marking  ou  tlie  cheeks 
and  temples  the  peculiar  marks  which  desig- 
nate the  clan  to  which  they  beloug." 

These  tweezers  are  made  of  iron,  most 
ingeniously  flattened  and  bent  so  as  to  give 
the  required  elasticity. 

Smoking  and  drinking  also  go  on  largely 
in  the  iwansa,  and  here  the  youths  indulge 
in  various  games.  One  of  these  games  is 
exactly  similar  to  one  which  has  been  intro- 
duced"^ into  England.  Each  player  has  a 
stump  of  Indian  corn,  cut  short,  which  he 
stands  ou  the  ground  in  front  of  him,  A 
rude  sort  of  teetotum  is  made  of  a  gourd  and 
a  stick,  and  is  spun  among  the  corn-stumps, 
the  object  of  the  game  being  to  knock  down 
the  stump  belonging  to  the  adversary,"  This 
is  a  favorite  game,  and  elicits  much  noisy 
laughter  and  ap])lause,  not  only  from  the 
actual  players,  but  from  the  spectators  who 
surround  them. 

In  front  of  the  iwansa  the  dances  are  con- 
ducted. They  are  similar  in  some  respects 
to  those  of  the  Damaras,  as  mentioned  ou 
page  ;Uo,  except  that  the  performers  stand 
in  a  Hue  instead  of  in  a  circle.  A  long  strip 
of  bark  or  cow-skin  is  laid  on  the  ground, 
and  the  Weezees  arrange  themselves  along 
it,  the  tallest  man  always  taking  the  place  of 
honor  in  the  middle.'  When  they  have 
arranged  themselves,  the  drummers  strike 
up  their  noisy  instruments,  and  the  dancers 
begin  a  strange  chant,  which  is  more  like  a 
howl  than  a  -song.  They  all  bow  their  heads 
low,  put  their  hands  on  their  hips,  stamp 
vigorously,  and  are  pleased  to  think  that  they 
are  dancing.  The  male  spectators  stand  in 
front  and  encourage  their  friends  by  joinin" 
in    the    chorus,    wliile    the    women    stand 


►3 

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(.391) 


AMUSEMENTS  OF  THE  WEEZEES. 


395 


behind  and  look  on  silently.  Each  dance 
ends  with  a  general  shout  of  laughter  or 
applause,  and  then  a  fresh  set  of  dancers 
take  their  place  on  the  strip  of  skin. 

Sometimes  a  variety  is  introduced  into 
their  dances.  On  one  occasion  the  chief  had 
a  number  of  bowls  tilled  with  ponibe  and  set 
In  a  row.  The  people  took  their  grass 
bowls  and  filled  them  again  and  again  from 
the  jars,  the  chief  setting  the  example,  and 
drinking  more  pombe  than  any  of  his  sub- 
jects. When  the  bowls  had  circulated  plen- 
tifully, a  couple  of  lads  leaped  into  the  circle, 
presenting  a  most  fantastic  appearance. 
They  had  tied  zebra  manes  over  their  heads, 
and  had  furnished  themselves  with  two  long 
bark  tubes  like  huge  bassoons,  into  which 
they  Ijlew  with  all  their  miglit,  aceoinpany- 
ing  their  shouts  with  extravagant  contor- 
tions of  the  limbs.  As  soon  as  the  pombe 
was  all  gone,  five  drums  were  hung  in  a 
line  upon  a  horizontal  bar,  and  the  per- 
former began  to  hamnier  them  furiously. 
Inspired  by  the  sounds,  men,  women,  and 
children  began  to  sing  and  clap  their  hands 
in  time,  and  all  danced  for  several  hours. 

"  The  Weezee  boys  are  amusing  little  fel- 
lows,'and  have  quite  a  talent  for  games.  Of 
course  they  imitate  the  pursuits  of  their 
fathers,  such  as  shooting  with  small  bows 
and  arrows,  jumping  over  sticks  at  various 
heights,  pretending  to  shoot  game,  and 
other  amusements.  Some  of  the  elder  lads 
converted  their  play  into  reality,  by  making 
their  bows  and  arrows  large  enough  to  kill 
the  pigeons  and  other  birds  which  flew  about 
them.  They  also  make  very  creditable  imi- 
tations of  the  white  man's  gun,  tying  two 
pieces  of  cane  together  for  tlie  barrels,  mod- 
elling the  stock,  hammer,  and  trigger-guard 
out  of  clay,  and  imitating  the  smoke  by  tufts 
of  cotton  wool.  That  they  were  kind- 
hearted  boys  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
they  had  tame  birds  in  cages,  and  spent 
much  time  in  teaching  them  to  sing." 

From  the  above  description  it  may  be 
inferred  that  the  Weezees  are  a  lively  race, 
and  such  indeed  is  the  fact.  To  the  traveller 
they  are  amusing  companions,  singing  their 
"  jolliest  of  songs,  with  deep-toned  choruses, 
from  their  thick  necks  and  throats."  But; 
they  require  to  be  very  carefully  managed, 
being  independent  as  knowing  their  own 
value,  and  apt  to  go  on,  or  halt,  or  encamp 
just  when  it  happens  to  suit  tliem.  More- 
over, as  they  are  not  a  cleanly  race,  and  are 
sociably  fond  of  making  their  evening  fire 
close  by  and  to  windward  of  the  traveller's 
tent,  they  are  often  much  too  near  to  be 
agreeable,  especially  as  they  always  decline 
to  move  from  the  spot  on  which  they  have 
established  themselves. 

Still  they  are  simply  invaluable  on  the 
march,  for  they  are  good  porters,  can  always 
manage  to  make  themselves  happy,  and  do 
not  become  homesick,  as  is  tlie  case  with 
men  of  other  tribes.    Moreover,  from  their 


locomotive  habits,  they  are  excellent  guides, 
and  they  are  most  useful  assistants  in  hunt- 
ing, detecting,  and  following  up  the  spoor  of 
aii  animal  with  unerring  certainty.  They 
are  rather  too  apt  to  steal  the  flesh  of  the 
animal  when  it  is  killed,  and  quite  sure  to 
steal  the  fat,  but,  as  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten 
it  would  not  have  been  kihed  at  all  without 
their  help,  they  may  be  pardoned  for  these 
acts  of  petty  larceny.  They  never  seem  at 
a  loss  for  anything,  but  have  a  singular 
power  of  supplying  themselves  out  of  the 
most  unexpected  materials.  For  example, 
if  a  Wanyamuezi  wants  to  smoke,  and  has 
no  pipe,  lie  makes  a  pipe  in  a  minute  or  two 
from  the  nearest  tree.  All  he  has  to  do  is 
to  cut  a  green  twig,  strip  the  bark  off  it  as 
boys  do  when  they  make  willow  whistles, 
push  a  plug  of  clay  into  it,  and  bore  a  hole 
through  the  clay  with  a  smaller  twig  or  a 
grass-blade. 

Both  sexes  are  inveterate  smokers,  and, 
as  they  grow  their  own  tobacco,  they  can 
gratify  this  taste  to  their  hearts'  content. 
For  smoking,  they  generally  use  their  home- 
cured  tobacco,  which  they  twist  up  into  a 
thick  rope  like  a  hayband,  and  then  coil  into 
a  flattened  spiral  like  a  small  target.  Some- 
times they  make  it  into  sugar-loaf  shape. 
Imported  tobacco  they  employ  as  snuff, 
grinding  it  to  powder  if  it  should  be  given 
to  them  in  a  solid  form,  or  pushing  it  into 
their  nostrils  if  it  should  be  in  a  cut  state, 
like  "  bird's-eye  "  or  "  returns." 

The  amusements  of  the  Weezees  are  tol- 
erably numerous.  Besides  those  which  have . 
been  mentioned,  the  lads  are  fond  of  a 
mimic  fight,  using  the  stalks  of  maize  in- 
stead of  spears,  and  making  for  themselves 
shields  of  bark.  Except  that  the  Weezee 
lads  are  on  foot,  instead  of  being  mounted, 
this  game  is  almost  exactly  like  the  "  djerid  " 
of  the  Turks,  and  is  quite  as  likely  to  infiict 
painful,  if  not  dangerous,  injuries  on  the 
careless  or  unskilful. 

Then,  for  more  sedentary  people,  there 
are  several  games  of  chance  and  others  of 
skill.  The  game  of  chance  is  tlie  time- 
honored  "  pitch  and  toss,"  which  is  played 
as  eagerly  here  as  iu  England.  It  is  true 
that  the  Weezee  have  no  halfpence,  but 
they  can  always  cut  discs  out  of  bark,  and 
bet  upon  the  rough  or  smooth  side  turning 
uppermost.  They  'are  very  fond  of  this 
game,  and  will  stake  their  most  valued  pos- 
sessions, such  as  ■•'  sambo,"  rings,  bows, 
arrows,  spear-heads,  and  the  like. 

The  chief  game  of  skill  has  probably 
reached  them  through  the  Mohammedan 
traders,  as  it  is  almost  identical  with  a 
game  long  fixmiliar  to  the  Turks.  It  is 
called  Bao,  and  is  played  with  a  board  on 
which  are  thirtj^-two  holes  or  cups,  and 
with  sixty-four  seeds  by  way  of  counters. 
Should  two  players  meet  and  neither  ]ios- 
sess  a  board,  nor  the  proper  seeds,  notliing 
is  easier  tliau  to  sit  down,  scraps  thirty-two 


394 


THE   WANYAMUEZI. 


holes  in  the  ground,  select  sixty-four  stones, 
and  then  begin  to  play.  The  reader  may 
perhaps  call  to  mind  the  old  English  game 
of  Merelles,  or  Nine-men's  Morris,  which 
can  be  played  on  an  extemporized  board 
cut  iu  the  turf,  and  with  stones  instead  of 
counters. 

The  most  inveterate  gamblers  were  the 
lifeguards  of  the  sultan,  some  twenty  in 
numl)(>r.  They  were  not  agreeable  person- 
ages, being  offensively  supercilious  in  their 
manner,  and  flatl}'  refusing  to  do  a  stroke  of 
work.  The  extent  of  their  duty  lay  iu 
escorting  their  chief  from  one  place  to 
another,  and  conveying  his  orders  from  one 
village  to  another.  The  rest  of  their  time 
was  sjjent  in  gambling,  drum-beating,  and 
similar  amusements;  and,  if  they  distin- 
guished themselves  in  any  other  way,  it  was 
by  the  care  which  they  bestowed  on  their 
dress.  Sonft  of  these  lifeguards  were  very 
skilful  in  beating  the  drum,  and,  when  a 
number  were  performing  on  a  row  of  sus- 
pended drums,  the  principal  drummer  al- 
ways took  the  largest  instrument,  and  was 
the  conductor  of  the  others,  just  as  in  a 
society  of  bellringers  the  chief  of  them 
takes  the  tenor  bell.  For  any  one,  except  a 
native,  to  sleep  in  a  "VVeezee  village  while 
the  drums  are  sounding  is  perfectly  impos- 
sible, but  when  they  have  ceased  the  jilace 
in  quiet  enough,  as  may  be  seen  by  Captain 
Grant's  description  of  a  night  scene  in 
Wanyamuezi. 

"  In  a  Weezee  village  there  are  few  sounds 
to  disturb  one's  night's  rest:  the  traveller's 
horn,  and  the  reply  to  it  from  a  neighboring 
village,  are  accidental  alarms;  the  chirping 
of  crickets,  and  the  cry  from  a  sick  child, 
however,  occasionally  broke  upon  the  still- 
ness of  one's  night.  Waking  earh',  the  first 
sounds  we  heard  were  the  crowing  of  cocks, 
the  impatient  lowing  of  cows,  the  bleating 
of  calves,  and  the  chirping  of  sparrows  and 
other  unmusical  birds.  The  pestle  and 
mortar  shelling  corn  would  soon  after  be 
heard,  or  the  cooing  of  wild  pigeons  in  the 
grove  of  palms. 

"  The  huts  were  shaped  like  corn-stacks, 
supported  by  bare  poles,  fifteen  feet  high, 
and  fifteen  to  eighteen  feet  in  diameter. 
Sometimes  their  grass  roofs  would  be  pro- 
tected from  sparks  by '  michans,'  or  frames  of 
Indian  corn-stalks.  There  were  no  carpets, 
and  all  was  as  dark  as  the  hold  of  a  ship.  A 
few  earthern  jars,  made  like  the  Indian 
'gurrah,'  for  boiling  vegetables  or  stirabout, 
tattered  skins,  an  old  bow  and  arrow,  some 
cups  of  grass,  some  gourds,  perhaps  a  stool, 
constitute  the  whole  of  the  furniture.  Grain 
was  housed  in  hard  boxes  of  bark,  and  goats 
or  calves  had  free  access  over  the  house." 

Their  customs  in  eating  and  drinking  are 
rather  remarkable.  Perhaps  we  ought  to 
transfer  those  terms,  drinking  holding  the 
first  place  in  the  mind  of  a  Weezee.  The 
only   drink  which  he   cares  about  is    the 


native  beer  or  "  pombe,"  and  many  of  the 
natives  live  almost  entirely  on  pombe,  tak- 
ing scarcely  any  solid  nourishment  what- 
ever. Pombe  making  is  the  work  of  the 
women,  who  brew  large  Cjuantities  at  a 
time.  Not  being  able  to  build  a  large  tank 
in  wliich  the  water  can  be  heated  to  the 
boiling  point,  the  pombe  maker  takes  a 
number  of  eathern  pots  and  places  them  in 
a  double  row,  with  an  interval  of  eighteen 
inches  or  so  between  the  rows.  This  inter- 
mediate space  is  filled  with  wood,  which  is 
lighted,  and  the  fire  tended  until  the  beer 
is  boiled  simultaneouslj'  in  both  rows  of 
pots.  Five  days  are  required  for  comijle- 
tiug  the  brewing. 

The  Sultan  Ukulima  was  very  fond  of 
pombe,  and,  indeed,  lived  principally  upon 
it.  He  used  to  begin  with  a  bowl  of  his 
favorite  beverage,  and  continue  drinking  it 
at  intervals  until  he  went  to  his  tiny  sleep- 
ing-hut for  the  night.  Though  he  was  half 
stupefied  during  the  day,  he  did  not  sutler 
in  health,  but  was  a  fine,  sturdy,  hale 
old  man,  pleasant  enough  iu  manner,  and 
rather  amusing  when  his  head  hajjpened  to 
he  clear.  He  was  rather  fond  of  a  practical 
joke,  and  sometimes  amused  himseFf  by 
begging  some  quinine,  mixing  it  slyly  with 
pombe,  and  then  enjoying  the  consternation 
which  appeared  on  the  countenances  of 
those  who  partook  of  the  bitter  draught. 

Every  morning  he  used  to  go  round  to 
the  different  houses,  timing  his  visits  so  as 
to  appear  when  the  brewing  was  finished. 
He  always  partook  of  the  first  bowl  of  beer, 
and  then  went  on  to  another  house  and 
drank  more  pombe,  which  he  sometimes 
sucked  through  a  reed  in  sherry-cobbler 
fashion.  (See  page  391.)  Men  and  women 
seldom  drink  in  company;  the  latter  assem- 
bling together  under  the  presidency  of  the 
sultana,"or  chief  wife,  and  drinking  in  com- 
pany. 

As  to  food,  regular  meals  seem  to  be 
almost  unknown  among  the  men,  who 
"  drop  in  "  at  their  friends'  houses,  taking  a 
small  potato  at  one  place,  a  bowl  of  pombe 
at  another,  and,  on  rare  occasions,  a  little 
beef  Indeed,  Captain  Grant  says  that  he 
seldom  saw  men  at  their  meals,  unless  they 
were  assembled  for  pombe  drinking.  Wo- 
men, however,  who  eat,  as  they  drink,  by 
themselves,  are  more  regular  in  their  meals, 
and  at  stated  times  have  their  food  pre- 
pared. 

The  grain  from  which  the  pombe  is  made 
is  cultivated  by  the  women,  who  undertake 
most,  though  "not  all,  of  its  preparation. 
When  it  is  "green,  they  reap  it  by  cutting  off 
the  ears  with  a  knife,  just  as  was  done  by 
the  Egyptians  of  ancient  times.  They  then 
carry  "the  ears  in  baskets  to  the  village, 
empty  them  out  upon  the  ground,  and 
spread  them  in  the  sunbeams  until  they  are 
thoroughly  dried.  The  men  then  thresh 
out  the  grain  with  curious  flails,  looking 


EXORCISING  AN  EVIL  SPIRIT. 


395 


like  rackets,  with  handles  eight  or  niue  feet 
iu  longth. 

When  threshed,  it  is  stored  away  in  vari- 
ous fashions.  Sometimes  it  is  made  into  a 
miniature  corn-rick  placed  on  legs,  like  the 
"  staddles  "  of  our  own  farmyards.  Some- 
times a  pole  is  stuck  into  the  earth,  and  the 
corn  is  bound  round  it  at  some  distance 
from  the  ground,  so  that  it  resembles  an 
angler's  float  of  gigantic  dimensions.  The 
oddest,  though  perhaps  the  safest,  Avay  of 
packing  grain,  is  to  tie  it  up  in  a  bundle, 
and  liang'it  to  the  branch  of  a  tree.  When 
wanted  for  use,  it  is  pounded  in  a  wooden 
mortar  like  those  of  the  Ovambo  tribe,  in 
order  to  beat  off  the  husk,  and  rtually  it  is 
ground  between  two  stones.  A  harvest 
scene,  illustrating  these  various  operations, 
is  given  on  the  397th  page. 

The  Wanyamuezi  are  not  a  very  supersti- 
tious people,  —  at  all  events  they  are  not 
such  slaves  to  superstition  as  many  other 
tribes.  As  far  as  is  known,  they  have  no 
idols,  but  then  they  have  no  religious  sys- 
tem, except  perhaps  a  fear  of  evil  spirits, 
and  a  belief  that  such  spirits  can  be  exor- 
cised by  qualifled  wizards.  A  good  account 
of  one  of  these  exorcisms  is  given  by  Cap- 
tain Grant. 

"  The  sultan  sits  at  the  doorway  of  his  hut, 
which  is  decorated  with  lion's  paws. 

"  His  daughter,  the  possessed,  is  o]5posite 
to  him,  completely  hooded,  and  guarded  by 
two  Watusi  women,  one  on  each  side,  hold- 
ing a  naked  spear  erect.  The  sultana  com- 
pletes the  circle.  Pombe  is  spirted  up  in 
the  air  so  as  to  fall  upon  them  all.  A  cow 
is  then  brought  in  with  its  mouth  tightly 
bound  up,  almost  preventing  the  possibilitj' 
of  lireathing,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  poor 
cow  is  to  be  the  sacrifice. 

"  One  spear-bearer  gives  the  animal  two 
gentle  'taps  with  a  hatchet  between  the 
horns,  and  she  is  followed  by  the  woman 
with  the  evil  spirit  and  by  a  second  spear- 
bearer,  who  also  tap  the  cow.  A  man  now 
steps  forward,  and  with  the  same  hatchet 
kills  the  cow  l)y  a  blow  behind  the  horns. 
The  Ijlood  is  all  caught  in  a  tray  (a  Kaffir 
custom),  and  placed  at  the  feet  of  the  pos- 
sessed, after  which  a  spear-bearer  puts  spots 
of  the  blood  on  the  woman's  forehead,  on  the 
root  of  the  neck,  the  palms  of  the  hands,  and 
the  instep  of  the  feet.  He  spots  the  other 
spear-bearers  in  the  same  manner,  and  the 
tray  is  then  taken  by  another  man,  who 
spots  the  sultan,  his  kindred,  and  house- 
hold. 

"  Again  the  tray  is  carried  to  the  feet  of 
the  possessed,  and  she  spots  with  the  blood 
her  little  son  and  nephews,  who  kneel  to 
receive  it.  Sisters  and  female  relatives  come 
next  to  be  anointed  by  her,  and  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  see  those  dearest  to  her  pressing  for- 
ward with  congratulations  and  wishes.  She 
then  rises  from  her  seat,  uttering  a  sort  of 
whining  cry,  and  walks  off  to  the  house  of 

iiO 


the  sultana,  preceded  and  followed  by  spear- 
bearers.  During  the  day  she  walks  about  the 
village,  still  hooded,  and  attended  by  several 
followers  shaking  gourds  containing  grain, 
and  singing  '  Heigh-ho,  massa-a-no.'  or  '  nia- 
sanga.'  An  old  woman  is  appointed  to 
wrestle  with  her  for  a  broomstick  which  she 
carries,  and  finally  the  stick  is  left  in  her 
hand. 

"  Late  in  the  afternoon  a  change  is 
wrought;  she  appears  as  in  ordinary,  but 
with  her  face  curiously  painted  in  the  same 
way.  She  sits  without  smiling  to  receive 
offerings  of  grain,  with  beads  or  anklets 
placed  on  twigs  of  the  broomstick,  which 
she  holds  upright;  and,  this  over,  she  walks 
among  the  women,  who  shout  out, '  Gnombe !' 
(cow),  or  some  other  ridiculous  expression 
to  create  a  laugh.  This  winds  up  the  cere- 
mony on  the  first  day,  but  two  days  after- 
ward the  now  em.ancipated  woman  is  seen 
parading  about  with  the  broomstick  hung 
with  beads  and  rings,  and  looking  herself 
again,  being  completely  cured.  The  van- 
quished spirit  had  been  forced  to  fly!" 

Like  many  other  African  tribes,  the  Wee- 
zees  fully  believe  that  when  a  person  is  ill 
witchcraft  must  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
malady,  and  once,  when  Captain  Grant  was 
in  their  country,  a  man  who  used  to  sell  ti.sh 
to  him  died  suddenly.  His  wife  was  at  once 
accused  of  murdering  him  by  poison  (which 
is  thought  to  be  a  branch  of  sorcery),  was 
tried,  convicted,  and  killed.  The  truth  of 
the  verdict  was  confirmed  by  the  fact  that 
the  hyisnas  did  not  touch  the  body  after 
death. 

They  have  all  kinds  of  odd  superstitions 
about  animals.  Captain  Grant  had  shot  an 
antelope,  which  was  quite  new  to  him,  and 
which  was  therefore  a  great  prize.  With 
the  unwilling  aid  of  his  assistant  he  carried 
it  as  far  as  the  village,  but  there  the  man 
laid  it  down,  declining  to  carry  it  within  the 
walls  on  the  plea  that  it  was  a  dangerous 
animal,  and  must  not  be  brought  to  the 
houses.  The  Sultan  Ukalima  was  then 
asked  to  have  it  brought  in,  but  the  man, 
usually  so  mild,  flew  at  once  into  a  towering 
rage,  and  would  not  even  allow  a  piece  of 
the  skin  to  be  brought  within  the  village. 
He  said  that  if  its  flesh  were  eaten  it  would 
cause  the  fingers  and  toes  to  fall  off,  and  that 
if  its  saliva  touclied  the  skin  an  ulcer  would 
be  the  result.  Consequently,  the  skin  was 
lost,  and  only  a  sketch  preserved.  These 
ideas  about  the  "  bawala,"  as  this  antelope 
was  called,  did  not  seem  to  have  extended 
very  far;  for,  while  the  body  was  still  lying 
outside  the  walls,  a  party  of  another  tribe 
came  up,  and  were  very  glad  to  cook  it  and 
eat  it  on  the  spot. 

All  lions  and  lynxes  are  the  property  of 
the  sultan.  No  one  may  wear  the  lion  "skin 
except  himself,  and  he  decorates  his  dwell- 
ing with  the  paws  and  other  spoils.  This 
may  be  expected,  as  the  lion  skin  is  cousid- 


396 


THE   WANYAMUEZI. 


ered  as  an  emblem  of  royalty  in  other  lands 
beside  Africa.  But  there  is  a  curious  super- 
stition about  the  lion,  which  prohilsits  any 
one  from  walking  round  its  body,  or  even  its 
skin.  One  day,  when  a  lion  had  been  killed, 
and  its  body  brought  into  the  village,  Cap- 
tain Grant  measured  it,  and  was  straightway 
assailed  by  the  chief  priest  of  the  place  for 
breaking  the  law  in  walking  round  the  ani- 
mal while  he  was  measuring  it.  He  gave 
as  his  reason  that  there  was  a  spell  laid  on 
the  lions  which  kept  them  from  entering 
the  villages,  and  that  the  act  of  walking 
round  the  animal  l)roke  the  spell.  He  said, 
however,  that  a  payment  of  four  cloths  to 
]iim  would  restore  the  efficacy  of  the  spell, 
and  then  he  would  not  tell  the  sultan.  Cap- 
tain Grant  contrived  to  extricate  himself 
very  ingeniously  by  arguing  that  the  action 
which  broke  the  spell  was  not  walking  round 
the  body,  but  stepping  over  it,  and  that  he 
had  been  careful  to  avoid.  After  sundry 
odd  ceremonies  have  been  performed  over 
the  dead  body  of  the  lion,  the  flesh,  which  is 
by  that  time  half  putrid,  is  boiled  by  the 
sultan  in  person,  the  fat  is  skimmed  off,  and 
preserved  as  a  valued  medicine,  and  the  skin 
dressed  for  regal  wear. 

Tlie Wanyamuezi  have  a  way  of  "  making 
brotherhood,"  similar  to  that  which  has 
aU'eady  been  described,  except  that  instead  of 


drinking  each  other's  blood,  the  newly-made 
brothers  mix  it  with  butter  on  a  leaf  and 
exchange  leave.s.  The  butter  is  then  rubbed 
into  the  incisions,  so  that  it  acts  as  a  heal- 
ing ointment  at  the  same  time  that  the  blood 
is  exchanged.  The  ceremony  is  concluded 
by  tearing  the  leaves  to  pieces  and  sh(jwer- 
ing  the  fragments  on  the  heads  of  the 
brothers. 

The  travellers  happened  to  be  in  the 
country  just  iu  time  to  see  a  curious  mourn- 
ing ceremony.  There  was  a  tremenilous 
commotion  in  the  chiefs  "  teml)e,"  and  on 
inquiry  it  turned  out  that  twins  had  been 
born  to  one  of  his  wives,  but  that  they  were 
both  dead.  All  tlie  women  belonging  to  his 
household  marched  about  in  procession, 
painted  and  adorned  in  a  very  grotesque 
manner,  singing  and  dancing  with  strange 
gesticulations  of  arms  and  legs,  and  looking, 
indeed,  as  if  they  had  been  indulging  in 
pombe  rather  than  afflicted  by  grief.  This 
went  on  all  day,  and  in  the  evening  they 
collected  a  great  bundle  of  bulru.shes,  tied  it 
up  in  a  cloth,  and  carried  it  to  the  door  of 
the  mother's  hut,  just  as  if  it  had  l)een  the 
dead  body  of  a  man.  They  then  set  it  down 
on  the  ground,  stuck  a  quantity  of  the  rushes 
into  the  earth,  at  each  side  of  the  door,  knelt 
down,  and  began  a  long  shrieking  wail, 
which  lasted  for  geveral  nom-s  together. 


(2.)   SALUTATION.    (See  page  409.) 
(397) 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


KAKAGUE. 


LOCALITY  OF  KAEAGUE  — THE  DISTINCT  CLASSES  OF  THE  INHABITAKTS  —  THEIK  GENERAL  CHARAC- 
TER—MODE OF  SALUTATION  — THE  RULING  CASTE,  OR  WAHUMA,  AND  THE  ROYAL  CASTE,  OR 
MOHEENDA  —  LAW  OF  SUCCESSION  —  THE  SULTAN    RUMANLKA   AND  HIS  FAMILY  —  PLANTAIN  WINE 

—  HOW  RUMANIKA  GALNED  THE  THRONE  —  OBSEQUIES  OF  HIS  FATHER  —  NEW-MOON  CEREMONIES  — 
TWO  ROYAL  PROPHETS  — THE  MAGIC  HORNS  —  MARRIAGE  —  EASY  LOT  OF  THE  WAHUMA  WOMEN  — 
WLFE-FATTENING  —  AN    ODD    USE    OF    OBESITY  —  DRESS    OF  THE  WOMEN  —  MUSIC^iL  INSTRUMENTS 

—  RUMANIKA'S  PRIVATB  BAND  —  FUNERAL  CUSTOMS. 


Passing  by  a  number  of  tribes  of  more 
or  less  importance,  we  come  to  the  couu- 
try  called  Kaeague  (pronounced  Kah-rah- 
goo-eh),  which  occupies  a  district  about 
lat.  3°  S.  and  long.  31°  E.  The  people  of 
this  district  are  divided  into  two  distinct 
classes,  —  namely,  the  reigning  race,  or 
Wahuma,  and  the  peasantry,  or  Wan- 
yambo.  These  latter  were  the  original 
inhabitants  of  the  land,  but  were  dispos- 
sessed by  the  Wahuma,  who  have  turned 
them  into  slaves  and  tillers  of  the  ground. 
Among  the  AVahuma  there  is  another  dis- 
tinction, —  namely,  a  royal  caste,  or  Mo- 
heenda. 

As  to  the  Wanyambo,  although  they  are 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  peasants,  and 
have  been  compared  to  the  ryots  of  India, 
they  seem  to  preserve  their  self-respect, 
and  have  a  kind  of  government  among 
themselves,  the  country  being  divided  into 
districts,  each  of  which  has  its  own  gov- 
ernor. These  men  are  called  Wakungo, 
and  are  distinguished  by  a  sort  of  uniform, 
consisting  of  a  sheet  of  calico  or  a  scarlet 
blanket  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  dress. 

They  are  an  excitaljle  and  rather  quar- 
relsome people,  and  are  quite  capalde  of 
taking  their  own  parts,  even  against  the 
Weezees,  with  whom  they  occasionally  quar- 
rel. They  do  not  carry  their  weapons  con- 
tinually, like  the  "Wagogo  and  the  Weezees, 
contenting  themselves  with  a  stick  about 
five  feet  long,  with  a  knob  at  the  end,  with- 
out which  tliey  are  seldom  to  be  seen,  and 
which  is  not  only  used  as  a  weapon,  but  is 
employed  in  greeting  a  friend. 


Tlie  mode  of  saluting  another  is  to  hold 
out  the  stick  to  the  frie^id,  who  touches  the 
knobbed  end  with  his  hand,  and  repeats  a 
few  words  of  salutation.  Yet,  although 
they  do  not  habitually  carry  weapons,  they 
are"  very  well  armed,  their  bows  being  ex- 
ceedingly powerful  and  elastic,  more  than 
six  feet  "in  length,  and  projecting  a  spear- 
headed arrow  to  a  great  distance.  Spears 
are  also  employed,  but  the  familiar  weapon 
is  the  bow.  A  bow  belonging  to  M'nana- 
gee,  the  brother  of  Rumanika,  the  then 
head  chief  or  "  sultan  "  of  Karague,  was  a 
beautiful  specimen  of  native  workmanship. 
It  was  six  feet  three  inches  in  length,  i.  e. 
exactly  the  height  of  the  owner,  and  was  so 
carefully  madethat  there  was  not  a  curve 
in  it  that  could  otfend  the  eye.  The  string 
was  twisted  from  the  sinews  of  a  cow,  and 
the  owner  could  project  an  arrow  some  two 
hundred  yards.  The  wood  of  which  it  was 
made  looked  very  like  our  own  ash. 

The  Wanyambo  were  very  polite  to  Cap- 
tain Grant,  taking  great  care  of  him,  and 
advising  him  how  to  preserve  his  health, 
thus  affording  a  practical  refutation  of  the' 
alarming  stories  respecting  their  treachery 
and  ferocity  of  which  he  had  been  told  when 
determining  to  pass  through  their  country. 
The  Wanyambo  are  obliged  to  furnish  pro- 
visions to  travellers  free  of  charge,  but, 
although  they  obey  the  letter  of  the  law, 
they  always  expect  a  present  of  brass  wira 
in  lieu  of  payment.  They  are  slenderly 
built,  very  dark  in  complexion,  and  grease 
theinselve"s  abundantly.  They  do  not,  how- 
ever, possess  such  an  evil  odor  as  other 


(399J 


400 


KARAGUE. 


grease-using  tribes,  as,  after  they  h.ave 
anointed  themselves,  they  light  a"  tire  of 
aromatic  wood,  and  stand  to  leeward  of  it, 
so  as  to  allow  the  perfumed  smoke  to  pass 
over  them. 

The  Wahuma  are  of  much  lighter  eom- 
jilexion,  and  the  royal  caste,  or  Moheenda, 
are  remarkable  for  their  bronze-like  com- 
plexions, their  well-eut  features,  and  their 
curiously  long  heads.  The  members  of  this 
caste  are  further  marked  by  some  scars  under 
the  eyes,  and  their  teeth  are  neither  tiled 
nor  chipped.  There  is  rather  a  curious  law 
about  the  succession  to  the  throne.  As  with 
us,  the  king's  eldest  .son  is  the  acknowledged 
heir,  but  then  he  must  have  been  born  when 
his  father  was  actually  king.  Consequently, 
the  youngest  of  a  family  of  brothers  is  some- 
times the  heir  to  the  throne,  his  elder  bro- 
tAiers,  having  Ijeen  born  before  their  father 
was  king,  being  ineligible  to  the  crown. 

According  to  Captain  Speke,  the  Wahuma, 
the  Gallas,  and  the  Abyssiniaus  are  but  dif- 
ferent branches  of  the  same  people,  having 
fought  and  Ijeen  beaten,  and  retired,  and  so 
made  their  way  westward  and  southward, 
until  they  settled  down  in  the  countrywhich 
was  then  inhabited  by  the  Wauyambo.  Still, 
although  he  thinks  "them  to  have  derived 
their  source  from  Aliyssinia,  and  to  have 
spread  themselves  over  the  whole  of  the 
country  on  which  we  are  now  engaged,  he 
mentions  that  they  always  accommodated 
themselves  to  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  natives  whom  they  supplanted,  and  that 
the  Gallas  or  Wahuma  of  Karague  have 
dilfereut  customs  from  the  Wahuma  of  Un- 
yoro. 

The  king  or  sultan  of  Karague,  at  the 
time  when  our  travellers  passed  through  the 
country,  was  Rumanika.  He  was  the  hand- 
somest and  most  intelligent  ruler  that  they 
met  in  Africa,  and  had  nothing  of  the  Afri- 
can in  his  appearance  except  that  his  hair 
was  short  and  woolly.  He  was  six  feet  two 
inches  in  lieight,  and  had  a  peculiarly  mild 
and  open  expression  of  countenance.  He 
wore  a  robe  made  of  small  antelope  skins, 
and  another  of  bark  cloth,  so  that  he  was 
completely  covered.  He  never  wore  any 
headdress,  but  had  the  usual  metallic  arm- 
lets and  anklets,  and  always  carried  a  long 
staff  in  his  hand.  His  four  sons  ajipear  to 
have  been  worthy  of  their  father.  The  old- 
est and  yoimgest  seem  to  have  been  pecul- 
iarly favorable  specimens  of  their  race.  The 
eldest,  named  Chunderah,  was  twenty-five 
years  old,  and  very  fair,  so  that,  but  for  his 
woolly  hair  and  his  rather  thick  lips,  he 
miarht  have  been  taken  for  a  sepoy.  "  He 
affected  the  dandy,  being  more  neat  about 
his  lion-skin  covers  and  ornaments  than  the 
other  brothers.  lie  led  a  gay  life,  was  always 
ready  to  lead  a  war  party,  and  to  preside  at 
a  dance,  or  wherever  there  was  wine  and 
women. 

"  Prom  the  tuft  of  wool  left  unshaven  on 


the  crown  of  his  head  to  his  waist  lie  was 
bare,  except  when  decorated  round  the  nms- 
cle  of  the  arms  and  neck  with  charmed 
horns,  strips  of  otter  skin,  shells,  and  bands 
of  wood.  The  skin  covering,  which  in  the 
Karague  people  is  peculiar  in  shape,  reaches 
below  the  knee  behind,  and  is  cut  away  in 
front.  From  below  the  calf  to  the  ankle 
was  a  mass  of  iron  wire,  and,  when  visiting 
from  neighbor  to  neighbor,  he  always,  like 
every  Karague,  carried  in  his  hand  a  flve- 
feet  staff  with  a  knob  at  the  end.  He 
constantly  came  to  ask  after  me,  bringing 
flowers  in  his  hand,  as  he  knew  my  fondness 
for  them,  and  at  night  he  would  take  Frij, 
my  headman,  info  the  palace,  along  with 
his  '  zeze,'  or  guitar,  to  amuse  his  sisters 
with  Zanzibar  music.  In  turn,  the  sisters, 
brothers,  and  followers  would  sing  Karague 
music,  and  early  in  the  morning  Master  Frij 
and  Chunderah  would  return  rather  jolly 
to  their  huts  outside  the  palace  enclo.sure. 
This  shows  the  kindly  feeling  existing  be- 
tween us  and  the  family  of  the  sultan;  and, 
although  this  young  prince  had  showed  me 
many  attentions,  he  never  ouee  asked  me 
for  a  present.'' 

The  second  son,  who  was  by  a  different 
mother,  was  not  so  agreeable.  His  disposi- 
tion was  not  bad,  but  he  was  stupid  and 
slow,  and  anything  but  handsome.  The 
youngest  of  the  four,  named  Kukoko,  seemed 
to  have  become  a  general  favorite,  and  was 
clearly  the  pet  of  his  father,  who  never  went 
anywhere  without  him.  He  was  so  mild 
and  pleasant  in  his  manner,  that  the  trav- 
ellers presented  him  with  a  pair  of  white 
kid  gloves,  and,  after  much  trouble  in  coax- 
ing them  on  his  unaccustomed  fingers,  were 
much  amused  by  the  young  man's  added 
dignity  with  which  he  walked  away. 

Contrary  to  the  usual  African  custom, 
Kumauika  was  singularly  abstemious,  living 
almost  entirely  upon  milk,  and  merely  suck- 
ing the  juice  of  boiled  beef,  without  eating 
the  meat  itself  He  scarcely  ever  touched 
the  plantain  wine  or  beer,  that  is  in  such 
general  use  throughout  the  country,  and 
never  had  been  known  to  be  intoxicated. 
This  wine  or  beer  is  made  in  a  very  in- 
genious manner.  A  large  log  of  wood  is 
hollowed  out  so  as  to  form  a  tub,  and  it 
seems  essential  that  it  should  be  of  consid- 
erable size.  One  end  of  it  is  raised  upon 
a  support,  and  a  sort  of  barrier  or  dam  of 
dried  grass  is  fixed  across  the  centre.  Ripe 
plantains  are  then  jjlaced  in  the  upjier  divi- 
sion of  the  tub,  and  mashed  by  the  women's 
feet  and  hands  until  they  are  reduced  to  a 
pulp.  The  juice  flows  down  the  inclined 
tub,  straining  itself  by  passing  through  the 
grass  barrier.  When  a  sufficient  quantity 
has  been  pressed,  it  is  strained  several  times 
backward  and  forward,  and  is  then  passed 
into  a  clean  tub  for  fermentation.  Some 
burnt  sorghum  is  then  bruised  and  thrown 
into  the  juice  to  help  fermentation,  and  the 


SULTAN  RUMANIlvA. 


401 


tab  is  then  covered  up  and  placed  in  tlie 
sun's  rays,  or  kept  warm  by  a  fire.  In  tlie 
course  of  three  days  the  brewing  process  is 
sujiposed  to  be  com])leted,  and  the  beer  or 
wino  is  poured  oil'  into  calabashes. 

The  amount  of  this  wine  that  is  drunk  by 
the  natives  is  really  amazing,  every  one 
carrying  about  with  him  a  calabash  full  of 
it,  and  even  the  youngest  children  of  the 
peasants  drinking  it  freely.  It  is  never 
bottled  for  preservation,  and,  in  fact,  it  is  in 
such  request  that  scarcely  a  calabash  full 
can  be  found  witliin  two  or  three  days  after 
the  brewing  is  completed.  This  inordinate 
fondness  fir  plantain  wine  makes  Rumanika's 
abstinence  the  more  remarkable. 

But  Rumanika  was  really  a  wonderful 
man  in  his  way,  and  was  not  only  king,  but 
priest  and  prophet  also.  His  very  elevation 
to  the  throne  was,  according  to  the  account 
given  by  him  and  his  friends,  entirely  due 
to  supernatural  aid.  When  his  father,  Da- 
gara,  died,  he  and  two  brothers  claimed  the 
throne.  In  order  to  settle  their  pretensions 
a  small  magic  drum  was  laid  before  them, 
and  he  who  could  lift  it  was  to  take  the 
crown.  The  drum  was  a  very  small  one, 
and  of  scarcely  any  weight,  but  upon  it 
were  laid  certain  potent  charms.  The  con- 
sequence was,  that  although  his  brothers  put 
all  their  strength  to  the  task,  they  could  not 
stir  the  drum,  while  Rumanika  raised  it 
easily  with  his  little  linger.  Ever  afterward 
he  carried  this  drum  with  him  on  occasions 
of  ceremony,  swinging  it  about  to  show 
how  easy  it  was  for  the  rightful  sovereign 
to  wield  it.  Being  dissatisfied  with  such  a 
test,  one  of  the  chiefs  insisted  on  Rumani- 
ka's trial  by  another  ordeal.  He  was  then 
brought  into  a  sacred  spot,  where  he  was 
required  to  seat  himself  on  the  ground,  and 
await  the  result  of  the  charms.  If  he  were 
really  the  appointed  king,  the  portion  of  the 
ground  on  which  lie  was  seated  would  rise 
up  in  the  air  until  it  reached  the  sky;  but 
if  he  were  the  wrong  man,  it  would  col- 
lapse, and  dash  him  to  pieces.  Accoi'ding 
to  all  accounts,  his  own  included,  Rumanika 
took  his  seat,  was  raised  up  into  the  sky, 
and  his  legitimacy  acknowledged. 

Altogether,  his  family  seem  to  have  been 
noted  for  their  supernatural  qualities. 
When  his  father,  Dagara,  died,  his  body 
was  sewed  up  in  a  cow-hide,  put  into  "a 
canoe,  and  set  floating  on  the  lake,  where  it 
was  allowed  to  decompose.  Three  maggots 
were  then  taken  from  the  canoe  and  given 
in  charge  of  Rumanika,  but  as  soon  as  they 
came  into  his  house  one  of  them  became  a 
lion,  another  a  leopard,  and  the  third  was 
transformed  into  a  stick.  The  body  was 
then  laid  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  a  hut  built 
over  it,  five  girls  and  fifty  cows  put  into  it, 
and  the  door  blocked  uj)  and  watched,  so 
that  the  inmates  gradually  died  of  starva- 
tion. The  lion  which  issued  from  the  corpse 
was  supposed  to  be  an  emblem  of  the  pe- 


culiar character  of  the  Karague  country, 
which  is  supposed  to  be  guarded  by  lions 
from  the  attack  of  other  tribes.  It  was  said 
that  whenever  Dagara  heard  that  the  enemy 
was  marching  into  his  country,  he  used  to 
call  the  lions  together,  send  them  against 
the  advancing  force,  and  so  defeat  them  by 
deputy. 

In  his  character  of  high-priest,  Rumanika 
was  very  imposing,  especially  in  his  new- 
moon  levee,  which  took  place  every  month, 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  loyalty  of 
his  subjects.  On  the  evening  of  the  new 
moon  lie  clothes  himself  in  his  priestly 
garb,  i.  e.  a  quantity  of  feathers  nodding 
over  his  forehead,  and  fastened  with  a  kind 
of  strap  of  beads.  A  huge  white  beard 
covers  his  chin  and  descends  to  his  breast, 
and  is  fastened  to  his  face  by  a  belt  of  beads. 
Having  thus  prepared  himself,  he  sits  be- 
hind a  screen,  and  waits  for  the  ceremony 
to  begin. 

This  is  a  very  curious  one.  Thirty  or 
forty  long  drums  are  ranged  on  the  ground, 
just  like  a  battery  of  so  many  mortars;  on 
their  heads  a  white  cross  is  painted.  The 
drummers  stand  behind  them,  each  with  a 
pair  of  sticks,  and  in  front  is  their  leader, 
who  has  a  pair  of  small  drums  sluug  to  his 
neck.  The  leader  first  raises  his  right  arm, 
and  then  his  left,  the  performers  imitating 
him  with  exact  precision.  He  then  brings 
down  both  sticks  on  the  drums  with  a  rajiid 
roll,  which  becomes  louder  and  louder,  until 
the  noise  is  scarcely  endurable.  This  is 
continued  at  intervals  for  several  hours, 
interspersed  with  performances  on  smaller 
drums,  and  other  musical  instruments.  The 
various  chiefs  and  officers  next  advance,  in 
succession,  leaping  and  gesticulating,  shout- 
ing expressions  of  devotion  to  their  sover- 
eign, and  invoking  his  vengeance  on  them 
should  they  ever  fiiil  in  their  loyalty.  As 
they  finish  their  salutation  they  kneel  suc- 
cessively before  the  king,  and  hold  out  their 
knobbed  sticks  that  he  may  touch  them,  and 
then  retire  to  make  room  for  their  succes- 
sors in  the  ceremony.  In  order  to  give 
added  force  to  the  whole  proceeding,  a  horn 
is  stuft'ed  full  of  magic  powder,  and  jilaced 
in  the  centre,  with  its  ojiening  directed 
toward  the  quarter  from  which  danger  is  to 
be  feared. 

A  younger  brother"  of  Rumanika,  named 
M'nanagee,  was  even  a  greater  prophet  and 
diviner  than  his  royal  brother,  and  was 
greatly  respected  by  the  Wahuma  in  conse- 
quence of  his  supernatural  ]iowers.  He  had 
a  sacred  stone  on  a  hill,  and  might  )>c  seen 
daily  walking  to  the  s]iot  for  the  [-.urjiose  of 
divination.  He  had  also  a  number  of  ele- 
phant tusks  which  he  had  stuffed  witli 
magic  powder  and  placed  in  the  enclosure, 
for  the  purpose  of  a  kind  of  religious  wor- 
ship. 

M'nanagee  was  a  tall  and  stately  person- 
age, skilled  in  the  knowledge  of  plants,  and. 


402 


KARAGUE. 


strange  to  say,  ready  to  impart  his  knowl- 
edge. As  insignia  of  his  priestly  office,  he 
wore  an  abundance  of  charms.  One  charm 
was  fastened  to  the  back  of  his  shaven  head, 
others  hung  from  hi.s  neck  and  arms,  while 
some  were  tied  to  his  knees,  and  even  the 
end  of  his  walking  stick  contained  a  charm. 
He  was  ahvaj's  attended  by  his  page,  a  little 
fat  boy,  who  carried  his  fly-flajiper,  and  his 
master's  pipe,  the  latter  being  of  considera- 
ble length,  and  having  a  bowl  of  enormous 
size.  He  had  a  full  belief  in  the  power  of 
his  magic  horns,  and  consulted  them  on 
almost  every  occasion  of  life.  If  any  one 
were  ill,  he  asked  their  opinion  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  malady  and  the  best  remedy 
for  it.  If  he  felt  curious  about  a  friend  at  a 
distance,  the  magic  horns  gave  him  tidings 
of  the  absent  one.  If  an  attack  were  intended 
on  the  country,  the  horns  gave  him  warning 
of  it,  and,  when  rightly  invoked,  they  either 
averted  the  threatened  attack,  or  gave  vic- 
tory over  their  enemies. 

The  people  have  an  implicit  faith  in  the 
power  of  their  charms,  and  believe  that  they 
not  only  inspire  courage,  but  render  the 
person  invulnerable.  Ilumanika's  head  ma- 
gician, K'yengo,  told  Captain  Speke  that  the 
Watuta  tribes  had  invested  his  village  for  six 
months;  and.  when  all  the  cattle  and  other 
provisions  were  eaten,  they  took  the  vd- 
lage  and  killed  all  the  inhabitants  except 
himself  Ilim  they  could  not  kill  on  account 
of  the  power  of  his  charms,  and,  although 
they  struck  at  him  with  their  spears  as  he 
lay  on  the  ground,  they  could  not  even 
wound  him. 

The  Wahuma  believe  in  the  constant 
presence  of  departed  souls,  and  that  they 
can  exercise  an  influence  for  good  or  evil 
over  those  whom  they  had  known  in  life. 
So,  if  a  field  happens  to  be  blighted,  or  the 
crop  does  not  look  favorable,  a  gourd  is  laid 
on  the  path.  All  passengers  who  .see  the 
gourd  know  its  meaning,  and  set  up  a  wail- 
ing cry  to  the  spirits  to  give  a  good  crop  to 
their  surviving  friends.  In  order  to  propitiate 
the  spirit  of  his  father,  Dagara,  Rumanika 
used  annually  to  sacrifice  a  cow  on  his  tomb, 
and  was  accustomed  to  lay  corn  and  beer  near 
the  grave,  as  offerings  to"  his  father's  spirit. 

In  Karague,  marriage  is  little  more  than 
a  species  of  barter,  the  father  receiving 
cows,  sheep,  slaves,  and  other  property  for 
his  daughter.  But  the  transaction  is  not  a 
final  one,  for  if  the  bride  does  not  happen  to 
approve  of  her  husband,  she  can  return  the 
marriage  gifts  and  return  to  her  father. 
There  is  but  little  ceremony  in  their  mar- 
riages, the  principal  one  seeming  to  consist 
of  tying  up  the  bride  in  a  blackened  skin, 
and  carrying  her  in  noisy  procession  to  her 
husband. 

The  Wahnma  women  lead  an  easy  life 
compared  with  that  of  the  South  African 
women,  and  indeed  their  chief  object  in  life 
seems  to  be  the  attainment  of  corpulence. 


Either  the  Wahuma  women  are  specially 
constituted,  or  the  food  which  they  eat  is 
exceptionally  nutritiou.s,  for  they  attain 
dimensions  that  are  almost  incredible.  For 
example,  Rumanika,  though  himself  a  slight 
and  well-shaped  man,  had  five  wives  of 
enormous  fatness.  Three  of  fheiu  were 
unable  to  enter  the  door  of  an  ordinaiT  hut, 
or  to  move  about  \vithout  being  supported  by 
a  person  on  either  side.  They  arc  fed  on 
boiled  plantains  and  milk,  and  consume  vast 
quantities  of  the  latter  article,  eating  it  all 
day  long.  Indeed,  they  are  fattened  as  sys- 
tematically as  turkej's,  and  are  "  crammed  " 
with  an  equal  disregard  of  their  feelings. 

Captain  Sjjeke  gives  a  very  humorous  ac- 
count of  his  interview  with  one  of  the  women 
of  rank,  together  with  the  measurements 
which  she  permitted  him  to  take :  — 

"  After  a  long  and  amusing  conversation 
with  Rumanika  in  the  morning,  I  called  on 
one  of  his  sisters-in-law,  married  to  an  elder 
brother,  who  was  born  before  Dagara  as- 
cended the  throne.  She  was  another  of 
these  victims  of  obesity,  unable  to  stand 
except  on  all  fours.  I  was  desirous  to 
obtain  a  good  view  of  her,  and  actually  to 
measure  her,  and  induced  her  to  give  me 
facilities  for  doing  so  by  oflering  in  return  to 
show  her  a  bit  of  my  naked  legs  and  arms. 
The  bait  took  as  I  wished  it,  and,  after  get- 
ting her  to  sidle  and  wriggle  into  the  mid- 
dle of  the  hut,  I  did  as  I  had  promised,  and 
then  took  her  dimensions  as  noted. 

"  Round  arm,  one  foot  eleven  inches. 
Chest,  four  feet  four  inches.  Thigh,  two 
feet  seven  inches.  Calf,  one  foot  eight 
inches.  Height,  five  feet  eight  inches.  All 
of  these  are  exact  except  the  height,  and  I 
believe  I  could  have  obtained  this  more 
accurately  if  I  could  have  had  her  laid  on 
the  floor.  But,  knowing  what  dilticulties  I 
should  have  to  contend  with  in  such  a  piece 
of  engineering,  I  tried  to  get  her  height  by 
raising  her  up.  This,  after  infinite  exer- 
tions on  the  part  of  us  both,  was  accom- 
plished, when  she  sank  down  again  fainting, 
for  the  blood  had  rushed  into  her  head. 

"Meanwhile  the  daughter,  a  lass  of  six- 
teen, sat  stark  naked  before  us,  sucking  at  a 
milk-pot,  on  which  the  fiifher  kept  her  at 
work  by  holding  a  rod  in  his  hand;  for,  as 
fattening  is  the  first  duty  of  fashionable 
female  life,  it  must  be  duly  enforced  with 
the  rod  if  necessary.  I  got  up  a  bit  of  a 
flirtation  with  missy,  and  induced  her  to  rise 
and  shake  hands  with  me.  Her  features 
were  lovely,  but  her  body  was  as  round  as  a 
ball." 

In  one  part  of  the  country,  the  women 
turned  their  obesity  to  good  account.  In 
exchanging  food  for  beads,  the  usual  bar- 
gain was  Ihat  a  certain  quantity  of  food 
should  be  paid  for  by  a  belt  of  beads  that 
would  go  round  the  waist.  But  the  women 
of  Karague  were,  on  an  average,  twice  as 
large  round  the  waist  as  those  of  other  dis- 


EUMANIKA'S   PKIVATE  BAND. 
(See  page  405.) 


(404) 


RUMANIKA'S   PRIVATE   BAND. 


405 


fricts,  and  the  natural  consequence  was,  that 
tbod  practically  rose  one  hundred  per  cent 
in  price. 

Despite  their  exceeding  fatness,  their  fea- 
tures retain  much  beauty,  the  face  being 
oval,  and  the  eyes  peculiarly  tine  and  iutel- 
ligout.  The  higher  class  of  women  are  very 
modest,  not  only  wearing  the  cow-skin  petti- 
coat, but  also  a  large  wrapper  of  black  cloth, 
with  which  they  envelope  their  whole 
bodies,  merely  allowing  one  eye  to  be  seen. 
Yet  u]i  to  the  marriageable  age  no  clothing 
of  any  kind  is  worn  by  either  sex,  and  both 
boys  and  girls  will  come  up  to  the  traveller 
and  talk  familiarly  with  liim,  as  unconscious 
of  nudity  as  tlieir  first  parents.  Until  they 
are  married  they  allow  their  hair  to  grow, 
and  then  shave  it  off,  sometimes  entirely, 
and  sometimes  partially.  They  have  an  odd 
habit  of  making  caps  of  cane,  which  they 
cover  on  the  outside  with  the  woolly  hair 
shaved  off  their  own  heads. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  various  musi- 
cal instruments  used  in  Karague.  The 
most  important  are  the  drums,  which  vary 
in  size  as  much  as  they  do  in  England. 
That  which  corresponds  to  our  side-drum  is 
about  four  feet  in  length  and  one  in  width, 
and  is  covered  at  the  wide  end  with  an 
ichneumon  skin.  This  instrument  is  slung 
from  the  shoulder,  and  is  played  with  the 
fingers  like  the  Indian  "  tom-tom."  The 
large  drums  used  at  the  new-moon  levee  are 
of  similar  structure,  but  very  much  larger. 
The  war  drum  is  beaten  )jy  the  women,  and 
at  its  sound  the  men  rush  to  arms  and  repair 
to  the  several  quarters. 

There  are  also  several  stringed  instruments 
employed  in  Karague.  The  principal  of 
these  is  the  nanga,  a  kind  of  guitar,  which, 
according  to  Captain  Grant,  may  be  called 
the  national  instrument.  There  are  several 
varieties  of  the  nanga.  "  In  one  of  these, 
played  by  an  old  woman,  six  of  the  seven 
notes  were  a  perfect  scale,  the  seventh  being 
the  only  faulty  string.  In  another,  played 
by  a  man,  three  strings  were  a  full  harmoni- 
ous chord.  These  facts  show  that  the  peo- 
ple are  capable  of  cultivation.  The  nanga 
was  formed  of  heavy  dark  wood,  the  shape 
of  a  tray,  twenty-two  by  nine  inches,  or 
thirty  by  eight,  with  three  crosses  in  the 
bottom,  and  laced  with  one  string  seven  or 
eight  times  over  bridges  at  either  end. 
Sometimes  a  gourd  or  sounding-board  was 
tied  to  the  back. 

"Prince  M'nanagee,  at  my  request,  sent 
the  best  player  he  knew.  The  man  boldly 
entered  without  introduction,  dressed  in  the 
usual  Wanyambo  costume,  and  looked  a 
wild,  excited  creature.  After  resting  his 
spear  against  the  roof  of  the  hut,  he  took  a 
nanga  from  under  his  arm,  and  commenced. 
As  he  sat  upon  a  mat  with  his  head  averted, 
he  sang  something  of  his  having  been  sent 
to  me,  and  of  the  favorite  dog  Keeromba. 
The  wild  yet  gentle  music  and  words  at- 


tracted a  crowd  of  admirers,  who  sang  the 
dog-song  for  days  afterward,  as  we  had  it 
encored  several  times. 

"  Another  player  was  an  old  woman,  call- 
ing herself  Keeleeamyagga.  As  she  played 
while  standing  in  front  of  me,  all  the  si.ing 
she  could  protluce  was  '  sh  !  sh  ! '  screwing 
her  mouth,  rolling  her  body,  and  raising 
her  feet  from  the  ground.  It  was  a  misera- 
ble performance,  and  not  repeated." 

There  is  another  stringed  instrument 
called  the  "  zeze."  It  differs  from  the  nan- 
ga in  having  only  one  string,  and,  like  the 
nanga,  is  used  to  accompany  the  voice  in 
singing.  Their  wind  instruments  may  be 
called  the  flageolet  and  the  bugle.  The  for- 
mer has  six  finger  holes  ;  and  as  the  people 
walk  along  with  a  load  on  their  heads,  they 
play  the  flageolet  to  lighten  their  journey, 
and  really  contrive  to  produce  sweet  and 
musical  tones  from  it.  The  so-called  •'  bu- 
gle "  is  made  of  several  pieces  of  gourd, 
fitting  into  one  another  in  telescope  fash- 
ion, and  is  covered  with  cow-skin.  The 
notes  of  a  common  chord  can  be  produced 
on  the  bugle,  the  thumb  acting  as  a  key. 
It  is  about  one  foot  in  length. 

Rumanika  had  a  special  military  band 
comprised  of  sixteen  men,  fourteen  of 
whom  had  bugles  and  the  other  two  carried 
liand  drums.  They  formed  in  three  ranks, 
the  drummers  being  in  the  rear,  and  played 
on  the  march,  swaying  their  bodies  in  time 
to  the  music,  and  the  leader  advancing  with 
a  curiously  active  step,  in  which  he  touched 
the  ground  with  eacli  knee  alternately.  The 
illustration  ojiposite  will  give  the  reader  a 
good  idea  of  Rumanika's  private  band. 

The  code  of  laws  in  Karague  is  rather 
severe  in  some  cases,  and  strangely  mild  in 
others.  For  example,  theft  is  jnmished 
with  the  stocks,  in  which  the  offender  is 
sometimes  kept  for  many  months.  Assault 
with  a  stick  entails  a  fine  of  ten  goats,  but 
if  with  a  deadly  weapon,  the  whole  of  the 
property  is  forfeited,  the  injured  party  tak- 
ing one  half,  and  the  sultan  the  other.  In 
cases  of  actual  murder,  the  culjirit  is  exe- 
cuted, and  his  entire  property  goes  to  the 
relations  of  the  murdered  man.  Tlie  most 
curious  law  is  that  airainst  adultery.  Should 
the  offender  be  an  ordinary  wife,  "the  loss  of 
an  ear  is  thought  to  be  sufficient  penalty  ; 
but  if  she  be  a  slave,  or  the  daughter  of  the 
sultan,  both  parties  are  liable"  to  capital 
punishment. 

When  an  inhabitant  of  Karague  dies,  his 
body  is  disposed  of  according  to  his  rank. 
Should  he  be  one  of  the  peasants,  or  Wan- 
yambo, the  body  is  sunk  in  the  water  ;  but 
if  he  should  belong  to  the  higher  caste,  or 
AVahuma,  the  coipse  is  buried  on  an  island 
in  the  lake,  all  such  islands  being  consid- 
ered as  sacred  ground.  2Srear  the  spot 
whereon  one  of  the  Wahuma  has  died, 
the  relations  place  a  symbolical  mark,  con- 
sisting of  two  sticks,  tied  to  a  stone,  and  laid 


406 


THE   WAZARAMO. 


across  the  pathway.  The  sj'mbol  informs 
the  passenger  that  the  pathway  is  tor  the 
present  sacred,  and  in  consequence  he  turns 


aside,  and  makes  a  detour  before  he  resumes 
the  pathway.  The  singular  funeral  of  the 
sultan  has  already  been  mentioned. 


THE  WAZARAMO  AND  WASAGAEA. 


Before  proceeding  to  other  African  coun- 
tries, it  will  be  as  well  to  give  a  few  lines  to 
two  other  tribes,  namely,  —  the  Wazaramo 
and  the  Wasagara.  The  country  in  which 
the  former  people  live  is  called  Uzaramo, 
and  is  situated  immediately  southward  of 
Zanzibar,  being  the  first  district  through 
which  Captains  Speke  and  Grant  passed. 
It  is  covered  with  villages,  the  houses  of 
which  are  partly  conical  after  the  ordinary 
African  fashion,  and  partly  gal:)le-ended,  ac- 
cording to  the  architecture  of  the  coast,  the 
latter  form  being  probably  due  to  the  many 
traders  who  have  come  from  different  parts 
of  the  world.  The  walls  of  the  houses  arc 
"  wattle  and  daulj,"  i.  e.  hurdle-work  plas- 
tered with  clay,  and  the  roofs  are  thatched 
with  grass  or  reeds.  Over  these  villages 
are  set  headmen,  called  phanzes,  who  or- 
dinarily call  themselves  subjects  of  Said 
Majid,  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar.  But  as  soon 
as  a  caravan  passes  through  their  country, 
each  headman  considers  himself  as  a  sultan 
in  his  own  right,  and  levies  tolls  from  the 
travellers.  They  never  allow  strangers  to 
come  into  their  villages,  differing  in  this 
respect  from  other  tribes,  who  use  their 
towns  as  traps,  into  which  the  unwary  trav- 
eller is  induced  to  come,  and  from  which  he 
does  not  escape  without  sutfering  severely 
in  purse. 

The  people,  although  rather  short  and 
thick-set,  are  good-looking,  and  very  fond 
of  dress,  although  their  costume  is  but  lim- 
ited, consisting  only  of  a  cloth  tied  round 
the  waist.  They  are  very  fond  of  orna- 
ments, such  as  shells,  pieces  of  tin,  and 
beads,  and  rub  their  bodies  with  red  clay 
and  oil  until  they  look  as  if  they  were  new 
cast  in  copper.  Their  hair  is  woolly,  and 
twisted  into  numerous  tufts,  each  of  which 
is  elongated  by  bark  fibres.  The  men  are 
very  attentive  to  the  women,  dressing  their 
hair  for  them,  or  escorting  them  to  the 
water,  lest  any  harm  should  befall  them. 

A  wise  traveller  passes  through  Uzaramo 
as  fast  as  he  can,  the  natives  never  furnish- 
ing guides,  nor  giving  the  least  assistance, 
but  being  always  ready  to  pounce  on  him 
should  he  be  weak,  and  to  rob  him  by  open 
violence,  instead  of  employing  the  more 
refined  "  hongo  "  system.  They  seem  to  be 
a  boisterous  race,  but  are  manageable  by 
mixed  gentleness  and  determination.  Even 
when  tliey  had  drawn  out  their  warriors  in 
battle  array,  and  demanded  in  a  menacing 
manner  a  larger  hongo  than  they  ought  to 
expect.  Captain  Speke  found  that  gentle 
words  would  always  cause  them  to  with- 


draw, and  leave  the  matter  to  peaceful  arbi- 
tration. Should  the}'  come  to  lilows,  they 
are  rather  formidable  enemies,  being  well 
armed  with  spears  and  bows  and  arrows, 
the  latter  being  poisoned,  and  their  weap- 
ons being  always  kept  in  the  same  state  of 
polish  and  neatness  as  their  owners. 

Some  of  these  Phanzes  are  apt  to  be  very 
troublesome  to  the  traveller,  almost  always 
demanding  more  than  they  expect  to  get, 
and  generally  using  threats  as  the  simplest 
means  of  extortion.  One  of  them,  named 
Khombe  la  Simba,  or  Lion's-claw,  was  very 
troublesome,  sending  back  contemptuously 
the  present  that  had  been  given  him,  and 
threatening  the  direst  vengeance  if  his  de- 
mands were  not  complied  with.  Five  miles 
further  inland,  another  Phanze,  named  Mu- 
kia  ya  Nyani,  or  Monkej'"s-tail,  demanded 
another  hongo  ;  but,  as  the  stores  of  the 
expedition  would  have  been  soon  exhausted 
at  this  rate,  Captain  Speke  put  an  abrupt 
stop  to  this  extortion,  giving  the  chiefs  thu 
oiitiou  of  taking  what  he  chose  to  give 
them,  or  fighting  for  it ;  and,  as  he  took 
care  to  display  his  armory  and  the  marks- 
manship of  his  men,  they  thought  it  better 
to  comply  rather  than  fight  and  get  nothing. 
Owing  to  the  rapidity  with  wliich  the 
travellers  passed  through  this  inhospitable 
land,  and  the  necessity  for  avoiding  the 
natives  as  much  as  possible,  very  litUe  was 
learned  of  their  manners  and  customs.  The 
"VVazaramo  would  fiock  round  the  caravan 
for  the  purpose  of  barter,  and  to  inspect  the 
strangers,  but  their  ordinary  life  was  spent 
in  their  villages,  which,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  are  never  entered  by  travellers. 
Nothing  is  known  of  their  religion,  though 
it  is  possible  that  the  many  Mahometans 
who  pass  through  their  land  may  have  in- 
troduced some  traces  of  their  own  religion, 
just  as  is  the  case  in  Londa,  where  the  relig- 
ion is  an  odd  mixture  of  idolatrous,  Mahom- 
etan, and  Christian  rites,  witli  the  meaning 
ingeniously  excluded.  In  fact  they  do  not 
want  to  know  the  meaning  of  the  rites, 
leaving  that  to  the  priests,  and  lieing  per- 
fectly contented  so  long  as  the  witch-doctor 
performs  his  part.  That  the  Wazaramo 
have  at  all  events  a  certain  amount  of  super- 
stition, is  evident  from  the  fact  that  they 
erect  little  model  huts  as  temples  to  the 
Spirit  of  Rain.  Such  a  hut  or  temple  is 
called  Mganga.  They  also  lay  bi-oken  arti- 
cles on  graves,  and  occasionally  carve  rude 
wooden  (lolls  and  fix  them  in  the  ground  at 
the  end  of  the  grave ;  but,  as  fiir  as  is  known, 
they  have  no  separate  burying-place. 


THE  WASAGAEA. 


407 


THE  WASAGARA  TRIBE. 


The  second  of  these  tribes,  the  "Wasa- 
GARA,  inhabits  a  large  tract  of  country,  full 
a  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  is  composed 
of  a  great  numl)er  of  inferior  or  sub-tribes. 
Like  other  African  nations,  who  at  one  time 
were  evidently  great  and  powerful,  the  Wa- 
sagara  have  become  feeble  and  compara- 
tively insignificant,  though  still  numerous. 
Being  much  persecuted  by  armed  parties 
from  the  coast,  who  attack  and  carry  them 
oft'  for  slaves,  besides  stealing  what  property 
they  have,  the  Wasagara  have  mostly  taken 
to  the  lofty  conical  mountains  that  form 
such  conspicuous  objects  in  their  country, 
and  there  are  tolerably  safe.  But,  as  they 
are  thus  obliged  to  reside  in  such  limited 
districts,  they  can  do  but  little  in  agricul- 
ture, and  they  are  afraid  to  descend  to  the 
level  ground  in  order  to  take  part  in  the 
system  of  commerce,  which  is  so  largely 
developed  in  this  country.  Their  villages 
are  mostly  built  on  the  hill  spurs,  and  they 
cultivate,  as  far  as  they  can,  the  fertile  land's 
which  lie  between  them.    But  the  continual 


inroads  of  inimical  tribes,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  slave-dealers,  prevent  the  inhabitants 
from  tilling  more  land  than  can  just  supply 
tlieir  wants. 

So  utterly  dispirited  are  they,  that  as  soon 
as  a  caravan  is  seen  by  a  sentry,  warning  is 
given,  and  all  the  population  (lock  to  the 
hill-top,  where  they  scatter  and  hide  them- 
selves so  completely  that  no  slaving  party 
would  waste  its  time  by  trying  to  catch  them. 
Resistance  is  never  even  tliought  of,  and  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  induce  the  Wasagara  to  de- 
scend the  hills  until  the  caravan  has  passed. 
Consequently  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  obtain 
a  AVasagara  as  a  guide  through  his  country. 
If,  however,  the  traveller  does  succeed  in  so 
doing,  he  finds  that  the  man  is  trustworthy, 
lively,  active,  and  altogether  an  amusing 
companion.  The  men  seem  to  be  good  hunt- 
ers, displaying  great  skill  in  discovering 
and  tracking  game.  Owing  to  the  precari- 
ous nature  of  their  lives,  the  Wasagara  have 
but  little  dress,  a  small  strip  of  cloth  round 
the  waist  being  the  ordinary  costume. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


THE  WATUSI  AND    WAGANDA. 


LOCALITY  OP  THE  WATDSI  TRIBE  —  MODE  OF  DKESS  —  A  WATUSI  WOMAJT  —  THEIR  VALUE  AS  HERDS- 
MEN' —  SALUTATION  —  WATUSI  DANCING  —  THE  WAGANDA  —  ROAD  SYSTEM  OF  UGANDA  —  OODE  OF 
ETIQUETTE  —  DISREGARD  OF  HUMAN  LIFE  —  CRUELTY  —  THE  WIFE-WHIP— AN  AFRICAN  BLUE- 
BEARD—  LIFE  IN  THE  PALACE  —  REVIEWING  THE  TROOPS  —  ORIGIN  OF  THE  WAGANDA  TRIBE  — 
KOIERA,   AND  HIS  MODE  OF  GOVERNMENT  ^  SYSTEM  OF  ORGANIZATION  —  THE  LAW  OF  SUCCESSION 

—  M'tESA,  the   PRESENT  KING,  AND  HIS  COURT  —  THE   ROY'AL  PALACE — GENERAL  ARCHITECTURE 
OF  THE   WAGANDA  —  RECEPTION    OF  A  GUEST  —  THE    ROYAL  WALK  —  A  COUNCIL — SUPERSTITIONS 

—  THE  WATER-SPIRIT  AND  HIS  HIGH  PRIEST  —  RELIGION  OF  THE  WAGANDA  —  HUMAN  SACRIFICES 

—  THE  SLAVE-TRADE  —  BURYING  GROUNDS  OF  THE   WAGANDA. 


Theee  is  one  tribe  which,  though  small, 
has  sufficient  individuality  to  deserve  a  brief 
notice.  The  Watusi  are  a  race  of  herds- 
men, who  live  on  either  side  of  the  equator, 
and,  according  to  Captain  Grant,  resemble 
the  Somalis  in  general  appearance.  They 
generally  take  service  in  the  households  of 
wealthy  persons,  and  devote  themselves 
almost  entirely  to  the  care  of  the  cattle. 
They  have  plentiful  and  woolly  hair,  and 
the  men  shave  their  beards  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  crescent-shaped  patcli.  They  have 
an  odd  fiishion  of  staining  their  gums  lilack, 
using  for  the  purpose  a  mixture  of  the  tama- 
rind sead  calcined  and  powdered,  and  then 
mixed  with  a  salt  of  copper.  The  men  carry 
their  weapons  when  walking,  and  seldom 
appear  without  a  bow  and  arrows,  a  tive-feet- 
long  stick  with  a  knob  at  one  end,  and  a 
pipe. 

When  they  meet  a  friend,  they  hold  out 
the  knobbed  end  of  the  stick  to  him;  he 
touches  it,  and  the  demands  of  etiquette  are 
supposed  to  be  fulfilled.  This  knobbed  stick 
is  quite  an  institution  among  the  tribes  that 
have  recently  been  mentioned,  and  a  man 
seems  to  be  quite  unhappy  unless  he  has  in 
his  hand  one  of  these  curious  implements. 
They  are  fond  of  ornament,  and  wear  multi- 
tudinous rings  upon  their  wrists  and  ankles, 
the  latter  being  generally  of  iron  and  the 
former  of  brass. 

They  are  a  fine-looking  race,  and  the 
women  are  equally  remarkable  in  tnis  re- 
spect with  the  men,  —  a  phenomenon  rarely 
seen  in  this  part  of  the  world.    They  are 


tall,  erect,  and  well-featured,  and,  as  a  rule, 
are  decently  clad  in  dressed  cow-skins.  The 
general  appearance  of  the  AVatusi  women 
can  be  gathered  from  Captain  Granfs  de- 
scription. 

"  One  morning,  to  my  surprise,  in  a  wild 
jungle  we  came  upon  cattle,  then  upon  a 
'  bomah'  or  ring  fence,  concealed  by  beauti- 
ful umbrageous  large  trees,  quite  the  place 
for  a  gipsy  camp.  At  the  entry  two  strap- 
ping fellows  met  me  and  invited  my  ap- 
proach. I  mingled  with  the  people,  got 
water  from  them,  and  was  asked,  •  Would  I 
prefer  some  milk  ? '  This  sounded  to  me 
more  civilized  than  I  expected  from  Afri- 
cans, so  I  followed  the  men,  who  led  me  up 
to  a  beautiful  lady-like  creature,  a  Watusi 
woman,  sitting  alone  under  a  ti'ee. 

"  She  received  me  without  any  expression 
of  surprise,  in  the  most  dignified  manner  ; 
and,  after  talking  with  the  men,  rose  smil- 
ing, showing  great  gentleness  in  her  man- 
ner, and  led  me  to  her  hut.  I  had  time  to 
scrutinize  the  interesting  stranger  :  she 
wore  the  usual  Watusi  costume  of  a  cow's 
skin  reversed,  teased  into  a  fringe  with  a 
needle,  colored  brown,  and  wrap])ed  round 
her  body  from  below  the  chest  to  the  ankles. 
Lappets,  showing  zebra-like  stripes  of  many 
colors,  she  wore  as  a  '  turn-over '  round  the 
waist,  and,  except  where  ornamented  on  one 
arm  with  a  highly  iiolished  coil  of  thick 
brass  wire,  twoeqiially  bright  and  massive 
rings  on  the  right  wrist,  and  a  neck  pen- 
dant of  brass  wire,  —  except  these,  and  hel 
becoming  wrapper,  she  was  au  natw-elle. 


(408) 


INTELLIGENCE  AND  TOLITENESS. 


409 


"  I  was  struck  with  her  peculiarly-formed 
head  and  graceful  long  neck  ;  the  beauty  of 
her  tine  eyes,  mouth,  and  nose  ;  the  small 
ness  of  her  hands  and  naked  feet  —  all  were 
faultless;  the  only  bad  feature,  which  is 
considered  one  of  beauty  with  them,  was 
her  large  ears.  The  arms  and  elbows  were 
rounded  oft"  like  an  egg,  the  shoulders  were 
sloping,  and  her  small  breasts  were  those 
of  a  crouching  Venus  —  a  perfect  beauty, 
though  darker  than  a  brunette. 

"  Her  temporary  residence  was  peculiar; 
it  was  formed  of  grass,  was  flat-roofed,  and 
so  low  that  I  could  not  stand  upright  in  it. 
The  tireplace  consisted  of  three  stones; 
milk  vessels  of  wood,  shining  white  from 
scouring,  were  ranged  on  one  side  of  the 
abode.  A  good-looking  woman  sat  rocking 
a  gourd  between  her  knees  in  the  process  of 
churning  butter.  After  the  fair  one  had 
examined  my  skin  and  my  clothes,  I  ex- 
pressed great  regret  that  I  had  no  beads  to 
present  to  her.  '  They  are  not  wanted,'  she 
said;  'sit  down,  drink  this  buttermilk,  and 
here  is  also  some  butter  for  you.'  It  was 
placed  on  a  clean  leaf.  I  shook  hands,  pat- 
ted her  cheek,  and  took  my  leave,  but  some 
beads  were  sent  her,  and  she  paid  me  a  visit, 
bringing  butter  and  buttermilk,  and  asking 
for  more  presents,  which  she  of  course  got, 
and  I  had  the  gratification  to  see  her  eyes 
sparkle  at  the  sight  of  them. 

"  This  was  one  of  the  few  women  I  met 
during  our  whole  journey  that  I  admired. 
None  of  the  belles  in  Usui  could  approach 
her;  but  they  were  of  a  different  caste, 
though  dressing  much  in  the  same  style. 
When  cow's  skins  were  not  worn,  these 
Usui  women  dressed  very  tidily  in  bark 
cloths,  and  had  no  marks  or  cuttings  ob- 
servable on  their  bodies.  Circles  of  hair 
were  often  shaved  oft"  the  crowns  of  their 
heads,  and  their  neck  ornaments  showed 
considerable  taste  in  the  selection  of  the 
beads.  The  most  becoming  were  a  string 
of  the  M'zizama  spheres  of  marble-sized 
white  porcelain,  and  triangular  pieces  of 
shell  rounded  at  the  corners. 

"  An  erect  fair  girl,  daughter  of  a  chief, 
paid  us  a  visit,  accompanied  by  six  maids, 
and  sat  silently  for  half  an  hour.  She  had 
a  spiral  circle  of  wool  shaved  off  the  crown 
of  her  head;  her  only  ornament  was  a  neck- 
lace of  green  beads;  she  wore  the  usual 
wrapper,  and  across  her  shoulders  a  strip 
of  scarlet  cloth  was  thrown;  her  other  fin- 
eries were  probably  left  at  home.  The 
women  of  the  district  generally  had  grace 
and  gentleness  in  their  manner." 

Some  of  the  women  tattoo  themselves  on 
the  shoulders  and  breasts  in  rather  a  curious 
fashion,  producing  a  pattern  that  looks  in 
front  like  point  lace,  and  which  then  passes 
over  the  shoulders  and  comes  on  the  back 
down  to  the  waist,  like  a  pair  of  braces.  A 
band  of  similar  markings  runs  round  the 
waist. 


The  wages  of  the  Watusi  tribe  for  tha 
management  of  the  cattle  are  simple 
enough.  Half  the  milk  is  theirs,  and  as 
a  cow  in  these  regions  is  singularly  defi- 
cient in  milk,  producing  a  bare  pint  per 
diem,  the  herdsmen  have  but  small  reward 
for  their  labor.  They  are  very  clever  at 
managing  the  animals  placed  under  their 
control,  "if  they  have  to  drive  an  unruly 
cow,  they  simply  tie  a  cord  to  the  hock  of 
one  of  the  hind  legs,  and  walk  behind  it 
holding  tlio  end  of  the  cord.  This  very 
simple  process  has  the  efl'ect  of  subduing 
the  cow,  who  yields  as  if  to  a  charm,  and 
walks  quietly  in  whatever  direction  she  is 
told  to  go.  Goats  are  led  by  taking  up  one 
of  the  fore  legs  in  the  hand,  when  it  is 
found  that  the  animal  walks  along  quietly 
on  thi'ee  legs;  the  temporary  deprivation 
of  the  fourth  limb  being  no  particular  im- 
pediment. Perhaps  on  account  of  this  mas- 
tery over  the  cattle,  even  the  Wanyamuezi 
look  upon  the  Watusi  with  great  respect. 
Should  members  of  those  tribes  meet,  the 
Weezee  presses  the  palms  of  his  hands  to- 
gether, and  the  Watusi  gently  clasps  them 
in  his  own,  muttering  at  the  same  time  a 
few  words  in  a  low  tone  of  voice.  If  a 
Watusi  man  meets  a  woman  of  the  same 
tribe,  she  allows  her  arms  to  f^ill  by  her  side, 
and  he  gently  presses  her  arms  "below  the 
shoulders.  For  an  illustration  of  this  mode 
of  salutation,  see  the  engraving  No.  2  on 
page  397. 

They  are  an  industrious  people,  and  make 
baskets  with  considerable  skill,  using  a 
sharp-pointed  spear,  and  doing  nearly  as 
much  of  the  work  with  their  feet  as  with 
their  hands.  They  also  work  in  metals, 
and  have  a  kind  of  bellows  made  of  wood, 
with  cane  handles,  —  very  small,  but  effi- 
cient enough  for  the  purpose.  The  dances 
with  whicii  the  Watusi  amuse  themselves 
in  the  evening  are  as  simple  and  peaceful 
as  the  dancers,  and  women  take  equal  part 
with  the  men  in  them.  They  array  them- 
selves in  a  circle,  singing,  and  clapping 
hands  in  time.  Presently  a  woman  passes 
into  the  ring,  dances  alone,  and  then,  mak- 
ing a  graceful  obeisance  to  some  favorite  in 
the  ring,  she  retires  backward  to  her  place. 
A  young  man  then  comes  forward,  goes 
through  "a  number  of  evolutions,  bows  to 
one  of  the  girls,  and  then  makes  way  for 
a  successor. 

Captain  Grant  always  speaks  in  the  high- 
est terms  of  the  Watusi,  whom  he  desig- 
nates as  his  favorite  race.  He  slates  that 
they  never  will  permit  themselves  to  be 
sold  into  slavery,  but  prefer  death  to  such 
dishonor.  This  people  are  always  distin- 
guishable by  their  intelligence  and  the  easy 
politeness  of  their  manners.  They  are  also 
remarkable  for  their  neatness  and  personal 
cleanliness,  in  which  they  present  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  neighboring  tribes. 


410 


THE  WAGANDA. 


THE  WAGANDA  TRIBE. 


Passing  still  northwanl,  ami  keeping  to 
the  westward  of  the  Victoria  N'jauza,  wo 
come  to  the  Uoajnda  district,  the  iuhabit- 
aiiis  of  wliich  are  named  Waganda. 

This  country  is  situated  on  the  equator, 
and  is  a  much  more  pleasant  land  than 
might  be  supposed  from  its  geographical 
position,  being  fertile,  and  covered  with 
vegetation.  It  is  a  peculiarly  pleasant  laud 
for  a  traveller,  as  it  is  covered  with  roads, 
which  are  not  only  broad  and  Arm,  but  are 
cut  almost  in  a  straight  line  from  one  point 
to  another.  Uganda  seems  to  be  unique  in 
the  matter  of  roads,  the  like  of  which  are 
not  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  Africa,  except 
those  districts  wliich  are  held  by  Europeans. 
The  roads  are  wide  enough  for  carriages,  ))ut 
far  too  steep  in  places  for  any  wheeled  con- 
veyance; but  as  the  Waganda  do  not  use 
carriages  of  any  kind,  the  roads  are  amply 
sufficient  for  their  purposes.  Tbe  Waganda 
have  even  built  bridges  across  swamps  and 
rivers,  but  their  knowledge  of  engineering 
has  not  enabled  them  to  build  a  bridge  that 
would  not  decay  in  a  few  years. 

Like  many  other  tribes  which  bear,  but  do 
not  deserve,  the  name  of  savages,  the  Wa- 
ganda possess  a  curiously  strict  code  of  eti- 
quette, which  is  so  stringent  on  some  points 
that  an  oftender  against  it  is  likely  to  lose 
his  life,  and  is  sure  to  incur  a  severe  penalty. 
If,  for  example,  a  man  appears  before  the 
king  with  his  dress  tied  careles.sly,  or  if  he 
makes  a  mistake  in  the  mode  of  saluting, 
or  if,  in  squatting  before  his  sovereign,  he 
allows  the  least  portion  of  his  limbs  to  be 
visible,  he  is  led  oft"  to  instant  execution. 
As  the  fatal  sign  is  given,  the  victim  is  seized 
by  the  royal  pages,  who  wear  a  rope  turban 
round  their  heads,  and  at  the  same  moment 
all  the  drums  and  other  instruments  strike 
up,  to  drown  his  cries  for  mercy.  He  is 
rapidly  bound  with  the  ropes  snatched 
hastily  from  the  heads  of  the  pages,  dragged 
off,  and  put  to  death,  no  one  daring  to  take 
the  least  notice  while  the  tragedy  is  being 
enacted. 

They  have  also  a  code  of  sumptuary  laws 
which  is  enforced  witli  the  greatest  severity. 
The  skin  of  the  serval,  a  kind  of  leopard  cat, 
for  example,  may  only  be  worn  by  those  of 
royal  descent.  Once  Captain  Speke  was  vis- 
ited by  a  very  agreealsle  yoiuig  man,  who 
evidently  intended  to  strike  awe  into  the 
white  man,  and  wore  round  his  neck  the 
serval-skin  emblem  of  royal  birth.  The 
attempted  deception,  however,  recoiled  upon 
its  autlior,  who  sutt'ered  the  fate  of  the  daw 
with  the  borrowed  plumes.  An  otiicer  of 
rank  detected  the  imposture,  had  the  young 
man  seized,  and  challenged  him  to'  .show 
proofs  of  his  right  to  wear  the  emblem  of 
royalty.  As  lie  failed  to  do  so,  he  was 
threatened  with  being  brought  before  the 


king,  and  so  compounded  with  the  chief  for 
a  tine  of  a  hundred  cows. 

Heavy  as  the  penalty  was,  the  young  man 
showed  his  wisdom  by  acceding  to  it;  for 
if  he  had  Ijeen  Iwought  before  the  king,  he 
would  assuredly  have  lost  his  life,  and  prob- 
ably have  been  slowly  tortured  to  death. 
One  ]iuuishment  to  which  M"te.sa,  the  king 
of  Uganda,  seems  to  have  been  rather  par- 
tial, was  (be  gradual  di.smeniberment  of  the 
criminal  for  the  sake  of  feeding  his  pet  vul- 
tures; and  although  on  some  occasions  he 
orders  them  to  be  killed  before  they  are  dis- 
membered, he  sometimes  omits  that  precau- 
tion, and  the  wretched  beings  are  slowly 
cut  to  pieces  with  grass  blades,  as  it  is 
against  etiquette  to  use  knives  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

The  king  alone  has  the  privilege  of  wear- 
ing a  cock's-comb  of  hair  on  the  top  of  his 
head,  the  remainder  being  shaved  oft'.  This 
privilege  is  sometimes  extended  to  a  favorite 
queen  or  two,  so  that  actual  royalty  may  be 
at  once  recognized.  Even  the  mode  of  sit- 
ting is  carefully  regulated.  Only  the  king 
is  allowed  to  sit  on  a  chair,  all  his  subjects 
being  forced  to  place  themselves  on  the 
ground.  When  Captains  Speke  and  Grant 
visited  Uganda,  there  was  a  constant  strug- 
gle on  this  point,  the  travellers  insisting  on 
sitting  in  their  arm-chairs,  and  the  king 
wanting  them  to  sit  on  the  ground.  On  one 
occasion,  when  walking  with  M'tesa  and  his 
.suite,  a  halt  was  ordered,  and  Captain  Speke 
looked  about  for  something  to  sit  upon. 
The  king,  seeing  this,  and  being  determined 
not  to  be  outdone,  called  a  page,  made  him 
kneel  on  all  fours,  and  then  sat  on  his  back. 
The  controversy  at  last  ended  in  a  com- 
promise, the  travellers  abandoning  their 
chairs  in  the  king's  presence,  but  sitting"  on 
bundles  of  grass  which  were  quite  as  high. 

When  aniuferior  presents  any  article  to 
his  superior,  he  alwaj'S  pats  and  rubs  it 
with  his  hands,  and  then  strokes  with  it  each 
side  of  his  face.  This  is  done  in  order  to 
show  that  no  witchcraft  has  been  practised 
with  it,  as  in  such  a  case  the  intended  evil 
would  recoil  on  the  donor.  This  ceremony 
is  well  enough  when  employed  with  articles 
of  use  or  apparel;  but  when  meat,  plantains, 
or  other  articles  of  food  are  rulibed  with  the 
dirty  hands  and  well-greased  face  of  the 
donor,  the  recipient,  if  he  should  happen  to 
be  a  white  man,  would  be  only  too  happy 
to  dispense  with  the  ceremony,  and  run  his 
risk  of  witchcraft. 

The  ofticers  of  the  court  are  required  to 
shave  oft'  all  their  hair  except  a  single  cock- 
ade at  the  back  of  the  head,  while  the  pages 
are  distinguished  by  two  cockades,  one  over 
each  temple,  so  that,  even  if  they  happen  to 
be  without  their  rope  turlmns,  their  rank 
and  authority  are  at  once  indicated.     When 


AKREST  OF  THE  QUEEN. 
(See  pa^e  413.) 


(412) 


AFKICAN  BLUEBEARD. 


413 


the  king  sends  the  pages  on  a  message,  a 
most  picturesque  siglit  is  presented.  All 
the  commands  of  the  king  have  to  be  done 
at  full  speed,  and  when  ten  or  a  dozen  pages 
start  ott"  in  a  body,  their  dresses  streaming 
in  the  air  behind  them,  each  striving  to  out- 
run the  other,  they  look  at  a  distance  like  a 
flight  of  Ijirds  rather  than  human  beings. 

Here,  as  in  many  other  countries,  human 
life,  that  of  the  king  excepted,  is  not  of  the 
least  value.  On  one  occasion  Captain  Speke 
had  given  M'tesa  a  new  rifle,  with  which  he 
was  much  pleased.  After  examining  it  for 
some  time,  he  loaded  it,  handed  it  to  one  of 
his  pages,  and  told  him  to  go  and  shoot  some- 
body in  tlie  outer  court.  The  page,  a  mere 
boy',  took  the  rifle,  went  into  the  court,  and 
in  a  moment  the  report  of  the  rifle  showed 
that  the  king's  orders  had  been  obeyed. 
The  urchin  cami;  back  grinning  with  delight 
at  the  feat  which  he  had  achieved,  just  like 
a  schoolboy  who  has  shot  his  first  sparrow, 
and  handed  back  the  rifle  to  his  master.  As 
to  the  unfortunate  man  who  was  fated  to  be 
the  target,  nothing  was  heard  about  him, 
the  murder  of  a  man  being  ftir  too  coixnnou 
an  incident  to  attract  notice. 

On  one  occasion,  when  M'tesa  and  his 
wives  were  on  a  pleasure  excursion,  one 
of  the  favorites,  a  singularly  good-looking 
woman,  plucked  a  fruit,  and  offered  it  to  the 
king,  evidently  intending  to  please  him. 
Instead  of  taking  it  as  intended,  he  flew  into 
a  violent  passion,  declared  that  it  was  the 
first  time  that  a  woman  had  ever  dared  to 
offer  him  anything,  and  ordered  the  pages 
to  lead  her  off  to  execution.  "  These  words 
were  no  sooner  uttered  Ijy  the  king  than  the 
whole  bevy  of  pages  slipped  their  cord  tur- 
bans from  their  heads,  and  rushed  like  a 
pack  of  Cupid  beagles  upon  the  fairy  queen, 
^vho,  indignant  at  the  little  urchins  daring 
to  touch  her  majesty,  remonstrated  with  the 
king,  and  tried  to  beat  them  ott"  like  flies,  but 
was  soon  captured,  overcome,  and  dragged 
awa)',  crying  in  the  names  of  the  Kanira- 
viona  .and  MVungu  (myself  [J.  e.  Captain 
Speke])  for  help  and  protection,  whilst  Lu- 
buga,  the  pet  sister,  and  all  the  other  women 
clasped  the  king  by  his  legs,  and,  kneeling, 
implored  forgiveness  for  their  sister.  The 
more  they  craved  for  mercy,  the  more  bru- 
tal he  became,  till  at  last  he  took  a  heavy 
stick  and  began  to  belal)or  the  poor  victim 
on  the  head.  The  artist  has  represented  this 
scene  in  the  engraving  on  previous  page. 

"  Hitherto  I  had  been  extremely  careful 
not  to  interfere  with  any  of  the  king's  acts  of 
arbitrary  cruelty,  knowing  that  such  inter- 
ference at  an  early  stage  would  ja-oduce 
more  harm  than  good.  This  last  act  of  bar- 
l)arism,  however,  was  too  much  for  my  Eng- 
lish blood  to  stand;  and  as  I  heard  my  name, 
M'zungu,  imploringly  pronounced,  I  rushed 
at  the  king,  and,  staying  his  uplifted  arm, 
demanded  from  him  the  woman's  life.  Of 
course  I  ran  imminent  risk  of  losing  my  own 


in  thus  thwarting  the  capricious  tyrant,  but 
his  cajn'ice  proved  the  friena  of  both.  The 
novelty  of  interference  made  him  smile,  and 
the  woman  was  instantly  released."' 

On  another  occasion,  when  M"tesa  had 
been  out  shooting.  Captain  Grrant  asked  what 
sport  he  had  enjoyed.  The  unexpected 
answer  was  that  game  had  been  very  scarce, 
but  that  he  had  shot  a  good  many  men  in- 
stead. Beside  the  pages  who  have  been 
mentioned,  there  were  sevei'al  executioners, 
who  were  pleasant  and  agreeable  men  in 
private  life,  and  held  in  great  respect  by  the 
])eoi)le.  They  were  supposed  to  be  in  com- 
mand of  the  pages  who  bound  with  their 
rope  turbans  the  unfortunates  who  were  to 
surt'er,  and  mostly  inflicted  the  punishment 
itself. 

This  particular  king  seems  to  have  been 
rather  exceptionally  cruel,  his  very  wives 
being  subject  to  the  same  capriciousness  of 
temper  as' the  rest  of  his  subjects.  Of  course 
he  beat  them  occasionally,  but  as  wife  beat- 
ing is  the  ordinary  custom  in  Uganda,  he 
was  only  following  the  ordinary  habits  of 
the  people. 

There  is  a  peculiar  whip  made  for  the 
special  purpose  of  beating  wives.  It  is 
formed  of  a  long  strip  of  hippotamus  hide, 
split  down  the  middle  to  within  three  or 
four  inches  of  the  end.  The  entire  end  is 
beaten  and  scraped  until  it  is  reduced  in 
size  to  the  proper  dimensions  of  a  handle. 
The  two  remaining  thongs  are  suffered  to 
remain  square,  Ijut  are  twisted  in  a  screw-like 
fashion,  so  as  to  present  sharp  edges  through- 
out their  whole  length.  "When  di-y,  this  whip 
is  nearly  as  hard  as  iron,  and  scarcely  less 
heavy,  so  that  at  every  blow  the  sharp 
edges  cut  deeply  into  the  flesh.  "Wife  flog- 
ging, however,  was  not  all;  he  was  in  the 
iiabit  of  killing  his  wives  and  their  attend- 
ants without  the  least  remorse.  "While  Cap- 
tain Speke  was  residing  within  the  limits 
of  the  palace,  there  was  scarcely  a  day 
when  some  woman  was  not  led  to  execution, 
and  some  days  three  or  four  were  mur- 
dered. Mostly  they  were  female  attendants 
of  the  queens,  but  frequently  the  royal  pages 
dragged  out  a  woman  whose  single  cockade 
on  the  top  of  her  head  announced  her  as 
one  of  the  king's  wives. 

M'tesa,  in  fact,  was  a  complete  African 
Bluebeard,  continually  marrying  and  kill- 
ing, the  brides,  however,  exceeding  the  vic- 
tims in  number.  Royal  marriage  is  a  very 
simple  business  in  Uganda.  Parents  who 
have  ofl'ended  their  king  and  want  to  pacify 
him,  or  who  desire  to  be  looked  on  favor- 
ably by  him,  bring  their  daughters  and  ott'er 
them  as  he  sits  at  the  door  of  liis  house. 
As  is  the  case  with  nil  his  female  attendants, 
they  are  totally  unclothed,  and  stand  l.iefore 
the  king  in  ignorance  of  their  future.  If 
he  accept  them,  he  makes  them  sit  down, 
seats  himself  on  their  knees,  and  embr.aces 
them.    This  is  the  whole  of  the  ceremony, 


414 


THE   WAG-^U»JDA. 


and  as  each  girl  is  thus  accepted,  the  liappj' 
parents  perform  the  curious  salutation  called 
"  n'yauzigging,"  i.  e.  prostrating  themselves 
on  tlie  ground,  floundering  about,  clap- 
ping their  hands,  and  I'jaculating  the  word 
"  n'yans,"  or  thanks,  as  fast  as  they  can 
say  it. 

Twenty  or  thirty  brides  will  sometimes 
be  presented  to  him  in  a  single  morning, 
and  he  will  accept  more  than  lialf  of  them, 
some  of  them  being  afterward  raised  to 
the  rank  of  wives,  wliile  the  others  are 
relegated  to  the  position  of  attendants.  It 
was  rather  remarkable,  that  although  the 
principal  queen  was  most  liljeral  with  these 
attendants,  oflering  plenty  of  them  to  Cap- 
tain Speke  and  his  companions,  not  one  of 
them  would  have  been  permitted  to  marry 
a  native,  as  she  might  have  betra3'ed  the 
secrets  of  the  palace. 

Life  in  the  palace  may  be  honorable 
enough,  but  seems  to  be  anything  but  agree- 
able, excejit  to  the  king.  The  whole  of  the 
court  are  abject  slaves,  and  at  the  mercy  of 
any  momentary  caprice  of  the  merciless, 
thoughtless,  irresponsible  despot.  What- 
ever wish  may  hajipeu  to  enter  the  king's 
head  must  be  executed  at  once,  or  woe  to 
the  delinquent  wlio  fails  to  carry  it  out. 
Restless  and  captious  as  a  spoiled  child,  he 
never  seemed  to  know  exactly  what  he 
wanted,  and  would  issue  simultaneously  the 
most  contradictor}'  orders,  and  then  expect 
them  to  be  obeyed. 

As  for  the  men  who  held  the  honorable 
post  of  his  guards,  they  were  treated  some- 
thing worse  than  dogs — far  worse,  indeed, 
than  M"tesa  treated  his  own  dog.  They 
might  lodge  themselves  as  they  could,  and 
were  simply  fed  by  throwing  great  lumps 
of  beef  and  plantains  among  them.  For 
this  they  scramble  just  like  so  many  dogs, 
scratching  and  tearing  the  morsels  from 
each  other,  and  trying  to  devour  as  much 
as  possible  within  a  given  number  of  seconds. 

The  soldiers  of  M'tesa  were  much  better 
off  than  his  guards,  although  their  posi- 
tion was  not  so  houoral:ile.  They  are  well 
dressed,  and  their  rank  is  distinguished  by 
a  sort  of  uniform,  the  officers  of  royal  birth 
wearing  the  leopard-skin  tippet,  while  those 
of  inferior  rank  are  distinguished  by  colored 
cloths,  and  skin  cloaks  made  of  the  hide  of 
oxen  or  antelopes.  Each  carries  two  spears, 
and  an  oddly-formed  shield,  originally  oval, 
but  cut  into  deep  scallops,  and  having  at 
every  point  a  pendent  tuft  of  hair.  Their 
heads  are  decorated  in  a  most  curious  man- 
ner, some  of  the  men  wearing  a  crescent- 
like ornament,  and  some  tying  round  their 
heads  wreaths  made  of  diflerent  materials, 
to  which  a  horn,  a  bunch  of  beads,  a  dried 
lizard,  or  some  such  ornament,  is  appended. 

Not  deficient  in  personal  courage,  their 
spirits  were  cheered  in  combat  by  the  cer- 
tainty of  reward  or  punishment.  Should 
they  behave  themselves  bravely,  treasures 


would  be  heaped  upon  them,  and  they 
would  receive  from  their  royal  master  plenty 
of  cattle  and  wives.  But  if  they  behaved 
badly,  the  punishment  was  equally  certain 
and  most  terrible.  A  recreant  soldier  was 
not  only  put  to  death,  but  holes  bored  in  his 
body  with  red-hot  irons  until  he  died  from 
sheer  pain  and  exhaustion. 

Now  and  then  the  king  held  a  review.  In 
which  the  valiant  and  the  cowards  obtained 
their  fitting  rewards.  These  reviews  oft'ered 
most  picturesque  scenes.  "  Before  us  was 
a  large  o])en  sward,  with  the  huts  of  the 
queen's  Kamraviona  or  commander-in-chief 
bej-ond.  The  battalion,  consisting  of  what 
might  be  termed  three  companies,  each  con- 
taining two  hundred  men,  being  drawn  up 
on  the  left  extremity  of  the  parade  ground, 
received  orders  to  march  past  in  single  file 
from  the  right  of  companies  at  a  long  trot, 
and  re-fbi-m  again  at  the  end  of  the  square. 

"  Nothing  conceivable  could  be  more  wild 
or  fantastic  than  the  sight  which  ensued; 
the  men  all  nearly  naked,  with  goat  or  cat 
skins  depending  from  their  girdles,  and 
smeared  with  war  colors,  according  to  the 
taste  of  the  individual;  one  half  of  the  body 
red  or  black,  the  other  blue,  not  in  regular 
order;  as,  for  instance,  one  stocking  would 
be  red,  and  the  other  black,  whilst  the 
breeches  above  would  be  the  opposite  colors, 
and  so  with  the  sleeves  and  waistcoat. 
Every  man  carried  the  same  arms,  two 
spears  and  one  shield,  held  as  if  approaching 
an  enemy,  and  they  thus  moved  in  three 
lines  of  single  rank  and  file,  at  fifteen  or 
twenty  paces  asunder,  with  the  same  high 
action  and  elongated  step,  the  ground  leg 
only  being  bent,  to  give  their  strides  the 
greater  force. 

"  After  the  men  had  all  started,  the  cap- 
tains of  companies  followed,  even  more  fan- 
tastically dressed;  and  last  of  all  came  the 
great  Colonel  Congow,  a  perfect  Robinson 
Crusoe,  with  his  long  white-haired  goat- 
skins, a  fiddle-shaped  leather  shield,  tufted 
with  hair  at  all  six  extremities,  bands  of  long 
hair  tied  below  the  knees,  and  a  magnifi- 
cent helmet  covered  with  rich  beads  of  every 
color  in  excellent  taste,  sm-mounted  with 
a  plume  of  crimson  feathers,  in  the  centre 
of  which  rose  a  bent  stem  tufted  with  goat's- 
hair.  Next,  they  charged  in  companies  to 
and  fro,  and  finally  the  senior  officers  came 
charging  at  their  king,  making  violent  pro- 
fessions of  faith  and  honesty,  for  which  they 
were  applauded.  The  parade  then  broke  up, 
and  all  went  home." 

At  these  reviews,  the  king  distributes 
rewards  and  metes  out  his  punishments. 
The  scene  is  equally  stirring  and  terrible. 
As  the  various  officers  come  before  the  kin", 
they  prostrate  themselves  on  the  ground, 
and,  alter  going  through  their  elaborate  sal- 
utation, they  deliver  their  reports  as  to  the 
conduct  of  the  men  under  their  connnand. 
To  some  are  given  various  presents,  with 


KIMERA,  THE  KING. 


415 


which  the}'  go  off  rejoicins;,  after  flounder- 
ing about  on  the  ground  in  tlie  extremity  of 
tlieir  gratitude;  while  others  are  seized  by 
the  ever-offieious  pages,  bound,  and  dragged 
off  to  execution,  theuufortunate  men  strug- 
gling with  their  captors,  fighting,  and  deny- 
ing the  accusation,  until  they  are  out  of 
hearing.  As  soon  as  the  king  thinks  that 
he  has  had  enough  of  the  business,  he  rises 
abruptly,  picks  up  his  spears,  and  goes  off, 
leading  his  dog  with  him. 

The  native  account  of  the  origin  of  the 
"Waganda  kingdom  is  very  curious.  Accord- 
ing "to  them,  the  country  which  is  now  called 
Uganda  was  ])reviously  united  with  Unyoro, 
a  more  northerly  kingdom,  of  which  we 
shall  presently  treat.  Eight  generations 
back  there  came  from  Unyoro  a  hunter 
named  Uganda,  bringing  with  him  a  spear, 
a  shield,  a  woman,  and  a  pack  of  dogs.  He 
began  to  hunt  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  and 
was  so  successful  that  he  was  joined  by  vast 
numbers  of  the  people,  to  whom  he  became 
a  chief. 

Under  his  sway,  the  hitherto  scattered 
people  assumed  the  character  of  a  nation, 
and  began  to  feel  their  strength.  Their 
leading  men  then  held  a  council  on  their 
government,  and  determined  on  making 
Uganda  their  king.  "  For,"  said  they,  "  of 
what  avail  to  us  is  the  king  of  Unyoro? 
He  is  so  far  distant  that,  when  we  .sent  him 
a  cow  as  a  present,  the  cow  had  a  calf,  and 
that  calf  became  a  cow  and  gave  l)irth  to 
another  calf,  and  yet  the  present  has  not 
reached  the  king.  Let  us  have  a  king  of 
our  own."  So  they  induced  Uganda  to  be 
their  king,  changed  his  name  to  Kimera, 
and  assigned  his  former  name  to  the  coun- 
try. 

Kimera,  thus  made  king,  took  his  station 
on  a  stone  and  showed  himself  to  his  new 
suljjects,  having  in  his  hand  his  spears  and 
shield,  and  being  accompanied  by  a  woman 
and  a  dog;  and  in  this  way  all  succeeding 
kings  have  presented  themselves  to  their 
subjects.  All  the  Waganda  are,  in  conse- 
quence, expected  to  keep  at  least  two  spears, 
a  .shield  and  a  dog,  and  the  officers  are  also 
entitled  to  have  drums.  The  king  of  Un- 
yoro heard  of  the  new  monarch,  but  did  not 
trouble  himself  about  a  movement  at  such  a 
distance,  and  so  the  kingdom  of  Uganda 
became  an  acknowledged  reality. 

However,  Kimera  organized  his  people  in 
so  admirable  a  manner,  that  he  became  a 
perfect  terror  to  the  king  of  Unyoro,  and 
caused  him  to  regret  that,  when  Kimera's 
power  was  not  yet  consolidated,  he  had  not 
crushed  him.  Kimera  formed  his  men  into 
soldiers,  drafted  them  into  different  regi- 
ments, drilled  and  organized  them  thor- 
oughly. He  cut  roads  through  his  kingdom, 
traversing  it  in  all  directions.  He  had 
whole  fleets  of  boats  built,  and  threw  bridges 
over  rivers  wherever-  they  interrupted  his 
line  of  road.     He  descended  into  the  minut- 


est particulars  of  domestic  polity,  and  en- 
forced the  strictest  sanitary  system  through- 
out his  country,  not  even  suffering  a  house 
to  be  built  unless  it  possessed  the  means  of 
cleanliness. 

Organization,  indeed,  seems  now  to  be 
implanted  in  the  Waganda  mind.  Even  the 
mere  business  of  taking  bundles  of  wood 
into  the  palace  must  be  done  in  military 
style.  "  After  the  logs  are  carried  a  certain 
distance,  the  men  charge  up  hill  with  walk- 
ing sticks  at  the  slojie,  to  the  sound  of  the 
drum,  shouting  and  chorusing.  On  reach- 
ing their  officer,  they  drop  on  their  knees  to 
salute,  by  saying  repeatedly  in  one  voice  the 
word  '  n'yans '  (thanks).  Then  they  go 
back,  charging  down  hill,  stooping  simulta- 
neously to  pick  up  the  wood,  till  step  by  step, 
it  taking  several  hours,  the  neatly  cut  logs 
are  regularly  stacked  in  the  palace  yards." 

Each  officer  of  a  district  would  seem  to 
have  a  different  mode  of  drill.  The  Wazee- 
wah,  with  long  sticks,  were  remarkal.ily  well- 
disciplined,  shouting  and  marching  all  in 
regular  time,  every  club  going  through  the 
same  movement;  the  most  attractive  part 
of  the  drill  being  when  all  crouched  simul- 
taneously, and  then  advanced  in  open  ranks, 
swinging  their  bodies  to  the  roll  of  their 
drums. 

By  such  means  Kimera  soon  contrived  to 
make  himself  so  powerful  th.at  his  very 
name  was  dreaded  throughout  Unyoro,  into 
which  country  he  was  continually  making 
raids.  If,  for  example,  at  one  of  his  coun- 
cils he  found  that  one  part  of  his  dominions 
was  deficient  in  cattle  or  women,  he  ordered 
one  or  two  of  his  generals  to  take  their 
troops  into  Unyoro,  and  procure  the  neces- 
sary numljer.  In  order  that  he  might 
alwaj'S  have  the  means  of  carrying  his 
ideas  into  effect,  the  officers  of  the  array 
are  expected  to  present  themselves  at  the 
jialace  as  often  as  they  possibly  can,  and,  if 
they  fail  to  do  so,  they  are  severely  pun- 
ished ;  their  rank  is  taken  from  them; 
their  property  confiscated,  and  their  goods, 
their  wives,  and  their  children  are  given  to 
others. 

In  fact,  Kimera  proceeded  on  a  system 
of  reward  and  punishment:  the  former  he 
meted  out  with  a  liberal  hand;  the  latter 
was  certain,  swift,  and  terril)le.  In  process 
of  time  Kimera  died,  and  his  body  was  dried 
by  being  placed  over  an  oven.  When  it  was 
quite  dry,  the  lower  jaw  was  removed  and 
covered  with  beads;  and  this,  together  with 
the  body,  were  placed  in  tombs,  and  guarded 
by  the  deceased  monarch's  favorite  women, 
who  were  prohibited  even  from  seeing  his 
successor. 

After  Kimera's  death,  the  people  pro- 
ceeded to  choose  a  king  from  among  his 
many  children,  called  "  AVarangira,"  or 
princes.  The  king  elect  was  very  young, 
and  was  separated  from  the  others,  who 
were  placed  in  a  suite  of  huts  under  charge 


416 


THE   WAGANDA. 


of  a  keeper.  As  soon  as  the  youns  prinoe 
reached  years  of  discretion,  he  was  publicly 
made  king,  and  at  the  same  time  all  his 
brothers  except  two  were  burned  to  death. 
The  two  were  allowed  to  live  in  case  the 
new  king  should  die  before  he  had  any  sons, 
and  al.so  as  companions  for  him.  As  soon 
as  the  line  of  direct  succession  was  secured, 
one  of  the  brothers  was  banished  into 
Unyoro,  and  the  other  allowed  to  live  in 
Uganda, 

When  Captains  Speke  iind  Grant  ar- 
rived in  Lrganda,  the  reigning  sovereign 
was  M'tesa,  the  seventh  in  succession  from 
Kiniera.  He  was  about  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  and,  although  he  had  not  been  for- 
mally received  as  king,  wielded  a  power  as 
supreme  as  if  he  had  passed  through  this 
ceremony.  He  was  wise  enough  to  keep  up 
the  system  which  had  been  bequeathed  to 
him  by  his  ancestoi-s,  and  the  Uganda  king- 
dom was  even  more  powerful  in  his  time 
than  it  had  been  in  the  days  of  Kimera.  A 
close  acquaintance  proved  that  his  personal 
character  was  not  a  pleasant  one,  as  indeed 
was  likely  ■ivhen  it  is  remembered  that  he 
had  possessed  illimitable  power  ever  since 
he  was  quite  a  boy,  and  in  consequence  had 
never  known  contradiction. 

He  was  a  very  fine-looking  young  man, 
and  possessed  in  perfection  the  love  of 
dress,  which  is  so  notable  a  feature  in  the 
character  of  the  Wagauda.  They  are  so 
fastidious  in  this  respect,  that  for  a  man  to 
appear  untidily  dressed  before  his  superiors 
would  entail  severe  punishment,  while,  if 
he  dared  to  present  himself  before  the  king 
with  the  least  disorder  of  apparel,  imme- 
diate death  would  be  the  result.  Even  the 
royal  pages,  who  rush  about  at  full  speed 
when  performing  their  commissions,  are 
obliged  to  hold  their  skin  cloaks  tightly 
round  them,  lest  any  portion  of  a  naked 
limb  should  present  itself  to  the  royal 
glance. 

The  appearance  of  M'tesa  is  well  de- 
scribed by  Captain  Speke:  —  "A  more  the- 
atrical sight  I  never  saw.  The  king,  a  good- 
looking,  well-firmed  yoiaig  man  of  twent}'- 
five,  was  sitting  upon  a  red  blanket,  spread 
upon  a  square  platform  of  royal  grass, 
encased  in  tiger-grass  reeds,  scrupulously 
dressed  in  a  new  'mbugu  (or  grass-cloth). 
The  hair  of  his  head  was  cut  short,  except 
upon  the  top,  where  it  was  combed  up  into 
a  high  ridge,  running  from  stem  to  stern, 
like  a  cock's  comb.  On  his  neck  was  a  very 
neat  ornament — a  large  ring  of  beautifully- 
worked  small  beads,  forming  elegant  pat- 
terns by  their  various  colors.  On  one  arm 
was  another  bead  ornament,  pi'ettily  de- 
vised, and  on  the  other  a  wooden  charm, 
tied  by  a  string  covered  with  a  snake  skin. 
On  every  finger  and  toe  he  had  alternate 
brass  and  copper  rings,  and  above  the 
ankles,  half-way  up  the  calf,  a  stocking  of 
very  pretty  beads. 


''  Everj-fhing  was  light,  neat,  and  ele- 
gant in  its  way;  not  a  fault  could  be 
found  with  the  taste  of  his  'getting-up.' 
For  a  handkerchief,  he  had  a  well-folded 
piece  of  bark,  and  a  piece  of  gold-embroid- 
ered silk,  which  he  constantly  employed  to 
hide  his  large  mouth  when  laughing,  or 
to  wipe  it  after  a  drink  of  ]ilantain  wine,  of 
which  he  took  constant  and  coiiious  draughts 
from  little  gourd  cups,  administered  bj'  his 
ladies  in  wailing,  who  were  at  once  his  sis- 
ters and  his  wives.  A  white  dog,  spear, 
shield,  and  woman  —  the  Uganda  cogni- 
zance —  were  by  his  side,  as  also  a  host  of 
staff"  officers,  with  whom  he  kept  up  a  brisk 
conversation,  on  one  side;  and  on  the  other 
was  a  band  of  '  Wichwezi,'  or  lady  sorcer- 
ers." 

These  women  are  indispensable  append- 
ages to  the  court,  and  attend  the  king  wher- 
ever he  goes,  their  office  being  to  avert  the 
evil  eye  from  tlieir  monarch,  and  to  pour 
the  plantain  wine  into  the  royal  cups.  They 
are  distinguished  )>}•  wearing  dried  lizards 
on  their  heads,  and  on  their  belts  are  fas- 
tened goat-skin  aprons,  edged  with  little 
bells.  As  emblems  of  their  office,  they 
also  carry  very  small  shields  and  spears, 
ornamented  with  cock-hackles. 

M'tesa's  palace  is  of  enormous  dimen- 
sions, and  almost  deserves  the  name  of  a 
village  or  town.  It  occupies  the  whole  side 
of  a"  hill,  and  consists  of  streets  of  huts 
arranged  as  methodically  as  the  houses  of 
an  European  town,  the  line  being  preserved 
by  fences  of  the  tall  yellow  tiger-grass  of 
Uganda.  There  are  also  squares  and  open 
sjiaces,  and  the  whole  is  kept  in  perfect 
order  and  neatness.  The  inner  courts  are 
entered  by  means  of  gates,  each  gate  being 
kept  by  an  officer,  who  permits  no  one  to 
pass  who  has  not  the  king's  permission.  In 
case  his  vigilance  should  be  evaded,  each 
gate  has  a  bell  fastened  to  it  on  the  inside, 
just  as  they  are  hung  on  shop-doors  in  Eng- 
land. 

In  the  illustration  No.  1,  opposite,  the 
artist  has  select'  d  the  moment  when  the 
visitor  is  introduced  to  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  the  king.  Under  the  shade  of  the 
hut  the  monarch  is  seated  on  his  throne, 
having  on  one  side  the  .spears,  shield,  and 
dog,  and '  on  the  other  the  woman,  these 
bemg  the  accompaniments  of  royalty.  Some 
of  his  pages  are  seated  near  him,  with  their 
cord  turbans  bound  on  their  tufted  heads, 
ready  to  obey  his  slightest  word.  Immc- 
diatelv  in  front  are  some  soldiers  saluting 
him,  and  one  of  them,  to  whom  he  has 
granted  some  favor,  is  floundering  on  the 
ground,  thanking,  or  "  n'yanzigging,"  ac- 
cording to  the  custom  of'  the  place.  On 
the  other  side  is  the  guest,  a  man  of  rank, 
who  is  introduced  bvthe  officer  of  the  gate. 
The  door  itself  with  its  bells,  is  drawn 
aside,  and  over  the  doorway  is  a  rope,  on 
which  are  hung  a    row  of   charms.    The 


(2.)    THE    MAGICIAN    AT   WORK      (See  page  427.) 

(417) 


THE   WATER-SPIRIT. 


419 


king's  private  b.aiid  is  seen  in  tlie  distance, 
pertbrraing  witli  its  customary  vigor. 

The  architecture  of  the  liuts  within  tliese 
enclosures  is  wonderfully  good,  the  Wagauda 
liaving  great  natural  advantages,  and  making 
full  use  of  them.  The  principal  material 
in  their  edifices  is  reed,  which  in  Uganda 
grows  to  a  very  great  height,  and  is  thick 
and  strong  in  the  stem.  Grass  for  thatch- 
ing is  also  found  in  vast  quantities,  and 
there  is  plenty  of  straight  timber  for  the 
rafters.  The  Voof  is  double,  in  order  to 
exclude  the  sunbeams,  and  the  outer  roof 
comes  nearly  to  the  ground  on  all  sides. 
The  fabric  is  upheld  by  a  numl)er  of  poles, 
from  which  are  hung  corn-sacks,  meat,  and 
other  necessaries. 

The  interior  is  separated  into  two  com- 
partments by  a  high  screen  made  of  plan- 
tain leaf,  and  within  the  inner  apartment 
the  cane  bedstead  of  the  owner  is  placed. 
Yet,  with  all  this  care  in  building,  there  is 
only  one  door,  and  no  window  or  chimney; 
and  although  the  Waganda  keep  their  houses 
tolerably  clean,  the  number  of  dogs  which 
they  keep  fill  their  huts  with  fleas,  so  that 
when  a  traveller  takes  pos.session  of  a  house, 
he  generally  has  the  plantain  screen  re- 
moved, and  makes  on  the  floor  as  large  a  Are 
as  possible,  so  as  to  exterminate  the  insect 
inhabitants. 

The  ceremonies  of  receiving  a  royal  guest 
are  as  elaborate  as  the  architecture.  Oifl- 
cers  of  rank  step  forward  to  greet  him, 
while  musicians  are  in  attendance,  playing 
on  the  various  instruments  of  Uganda,  most 
of  them  being  similar  to  those  which  have 
already  been  described.  Even  the  height  of 
tlie  seat  on  which  the  visitor  is  to  place  him- 
self is  rigorously  determined,  tlie  chief  object 
seeming  to  be  to  force  him  to  take  a  seat 
lower  than  that  to  which  he  is  entitled.  In 
presence  of  the  king,  who  sits  on  a  chair  or 
throne,  no  subject  is  allowed  to  be  seated  on 
anything  higher  than  the  ground;  and  if  he 
can  be  induced  to  sit  in  the  blazing  .sun- 
beams, and  wait  until  the  king  is  pleased  to 
see  him,  a  triumph  of  diplomacy  has  been 
secured. 

When  the  king  has  satisfied  himself  with 
his  guest,  or  thinks  that  he  is  tired,  lie  rises 
without  any  warning,  and  marches  oft"  to  his 
room,  using  the  peculiar  gait  aftected  by  the 
kings  of  Uganda,  and  supposed  to  be  imita- 
ted from  the  walk  of  the  lion.  To  the  eyes 
of  the  Waganda,  the  "  lion's  step,"  as  "the 
peculiar  walk  is  termed,  is  very  majestic, 
but  to  the  eyes  of  an  European  it  is  simply 
ludicrous,  the  feet  being  planted  widely 
apart,  and  the  body  swrmg  from  side  to  side 
at  each  step.  If  any  of  my  readers  should 
have  known  Christ's  Hospital,  they  may  re- 
member the  peculiar  style  of  walking  which 
was  termed  "  spadging,"  and  which  used  to 
be,  and  may  be  now,  an  equivalent  to  the 
"  lion-step  "  of  the  Uganda  king. 

After  M'tesa  had  received  his  white  visi- 

21 


tor,  he  suddenly  rose  and  retired  after  the 
royal  custom,  and,  as  etiquette  did  not  per- 
mit him  to  eat  until  he  had  seen  his  visito'-s, 
he  took  the  opportunity  of  breaking  Jus 
fast. 

Round  the  king,  as  he  sits  on  his  grass- 
covered  throne,  are  his  councillors  and  ofH- 
cers,  squatted  on  the  ground,  with  their 
dresses  drawn  tightly  around  them,  and 
partly  seated  on  the  royal  leopard  skins 
which  are  strewed  on  the  ground.  There  is 
also  a  large  drum,  decorated  with  little  Ijells 
strung  on  wire  arches,  and  some  smaller 
drums,  covered  with  beads  and  cowrie  shells, 
worked  into  various  patterns.  Outside  the 
inner  circle  sit  the  ordinary  officers,  and 
while  the  king  is  present  not  a  word  is 
spoken,  lest  he  should  take  oftence  at  it; 
and  not  an  eye  is  lifted,  lest  a  casual  glance 
might  fall  on  one  of  the  king's  women,  and 
be  the  precursor  of  a  cruel  death. 

The  Waganda  are  much  given  to  super- 
stition, and  have  a  most  implicit  faith  in 
charms.  The  king  is  very  rich  in  charms, 
and,  whenever  he  holds  his  court,  has  vast 
numbers  of  them  suspended  behind  him, 
besides  those  which  he  carries  on  his  per- 
son. These  charms  are  made  of  almost 
anything  that  the  magician  chooses  to 
select.  Horns,  filled  with  magic  powder, 
are  perhaps  the  most  common,  and  these 
are  slung  on  the  neck  or  tied  on  the  liead 
if  small,  1ind  kept  in  the  huts  if  large. 

Their  great  object  of  superstitious  dread 
is  a  sort  of  water-spirit,  which  is  supposed 
to  inhabit  the  lake,  and  to  wreak  his  ven- 
geance upon  those  who  disturb  him.  Like 
the  water-spirits  of  the  Rhino,  this  goblin 
has  supreme  jurisdiction,  not  only  on  the 
lake  itself,  but  in  all  rivers  that  communi- 
cate with  it;  and  tlie  people  are  so  afraid  of 
this  aquatic  demon,  that  they  would  not 
allow  a  sounding-line  to  be  thrown  into  the 
water,  lest  perchance  the  weight  should 
happen  to  hit  the  water-spirit  and  enrage 
him.  The  name  of  this  spirit  is  M'gussa, 
and  he  communicates  witli  the  people  by 
means  of  his  own  special  minister  or  priest, 
who  lives  on  an  island,  and  is  held  in  nearly 
as  much  awe  as  his  master. 

M'tesa  once  took  Captain  Speke  with  him 
to  see  the  magician.  He  took  also  a  num- 
ber of  his  wives  and  attendants,  and  it  was 
very  amusing,  when  they  reached  the  boats, 
ta  see  all  the  occupants  jump  into  the  water, 
ducking  their  heads  so  as  to  avoid  seeing 
the  royal  women,  a  stray  glance  being  sure 
to  incur  immediate  death.  They  proceeded 
to  the  island  on  which  the  wizard  lived. 

"  Proceeding  now  through  the  trees  of 
this  beautiful  island,  we  next  turned  into 
the  hut  of  the  M'gussa's  familiar,  which  at 
the  further  end  was  decorated  with  many 
mystic  symbols,  among  them  a  jiaddle,  the 
badge  of  high  office;  and  for  some  time  we 
sat  chatting,  wdien  ponibe  was  brought,  and 
the    spiritual    medium    arrived.     He    was 


420 


THE   WAGANDA. 


dressed  "Wiohwczi  fashion,  with  a  little 
white  goatskin  ajiroii,  adorned  with  various 
charms,  and  used  a  paddle  for  a  walking- 
stick.  He  was  not  an  old  man,  though  he 
affected  to  be  so,  walking  very  slowly  and 
deliberately,  coughing  asthniatically,  glim- 
mering with  hiseyes^and  mumbling  like  a 
witch.  With  much  affected  difficulty  he  sat 
at  the  end  of  the  hut,  beside  the  symbols 
alluded  to,  and  continued  his  coughing  full 
half  an  hour,  when  his  wife  came  in  in  the 
same  manner,  without  saying  a  word,  and 
assumed  the  same  affected  style. 

"  The  king  jokingly  looked  at  me  and 
laughed,  and  then  at  these  strange  crea- 
tures by  turns,  as  much  as  to  say,  '  What 
do  }'ou  think  of  them'?'  but  no  voice  was 
heard,  save  that  of  the  old  wife,  who  croaked 
like  a  frog  for  water,  and,  when  some  was 
brought,  croaked  again  because  it  was  not 
the  purest  of  the  lake's  produce  —  had  the 
first  cup  changed,  wetted  her  lips  with  the 
second,  and  hobbled  away  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  she  had  come." 

On  their  pathways  and  roads,  which  are 
very  numerous  and  well  kept,  they  occa- 
sionally place  a  long  stick  in  the  ground, 
with  a  shell  or  other  charm  on  the  top,  or 
suspend  the  shell  on  the  overhanging  branch 
of  a  tree.  Similar  wands,  on  a  smaller 
scale,  are  kept  in  the  houses,  and  bits  of 
feathers,  rushes,  and  other  articles  are  tied 
behind  the  door.  Snake-skin  is  of  course 
much  used  in  making  these  charms,  and 
a  square  piece  of  this  article  is  hung  round 
the  neck  of  almost  every  man  of  this  coun- 
try. 

The  religion  of  the  Waganda  is  of  course 
one  inspired  by  terror,  and  not  by  love,  the 
object  of  all  their  religious  rites  being  to 
avert  the  auger  of  malignant  spirits.  Every 
new  moon  has  its  own  peculiar  worship, 
which  is  conducted  by  banging  drums,  re- 
plenishing the  magic  horns,  and  other  cere- 
monies too  long  to  describe.  The  most  ter- 
rible of  their  rilies  is  that  of  human  sacrifice, 
which  is  usually  emjiloyed  when  the  king 
desires  to  look  into  the  future. 

The  victim  is  always  a  child,  and  the  sac- 
rifice is  conducted  in  a  most  cruel  manner. 
Having  discovered  by  his  incantations  that 
a  neighbor  is  projecting  war,  the  magician 
flays  a  young  child,  and  lays  the  bleeding 
body  in  the  ]iath  on  which  the  soldiers  pass 
to  battle.  Each  warrior  steps  over  the 
bleeding  body,  and  thereby  is  supposed  to 
procure  immunity  for  himself  in  the  ap- 
proaching battle.  When  the  king  makes 
war,  his  chief  magician  uses  a  still  more 
cruel  mode  of  divination.  He  takes  a  large 
earthen  pot,  half  fills  it  with  water,  and 
then  places  it  over  the  fireplace.  On  the 
mouth  of  the  pot  he  lays  a  small  platform 
of  crossed  stick.s,  and  having  bound  a  young 
child  and  a  fowl,  he  lays  them  on  the  plat- 
form, covering  them  with  another  pot, 
which  he  inverts  over  them.    The  fire  is 


then  lighted,  and  suffered  to  burn  for  a  given 
time,  when  the  upper  pot  is  removed,  and 
the  victims  inspected.  If  they  should  both 
be  dead,  it  is  taken  as  a  sign  that  the  war 
must  be  deferred  for  the  present;  but  if 
either  should  be  alive,  war  may  be  made  at 
once. 

Speaking  of  these  and  other  black  tribes, 
Captain  Speke  very  rightly  observes:  ''  How 
the  negro  has  lived  so  many  ages  without 
ad\'auciug  seems  mai'vellous,  wlien  all  the 
countries  surrounding  Africa  are  so  for- 
ward in  comparison.  And,  judging  from 
the  progressive  state  of  the  world,  one  is  led 
to  suppose  that  the  African  must  soon  either 
step  out  from  his  darkness,  or  be  superseded 
by  a  being  superior  to  himself.  Could  a 
government  be  formed  for  fhem  like  ours  in 
India,  they  would  be  saved,  but  without  it  I 
fear  there  is  very  little  chance.  For  at  pres- 
ent the  African  neither  can  help  himself  nor 
be  heljjed  by  others,  l)ecause  his  country  is 
in  such  a  constant  state  of  turmoil  that  he 
has  too  much  anxiety  on  hand  looking  out 
for  his  food  to  think  of  anything  else. 

"  As  his  fathers  did,  so  does  he.  He  works 
his  wife,  sells  his  children,  enslaves  all  he 
can  lay  hands  on,  and,  unless  when  fighting 
for  the  property  of  others,  contents  himself 
with  drinking,  singing,  and  dancing  like  a 
baboon,  to  drive  dull  care  away.  A  few 
only  make  cotton  cloth,  or  work  in  wool, 
iron,  copper,  or  salt,  their  rule  being  to  do 
as  little  as  possible,  and  to  store  up  nothing 
beyond  the  necessities  of  the  next  season, 
lest  their  chiefs  or  neighbors  should  covet 
and  take  it  from  them." 

The  same  experienced  traveller  then  pro- 
ceeds to  enumerate  the  many  kinds  of  food 
which  the  climate  attbrds  to  any  one  of 
ordinary  industry,  such  as  horned  cattle, 
sheep,  goats,  pigs,  fowls,  ducks,  and  pigeons, 
not  to  mention  the  plantain  and  other  vege- 
taljlo  products,  and  expresses  a  feeling  of 
surprise  that,  with  such  stores  of  food  at  his 
command,  the  black  man  should  be  so  often 
driven  to  feed  on  wild  herbs  and  roots,  dogs, 
cats,  rats,  snakes,  lizards,  insects,  and  other 
similar  animals,  and  should  be  frequently 
found  on  the  point  of  starvation,  and  be 
compelled  to  sell  his  own  children  to  pro- 
cure food.  Moreover,  there  are  elephants, 
rhinoceroses,  hippopotamus,  buffaloes,  gi- 
raffes, antelopes,  guinea-fowls,  and  a  host  of 
other  animals,  which  can  be  easily  cap- 
tured in  traps  or  pitfalls,  so  that  Ihe  native 
African  lives  in  the  midst  of  a  country  which 
produces  food  in  boundless  variety.  The 
reasons  for  such  a  phenomenon  are  simple 
enough,  and  may  be  reduced  to  two, — 
namely,  utter  want  of  foresight  and  consti- 
tutional indolence. 

As  to  the  question  of  slavery,  it  may  per- 
haps be  as  well  to  remark  that  slaves  are 
not  exclusively  sold  to  \vhite  men.  On  the 
contrary,  there  is  no  slave-holder  so  tena- 
cious of  his  acquired  rights  as  the  black  man, 


BUKYING  GEOUKDS  OF  THE  WAGANDA. 


421 


and,  for  every  slave  sold  to  a  white  man, 
ten  are  bouglit  bj'  the  dark  races,  whetlier 
on  the  east  or  west  of  Africa.  And,  when 
a  slave  begins  to  raise  himself  above  a  mere 
menial  rank,  his  first  idea  is  to  buy  slaves 
for  himself  because  they  are  the  articles 
of  merchandise  which  is  most  easily  to  be 
procured,  and  so,  as  Captain  Speke  well 
observes,  slavery  begets  slavery  ad  iiifinitum. 
The  summary  of  Captain  Speke's  experience 
is  valuable.  "  Possessed  of  a  wonderful 
amount  of  loquacity,  great  risibility,  but  no 
stability  —  a  creature  of  impulse  —  a  grown 
child  ill  short  —  at  first  sight  it  seems  won- 
derful how  he  can  be  trained  to  work,  for 
there  is  no  law,  no  home  to  bind  him.  He 
would  run  away  at  any  moment,  and,  pre- 
suming on  this,  he  sins,  expecting  to  be 
forgiven.  Great  forbearance,  occasionally 
tinctured  with  a  little  fatherly  severity,  is,  I 
believe,  the  best  dose  for  him.  For  he  says 
to  his  master,  after  sinning,  'You  ought  to 
forgive  and  to  forget,  for  are  you  not  a  big 
man  who  would  be  above  harboring  spite, 
though  for  a  moment  you  may  be  angry? 
riog  me  if  you  like,  but  do  not  ksej)  count 


against  me,  or  else  I  shall  run  away,  and  what 
will  you  do  then?  " 

The  burying-placos  of  the  "Waganda  are 
rather  elaborate.  Captain  Grant  had  the 
curiosity  to  enter  one  of  them,  and  descril)es 
it  as  follows:  "Two  huts  on  a  height  ap- 
peared devoted  to  the  remains  of  the  dead. 
On  getting  over  the  fence  surrounding 
them,  a  lawn  having  straight  walks  led  up 
to  the  doors,  where  a  screen  of  bark  cloth 
shut  out  the  view  of  the  interior.  Con- 
quering a  feeling  of  delicacy,  I  entered  one 
of  the  huts.  I  found  a  fixed  bedstead  of 
cane,  curtained  as  if  to  shade  its  bed  of 
grass  from  the  mosquito,  spears,  charms, 
sticks  with  strange  crooks,  tree-creepers, 
miniature  idol-huts  of  grass,  &c.  These 
were  laid  in  order  in  the  interior,  but  no  one 
was  there,  and  we  were  told  that  it  was  a 
mausoleum." 

Many  of  such  houses  were  seen  on  the 
hill-sides,  but  few  so  elaborately  built. 
Usually  they  were  little  more  than  square 
patches  of  ground  enclosed  with  a  reed  fence. 
These  were  called  by  the  name  of  "  Looa- 
leh,"  or  •acred  grouiid. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE  "WAJO'ORO. 


CHARACTER  OP  THE  WANTORO  TRIBE  —  DtRTT  H.UilTS  —  MODE  OF  GOVERNJIENT  —  KING  KA3IRASI  — 
HIS  DESPOTIC  CHARACTER  —  HIS  BODY-GUARD  AND  THEIR  PRmLEGES  —  HIS  PERSONAL  APPEAR- 
ANCE—  HIS  GRASPING  SELFISHNESS  —  A  ROYAL  VISIT  —  KAMRASl's  COWARDICE  —  EXECUTION  OP 
CRIMINALS  —  CRUSHING  A  REBELLION — LAWS  OF  SUCCESSION  —  THE  KING'S  SISTERS  —  WANYORO 
SINGING  —  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  —  FOOD  OF  THE  W/\J*YORO  —  CARRYTNG  PROVISIONS  ON  THE 
MARCH  —  USES  OF  THE  PLANTAIN  TREE  —  FRAUDS  IN  TRADE  —  SUPERSTITIONS  —  THE  MAGICIAN  AT 
WORK  —  THE  HORNED  DOG  —  SPADE-MONEY. 


Peoceeding  still  northward,  we  come  to  the 
land  of  Unyoro,  from  which,  as  the  reader 
will  remember,  the  country  of  Uganda  was 
separated.  The  inhabitants  of  Unyoro  form  a 
very  unpleasant  contrast  to  those  of  Uganda, 
being  dirty,  mean-looking,  and  badly  dressed. 
The  country,  too,  is  far  inferior  to  Uganda, 
which  might  be  made  into  a  perpetually 
blooming  garden;  for,  as  the  traveller  leaves 
the  equator  and  passes  to  the  north,  he  finds 
that  the  rains  gradually  decrease,  and  that 
vegetation  first  becomes  thin,  then  stunted, 
and  lastly  disappears  altogether.  The  same 
structure  of  language  prevails  here  as  in 
Uganda,  so  that  the  people  of  Unyoro  are 
called  Wanyoro,  and  a  single  person  is  a 
M'yoro. 

The  character  of  the  Wanyoro  is  quite  on 
a  par  with  their  appearance,  for  they  are  a 
mean,  selfish,  grasping  set  of  people,  sadly 
lacking  the  savage  virtue  of  hospitality,  and 
alwaj's  on  the  lookout  for  ojiportunitics  to 
procure  by  unfair  means  the  property  of 
others.  They  seem,  indeed,  to  be  about  as 
unpleasant  a'nation  as  can  well  be  imagined, 
and  in  almost  every  point  aftbrd  a  strong 
contrast  to  others  which  have  already  been 
described. 

They  are  singularly  dirty  in  their  domestic 
habits,  their  huts  being  occupied  equally  by 
men,  goats,  and  fowls,  and  the  floor,  which  is 
thickly  covered  with  straw,  is  consequently 
in  a  most  abominable  condition.  It  is  so 
bad,  indeed,  that  even  the  natives  are  obliged 
to  make  a  raised  bedstead  on  which  to  sleep. 
Even  the  king's  palace  is  no  exception  to 
the  general  rule  ;  the  cattle  are  kept  within 
the  enclosure,  and  even  his  very  sleeping- 
hut  is  freely  entered  by  calves.    To  visit 


the  "palace"  without  stilts  and  a  respirator 
was  too  severe  a  task  even  to  so  hardened 
a  traveller  as  Captain  Speke,  but  the  king 
walked  about  among  the  cows,  ankle-deeiJ 
in  all  sorts  of  horrors,  and  yet  perfectly  at 
his  ease. 

The  government  of  this  country  is  pure 
despotism,  the  king  possessing  irresponsible 
and  unquestioned  power.  The  subject  can 
really  possess  property,  but  only  holds  it  by 
the  king's  pleasure.  This  theory  is  continu- 
ally reduced  to  practice,  the  king  taking  from 
one  person,  and  giving,  or  rather  lending,  to 
another,  anything  that  he  chooses,  —  land, 
cattle,  slaves,  wives,  and  children  being 
equally  ranked  in  the  category  of  prop- 
erty. 

The  king  who  reigned  over  Unyoro  at  the 
time  when  Captain  Speke  visited  it  was 
named  Kamrasi.  He  was  a  man  who  united 
in  himself  a  singular  variety  of  characters. 
Merciless,  even  beyond  the  ordinary  type 
of  African  cruelty  ;  capricious  as  a  sjioiled 
child,  and  scattering  death  and  torture 
around  for  the  mere  whim  of  the  moment ; 
inhospitable  and  repellant  according  to  the 
usual  Wanyoro  character ;  covetous  and 
gras])ing  to"  the  last  degree  ;  amliitious  of 
regaining  the  lost  portion  of  his  kingdom, 
and  yet  too  cowardly  to  declare  war,  he  was 
a  man  who  scarcely  seemed  likely  to  retain 
his  hold  on  the  sceptre. 

Yet,  although  contemptible  as  he  was  in 
many  things,  he  was  not  to  be  despised,  and, 
although  no  one  cared  to  meet  him  as  a 
friend,  all  knew  that  he  could  be  a  most 
dangerous  enemy.  For  he  possessed  a  large 
share  of  cunning,  which  stood  him  in  stead 
of  the  nobler  virtues  which  ous-ht  to  adorn 


(422) 


KING  KAMRASI. 


423 


a  throne,  and  ruled  his  subjects  by  a  mixture 
of  craft  and  force.  His  system  of  espionage 
would  have  done  honor  to  M.  de  Sartines, 
and  there  was  nothing  that  happened  in  his 
country  that  he  did  not  know. 

The  whole  land  was  divided  into  districts, 
and  over  each  district  was  set  an  officer 
who  was  responsible  for  everything  which 
occurred  in  it,  and  was  bound  to  give  iufor- 
mation  to  the  king.  The  least  failure  in  this 
respect  entailed  death  or  the  "  shoe,"  which 
was  nearly  as  bad,  and  often  terminated  in 
death.  The  "  shoe "  is  simply  a  large  and 
heavy  log  of  wood  with  an  oblong  slit  cut 
through  it.    Into  this  .slit  the  feet  are  passed, 


«.-,ikMm^ 


CULPEIT  IN  THE  SHOE. 


and  a  stout  wooden  peg  is  then  driven 
through  the  log  and  between  the  ankles,  so 
as  to  hold  the  feet  tightly  imprisoned.  As 
to  the  exact  position  of  the  peg,  tlie  execu- 
tioner is  in  no  way  particular  ;  and  if  he 
should  happen  to  drive  it  against,  instead  of 
between,  the  ankles,  he  cares  nothing  about 
it.  Consequently,  the  torture  is  often  so 
great,  that  those  who  have  been  so  impris- 
oned have  died  of  sheer  exhaustion. 

In  order  to  be  al)le  to  carry  out  his  orders 
without  having  a  chance  of  disobedience,  he 
kept  a  guard  of  armed  soldiers,  some  five 
hundrecl  in  number.  These  men  always 
carried  their  shields  and  spears  ;  the  latter 
have  hard  blades,  kept  very  sharp,  and  their 
edges  defended  by  a  sheath,  neatly  made  of 
antelope  skin,  sewed  together  with  thongs. 
The  ordinary  s]iears  are  not  nearly  so  good, 
because  the  Wanyoro  are  not  remarkable 
for  excellence  in  smith's  work,  and  the  l)et- 
ter  kind  of  spear  heads  which  are  hawked 
through  the  country  are  bought  by  the  Wa- 
ganda,  who  are  a  richer  people. 

This  body-guard  is  dressed  in  the  most 


extraordinary  manner,  their  chief  object 
seeming  to  be  to  render  themselves  as  un- 
like men  and  as  like  demons  as  possible. 
Tliey  wear  leopard  or  monkey  skins  by  way 
of  tunic,  strap  cows'  tails  to  the  small  of 
their  backs,  and  tie  a  couple  of  antelope's 
horns  on  their  heads,  while  their  chins  are 
decorated  with  long  false  beards,  made  of 
the  bushv  ends  of  cows'  tails. 

When  "Sir  S.  Baker  visited  Kamrasi,  this 
body-guard  rushed  out  of  the  palace  to  meet 
him,  tlancing,  yelling,  screaming,  brandisli- 
ing  their  spears,  pretending  to  fight  among 
themselves,  and,  when  they  reached  their 
visitors,  flourishing  their  spears  in  the  ftices  of 
the  strangers,  and  making  feints 
of  attack.  So  sudden  was  their 
charge,  and  so  menacing  their 
aspect,  that  several  of  his  men 
thought  that  they  were  charging 
in  real  earnest,  and  begged  him 
to  fire  at  them.  Being,  however, 
convinced  that  their  object  was 
not  to  kill,  but  to  do  him  honor, 
he  declined  to  fire,  and  found  that 
the  threatening  body  of  men  were 
simply  sent  Ijy  Kamrasi  as  his  es- 
cort. Had  his  armed  Turks  been 
with  him,  they  would  certainly 
have  received  these  seeming  de- 
mons with  a  volley. 

A  curious  instance  of  his  craft 
was  given  by  his  reception  of  Sir 
S.  Baker.  When  the  traveller 
was  first  promised  an  interview, 
Kamrasi  ordered  his  brother, 
M'Gambi.to  personate  him,  while 
he  himself,  disguised  as  one  of 
the  escort,  secretly  watched  the 
travellers.  M'Gambi  executed 
his  office  admirably,  and  person- 
ated his  royal  brotlier  to  perfec- 
tion, asking  for  everything  which  he  saw  — 
guns,  watches,  beads,  and  clothes  l)eing 
equally  acceptable,  —  and  finished  by  asking 
for  Lady  Baker.  In  case  the  article  should 
he  thought  more  valuable  than  the  others, 
he  offered  to  give  one  of  his  own  wives 
in  exchange.  This  proposal  nearly  cost 
M'Gamlii  his  life,  and  it  may  be  that  the 
wily  king  had  foreseen  the  possibility  of 
sonie  such  result  when  he  ordered  his 
brother  to  personate  him,  and  permitted 
him  to  take  his  place  on  the  copper  stool  of 
royalty.  In  fact,  M'Gambi  did  admit  that 
the  king  was  .aft'aid  that  his  visitors  might 
be  in  league  vs'ith  an  adverse  power. 

In  order  to  attach  his  guards  to  his  per- 
son, Kamrasi  allowed  them  all  kinds  of  li- 
cense, permiting  them  to  rolj  and  plunder 
as  much  as  they  liked;  his  theory  being 
that,  as  everything  within  his  reach  lielonged 
to  him,  he  in  reality  did  no  harm  to  his  . 
subjects,  the  loss  eventually  falling  on  him- 
self. Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  king  was 
a  far-sighted  man  in  some  things,  and  that  ha 
knew  how  to  rule  by  fear,  if  not  by  love. 


424 


THE  WANYOKO. 


He  was  tall  and  slender,  and  scarcely 
looked  his  age,  wliich  \yas  about  forty,  and 
his  features  on  the  whole  were  "ood,  as 
were  his  eyes,  which  were  soft  and  gentle, 
sadly  belying  his  character.  His  face  was, 
however,  disfigured  by  the  national  custona 
of  removing  tlie  lower  incisor  and  eye-teeth, 
and  he  said  that  the  dentist  who  performed 
the  0])eration  had  been  rewarded  with  a  fee 
of  a  hundred  cows.  His  color  was  dark 
brown,  and,  but  for  the  sinister  expression 
of  his  countenance,  he  would  really  be  a 
handsome  man.  His  features  were,  how- 
ever, rather  disfigured  by  the  scars  which 
covered  his  forehead,  and  which  still  re- 
mained as  vestiges  of  sundry  cauterizations. 
In  Unyoro,  the  actual  cautery,  i.  e.  a  red-hot 
iron,  is  in  great  favor  as  a  means  of  cure ; 
and  whenever  a  man  chooses  to  intoxicate 
himself  with  native  beer  or  imported  rum, 
and  to  suiter  the  usual  penalty  of  a  head- 
ache on  the  following  morning,  he  immedi- 
ately thinks  tliat  he  is  bewitched,  and  pro- 
ceeds to  drive  out  the  demon  by  burning 
his  forehead  in  a  multitude  of  spots.  Kam- 
rasi  had  gone  a  little  beyond  the  ordinary 
custom,  and  had  applied  the  hot  iron  to 
his  nose,  causing  such  a  scar  that  he  was 
anxious  to  have  it  removed,  and  his  nose 
restored  to  its  ordinai-y  color. 

He  did  not  take  to  European  clothing, 
preferring  the  manufactures  of  his  own 
coiuitry.  His  ordinary  dress  was  a  mantle 
tied  r()und  his  waist  and  descending  to  his 
feet.  Sometimes  it  was  made  of  cloth,  and 
at  others  of  skins;  but  it  was  always  of  a 
light  red  color,  and  was  decorated  with  little 
patches  of  black  cloth,  with  which  it  was 
covered.  He  had  his  head  shaved  at  inter- 
vals, but  between  the  times  of  shaving  his 
hair  grew  in  little  knobby  tufts,  like  those  of 
the  Bosjesman.  He  wore  but  few  ornaments, 
the  chief  being  a  necklace  of  beads,  which 
hung  to  his  waist. 

Kamrasi  had  a  very  tolerable  idea  of  ef- 
fect, as  was  seen  from  the  manner  in  which 
he  received  his  guests.  A  hut  was  Isuilt  for 
the  express  purpose,  and  within  it  was  the 
royal  throne,  i.  e.  a  stool  —  to  sit  on  which  is 
the  special  privilege  of  royalty.  A  quantity 
of  grass  was  formed  into  a  rather  high  plat- 
form, which  was  covered  first  with  cow- 
hides and  then  with  leopard  skins,  the  latter 
being  the  royal  fur.  Over  this  throne  was 
hung  a  canopy  of  cow-skin,  stretched  on 
every  side  and  suspended  from  the  roof,  in 
order  to  keep  dust  off  the  royal  head.  On 
the  throne  sat  Kamrasi,  enveloped  in  fine 
grass  cloth,  his  left  wrist  adorned  with  a 
bracelet,  and  his  hair  carefully  dressed. 
He  sat  calm,  motionless,  and  silent,  like  an 
Egyptian  statue,  and  with  unchanged  coun- 
tenance contemplated  the  wonderful  white 
men  of  whom  he  had  heard  so  much. 

It  is  hardly  possilile  to  conceive  a  more 
unpleasant  person  than  Kamrasi,  putting 
aside  the  total  want  of  cleanliness  which  he 


exhibited,  and  which  may  be  considered  as 
a  national  and  not  as  an  individual  character- 
istic. His  avarice  induced  him  to  wish  for 
the  presence  of  travellers  who  would  create 
a  new  line  of  trade,  while  his  intense  cow- 
ardice made  him  fear  a  foe  in  every  stran- 
ger. He  was  horribly  afraid  of  M'tesa.  and 
when  he  found  that  white  travellers  had  been 
hospitably  received  by  that  potentate,  he 
thought  that  they  must  come  with  sinister 
intentions,  and  therefore  was  on  his  guard 
againts  his  fancied  foes.  When  he  got  over  his 
fears,  he  was  as  provoking  in  tlie  character 
of  mendicant  as  he  had  "been  in  that  of  a 
terrified  despot.  When  Sir  S.  Baker  was  in 
his  dominions,  Kamrasi  insisted  on  i)aying 
him  a  visit,  although  he  knew  well  that  his 
guest  was  only  just  recovering  from  fever, 
and  therefore  had  not  been  able  to  attend  at 
the  palace. 

"  Although  I  had  but  little  remaining 
from  my  stock  of  luggage  except  the  guns, 
ammunition,  and  astronomical  instruments, 
I  was  obliged  to  hide  everything  under- 
neath the  beds,  lest  the  avaricious  eyes  of 
Kamrasi  should  detect  a  '  want.'  True  to 
his  appointment,  he  appeared  with  numer- 
ous attendants,  and  was  ushered  into  my 
little  hut.  I  had  a  very  rude  but  servicea- 
ble arm-chair  that  one  of  mj'  men  had  con- 
structed—  in  this  the  king  was  invited  to 
sit.  Hardly  was  he  seated,  when  he  leant 
l)ack,  stretched  out  his  legs,  and,  making 
some  remark  to  his  attendants  concerning 
his  personal  comfort,  he  asked  for  the  chair 
as  a  present.  I  promised  to  have  one  made 
for  him  immediately.  This  being  arranged, 
he  surveyed  the  barren  little  hut,  vainly 
endeavoring  to  fix  his  eyes  upon  something 
that  he  could  demand.  But,  so  fruitless  was 
his  search,  that  he  laughingly  turned  to  his 
people  and  .said,  '  How  was  it  that  they 
wanted  so  many  porters  if  they  have  nothing 
to  carry  V '  My  interpreter  explained  that 
many  things  had  been  spoiled  durino;  the 
storms  on  "the  lake,  and  had  been  left  be- 
hind; that  our  provisions  had' long  since 
been  consumed,  and  that  our  clothes  were 
worn  out  —  that  we  had  nothing  left  but  a 
few  beads. 

"'New  varieties,  no  doubt,'  he  replied; 
give  me  all  that  you  have  of  the  small  blue 
and  the  large  red.' 

"We  had  carefully  hidden  the  main  stock, 
and  a  few  had  been  arranged  in  liags  to  be 
produced  as  the  occasion  might  require. 
These  were  now  unpacked  by  the  boy  Saat, 
and  laid  before  the  king.  I  told  liim  to 
make  his  choice,  which  he  did,  ju-ecisely  as 
I  had  anticipated,  by  making  presents  to 
his  surrounding  friends  out  of  my  stock,  and 
monopoli?;ing  the  remainder  fu-  his  share. 
The  division  of  the  portions  among  his  jieo- 
ple  was  a  modest  way  of  taking  the  whole, 
as  he  would  immediately  demand  their  re- 
turn on  quitting  my  hut. 
"  No  sooner  were  the  beads  secured  than 


EAMRASI'S  COWARDICE. 


425 


he  repeated  the  orighial  demand  for  my 
watch  and  the  No.  24  double  rifle;  these  I 
resolutely  refused.  He  then  requested  per- 
mission to  see  the  contents  of  a  few  of  the 
baskets  and  bags  that  formed  our  worn-out 
luggage.  Thei-e  was  nothing  that  took  his 
fancy  except  needles,  thread,  lancets,  medi- 
cines, and  a  small  tooth  comb.  The  latter 
interested  him  exceedingly,  as  I  explained 
that  the  object  of  the  Turks  in  collecting 
ivory  was  to  sell  it  to  Europeans,  who  man- 
ufactured it  into  many  articles,  among  which 
were  small  tooth  combs,  such  as  he  then 
examined.  lie  could  not  understand  how 
the  teeth  could  be  so  finely  cut. 

"  Upon  the  use  of  the  comb  being  ex- 
plained, he  immediately  attempted  to  prac- 
tise upon  his  woolly  head.  Failing  in  the 
operation,  he  adapted  the  instrument  to  a 
different  jnu'pose,  and  commenced  scratch- 
ing beneath  the  wool  most  vigorously.  The 
effect  being  satisfactory,  he  at  once  de- 
manded the  comb,  which  was  handed  to 
each  of  the  surrounding  chiefs,  all  of  whom 
had  a  trial  of  its  properties.  Every  head 
havimj  been  scratched,  it  was  returned  to 
the  king,  who  handed  it  to  Quonga,  the 
headman  that  received  his  presents.  So 
complete  was  the  success  of  the  comb,  that 
he  proposed  to  send  me  one  of  the  largest 
tusks,  which  I  was  to  take  to  England  and 
cut  into  as  many  small  tooth  combs  as  it 
would  produce  for  himself  and  his  chiefs." 

Daring  this  interview,  Kamrasi  discovered 
a  case  of  lancets,  and  begged  for  them,  as 
they  were  so  well  adapted  for  paring  his 
nails.  Also,  he  opened  the  medicine  chest, 
and  was  so  determined  to  take  a  dose  at 
once  that  Sir  S.  Baker  took  a  little  revenge, 
and  administered  three  grains  of  tartar 
bmetie,  not  to  be  taken  until  he  reached 
his  own  hut.  As  to  the  No.  24  rifle,  which 
has  already  been  mentioned,  Kamrasi  was 
always  hankering  after  it.  at  one  time  openly 
begging  for  it,  and  at  another  asking  to  bor- 
row it  just  for  a  day  or  two,  when,  of  course, 
it  never  would  have  escaped  the  grasp  of  the 
royal  clutches. 

This  provoking  man  evidently  considered 
his  guests  to  be  sent  especially  for  his  own 
aggrandizement,  and  his  only  idea  was,  how 
to  use  them  best  for  his  service.  Having 
once  got  them  safely  into  his  domains,  he 
had  no  intention  of  letting  them  go  again 
until  he  had  squeezed  them  quite  dry. 
First,  he  wanted  to  make  them  pay  for  tlie 
privilege  of  entering  his  dominions;  and, 
when  they  had  once  entered,  he  was  sure 
to  make  them  pay  before  they  got  out  again. 
His  first  ruse  was,  to  pretend  that  they 
were  weak  and  insignificant,  whereas  he 
was  great  and  strong,  and  that,  if  they 
wanted  his  protection,  they  must  pay  for 
it.  When  once  tlioy  had  entered  his  dis- 
trict, and  had  shown  themselves  to  be  more 
formidable  than  he  had  chosen  to  admit,  he 
asked  them  to  aid  him  against  his  enemies, 


and  to  lead  his  army  against  the  adverse 
tribe. 

This  stratagem  failing,  even  though  he 
was  good  enough  to  ofl'eT  half  his  kingdom 
for  the  privilege  of  alliance,  he  had  still 
one  resource,  —  namely,  forbidding  them 
to  leave  his  kingdom  until  he  gave  permis- 
sion, i.  e.  until  he  had  extracted  from  them 
everything  of  value.  To  leave  the  country 
without  his  permission  was  simply  impossi- 
ble, on  account  of  the  system  of  espionage 
which  has  already  been  mentioned,  and, 
although  it  might  have  been  possible  to 
force  a  way  by  dint  of  superior  arms,  such 
a  struggle  would  have  neutralized  the  very 
object  of  the  expedition. 

JBully  though  he  was  where  he  could 
tyrannize  with  safety,  he  was  a  most  con- 
temptible coward  when  he  thought  himself 
in  the  least  danger.  A  very  amusing  ex- 
ample was  shown  during  the  visit  of  Sir  S. 
Baker.  One  morning,  just  at  sunrise,  Kam- 
rasi came  hastily  into  his  hut  shorn  of  all 
regal  dignity.  In  his  hands  he  grasped 
two  spears  and  a  rifle,  and  wanted  to  bring 
them  into  the  hut,  contrary  to  all  etiquette. 
This  could  not  be  allowed,  and  he  reluc- 
tantly left  them  outside.  He  had  laid  aside 
his  usual  cold  and  repellent  manner,  and 
was  full  of  eagerness.  He  had  also  thrown 
off  his  ordinary  apparel  of  beautifully- 
dressed  skins,  and  only  wore  a  kind  of 
short  kilt  and  a  scarf  across  his  shoulders. 
Knowing  that  an  attack  was  meditated  by 
a  neighboring  chief,  and  having  seen  the 
people  all  in  war  costume  —  horned,  bearded, 
and  tailed  —  Sir  S.  Baker  naturally  thought 
that  Kamrasi  was  in  fighting  costume,  and 
congratulated  him  on  its  appropriate  light- 
ness. 

"  /  fight!  "  exclaimed  the  king.  "  I  am 
not  going  to  fight;  I  am  going  to  run  awaj', 
and  put  on  this  dress  to  be  able  to  run 
taster." 

He  then  explained  in  gi-eat  trepidation 
that  the  enemy  were  approaching  with  a 
hundred  and  fifty  muskets,  and  that,  as  it 
was  useless  to  fight  against  such  odds,  he 
meant  to  run  away  and  hide  himself  in  the 
long  grass,  and  his  guest  had  better  follow 
his  example.  From  the  anticipated  attack 
he  was  saved  by  the  timely  intervention  ot 
his  guest,  and  the  only  mark  of  gratitude 
which  he  showed  was  to  ask  again  for  the 
double-barrelled  rifle. 

Still,  in  spite  of  these  unamiable  charac- 
teristics, the  man  had  his  redeeming  points; 
and  although  he  was,  on  occasions  and  on  a 
large  scale,  almost  as  cruel  as  a  man  could 
be,  he  did  not  commit  those  continual  mur- 
ders of  his  subjects  which  disgraced  the 
reign  of  M'tesa.  Personal  chastisement 
was  used  in  many  cases  in  which  M'tesa 
would  have  inflicted  death,  and  probably  a 
lengthened  torture  besides. 

The  mode  of  passing  sentence  on  a  pris- 
oner was  very  remarkable.     Should  the  king 


426 


THE   A^^ANYORO. 


or  his  brother  M'Gamt)i  touch  him  witli  the 
point  of  a  spear,  the  executioners  imme- 
diately fall  upon  him  with  their  clubs,  and 
beat  him  to  death.  But,  if  he  should  touch 
the  prisoner  with  his  stick,  the  executioners 
instanth'  pierce  him  with  their  spears;  so 
that  the  instrument  used  in  killing  the  man 
is  always  the  opposite  to  that  with  which 
the  king  touches  him. 

Even  in  cases  where  death  was  inflicted, 
the  criminal  was  generally  killed  by  a  blow 
with  a  club  on  the  back  of  the  neck."  There 
were  of  course  exceptions  to  this  rule.  For 
example,  a  hostile  chief,  named  Eionga,  one 
of  his  thirty  brothers,  had  been  taken  pris- 
oner by  a  treacherous  act  on  the  part  of 
Kamrasi,  who  lirst  pretended  to  make  peace, 
then  invited  him  to  a  bauquet,  and  seized 
upon  him  while  he  was  oif  his  guard.  Kam- 
rasi then  ordered  him  to  die  by  a  cruel 
death.  There  was  a  hut  with  high  mud 
walls  and  no  doorway.  Into  tliis  hut 
Eionga  was  hoisted,  and  the  king  gave 
orders  that  on  the  following  morning  the 
hut  should  be  fired,  and  its  inmate  bui'ned 
to  death. 

Another  chief  however,  named  Sali,  in- 
geniously brought  out  great  quantities  of 
beer,  knowing  that  the  guards  would  be 
sure  to  assemble  in  any  spot  where  beer 
was  to  be  found.  This  they  did;  and  while 
they  were  engaged  at  one  side  of  the  prison 
drinking,  dancing,  and  singing.  Sail's  men 
were  encaged  on  the  other  side  in  digging 
a  hole  through  the  mud  wall  of  the  hut,  and 
soon  succeeded  in  making  an  aperture  large 
enough  to  allow  the  prisoner  to  make  his 
escape. 

After  this  feat,  Sali,  having  seen  how 
treacherous  Kamrasi  could  be,  ought  to 
have  secured  his  own  safety  by  flight,  but 
chose  to  remain,  thinking  that  his  share 
in  the  rescue  would  not  be  discovered. 
Kamrasi,  however,  suspected  his  compli- 
city, and  had  him  arrested  at  once.  He 
was  sentenced  to  the  cruel  death  of  being 
dismembered  while  alive,  and  the  sentence 
was  carried  out  by  cutting  oft'  his  liands  at 
the  wrists,  his  arms  at  the  elbows,  and  so  on 
until  every  joint  was  severed.  While  un- 
dergoing this  torture,  he  proved  himself  a 
brave  man  by  trying  to  help  his  friends, 
calling  aloud  from  the  stake  that  they  had 
better  escajie  while  they  could,  lest  they 
should  sutler  the  same  penalty. 

A  curious  custom  prevails  in  Unyoro 
with  regard  to  the  king's  sisters.  Like 
other  women  of  rank,  tliey  are  fattened 
on  curdled  milk,  and  attain  such  a  size  that 
they  are  not  able  to  walk,  and,  whenever 
they  leave  the  hut,  each  has  to  be  borne  on 
a  litter  by  eight  men.  Each  woman  con- 
sumes daily  the  milk  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
cows,  a  cow  producing  barely  one  quart  of 
milk.  Yet,  though  this  fattening  process  is 
an  ordinary  preliminary  to  marri.age,  the 
king's  sisters  ai'e  forbidden  to  marry,  and 


are  kept  in  strict  seclusion  in  his  palace. 
So  are  his  brothers;  but,  unlike  the  king  of 
Uganda,  he  does  not  think  it  necessary  to 
kill  them  when  he  reaches  the  throne. 

During  the  short  interval  of  peace  wliich 
followed  upon  Sir  S.  Baker's  intervention, 
the  people  gave  themselves  up  to  debauch- 
ery, the  men  drinking  and  dancing  and  yell- 
ing, blowing  horns  and  beating  (b'ums  all 
through  the  night.  The  women  took  no 
part  in  this  amusement,  inasnnich  as  they 
had  been  hard  at  W(3rk  in  the  fields  all  day, 
while  their  husbands  had  been  sleeping  at 
home.  Consequently  they  were  much  too 
tired  to  dance,  and  tried  to  snatch  what 
rest  they  could  iu  the  midst  of  the  night- 
long din. 

'•  The  usual  st3"le  of  singing  was  a  rapid 
chant,  delivered  as  a  solo,  while  at  intervals 
the  crowd  burst  out  in  a  deafening  chorus, 
together  with  the  drums  and  horns.  Tlie 
latter  were  formed  of  immense  gourds, 
v.hich,  growing  in  a  peculiai-  shape,  with 
long,  bottle  necks,  were  easily  converted 
into  musical  instruments.  Every  now  and 
then  a  cry  of  'Fire! '  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  enlivened  the  ennui  of  our  existence. 
The  huts  were  littered  deep  with  straw, 
and  the  inmates,  intoxicated,  frequently  fell 
asleep  with  their  huge  pipes  lighted,  wliich, 
I'alling  in  the  dry  straw,  at  once  occasioned 
a  conrtngration.  In  such  cases  the  liames 
spread  from  hut  to  hut  with  inmiense  rapid- 
ity, and  frequently  four  or  five  hundred  huts 
in  Kamrasi's  large  camp  were  destroyed  by 
Are,  and  rebuilt  in  a  few  days.  I  was  anx- 
ious concerning  my  powder,  as,  in  the  event 
of  fire,  the  blaze  of  the  straw  hut  was  so 
instantaneous  that  nothing  could  be  saved: 
should  my  powder  explode.  I  should  be  en- 
tirely defenceless.  Accordingly,  after  a  con- 
flagration in  my  neighborhood,  I  insisted 
on  removing  all  huts  within  a  circuit  of 
thirty  yards  of  my  dwelling.  The  natives 
demurring,  I  at  once  ordered  my  men  to 
pull  down  the  houses,  and  thereby  relieved 
mj'self  from  drunken  and  dangerous  neigh- 
bors." 

The  condition  of  the  women  in  Unyoro 
is  not  at  all  agreeable,  as  indeed  may  be 
inferred  from  the  brief  mention  of  the  hard 
work  which  they  have  to  perform.  They 
are  watched  very  carefully  by  their  hus- 
bands, and  beaten  severely  if  they  ever 
venture  outside  the  palisades  after  sunset. 
For  unfaithfulness,  the  jninishment  seems 
to  be  left  to  the  aggrieved  husband,  who 
sometimes  demauds  a  heavy  fine,  some- 
times cuts  otf  a  foot  or  a  hand,  and  some- 
times inflicts  the  punishment  of  death. 

Dirty  as  are  the  "Wanyoro  in  some  things, 
in  others  they  are  very  neat  and  clean. 
They  are  adniirable  packers,  and  make  up 
the  neatest  iraaginalde  parcels.  Some  of 
these  parcels  are  surromided  with  the  bark 
of  the  plantain,  and  some  with  the  \nth  or 
interior  of  a  reed,  from  which  the  outside 


THE   MAGICIAN  AT  WORK. 


427 


lias  been  carefully  stripped,  so  as  to  leave  a 
number  of  snow-white  cylinders.  These 
are  laid  side  by  side,  and  bound  round  the 
object,  producing  a  singularly  pretty  effect. 
Little  mats,  formed  of  shreds  of  these  reeds, 
are  very  much  used,  especially  as  covers  to 
beer  jars.  When  a  M'yoro  is  on  the  march, 
he  aiwajs  carries  with  him  a  gourd  full  of 
plantain  wine.  The  mouth  of  the  gourd  is 
stopped  with  a  bundle  of  these  reed-shreds, 
through  whicli  passes  a  tulse,  so  that  the 
traveller  can  always  drink  witliout  checking 
his  pace,  and  without  any  danger  of  spill- 
ing the  liquid  as  he  walks. 

In  their  diet  the  AVanyoro  make  great  use 
of  the  plantain,  and  it  is  rather  remarkable 
that,  in  a  land  which  abounds  with  this 
fruit,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  procure  one  in 
a  ripe  state,  the  natives  always  eating  them 
while  still  green.  Tlie  plantain  tree  is  to 
the  Wanyoro  the  chief  necessity  of  exist- 
ence, as  it  affords  them  means  for  supplying 
all  the  real  wants  of  life.  Sometimes  the 
plantain  is  boiled  and  eaten  as  a  vegetable, 
and  sometimes  it  is  dried  and  ground  into 
meal,  whicli  is  used  in  making  porridge. 
The  fruit  is  also  peeled,  cut  into  .slices,  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  so  as  to  be  stowed  away 
for  future  consumption,  and  from  this  dried 
plantain  the  Wanyoro  make  a  palatable  and 
nutritious  soup.  Wine,  or  rather  beer,  is 
made  from  the  same  fruit,  which  thus  sup- 
plies both  food  and  drink. 

The  tree  itself  is  most  useful,  the  leaves 
being  split  into  shreds,  and  woven  into  cloth 
of  remarkable  elegance,  and  the  bark  is 
stripped  oft",  and  employed  like  paper  in 
wrapping  up  parcels  of  the  meal.  Strong 
ropes  and  the  finest  thread  are  twisted  from 
the  plantain  fibre,  and  the  natives  are  clever 
at  weaving  ornamental  articles,  which  look 
so  like  hair,  that  a  very  close  inspection  is 
needful  to  detect  the  diflerence.  In  all 
these  manufactures  the  Wanyoro  show  a 
neatness  of  hand  and  delicacy  of  taste  that 
contrast  strangely  with  the  slovenly,  care- 
less, and  repulsive  habits  of  their  daily  life. 

Curdled  milk  is  much  used  by  the  natives, 
who  employ  it  in  fattening  their  wives  and 
daughters,  but,  unlike  the  Arabs,  they  will 
not  mix  red  pepper  with  it,  believing  that 
those  who  eat  the  capsicum  will  never  be 
blessed  with  children.  Butter  is  used  as  an 
unguent,  and  not  for  food,  and  the  natives 
are  very  ranch  scandalized  at  seeing  the 
white  visitors  eat  it.  According  to  the  cus- 
tom of  their  nation,  they  once  played  a 
clever  trick.  Butter  is  packed  most  care- 
fully in  leaves,  a  little  bit  being  allowed  to 
project  as  a  sample.  One  day  the  natives 
brought  some  butter  to  their  white  visitors, 
but  as  it  was  quite  rancid  it  was  rejected. 
They  took  it  away,  and  then  brought  a  fresh 
supply,  which  was  approved  and  purchased. 
But,  when  the  wrapper  was  taken  off,  it  was 
found  that  the  butter  was  the  same  that  had 
been  refusedj  the  natives  having  put  a  little 


piece  of  fresh  butter  at  the  top.  Itinerant 
cheesemongers  play  very  similar  tricks  at 
the  present  day,  plugging  a  totally  uneatable 
cheese  with  bits  of  best  Cheshire,  and  scoop- 
ing out  the  plugs  by  way  of  sample. 

As  to  religion,  the  Wanyoro  have  none 
at  all.  They  are  full  of  superstition,  but,  as 
far  as  is  known,  they  have  not  the  least  idea 
of  a  religion  which  can  exercise  any  influ- 
ence on  the  actions.  In  common  with  most 
uncivilized  people,  they  make  much  of  each 
new  moon,  this  being  the  unit  by  which 
they  reckon  their  epochs,  and  salute  the 
slender  crescent  by  profuse  dancing  and 
gesticulation. 

They  have  a  wonderful  faith  in  demons, 
with  whom  the  prophets  or  wizards  aver 
that  they  hold  communication.  Some  of 
their  guesses  at  the  future  occasionally 
come  true.  For  example,  one  of  the  men 
of  the  expedition  was  said  to  be  possessed 
by  a  demon,  who  told  him  that  the  expedi- 
tion would  succeed,  but  that  the  demon 
required  one  man's  life  and  another  man's 
illness.  This  prediction  was  literally  ac- 
compHshed,  one  of  the  escort  being  mur- 
dered, and  Captain  Grant  falling  seriously 
ill.  Again  the  same  man  saw  the  demon, 
who  said  that  in  Uganda  one  man's  life 
would  be  required,  and  accordingly  Kari,  a 
man  belonging  to  the  expedition,  was  mur- 
dered. A  "third  time,  when  in  Unyoro,  he 
saw  the  demon,  who  said  that  no  more  lives 
were  needed,  but  that  the  expedition  would 
succeed,  though  it  would  be  protracted. 
And  such  eventually  proved  to  be  the  case. 

The  magicians  lay  claim  to  one  most  val- 
uable power,  —  namely,  that  of  finding  lost 
articles.  On  one  occasion  Captain  Speke 
saw  the  whole  process.  A  rain-gauge  and 
its  bottle  had  been  stolen,  and  every  one 
disclaimed  knowledge  of  it.  A  sorcerer 
was  therefore  summoned  to  find  the  missing 
article.  The  following  account  of  the  pro- 
ceeding is  given  by  Captain  Speke:  — 

"  At  9  A.M.,  the  time  for  measuring  the 
fall  of  rain  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours, 
we  found  the  rain-gauge  and  bottle  had 
been  removed,  so  we  sent  to  Kidgwiga  to 
inform  the  king  we  wished  his  magicians  to 
come  at  once  and  institute  a  search  for  it. 
Kidgwiga  immediately  returned  with  the 
necessary  adept,  an  old  man,  nearly  lilind, 
dressed  in  strips  of  old  leather  fastened  to 
the  waist,  and  carrying  in  one  hand  a  cow's 
horn  primed  with  magic  powder,  carefully 
covered  on  the  mouth  with  leather,  from 
which  dangled  an  iron  bell." 

The  curious  scene  now  to  be  described 
the  artist  has  reproduced  in  the  engraving 
No.  2  on  page  417. 

"  The  old  creature  jingled  the  bell,  en- 
tered our  hut,  squatted"  on  his  hams,  looked 
first  at  one,  then  at  the  other — inquired 
what  the  missing  things  were  like,  grunted, 
moved  his  skinny  arm  round  his  head,  as  if 
desirous  of  catching  air  from  all  four  sides 


428 


THE  WANYORO. 


of  the  hut,  then  dashed  the  accumulated  air 
on  the  head  of  his  horn,  smelt  it  to  see  if 
all  was  going  right,  jingled  the  bell  again 
close  to  his  ear,  and  grunted  his  satisfac- 
tion; the  missing  articles  must  be  found. 
To  carry  out  the  incantation  more  eftectu- 
ally,  however,  all  my  men  were  sent  for  to 
sit  in  the  open  air  before  the  hut,  but  the 
old  doctor  rose,  shaking  the  horn  and  tink- 
ling the  bell  close  to  his  ear.  He  then,  con- 
fronting one  of  the  men,  dashed  the  horn 
forward  as  if  intending  to  strike  hira  on  the 
face,  then  smelt  the  head,  then  dashed  at 
another,  and  so  on,  till  he  became  satisfied 
that  my  men  were  not  the  thieves. 

"  He  then  walked  into  Grant's  hut,  in- 
spected that,  and  finally  went  to  the  place 
where  the  bottle  had  been  ke)5t.  Then  he 
■walked  about  the  grass  with  his  arm  up, 
and  jingling  the  bell  to  his  ear,  first  on  one 
side,  then  on  the  other,  till  the  track  of  a 
hyrena  gave  him  the  clue  and  in  two  or 
three  more  steps  he  found  it.  A  hyiena 
had  carried  it  into  the  grass  and  dropped  it. 
Bravo,  for  the  infallible  horn!  and  well  done 
the  king  for  his  honesty  in  sending  it !  so  I 
gave  the  king  the  bottle  and  gauge,  which 
delighted  him  amazingly ;  and  the"  old  doc- 
tor, who  begged  for  pombe,  got  a  goat  for 
his  ti'ouble." 

As  in  Uganda,  the  sorcerers  are  distin- 
guished bjr  the  odd  ornaments  which  thej' 
wear;  dried  roots,  lizards,  lions'  claws,  croc- 
odiles' teeth,  little  tortoise  shells,  and  other 
objects  being  strung  together  and  tied  on 
their  heads.  There  is  also  an  order  of  re- 
ligious mendicants  called  '■  Bandwa,"  both 
sexes  being  eligible  to  the  office.  They  are 
distinguished  by  an  abundance  of  orna- 
ments, such  as  bits  of  shining  metal,  and 
little  tinkling  bells,  and  one  man  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  greatlj'  by  wearing  the 
skin  of  a  long-haired  monkey  down  his  back 
from  the  top  of  his  head,  to  which  he  had 
attached  a  couple  of  antelope  horns.  The 
women  when  dressed  in  the  full  robes  of 
office  look  very  handsome,  being  clothed  in 
colored  skins,  and  wearing  turbans  made 
of  the  plaintain  bark.  They  walk  about  from 
house  to  house  singing  their  peculiar  songs, 
and  always  expecting  a  present.  The  office 
of  a  Bandwa  is  not  hereditary,  for  any  one 
may  join  them  by  undergoing  certain  cere- 
monies, and  the  children  of  a  Bandwa  are 
at  liberty  to  follow  any  business  that  they 
may  happen  to  like.  Although  they  are 
mendicants,  they  do  not  wholly  depend  on 
their  profession,  having  cattle  and  other 
property  of  their  own. 

In  many  countries  where  superstition 
takes  the  place  of  religion,  the  birth  of 
twins  is  looked  upon  as  a  bad  omen,  which 
must  be  averted  by  the  sacrifice  of  one  or 
both  of  the  children.  In  Unyoro  the  case 
is  dill'erent.  Captain  Sjieke  had  been  an- 
noyed by  certain  drums  and  other  musical 


instruments  which  were  played  day  and 
night  without  ces.sation,  and,  when  he  in- 
quired as  to  their  object,  was  told  that  they 
were  1)1  honor  of  twins  that  had  been  born 
to  Kamrasi,  and  that  they  would  be  plaj^ed 
in  the  same  manner  for  four  months. 

The  use  of  the  cow's  horn  in  magic  is 
explained  by  a  tradition  that  once  u]ion  a 
time  there  was  a  dog  with  a  horn.  When 
the  dog  died,  the  horn  was  stuffed  with 
magic  powder,  and  was  a  jiowerful  charm 
in  war,  soldiers  who  stepped  over  it  when 
on  the  march  being  thereby  rendered  vic- 
torious. Kamrasi  jjossessed  several  magic 
horns,  and  when  he  sent  an  amliassador  to 
a  neighboring  i)otcntate,  one  of  these  horns 
was  hung  round  the  man's  neck  as  his  cre- 
dentials; and  when  he  returned,  he  brought 
with  him  another  magic  liorn  as  a  proof 
that  his  message  had  been  delivered.  No 
one  dared  to  touch  a  man  who  bore  so  po- 
tent an  emblem,  and  this  was  peculiarly 
fortunate,  as  on  one  occasion  Kamrasi  had 
sent  an  expedition  which  took  with  them 
six  hundred  majembe  or  iron  spades,  which 
form  a  sort  of  currency,  the  expenditure  of 
two  majembe  per  diem  being  sufficient  to 
buy  food  for  the  whole  party.  Laden  with 
wealth  therefore  as  they  were,  the  magic 
horn  in'ofected  the  party,  and  they  per- 
formed their  journey  in  safety. 

AVar  charms  are  in  great  request,  and 
while  Captain  Speke  was  in  Unyoro  he  saw 
the  preliminary  act  in  charm  making.  A 
feud  was  in  action  between  Kami-asi  and 
the  Chopi  tribe.  Kamrasi  therefore  sent 
spies  into  the  Chopi  district,  with  orders  to 
bring  some  grass  from  the  liut  of  a  chief. 
This  they  did,  with  the  addition  of  a  spear, 
much  to  Kamrasi's  delight,  wlio  thought 
that  the  possession  of  this  weajion  would 
enable  him  to  bewitch  the  spears  as  well  as 
the  courage  of  his  enemies,  and  so  prevent 
the  weapons  from  hurting  his  tribe. 

In  order  to  ensure  prosperity  to  their 
family,  or  to  cure  a  sick  relative,  the  "Wan- 
yoro  kill  some  animal,  split  it  open,  and  lay 
it  at  the  intersection  of  two  cross  roads, 
such  spot  being  held  by  them,  as  by  the 
Balonda,  in  great  reverence.  If  the  man 
is  rich  enough,  he  sacrifices  a  goat,  but,  if 
not,  a  fowl  will  answer;  and  if  a  man  is 
very  poor  indeed,  he  makes  a  frog  serve  his 
purpose. 

These  people  seem  to  have  kept  their 
Inirial  ceremonies  very  secret,  as  a  funeral 
was  never  seen  in  Central  Africa,  but  it  is 
said  that  the  dead  are  buried  near  the  house 
or  in  the  cattle-fold,  wrapped  in  fiark  cloth 
or  a  cow-skin.  When  the  king  dies  his 
body  is  first  dried,  and  then  the  lower  jaw- 
bone is  removed  and  buried  by  itself.  Offi- 
cers of  the  palace  are  jjrivileged  to  have 
their  heads  and  hands  treated  in  the  same 
manner. 


CHAPTER   XLI. 


GAI^I,  MADI,  OBBO,  AND  KTTCH. 


I'OSmON  OP  THE  GAin  TRIBE  —  THEIR  HOSPITABLE  CHARACTER  —  GANI  ARCHlTECTtrRE  —  SINGULAR 
MODE  OF  DRESS  —  THE  GANI  QUEUE  —  TOILET  M.UilNG  DT  PUBLIC — THE  MADI  TRIBE  —  CARE  OP 
CHILDREN — DRESS  OF  THE  WOMEN  —  VARIOUS  DANCES  —  MADI  VILLAGES  —  ILL  TREATMENT  OF 
THE  NAm'ES  —  POSITION  OF  THE  OBBO  TRIBE  —  GENERAL  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  NATIVES  —  SIN- 
GULAR MODE  OF  DRESS —  liATCHIBA,  THE  OBBO  CHIEF  —  HIS  LARGE  FAMILY  —  HIS  REPUTATION  AS 
A  SORCERER  —  INGENIOUS  ESCAPE  FROM  A  DILEMMA  —  KATCHIBA'S  PALACE  —  A  VISIT  TO  THB 
CHIEF  —  HIS  HOSPITALITY  AND  GENEROUS  CONDUCT  —  CHARACTER  OF  KATCHIBA. 


"We  now  come  to  a  large  district  about  lat. 
3°  N.  and  long.  32°  E.  This  country  is 
inhabited  by  a  group  of  tribes,  who  are  per- 
haps more  remarkable  for  their  style  of  dress 
than  any  which  we  have  yet  noticed.  We 
will  first  take  the  Gant. 

The  Gani  are  a  hospitable  people,  and, 
when  Captains  Speke  and  Grant  passed 
through  their  country,  received  them  with 
great  kindness,  even  though  they  had  never 
seen  white  men  before,  and  might  be  ex- 
pected to  take  alarm  at  an  armed  party  pen- 
etrating into  tlieir  land. 

One  day,  when  Captain  Grant  was  walking 
in  search  of  plants,  he  was  hailed  by  a  native, 
who  contrived  to  make  him  understand  that 
he  wished  to  conduct  the  white  man.  He 
was  very  polite  to  his  guest,  acting  as  pio- 
neer, beating  down  the  thorny  branches  that 
obstructed  the  path,  and  pointing  out  the 
best  places  for  crossing  rocks.  He  evidently 
thought  that  Captain  Grant  had  lost  his  way, 
and  so  guided  him  back  to  the  camp,  previ- 
ously leaving  his  spear  in  a  hut,  because  to 
appear  armed  in  the  presence  of  a  superior 
is  contrary  to  their  system  of  etiquette. 

The  mode  of  welcome  was  rather  remark- 
able. The  old  chief  of  the  village  advanced 
to  meet  the  strangers,  accompanied  by  his 
councillors  and  a  number  of  women,  one 
of  whom  carried  a  white  chicken,  and  the 
others  beer  and  a  bunch  of  a  flowering  plant. 
When  the  two  parties  met,  tlie  chief,  whose 
name  was  Chongi,  took  the  fowl  by  one  leg, 
stooped,  and  swung  it  backward  and  forward 
close  to  the  ground,  and  then  passed  it  to  his 


male  attendants,  who  did  the  same  thing. 
He  then  took  a  gourd  full  of  beer,  dipped  the 
plant  in  it,  and  sprinkled  the  liquid  over  his 
guests,  and  then  spread  cow-skins  under  a 
tree  by  way  of  couches,  on  which  his  guests 
might  repose.  They  were  next  presented 
with  a  supply  of  beer,  which  was  politely 
called  water. 

The  villages  of  the  Gani  are  extremely  neat, 
and  consist  of  a  quantity  of  huts  Ijuilt  round 
a  flat  cleared  space  which  is  kept  exceed- 
ingly smooth  and  neat.  In  the  middle  of 
this  space  are  one  or  two  miniature  huts 
made  of  grass,  and  containing  idols,  and  a 
few  horns  are  laid  near  them.  ^Vlien  the 
Gani  lay  out  plans  for  a  new  village,  they 
mostly  allow  one  large  tree  to  remain  in  the 
centi-e  of  the  cleared  space,  and  under  its 
shade  the  inhabitants  assemble  and  receive 
their  guests.  The  houses  are  shaped  like 
beehives,  are  very  low,  and  composed  simply 
of  a  mud  wall,  and  a  roof  made  of  bamboo 
thatched  with  grass.  The  doors  are  barely 
two  feet  high,  but  the  supple-bodied  Gani, 
who  have  never  been  encumbered  with 
clothes,  can  walk  through  the  aperture  with 
perfect  ease.  The  floor  is  made  of  clay 
beaten  hard,  and  is  swept  with  great  care. 
Cow-skins  are  spread  on  the  floor  by  way  of 
beds,  and  upon  these  the  Gani  sleep  without 
any  covering. 

Close  to  the  huts  are  placed  the  grain 
stores,  which  are  very  ingeniously  made. 
First,  a  number  of  rude  stone  pillars  are  set 
in  a  circle,  having  flat  stones  laid  on  their 
tojis,  much  resembling  the  remains  of  Stone' 


(129/ 


430 


THE   MADI. 


henge.  CTpon  these  is  secured  an  enor- 
mous cylinder  of  basket  work  plastered  with 
cla}',  the  top  of  which  is  covered  with  a 
conical  roof  of  bamboo  and  grass.  When  a 
woman  wishes  to  take  grain  out  of  the  store- 
house, she  places  against  it  a  large  branch 
from  which  the  smaller  boughs  have  been 
cut.  leaving  stumps  of  a  loot  or  ten  inches  in 
length,  and  by  means  of  this  rude  ladder  she 
easilj'  ascends  to  the  roof. 

The  appearance  of  this  tribe  is  most  re- 
markal)le,  as  thej'  use  less  clothing  and  more 
ornament  than  any  people  at  present  known. 
We  will  begin  with  the  men.  Their  dress  is 
absolutely  nothing  at  all  as  far  as  covering 
the  body  is  concerned,  but,  as  if  to  compen- 
sate for  this  nudity,  there  is  scarcely  a  square 
inch  of  the  person  without  its  adornment. 
In  the  first  place,  they  use  paint  as  a  suc- 
cedaueum  for  dress,  and  cover  themselves 
entirely  with  colors,  not  merely  rubbing 
themselves  over  with  one  tint,  liut  using 
several  colors,  and  painting  themselves  in  a 
wonderful  variety  of  patterns,  many  of  them 
showing  real  artistic  power,  while  others  are 
simply  grotesque. 

Two  young  men  who  came  as  messengers 
from  Chongi  had  used  three  colors.  They 
had  painted  their  faces  white,  the  pigment 
being  wood  ashes,  and  their  bodies  were 
covered  with  two  coats  of  paint,  the  first 
purple,  and  the  second  ashen  gray.  This 
latter  coat  they  had  scraped  olf  in  irregular 
patterns,  just  as  a  painter  uses  his  steel 
comb  when  graining  wood,  so  that  the  pur- 
ple ajipeared  through  the  gray,  and  looked 
much  like  the  grain  of  mahogany.  Some  of 
the  men  cover  their  bodies  with  horizontal 
stripes,  like  those  of  the  zebra,  or  with  verti- 
cal stripes  running  along  the  curve  of  the 
spine  and  limlis,  or  with  zigzag  markings  of 
light  colors.  Some  very  great  dandies  go 
still  further,  and  paint  their  bodies  chequer 
foshion,  exactly  like  that  of  a  harlequin. 
White  always  plays  a  large  part  in  their 
decorations,  and  is  often  apphed  in  broad 
bands  roiuid  the  waist  and  neck. 

The  head  is  not  less  gorgeously  decorated. 
First  the  hair  is  teased  out  with  a  pin,  and 
is  then  dressed  with  clay  so  as  to  form  it 
into  a  thick  felt-like  mass.  This  is  often 
further  decorated  with  pipe-clay  laid  on  in 
patterns,  and  at  the  back  of  the  neck  is  in- 
serted a  piece  of  sinew  about  a  foot  in  length. 
This  odd-looking  queue  is  turned  up,  and 
finished  oft' at  the  tip  with  a  tuft  of  fur,  the 
end  of  a  leopard's  tail  being  the  favorite 


ornament.  Shells,  beads,  and  other  orna- 
ments are  also  woven  into  the  hair,  and  in 
most  cases  a  feather  is  added  by  way  of  a 
finishing  touch.  The  whole  contour  of  the 
headdress  is  exactly  like  that  of  the  panta- 
loon of  the  stage,  and  the  sight  of  a  man 
with  the  body  of  a  harlequin  and  the  head  of 
a  pantaloon  is  too  much  for  European  grav- 
ity to  withstand. 

Besides  all  this  elaborate  decoration,  the 
men  wear  a  quantity  of  bracelets,  ankletSj 
and  earrings.  The  daily  toilet  of  a  Gam 
dandy  occupies  a  very  long  time,  and  in  the 
morning  the  men  may  be  seen  in  numbers 
sitting  under  the  shade  of  trees,  employed 
in  painting  their  own  bodies  or  dressing  the 
hair  of  a  friend,  and  applying  paint  where 
he  would  not  be  able  to  guide  the  brush. 
As  may  be  inferred,  they  ai'e  exceedingly 
vain  of  their  personal  appearance;  and  when 
their  toilet  is  completed,  they  strut  about 
in  order  to  show  themselves,  and  continu- 
ally jjose  themselves  in  attitudes  which  they 
think  graceful,  but  which  might  be  charac- 
terized as  conceited. 

Each  man  usually  carries  with  him  an  odd 
little  stool  with  one  leg,  and  instead  of  sit- 
ting on  the  ground,  as  is  done  by  most  sav- 
ages, the  Gani  make  a  point  of  seating  them- 
selves on  these  little  stools,  which  look  very 
like  those  which  are  used  by  Swiss  herds- 
men when  they  milk  the  cows,  and  only 
difler  from  them  in  not  being  tied  to  the 
body.  The  engraving  No.  1  on  page  431 
will  help  the  reader  to  understand  this  de- 
scription. 

The  women  are  not  nearly  such  votaries 
of  tashion  as  their  husbands,  principally 
because  they  have  to  work  and  to  nurse  the 
children,  who  would  make  short  work  of  any 
paint  that  they  might  use.  Like  the  parents, 
the  children  have  no  clothes,  and  are  merely 
suspended  in  a  rather  wide  strap  passing 
over  one  shoulder  of  the  mother  and  under 
the  other.  As,  however,  the  rays  of  the  sun 
might  be  injurious  to  them,  a  large  gourd 
is  cut  in  two  pieces,  hollowed  out,  and  one 
of  the  pieces  inverted  over  the  child's  head 
and  shoulders. 

The  Gani  have  cattle,  but  are  very  poor 
herdsmen,  and  have  sufl'ered  the  herd  to 
deteriorate  in  size  and  quality.  They  can- 
not even  drive  their  cattle  properly,  each 
cow  recognizing  a  special  driver,  who  grasps 
the  tail  iii  one  hand  and  a  horn  in  the  other, 
and  thus  di'ags  and  pushes  the  animal  along. 


THE   MADI  TEIBE. 


Not  very  far  from  the  Gani  are  situated 
the  Madi  tribe.  They  are  dressed,  or 
rather  undressed,  in  a  somewhat  similar 
fashion.  (See  engraving  on  page  000.)  The 
women  are  very  industrious,  "and  are  re- 


markable for  the  scrupulously  neat  and 
clean  state  in  which  they  keep  their  huts. 
Every  morning  the  women  may  be  seen 
sweeping  out  their  houses,  or  kneeling  in 
front  of  the  aperture  which  serves  as  a  door. 


(1.)   GROUP   OF  GANI   AND  MADl. 
(See  page  430.) 


(■i.)    REMOVAL  OF  A  VILLAGE. 

(See  page  431.) 


(43n 


VILLAGES   OF   THE  MADL 


433 


and  pattinjr  and  smoothing  the  space  in  front 
of  the  doorway.  Tliey  are  also  constantly 
employed  in  brewing  beer,  grinding  corn, 
and  baking  bread. 

They  take  great  care  of  their  children, 
washing  them  daily  with  warm  water,  and 
then,  as  they  have  no  towels,  licking  them 
dry  as  a  cat  does  with  her  kittens.  When 
the  child  is  washed  and  dried,  the  mother 
j)roduces  some  fiit  with  which  vermilion  has 
been  mixed,  and  rubs  it  over  the  child's 
body  nntil  it  is  all  red  and  shining.  The 
next  process  is  to  lay  the  child  on  its  back 
upon  a  goatskin,  the  corners  of  which  are 
then  gathered  up  and  tied  together  so  as  to 
form  a  cradle.  Should  the  mother  be  ex- 
ceedingly busy,  she  hangs  the  cradle  on  a 
peg  or  the  branch  of  a  tree,  the  child  offer- 
ing no  objection  to  this  treatment. 

The  dress  of  the  women  consists  of  a  pet- 
ticoat reaching  a  little  below  the  knees,  but 
they  often  dispense  with  this  article  of 
dress,  and  content  themselves  with  a  few 
leathern  thongs  in  front,  and  another  clus- 
ter of  thongs  behind.  In  default  of  leath- 
ern thongs,  a  bunch  of  chiekweed  answers 
every  purpose  of  dress.  They  wear  iron 
rings  round  their  arms  above  the  elbow, 
and  generally  have  a  small  knife  stuck  be- 
tween the  rings  and  the  arm. 

They  are  fond  of  wearing  little  circular 
disks  cut  from  a  univalve  shell.  These 
shells  are  laid  out  to  bleach  on  the  tops  of 
the  huts,  and,  when  whitened,  are  cut  into 
circles  about  as  large  as  fourpenny  pieces, 
each  having  a  hole  l)ored  through  the 
middle.  They  are  then  strung  together  and 
worn  as  belts,  and  have  also  l,he  advantage 
of  being  used  as  coin  with  which  small 
articles  of  food,  as  fruit  or  beer,  could  be 
purchased.  The  men  are  in  the  habit  of 
wearing  ornaments  made  of  the  tusks  of 
the  wild  boar.  The  tusks  are  tied  on  the 
arm  above  the  elbow,  and  contrast  well  with 
the  naturally  dark  hue  of  the  skin  and  the 
brilliant  colors  with  which  it  is  mostly 
painted. 

Whenever  a  child  is  liorn,  the  other  wo- 
men assemble  round  the  hut  of  the  mother, 
and  make  a  hideous  noise  by  way  of  con- 
gratulation. Drums  are  beaten  violently, 
songs  are  sung,  hands  are  clapped,  gratula- 
tory  sentences  are  yelled  out  at  the  full 
stretch  of  the  voice,  while  a  wild  and  furi- 
ous dance  acts  as  an  accompaniment  to  the 
noise.  As  soon  as  the  mother  has  recov- 
ered, a  goat  is  killed,  and  she  steps  back- 
ward and  forward  over  its  body.  One  of 
the  women,  the  wife  of  the  commandant, 
went  through  a  very  curious  ceremony 
when  she  had  recovered  her  health  after 
her  child  was  horn.  She  took  a  bunch  of 
dry  grass,  and  lighted  it,  and  then  passed  it 
from  hand  to  hand  three  times  nnunl  her 
body  while  she  walked  to  the  left  of  the 
door.  Another  grass  tuft  was  then  lighted, 
and  she  went  through  a  similar  perform- 


ance as  she  walked  to  the  front  of  the  door, 
and  the  process  was  again  repeated  as  she 
walked  to  the  right. 

The  dances  of  the  Madi  are  rather  vari- 
able. The  congratulatory  dance  is  )ier- 
formed  by  jumping  up  and  down  without 
any  order,  flinging  the  legs  and  arms  about, 
and  fla[)ping  the  ribs  with  the  elbows.  The 
young  men  have  a  dance  of  their  own, 
which  is  far  more  pleasing  than  that  of  the 
women.  Each  takes  a  stick  and  a  drum, 
and  they  arrange  themselves  in  a  circle, 
beating  the  drums,  singing,  and  converging 
to  the  centre,  and  then  retiring  again  in 
exact  time  with  the  rhythm  of  the  drum- 
beats. 

Sometimes  there  is  a  grand  general  dance, 
in  which  several  hundred  performers  take 
part.  "Six  drums  of  diflerent  sizes,  slung 
upon  poles,  were  in  the  centre;  around  these 
was  a  moving  mass  of  jieople,  elbowing  and 
pushing  one  another  as  at  a  fair;  and 
outside  them  a  I'ing  of  girls,  women,  and 
infants  faced  an  outer  circle  of  men  sound- 
ing horns  and  armed  with  spears  and  clubs, 
their  heads  ornamented  with  ostrich  feath- 
ers, helmets  of  the  cowrie  shell,  &c.  Never 
had  I  seen  such  a  scene  of  animated  savage 
life,  nor  heard  a  more  savage  noise.  As  the 
two  large  circles  of  both  sexes  jumped  simul- 
taneously to  the  music,  and  moved  round  at 
every  leap,  the  women  sang  and  jingled 
their  masses  of  bracelets,  challenging  and 
exciting  the  men,  forcing  them  to  various 
acts  of  gallantry,  while  our  Seedees  joined 
in  the  dance,  and  no  doubt  touched  many  a 
fair  breast." 

The  weapons  of  the  Madi  are  spears  and 
bows  and  arrows.  The  spears  are  about  six 
feet  long,  with  bamboo  shafts,  and  with  an 
iron  spike  at  the  butt  for  the  purpose  of 
sticking  it  in  the  ground.  They  are  better 
archers  than  the  generality  of  African  tribes, 
and  amuse  themselves  bj'  setting  up  marks, 
and  shooting  at  them  from  a  distance  of 
fort}'  or  fifty  j'ards.  The  arrows  are  mostly 
poisoned,  and  always  so  when  used  for  war. 
The  villages  of  the  Madi  are  constructed 
in  a  very  neat  manner,  the  floors  being 
made  of  a  kind  of  red  clay  beaten  hard  and 
smoothed.  The  thresholds  of  the  doors  are 
of  the  same  material,  but  are  paved  Avith 
pieces  of  broken  earthenware  pressed  into 
the  clay,  and  ingeniously  joined  so  as  to 
form  a  kind  of  pattern.  In  order  to  prevent 
cattle  from  entering  the  huts,  movable  bars 
of  bamboo  are  generally  set  across  the  en- 
trance. The  villages  are  enclosed  with  a 
fence,  and  the  inhabitants  never  allow  the 
sick  to  reside  within  the  enclosure.  They 
do  not  merely  eject  them,  as  they  do  in 
some  parts  of  Africa,  but  build  a  number  of 
huts  outside  the  walls  by  way  of  a  hospital. 

The  roofs  of  the  huts  are  cleverly  made 
of  bamboo  and  grass,  and  upon  them  is 
lavished  the  greater  part  of  the  kibor  of 
house-building.    If  therefore  the  Madi  are 


434 


THE   OBBO. 


dissatisfied  with  the  position  of  a  village, 
01'  tiiiil  that  neii;IiI)onnj;  tribes  are  becom- 
ing troublesome,  tliey  (juietly  move  otl'  to 
anotlier  spot,  carrying  witli  llicni  tlie  most 
important  part  of  their  liouses,  namelv,  tlie 
roofs,  wliich  are  so  light  that  a  few  men  can 
carry  them.  A  village  on  the  march  pre- 
sents a  most  curious  and  picturesque  spec- 
tacle, the  roofs  of  the  huts  carried  on  the 
heads  of  four  or  five  men,  the  bamboo  stakes 
borne  by  others,  while  some  are  driving  the 
cattle,  and  the  women  are  carrying  their 
children  and  their  simple  household  furni- 
ture. The  engraving  No.  2  on  page  431 
represents  such  a  removal. 
The  Turkish  caravans  that  occasionally 


pass  through  the  country  are  the  chief 
cause  of  these  migrations,  as  they  treat  the 
Madi  very  roughly.  When  they  come  to  a 
village,  they  will  not  take  up  "their  abode 
inside  it,  but  carry  olf  the  roots  of  the  huts 
and  form  a  camp  with  them  outside  the  en- 
closure. The}'  also  rob  the  corn-stores,  and, 
if  the  aggrieved  owner  ventures  to  remon- 
strate, he  is  knocked  down  by  the  butt  of  a 
musket,  or  threatened  with  its  contents.  In 
some  parts  of  the  counhy  these  men  had 
behaved  so  cruelly  to  the  natives  that,  as 
soon  as  the  inhabitants  of  a  village  saw  a 
caravan  approaching,  all  the  women  and 
children  forsook  their  dwellings,  and  hid 
themselves  in  the  bush  and  grass. 


THE   OBBO. 


We  now  come  to  Obbo,  a  district  situated 
in  lat.  4°  55'  N.  and  long.  31°  45'  E.  Sir  S. 
Baker  spent  a  considerable  time  in  Obbo,  — 
much  more,  indeed,  than  was  desirable, — 
and  in  consequence  learned  much  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  some  respects  the  natives  look  some- 
thing like  the  Gani  and  Madi,  especially  in 
their  fondness  for  paint,  their  disregard  of 
clothing,  and  the  mode  in  which  they  dress 
their  heads.  In  this  last  respect  they  are 
even  more  fastidious  than  the  tribes  which 
have  been  just  mentioned,  some  of  them 
having  snowy  white  wigs  descending  over 
their  shoulders,  and  finished  oil  with  the 
curved  and  tufted  pigtail.  The  shape  of 
the  Obbo  headdress  has  been  happily  com- 
pared to  that  of  a  beaver's  tail,  it  being 
wide  and  flat,  and  thicker  in  the  middle 
than  at  the  edges.  The  length  of  this  head- 
dress is  not  owing  to  the  wearer's  own  hair, 
but  is  produced  by  the  interweaving  of  hair 
from  other  sources.  If,  for  example,  a  man 
dies,  his  hair  is  removed  by  his  relations, 
and  woven  with  their  headdresses  as  a  sou- 
venir of  the  departed,  and  an  addition  to 
their  ornaments.  They  also  make  caps  of 
shells,  strung  together  and  decorated  witli 
feathers;  and  instead  of  clothing  they  wear 
a  small  skin  slung  over  one  shoulder. 

The  men  have  an  odd  fashion  of  wearing 
round  their  necks  several  thick  iron  rings, 
.sometimes  as  many  as  six  or  eight,  all 
brightly  polished,  and  looking  like  a  row  of 
dog  collars.  Should  the  wearer  hajipen  to 
become  stout,  these  rings  press  so  tightly  on 
his  throat  that  he  is  nearly  choked"  They 
also  are  fond  of  making  tufts  of  cow's  tails, 
which  they  suspend  from  their  arms  just 
above  the  elbows.  The  most  fashionable 
ornaments,  however,  are  made  of  horse  tails, 
the  hairs  of  which  are  also  highly  prized  for 
stringing  beads.  Consequently,  a  horse's 
tail  is  an  article  of  considerable  value,  and 
in  01iI)o-land  a  cow  can  be  purchased  for  a 
horse's  tail  in  good  condition. 


Paint  is  chiefly  used  as  a  kind  of  war 
uniform.  The  colors  which  the  natives  use 
are  vermilion,  yellow,  and  white,  but  the 
particular  pattern  is  left  much  to  their  own 
invention.  Stripes  of  alternate  scarlet  and 
yellow,  or  scarlet  and  white,  seem,  how- 
ever, to  form  the  ordinary  pattern,  jirobably 
because  they  are  easily  drawn,  and  present 
a  bold  contrast  of  color.  The  head  is  deco- 
rated with  a  kind  of  cap  made  of  cowrie 
shells,  to  which  are  fixed  several  long 
ostrich  plumes  that  droop  over  the  shoul- 
ders. 

Contrary  to  usual  custom,  the  women  are 
less  clad  than  the  men,  and,  until  they  are 
married,  wear  either  no  clothing  whatever, 
or  only  three  or  four  strings  of  white -beads, 
some  three  inches  in  length.  Some  of  the 
prudes,  however,  tie  a  piece  of  string  round 
their  waists,  and  stick  in  it  a  little  leafy 
branch,  with  the  stalk  uppermost.  "  One 
great  advantage  was  possessed  by  this  cos- 
tume. It  was  always  clean  and  fresh,  and 
the  nearest  bush  (if  not  thorny)  provided 
a  clean  petticoat.  When  in  the  society  of 
these  very  simjile,  and,  in  demeanor,  always 
modest  Eves,  I  could  not  help  reflecting 
upon  the  Mosaical  description  of  our  first 
parents."  Married  women  generally  wear  a 
iringe  of  leathern  thongs,  about  four  inches 
long  and  two  wide.  Old  women  mostly 
prefer  the  leaf  branch  to  the  leathern  fringe. 
When  young  they  are  usually  prett}-,  having 
well-formed  nose's,  and  lips  but  slightly  par- 
taking of  the  negro  character.  Some  of  the 
men  remind  the  spectators  of  the  S<imauli. 

Katchiba,  the  chief  of  Obbo,  was  rather  a 
fine-looking  man,  about  sixty  years  of  age, 
and  ivas  a  truly  remarkable  man,  making 
up  by  craft  the  lac-k  of  Ibrce,  and  ruling  his 
little  kingdom  with  a  really  firm,  though 
apparently  lax,  grasp.  In  the  first  place, 
having  a  goodh*  supply  of  sons,  he  made 
them  all  into  sub-chiets  of  the  many  dif- 
ferent districts  into  which  he  divided  his 
domains.    Owing  to  the  great  estimation  in 


KATCHIBA'S  POLICY. 


435 


which  he  was  held  by  his  people,  fresh 
wives  were  continually  being  presented  to 
him,  and  at  first  he  was  rather  perplexed 
by  the  difficulty  of  accommodating  so  many 
in  his  palace.  At  last  he  hit  on  the  expe- 
dient of  distributing  them  in  the  various 
villages  through  which  he  was  accustomed 
to  make  his  tour,  so  that  wherever  he  was 
he  found  himself  at  home. 

It  so  happened  that  when  Sir  S.  Baker 
visited  Katchiba  he  had  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  children  living.  This  may  not  seem 
to  be  a  very  wonderful  fact  when  the  num- 
ber of  his  wives  is  considered.  But,  in 
Africa,  plurality  of  wives  does  not  neces- 
sarily imply  a  corresponding  number  of 
children,  several  of  these  many-wived  chiefs 
having  only  one  child  to  every  ten  or  twelve 
wives.  Therefore  the  fact  that  Katchilia's 
family  was  so  very  large  raised  him  greatly 
in  the  minds  of  his  people,  who  looked 
upon  him  as  a  great  sorcerer,  and  had  the 
most  profound  respect  for  his  supernatural 
power. 

Katchiba  laid  claim  to  intercourse  with 
the  unseen  world,  and  to  authority  over  the 
elements;  rain  and  drought,  calm  and  tem- 
pest, being  supposed  by  his  subjects  to  be 
equally  under  his  command.  Sometimes,  if 
the  country  had  l_ieen  afflicted  with  drought 
beyond  the  usual  time  of  rain,  Katchiba 
would  assemble  his  people,  and  deliver  a 
long  harangue,  inveighing  against  their  evil 
doings,  which  had  kept  off  the  rain.  These 
evil  doings,  on  being  analyzed,  generally 
proved  to  be  little  more  than  a  want  of  lib- 
eralitj'  toward  himself.  He  explained  to 
them  that  he  sincerely  regretted  their  con- 
duct, which  "  has  compelled  him  to  afflict 
them  with  unfavorable  vyeather,  but  that  it 
is  their  own  fault.  If  they  are  so  greedy 
and  so  stingy  that  they  will  not  supply  him 
properly,  how  can  they  expect  him  to  think 
of  their  interests^  No  goats,  no  rain;  that'.s 
our  contract,  my  friends,"  says  Katchiba. 
"Do  as  you  like:  Jean  wait;  I  hope  you 
can."  Should  his  people  complain  of  "too 
much  rain,  he  threatens  to  pour  storms  and 
lightning  upon  them  forever,  unless  they 
bring  him  so  many  hundred  baskets  of  corn, 
&c.,  &c.     Thus  he  holds  his  sw.ay. 

"  No  man  would  think  of  starting  on  a 
journey  without  the  blessing  of  the  old  chief, 
and  a  peculiar  '  hocus-pocus '  is  considered 
necessary  from  the  magic  hands  of  Kat- 
chiba, that  shall  charm  the  traveller,  and 
preserve  him  from  all  danger  of  wild  ani- 
mals upon  the  road.  In  case  of  sickness  he 
is  called  in,  not  as  M.  D.  in  our  acceptation, 
but  as  Doctor  of  Magic,  and  he  charms  both 
the  hut  and  patient  against  death,  with  the 
fluctuating  results  that  must  attend  profes- 
sionals, even  in  sorcery.  His  subjects  have 
the  most  thorough  confidence  in  his  power; 
and  so  great  is  his  reputation,  that  distant 
tribes  frequently  consult  him,  and  beg  his 
assistance  as  a  magician.    In  this  manner 


does  old  Katchiba  hold  his  sway  over  his 
savage  but  credulous  people;  and  so  long 
has  he  imposed  upon  the  public,  that  I  be- 
lieve he  has  at  length  imposed  upon  himself, 
and  that  he  really  believes  that  he  has  the 
power  of  sorcery,"  notwithstanding  repeated 
failures." 

Once,  while  Sir  S.  Baker  was  in  the  coun- 
try, Katchiba,  like  other  rain-makers,  fell 
into  a  dilemma.  There  had  been  no  rain 
for  a  long  time,  and  the  people  had  become 
so  angry  at  the  continued  drought,  that 
they  assembled  round  his  house,  blowing 
horns,  and  shouting  execrations  against 
their  chief,  because  he  had  not  sent  them  a 
shower  which  would  allow  them  to  sow  their 
seed.  True  to  his  policy,  the  crafty  old  man 
made  light  of  their  threats,  telling  them 
that  they  might  kill  him  if  they  liked,  but 
that,  if  they  did  so,  no  more  rain  would  ever 
fall.  Kain  in  the  country  was  the  necessary 
result  of  goats  and  provisions  given  to  the 
chief,  and,  as  soon  as  he  got  the  proper  fees, 
the  rain  should  come.  The  rest  of  the  story 
is  so  good,  that  it  must  be  told  in  the  au- 
thor's own  words. 

"  With  all  this  bluster,  I  saw  that  old 
Katchiba  was  in  a  great  dilemma,  and  that 
he  would  give  anything  for  a  shower,  but 
that  he  did  not  know  how  to  get  out  of  the 
scrape.  It  was  a  common  freak  of  the  tribes 
to  sacrifice  their  rain-maker,  should  he  be 
unsuccessful.  He  suddenly  altered  his  tone, 
and  asked,  '  Have  you  any  rain  in  your 
country  ?  '  I  replied  that  we  had  every  now 
and  then.  '  How  do  you  bring  it  'i  Are  you 
a  rain-maker  'i '  I  told  him  that  no  one 
believed  in  rain-makers  in  our  country,  but 
that  we  knew  how  to  bottle  lightning  (mean- 
ing electricity).  '  I  don't  keep  mine  in  bot- 
tles, but  I  have  a  house  full  of  thunder  and 
hghtning,'  he  most  coolly  replied;  but  if  you 
can  bottle  lightning,  you  must  understand 
rain-making.  "VVIiat  "do  you  think  of  the 
weather  to-day  ? ' 

"  I  immediately  saw  the  drift  of  the  cunning 
old  Katchiba;  he  wanted  professional  ad- 
vice. I  rc;>lied  that  he  must  know  all  about 
it,  as  he  was  a  regular  rain-maker.  '  Of 
course  I  do,'  he  answered;  'but  I  want  to 
know  what  you  think  of  it.'  '  Well,'  I  said, 
'  I  don't  think  we  shall  have  any  steady  rain, 
but  I  think  we  may  have  a  heavy  shower 
in  about  four  days '  (I  said  this,  as  I  had 
oliserved  tleecy  clouds  gathering  daily  in 
the  afternoon).  '  .lust  my  opinion,'  said 
Katchiba,  delighted.  '  In  four,  or  perhaps 
in  five,  days  I  intend  to  give  them  one 
shower — just  one  shower;  yes,  I'll  just  step 
down  to  them,  and  tell  the  rascals  that  if 
they  will  give  me  some  goats  by  this  even- 
ing, and  some  corn  by  to-morrow  morning, 
I  will  give  them  in  four  or  five  days  just  one 
shower.' 

"  To  give  effect  to  his  declaration,  he  gave 
several  toots  on  his  magic  whistle.  '  Do 
you  use  whistles  in  your  country? '  inquired 


436 


THE  KYTCH. 


Katchiba.  I  only  replied  by  giving  so  shrill 
and  deafening  a  whistle  on  my  fingers,  that 
Katchiba  stopped  his  ears,  and,  relapsing 
into  a  smile  of  admiration,  he  took  a  glance 
at  the  sky  from  the  doorway,  to  see  if  any 
effect  had  been  produced.  '  Whistle  again,' 
he  said;  and  once  more  I  performed  like  the 
whistle  of  a  locomotive.  'That  will  do;  we 
shall  have  it,'  said  the  cunning  old  rain- 
maker; and,  proud  of  having  so  knowiuglj' 
obtained  '  counsel's  opinion  '  in  his  case,  he 
toddled  off  to  his  impatient  subjects.  In  a 
few  da3's  a  sudden  storm  of  rain  and  violent 
thunder  added  to  Katchiba's  renown,  and 
after  the  shower  horns  were  blowing  and 
nogaras  beating  in  honor  of  their  chief. 
Entre  nous,  my  whistle  was  considered  infal- 
lible." 

When  his  guests  were  lying  ill  in  their 
huts,  struck  down  with  the  fever  which  is 
prevalent  in  hot  and  moist  climates  such  as 
that  of  Oblso,  Katchiba  came  to  visit  them 
in  his  character  of  magician,  and  performed 
a  curious  ceremony.  He  took  a  small  leafy 
branch,  filled  his  mouth  with  water,  and 
squirted  it  on  the  branch,  which  was  then 
waved  about  the  hut,  and  lastly  stuck  over 
the  door.  He  assured  his  sick  guests  that 
their  recovery  was  now  certain;  and,  as 
they  did  recover,  his  opinion  of  his  magical 
powers  was  doubtless  confirmed. 

After  their  recovery  they  paid  a  visit  to 
the  chief,  by  his  special  desire.  His  palace 
consisted  of  an  enclosure  about  a  hundred 
yards  in  diameter,  within  which  were  a 
numbei'  of  huts,  all  circular,  but  of  different 
sizes;  the  largest,  which  was  about  twentj-- 
five  feet  in  diameter,  belonging  to  the  chief 
himself  The  whole  of  the  courtyard  was 
paved  with  beaten  clay,  and  was  beautifully 
clean,  and  the  palisades  were  covered  with 
gourds  and  a  species  of  climbing  yam. 
Katchiba  had  but  little  furnitm-e,  the  chief 


articles  being  a  few  cow-hides,  which  were 
spread  on  the  floor  and  used  as  couches.  On 
these  primitive  sofas  he  placed  his  guests, 
and  took  his  place  between  them.  The  rest 
of  his  furniture  consisted  of  earthen  jars, 
holding  about  thirty  gallons  each,  and  in- 
tended for  containing  or  brewing  beer. 

After  offering  a  huge  gourdful  of  that 
beverage  to  his  guests,  and  having  done 
ample  justice  to  it  himself,  he  politely  asked 
whether  he  should  sing  them  a  song.  Now 
Katchiba,  in  spite  of  his  gray  hairs,  his  rank 
as  chief,  and  his  dignity  as  a  sorcer,  was  a 
notable  buffoon,  a  savage  Grimaldi.  full  of 
inborn  and  grotesque  fun,  and  so  they  nat- 
lu'ally  expected  that  the  performances  would 
be,  like  his  other  exhibitions,  extremely 
ludicrous.  They  were  agreeably  disap- 
pointed. Taking  ft-om  the  hand  of  one  of 
his  wives  a  "  rababa,"  or  rude  harp  with 
eight  strings,  he  spent  some  time  in  tuning 
it,  and  then  sang  the  promised  song.  The 
air  was  strange  and  wild,  but  plaintive  and 
remarkably  pleasing,  with  accompaniment 
very  appropriate,  so  that  this  "  delightful 
old  sorcerer  "  proved  himself  to  be  a  man  of 
genius  in  music  as  well  as  in  policy. 

When  his  guests  rose  to  depart,  he  brought 
them  a  sheep  as  a  present;  and  when  they 
refused  it,  he  said  no  more,  but  waited  on 
them  through  the  doorway  of  his  hut,  and 
then  conducted  them  by  the  hand  for  atiout 
a  hundred  yards,  gracefully  expressing  a 
hope  that  they  would  repeat  their  visit. 
When  they  reached  their  hut,  they  found 
the  sheep  there,  Katchiba  having  sent  it  on 
before  them.  In  fine,  this  chief,  who  at  first 
appeared  to  be  little  more  than  a  jovial  sort 
of  buftooii,  who  by  accident  happened  to 
hold  the  chief's  place,  turned  out  unexpect- 
edly to  be  a  wise  and  respected  ruler,  a  pol- 
ished and  accomplished  gentleman. 


THE  KYTCH. 


KoT  far  from  Obbo-land  there  is  a  district 
inhabited  by  the  Kytch  tribe.  In  1825  there 
was  exhibited  in  the  principal  cities  of  Eu- 
rope a  Erenchman,  named  Claude  Ambroise 
Seurat,  who  was  popularly  called  the  "  Liv- 
ing Skeleton,"  on  account  of  his  extraor- 
dinary leanness,  his  body  and  limbs  looking 
just  as  if  a  skeleton  had  been  clothed  with 
skin,  and  endowed  with  life.  Among  the 
Kytch  tril)e  he  would  have  been  nothing 
remarkable,  almost  every  man  being  formed 
after  much  the  same  model.  In  fact,  as 
Sir  S.  Baker  remarked  of  them,  they  look 
at  a  distance  like  animated  slate-pencils 
with  heads  to  them.  The  men  of  the 
Kytch  tribe  are  tall,  and,  but  for  their  ex- 
treme emaciation,  would  be  fine  figures;  and 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  women.    These 


physical  peculiarities  are  shown  in  the  en- 
graving No.  1  on  the  next  page. 

Almost  the  only  specimens  of  the  Kytch 
tribe  who  had  any  claim  to  rounded  forms 
were  the  chief  and  his  daughter,  the  latter 
of  whom  was  about  sixteen,  and  really  good- 
looking.  In  common  with  the  rest  of  the 
tribe  she  wore  nothing  except  a  little  piece 
of  dressed  hide  about  a  foot  square,  which 
was  hung  over  one  shoulder  and  fell  upon 
the  arm,  t)ie  only  attempt  at  clothing  being 
a  belt  of  jingling  iron  circlets,  and  some 
beads  on  the  head. 

Her  father  wore  more  clothing  than  his 
inferiors,  though  his  raiment  was  more  for 
show  thau  for"  use,  being  merely  a  piece  of 
dressed  leojiard  skin  hung  over  his  shoul- 
ders as  an  emblem  of  his  rank.    He  had  on 


(1.)   GEOOP  OF  THE  KYTCU  TRIiiE. 
(See  page  436.) 


(2.)    NEAM-NAM    BLIGHTING. 
(See  page  443.) 

(437) 


LAW  OF  MARKIAGE. 


439 


his  head  a  sort  of  skull-cap  made  of  white  |  tribe  above  the  level  of  the  beasts  are,  that 


beads,  from  which  drooped  a  crest  of  whit 
ostrich  feathers.  He  always  carried  with 
him  a  curious  instrument,  —  namelj,  an 
iron  spike  about  two  feet  in  length,  with  a 
lioUow  socket  at  the  butt,  the  centre  being 
bound  with  snake  skin.  In  the  hollow  butt 
he  kept  his  tobacco,  so  that  this  instrument 
served  at  once  the  offices  of  a  tobacco  box, 
a  dagger,  and  a  club. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  a  more 
miserable  and  degraded  set  of  people  than 
the  Kytch  ti'ibe,  and,  were  it  not  for  two 
circumstances,  they  might  be  considered  as 
the  very  lowest  examples  of  humanity. 

For  their  food  they  depend  entirely  upon 
the  natural  productions  of  the  earth,  and 
pass  a  life  which  is  scarcely  superior  to  tliat 
of  a  baboon,  almost  all  their  ideas  being 
limited  to  the  discovery  of  their  daily  food. 
From  the  time  when  they  wake  to  the  hour 
when  they  sleep,  they  are  incessantly  look- 
ing for  food.  Their  "country  is  not  a  pro- 
ductive one;  they  never  till  the  ground, 
and  never  sow  seed;  so  that  they  are  always 
taking  from  the  ground,  and  never  putting 
anything  into  it.  They  eat  almost  every 
imaginable  substance,  animal  and  vegetable, 
thiuking  themselves  very  fortunate  if  they 
ever  find  the  hole  of  a  field-mouse,  which 
they  will  painfully  dig  out  with  the  aid  of  a 
stick,  and  then  feed  luxuriously  upon  it. 

So  ravenous  are  they,  that  they  eat  bones 
and  skin  as  well  as  flesh;  and  if  by  chance 
they  should  procure  the  body  of  an  animal 
so  large  that  its  bones  cannot  be  eaten 
whole,  the  Kytch  break  the  bones  to  frag- 
ments between  two  stones,  then  pound  them 
to  powder,  and  make  the  pulverized  bones 
into  a  sort  of  porridge.  In  fact,  as  has  been 
forcibly  remarked,  if  an  animal  is  killed,  or 
dies  a  natural  death,  the  Kytch  tribe  do  not 
leave  enough  for  a  fly  to  feed  upon. 
The   two    facts    that  elevate   the   Kytch 


they  keep  cattle,  and  lliat  they  have  a  Jaw 
regarding  marriage,  which,  altliough  repug- 
nant to  European  ideas,  is  still  a  law,  and 
has  its  parallel  in  many  countries  which  are 
far  more  advanced  in  civilization. 

The   cattle   of  the  Kytch  tribe  are  kept 
more  for  show  than  for  use,  and,  unless  they 
die,  they  are  never  used  as  food.     A  Kytch 
cattle-owner  would  nearly  as  soon  kill  him- 
self, and  quite  as  soon  murder  his  nearest 
relation,  as  he  would  slaughter  one  of  liis 
beloved  cattle.     The  milk  of  the  one  is,  of 
course,  a  singular  luxurj'  in  so  half-starved 
a  country,  and  none  but  the  wealthiest  men 
are  likely  ever  to  taste  it.     The  animals  are 
divided  into  little  herds,  and  to  each  herd 
there  is  attached  a  favorite  bull,  wliich  seems 
to  be    considered  as   possessing  an   almost 
sacred   character.     Every  morning,  as  the 
cattle  are  led  out  to  pasture,  the  sacred  Imll 
is  decorated  with  bunches  of  feathers  tied 
to    his    horns,   and,   if  possible,   with   little 
bells  also.     He  is  solemnly  adjured  to  take 
great  care  of  the  cows,  to  keep  them  from 
straying,  and  to  lead  them  to  the  best  pas- 
tures, so   that  they  may  give  abundance  of 
milk. 

The  law  of  marriage  is  a  very  peculiar 
one.  Polygamy  is,  of  course,  the  custom  in 
Kytch-land,  as  in  other  parts  of  Africa,  the 
husband  providing  himself  with  a  succession 
of  young  wives  as  the  others  become  old 
and  feeble,  and  therefore  unable  to  perform 
the  hard  work  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  Afri- 
can wives.  Consequently,  it  mostly  happens 
that  when  a  man  is  quite  old  and  infirm  lie 
has  a  number  of  wives  much  younger  than 
himself,  and  several  who  might  be  his  grand- 
children. Under  these  circumstances,  the 
latter  are  transferred  to  his  eldest  son,  and 
the  whole  family  live  together  harmoni- 
ously, until  the  death  of  the  father  renders 
the  sou  absolute  master  of  all  the  property. 


22 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


THE  NEAM-NAM,  d6k,  AND  DJOUR  TEIBES. 


locality  of  the  neaji-nam  tribe  —  thehs  waklike  natttre — a  singulab  beception — effect 
of  fire-akms  —  dkess  and  general  appearance  of  the  neam-nam  telbe  —  mode  of 
hunting  elephants  —  remarkable  weapons  —  the  dor  tribe  and  its  subdivisions  — 
weapons  of  the  dor — a  remarivable  pouch  or  quiver  —  the  ahr0w8  and  their  terri- 
ble bakbs  — a  dor  battle — treatment  of  dead  enemies — "dropping  down"  upon  the 
elephant  —  dress  of  the  dor — the  lip-ornament  —  their  architecture  —  curious  ap- 
proach to  the  village  —  the  wooden  chiefs  and  their  followers  —  musical  instru- 
ments—  the  djour  tribe  —  absence  op  cattle  —  the  tsetse-flt  —  metallurgy  —  ingen- 
ious sjielting  furnace  —  women's  knives  —  extensive  traffic  —  smoking  —  the  bark 
"quids." 


Just  over  the  Equator,  and  in  the  Nile  dis- 
trict, is  a  very  remarkable  tribe  called  the 
Neam-Nam.  They  are  a  fierce  and  warlike 
peojilc,  and  aggessive  toward  all  the  sur- 
rounding tribes,  making  incursions  into 
their  territories,  and  carrying  ott"  their 
children  into  slavery.  Consequently  they 
are  held  in  the  utmost  dread,  and  the  lands 
that  surround  the  Neam-Nam  borders  are 
left  uncultivated,  no  one  daring  to  occupy 
them  for  fear  of  their  terrible  neighbors. 
The  Neam-Nam  seem  not  only  to  have 
firmly  cstabiished  themselves,  but  even  to 
have  gradually  extended  their  boundaries, 
their  neighbors  falling  farther  and  farther 
back  at  each  successve  raid. 

When  Mr.  Petherick  passed  through  their 
country,  many  of  his  porters  could  not  ))e 
induced  to  enter  the  territory  of  such  a  ter- 
rible tribe,  even  though  protected  by  the 
white  man's  weapons.  Several  of  them 
deserted  on  the  way,  and  at  last,  when  they 
were  come  in  sight  of  the  first  village,  the 
rest  flung  down  "their  loads  and  ran  away, 
only  the  interpreter  being  secured. 

As  they  neared  the  village,  the  menacing 
sound  of  the  alarm  drum  was  heard,  and  out 
came  the  Neam-Nams  in  full  battle  array. 
their  lances  in  their  right  hands  and  their 
large  shields  covering  their  bodies.  They 
drew  up  in  line,  and  seemed  disposed  to  dis- 
pute the  passage ;  but  as  the  party  marched 
quietly  and  unconcernedly  onward,  they 
opened  their  ranks  and  allowed  them  to 
enter  the  village,  from  which  the  women 


and  children  had  already  been  removed. 
They  then  seated  themselves  under  the 
shade  of  a  large  S3-camore  tree,  deposited 
the  baggage,  and  sat  ima  circle  round  it, 
keeping"  on  all  sides  a  front  to  the  armed 
natives,  who  now  began  to  come  rather 
nearer  than  was  agreeable,  some  actually 
seating  themselves  on  the  traveller's  feet. 
They  were  all  very  merry  and  jocose,  point- 
ing at  their  visitors  continually,  and  then 
bursting  into  shouts  of  approving  laughter. 
There  was  evidently  some  joke  which  tickled 
their  fancy,  and  by"  means  of  the  interpreter 
it  was  soon  discovered. 

The  fiict  was,  that  the  Neam-Nam  were 
cannibals,  and  meant  to  eat  the  strangers 
who  had  so  foolishljr  trusted  themselves  in 
the  country  without  either  spears,  swords, 
or  shields,  but  they  did  not  like  to  kill  tbtm 
before  their  chief  arrived.  When  (his  pleas- 
ant joke  was  explained,  (he  astonishi'd  vis- 
itors were  nearly  as  amused  as  the  Neam- 
Nam,  knowing  perfectly  well  that  their 
weapons  were  sufficient  to  drive  olf  ten 
times  the  number  of  such  foes. 

Presently  the  chief  arrived  — an  old,  gray- 
headed  man,  who,  by  his  sagacity,  ccrtninly 
showed  himself  worthy  of  (he  post  which 
he  held.  After  a  colloquy  with  the  interpre- 
ter, he  turned  to  his  people,  and  the  follow- 
ing extraordinary  discourse  took  place:- — 

'"  Neam-Nam,  do  not  insult  these  strange 
men.     Do  you  know  whence  they  come?"' 

"  No;  biit  we  will  feast  on  them,"  was  the 
rejoinder.     Then  the  old  man,   holding    up 


(440) 


A  SINGULAR  RECEPTION". 


441 


his  spear,  and  commanding  silence,  pro- 
ceeded thus: 

"Do  you  know  of  any  tribe  tliat  would 
dare  to  approach  our  village  in  such  small 
numbers  as  these  men  have  done'i"' 

"  No!  "  was  again  vociferated. 

"Very  well;  you  know  not  wlience  they 
come,  nor  do  I,  who  am  greatly  your  senior, 
and  whose  voice  you  ought  to  respect.  Their 
country  must  indeed  be  distant,  and  to 
traverse  the  many  tribes  between  their 
country  and  ours  ought  to  be  a  proof  to  you 
of  tlie'ir  valor.  Look  at  the  things  they 
hold  in  tlieir  hands:  they  are  neither  spears, 
clulis,  nor  bows  and  arrows,  but  inexplicable 
bits  of  iron  mounted  on  wood.  Neither 
have  they  shields  to  defend  their  bodies 
from  our  weapons.  Therefore,  to  have 
travelled  thus  far,  depend  on  it  their  means 
of  resistance  must  be  as  puzzling  to  us,  and 
far  superior  to  any  arms  that  any  tribe,  ay, 
even  our  own,  can  oppose  to  them.  There- 
fore, Neam-Nam,  I,  who  have  led  you  to 
man}'  a  fight,  and  whose  counsels  you  have 
often  followed,  say,  shed  not  your  blood  in 
vain,  nor  bring  disgrace  upon  your  fathers, 
who  have  never  been  vanquished.  Touch 
them  not,  but  prove  yourselves  to  be  worthy 
of  the  friendship  of  such  a  handful  of  brave 
men,  and  do  yourselves  honor  by  entertain- 
ing them,  rather  than  degrade  them  by  the 
continuance  of  your  insults." 

It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  pene- 
tration of  this  cliief,  who  was  wise  enough 
to  deduce  the  strength  of  his  visitors  from 
their  apparent  weakness,  and  to  fear  them 
for  those  vei-y  reasons  that  caused  liis  more 
ignorant  and  impetuous  people  to  despise 
them. 

Having  thus  calmed  the  excitement,  he 
asked  to  inspect  the  strange  weapons  oi^  his 
guests.  A  gun  was  handed  to  him — ^  the 
cap  having  been  removed  —  and  very  much 
it  puzzled  Iiim.  From  the  mode  in  wliich  it 
was  held,  it  wjis  evidently  not  a  club;  and 
yet  it  could  not  be  a  knife,  as  it  had  no  edge ; 
nor  a  spear,  as  it  had  no  point.  Indeed,  the 
fact  of  the  barrel  being  hollow  puzzled  him 
exceedingly.  At  last  he  poked  his  finger 
down  the  muzzle,  and  looked  inquiringly  at 
his  guest,  as  if  to  ask  what  could  be  the  use 
of  such  an  article.  By  way  of  answer,  Mr. 
Petlierick  took  a  gun,  and,  pointing  to  a 
vulture  that  was  hovering  over  their  heads, 
fired,  and  brought  it  down. 

"  But  before  the  bird  touched  the  ground, 
the  crowd  were  prostrate,  and  groveiling  in 
the  dust,  as  if  every  man  of  them  liad  been 
shot.  The  old  man's  head,  witli  his  hands 
on  his  ears,  was  at  my  feet;  and  when  I 
raised  him,  his  appearance  was  ghastly,  and 
his  eyes  were  fixed  on  me  with  a  meaning- 
less expression.  I  thought  that  he  liad  lost 
his  senses. 

"  After  shaking  him  several  times,  I  at 
length  succeedeil  in  attracting  his  attention 
to  the  fallen  bird,  quivering  in  its  last  ago- 


nies between  two  of  his  men.  The  first  sign 
of  returning  animation  he  gave  was  putting 
his  hand  to  his  head,  and  examining  himself 
as  if  in  search  of  a  wound.  He  gradually 
recovered,  and,  as  soon  as  he  could  regain 
his  voice,  called  to  the  crowd,  wlio  one  after 
the  otiier  first  raised  their  heads,  and  then 
again  dropped  them  at  the  siglit  of  their 
apparently  lifeless  comrades.  After  the  re- 
peated call  of  the  old  man,  they  ventured  to 
rise,  and  a  general  inspection  of  imaginary 
wounds  commenced." 

This  man,  Mur-mangae  by  name,  was 
only  a  sub-chief,  and  was  inferior  to  a  very 
great  chief,  whose  name  was  Dimoo.  There 
is  one  single  king  among  the  Neam-Nam, 
who  are  divided  into  a  number  of  independ- 
ent sub-tribes,  each  ruled  by  its  own  chief, 
and  deriving  its  importance  from  its  num- 
bers. While  they  were  recovering  from  the 
etfect  of  tlie  sliot,  Dimoo  himself  appeared, 
and,  after  hearing  the  wonderful  tale,  seemed 
inclined  to  discredit  it,  and  drew  up  Ids  men 
as  if  to  attack.  Just  then  an  elejdiant 
appeared  in  the  distance,  and  he  determined 
to  use  the  animal  as  a  test,  asking  whether 
the  white  men's  thunder  could  kill  an  ele- 
phant as  well  as  a  vulture,  and  that,  if  it 
could  do  so,  he  would  respect  them.  A 
party  was  at  once  despatched,  accompanied 
by  the  chief  and  all  tlie  savages.  At  the 
first  volley  down  went  most  of  the  Neam- 
Nam,  inchiding  the  chief,  the  rest  running 
away  as  fast  as  their  legs  could  carry  them. 

After  this  event  the  whole  demeanor  of 
the  people  was  changed  from  aggressive 
insolence  to  humble  respect,  and  they  imme- 
diately showed  their  altered  feelings  by 
sendinw  large  quantities  of  milk  and  por- 
ridge for  the  party,  and  half  a  fat  dog  for 
Mr.  Petherick's  own  dinner.  Tliey  also 
began  to  open  a  trade,  and  were  equally 
astonished  and  amused  that  such  common 
and  useless  things  as  elephants'  tusks  could 
be  exchanged  for  such  priceless  valuables  as 
beads,  and  were  put  in  high  good-humor 
accordingly.  Up  to  that  time  trade  liad 
been  entirely  unknown  among  the  Neam- 
Nam,  and,  though  the  people  made  great  use 
of  ivory  in  fashioning  ornaments  for  them- 
selves, they  never  had  thouglit  of  peaceful 
barter  with  their  neighbors,  thinking  that 
to  rob  was  better  than  to  exchange. 

Dimoo,  however,  still  retained  some  of  his 
suspicious  nature,  which  showed  itself  in 
various  little  ways.  At  last  Mr.  Petlierick 
invented  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  a  plan 
by  wliich  he  completely  conquered  his  host. 
Dimoo  had  taken  an  inordinate  fancy  for 
tlie  tobacco  of  his  guests,  and  was  always 
asking  for  some.  As  the  supply  was  small, 
Mr.  Petlierick  did  not  like  to  make  it  still 
smaller,  while,  at  the  same  time,  a  refusal 
would  have  been  impolitic.  So,  one  day, 
when  the  usual  request  was  made,  lie  ac- 
ceded to  it,  at  the  same  time  telling  Dimoo 
that  the  tobacco  was  unsafe  to  smoke,  be- 


442 


THE  NEAM-NAM. 


cause  it  always  broke  the  pipes  of  those  wlio 
meditated  treacherj-  toward  him. 

Meauwliile,  a  servant,  wlio  had  been  pre- 
viously instructed,  tilled  Dimoo's  jiipe,  at 
the  same  time  inserting  a  small  cliarge  of 
gunpowder,  for  whicli  there  was  plenty  of 
room,  in  consequence  of  the  inordinate  size 
of  the  bowl.  Dimoo  took  the  pipe  and  be- 
gan to  smoke  it  defiantly,  when  all  at  once 
an  explosion  took  place,  the  bowl  was  shat- 
tered to  pieces,  and  Dimoo  and  his  coun- 
cillors tumlsled  over  each  other  in  terror. 
Quite  conquered  by  this  last  proof  of  the 
white  man's  omniscience,  he  humbly  ac- 
knowledged that  he  did  meditate  treachery 
—  not  against  his  person,  but  against  his 
goods  —  and  that  his  intention  was  to  detain 
the  whole  party  until  he  had  got  possession 
of  all  their  property. 

The  appearance  of  the  Neam-Nam  tribe  is 
very  striking.  They  are  not  quite  black,  but 
have  a  brown  and  olive  tint  of  skin.  The 
men  are  better  clothed  than  is  usuallj'  the 
case  in  Central  Africa,  and  wear  a  home- 
made cloth  woven  from  bark  fibres.  A  tol- 
erably large  piece  of  this  cloth  is  slung  round 
the  l)od3'  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  arms 
at  liberty.  The  hair  is  plaited  in  thick 
masses,  "exending  from  the  neck  to  the 
shoulders. 

In  the  operation  of  hair  dressing  they  use 
long  ivory  pins,  varying  from  six  to  twelve 
or  fourteen  inches  in  length,  and  very 
.slightly  curved.  One  end  is  smoothly  pointed, 
and  the  other  is  much  thicker,  and  for  some 
four  inches  is  .carved  into  various  patterns, 
mostly  of  the  zigzag  character  which  is  so 
prevalent  throughout  Africa.  When  the 
hair  is  fully  combed  out  and  arranged,  two 
of  the  largest  pins  are  stuck  through  it 
horizontally,  and  a  number  of  shorter  pins 
are  arranged  in  a  radiating  form,  so  that 
they  form  a  semi-ciix-le,  something  like  the 
large  comb  of  a  Spanish  lady. 

One  of  these  pins  is  now  before  me.  It  is 
just  a  foot  in  length,  and  at  the  thick  end  is 
almost  as  large  as  a  black-lead  pencil,  taper- 
ing gradually  to  the  other  end.  The  butt, 
or  base,  is  covered  with  a  multitude  of 
scratches,  which  are  thought  to  be  orna- 
mental, but  which  look  exactly  as  if  they 
liad  been  cut  by  a  child  \\lio  for  the  first 
time  had  got  hold  of  a  knife,  and  they  are 
stained  black  with  a  decoction  of  some  root. 

Tlie  dress  of  the  women  consists  partly  of 
a  piece  of  cloth  such  as  has  been  described, 
but  of  smaller  dimensions,  and,  besides  this, 
they  wear  a  rather  curious  apron  made  of 
leather.  The  one  in  my  collection  some- 
what resembles  that  of  the  Zulu  apron, 
shown  in  '•  Articles  of  Costume,'"  at  page 
33,  fig.  3,  but  is  not  nearly  so  tliick  nor  so 
heavy,  and  indeed  is  made  on  a  different 
plan.  The  top  is  a  solid  square  of  thick 
leather  doubled  in  the  middle  and  then 
beaten  flat.  To  both  of  the  edges  has  been 
firmly  sewed  a  triple  row  of  tlat  leathern 


thongs,  almost  the  eighth  of  an  inch  in 
width,  and  scarcely  thicker  than  brown 
pajier.  Six  rows  of  these  flat  thongs  are 
therefore  attached  to  the  ujiper  leather. 
All  the  ornament,  simple  as  it  is,  is  confined 
to  the  front  layer  of  thongs,  and  consists 
entirely  of  iron.  Flat  strips  of  iron,  evi- 
dently made  by  beating  wire  flat,  are  twisted 
round  the  thongs  and  then  hammered  down 
upon  them,  while  the  end  of  each  Ihong  is 
further  decorated  with  a  ring  or  loop  of  iron 
wire. 

The  centre  of  the  solid  leather  is  orna- 
mented witli  a  circular  jiiece  of  iron,  boss- 
shaped,  scratched  round  the  edges,  and  hav- 
ing an  iron  ring  in  its  centre.  The  strap 
which  supports  the  apron  is  fastened  to  a 
couple  of  iron  rings  at  the  upjier  corners. 
In  some  aprons  bead  ornaments  take  the 
place  of  the  iron  boss,  but  in  almost  every 
instance  there  is  an  ornament  of  some  kind. 
The  Avomen  have  also  an  ornament  made  by 
cutting  little  fiat  pieces  of  ivory,  and  placing 
them  on  a  strip  of  leather,  one  over  the 
other,  like  fish  scales.  This  ornament  is 
worn  as  a  necklace.  They  also  carve  pieces 
of  ivory  into  a  tolerable  imitation  of  cowrie- 
.sliells,  and  string  them  together  as  if  Ihey 
were  the  veritable  shells. 

There  is  another  ornament  that  exhibits 
a  type  of  decoration  which  is  prevalent 
throughout  the  whole  of  Central  Africa.  It 
is  composed  of  a  belt  of  stout  leather  —  that 
of  the  hipiiopotamus  being  preferred,  on 
account  of  its  strength  and  thickness  —  to 
\\-hich  are  attached  a  quantity  of  empty  nut- 
shells. Through  the  u]iper  end  of  the  nut  a 
hole  is  bored  with  aredhot  iron,  and  an  iron 
ring  passes  through  this  hole  and  another 
which  has  been  punched  through  the  leather. 
The  shell  is  very  hard  and  thick,  and,  when 
the  wearer  dances  with  the  energetic  ges- 
tures which  accompany  sucli  performances, 
the  nuts  keep  up  a  continual  and  rather  loud 
clatter. 

The  Neam-Nam  all  wear  leathern  sandals, 
and  although  their  clothing  is  so  scanty, 
they  are  remarkalile  for  their  personal  clean- 
liness, a  virtue  which  is  so  rare  in  Africa 
that  it  deserves  commemoration  whenever 
it  does  occur. 

As  may  already  have  been  seen,  the 
Ncam-Nam  are  a  caunilml  race,  and  always 
devour  the  bodies  of  slain  enemies.  This 
repulsive  custom  is  not  restricted  to  ene- 
mies, but  is  extended  to  nearly  all  human 
lieings  with  whom  they  come  in  contact, 
their  own  tribe  not  proving  any  exception. 
Mr.  Petherick  was  told  by  themselves  that 
when  a  Neam-Nam  became  old  and  feeble, 
he  was  always  killed  and  eaten,  and  that 
when  any  were  at  the  point  of  death,  the 
same  fate"  befell  them. 

Should  one  of  their  slaves  run  away  and 
be  captured,  he  is  always 'slain  and  eaten  as 
a  warning  to  other  slaves.  Such  an  event, 
however,"  is  of  very  rare  occurrence,  the. 


REMAEKABLE   WEAPONS. 


443 


slaves  being  treated  with  singular  kindness, 
and  master  and  slave  being  mutually  proud 
of  each  other.  Indeed,  in  many  families 
the  slaves  are  more  valued  than  the  chil- 
dren. Indeed,  much  of  the  wealth  of  the 
Neam-Nam  consists  of  slaves,  and  a  man 
measures  his  importance  by  the  number  of 
slaves  whom  he  maintains.  All  these  slaves 
belong  to  some  other  tribe,  and  were  cap- 
tured by  their  owners,  so  that  they  are  liv- 
ing witnesses  of  prowess  as  well  as  signs  of 
wealth.  They  are  never  sold  or  bartered, 
and  therefore  a  slave  dealer  is  not  known 
among  them,  and  they  are  spared  one  of  the 
chief  curses  of  Africa.  As  a  general  rule, 
the  slaves  are  so  faithful,  and  are  so  com- 
pletely incorporated  with  the  household  to 
which  they  belong,  that  in  case  of  war  they 
are  armed,  and  accompany  their  masters  to 
battle. 

The  Neam-Nam  are  skilful  hunters,  and 
make  great  use  of  fire  when  chasing  the 
elephant.  As  tliey  were  desirous  of  procur- 
ing tusks  to  exchange  for  Mr.  Petherick's 
beads,  they  anxiously  awaited  the  first  rains, 
which  would  bring  the  elei^hants  into  their 
country. 

"  Successive  showers  followed,  and,  after 
a  fortnight's  sojourn,  a  herd  of  eighteen 
elephants  was  announced  by  beat  of  tom- 
tom, as  being  in  the  vicinitj'.  Old  men, 
boys,  women,  and  children,  collected  with 
most  sanguine  expectations;  and,  anxious 
to  witness  the  scene,  I  accompanied  the 
hunters.  A  finer  body  of  well-grown  and 
active  men  I  never  beheld.  The  slaves, 
many  of  them  from  the  Baer,  but  most  of 
them  appertaining  to  unknown  tribes  from 
the  west,  were  nearly  black,  and  followed 
their  more  noble-looking  and  olive-colored 
masters.  Two  hours'  march  —  the  first  part 
through  cultivated  grounds  and  the  latter 
through  magnificent  bush  —  brought  us  to 
the  open  plain,  covered  hip-deep  with  dry 
grass,  and  there  were  the  elephants  march- 
ing leisurely  toward  us. 

"  The  negroes,  about  five  hundred,  swift 
as  antelopes,  formed  a  vast  circle  round 
them,  and  by  their  yells  brought  the  huge 
game  to  a  standstill.  As  if  by  magic,  the 
plain  was  on  fire,  and  the  elephants,  in 
the  midst  of  the  roar  and  crackling  of  the 
flames,  were  obscured  from  our  view  by  the 
smoke.  Where  I  stood,  and  along  the  line, 
as  far  as  I  could  see,  the  grass  was  beaten 
down  to  prevent  the  outside  of  the  circle 
from  being  seized  in  the  conflagration ;  and, 
in  a  short  time  —  not  more  than  half  an 
hour  —  the  fire  having  exhausted  itself,  the 
cloud  of  smoke,  gradually  rising,  again  dis- 
played the  group  of  elephants  standing  as  if 
petrified.  As  soon  as  the  burning  embers 
had  become  sufficiently  extinct,  the  negroes 
with  a  whoop  closed  from  all  sides  upon 
their  prey.  The  fire  and  smoke  had  blinded 
them,  and,  unable  to  defend  themselves, 
they  successively  fell  by  the  lances  of  their 


assailants.  The  sight  was  grand,  and,  al- 
though their  tusksproved  a  rich  prize,  I 
was  touched  at  the  massacre." 

When  the  Neam-Nam  warrior  goes  out 
to  battle,  he  takes  with  him  a  curious  series 
of  weapons.  He  has,  of  course,  his  lance, 
which  is  well  and  strongly  put  together,  the 
blade  being  leaf-shaped,  like  that  of  a  hog 
spear,  only  very  much  longer.  On  his  left 
arm  he  bears  his  shield,  which  is  made  of 
bark  filjre,  woven  very  closely  together, 
and  very  thick,  ^he  maker  displays  his 
taste  in  the  patterns  of  the  work,  and  in 
those  which  he  traces  upon  it  with  vari- 
ously colored  dyes.  Within  the  shield  he 
has  a  sort  of  wooden  handle,  to  which  are 
attached  one  or  two  most  remarkable  weap- 
ons. 

One  of  these  is  wholly  fiat,  the  handle 
included,  and  is  about  the  thickness  of  an 
ordinary  sword-blade.  The  projecting  por- 
tions are  all  edged,  and  kept  extremely 
sharp,  while  the  handle  is  rather  thicker 
than  the  blade,  and  is  rounded  and  rough- 
ened, so  as  to  atford  a  firm  grip  to  the  hand. 
(See  the  "  jSTeam-Nam  Fight "  on  p.  437.) 

When  the  Neam-Nam  comes  near  his 
enemy,  and  before  he  is  within  range  of 
a  spear  thrust,  he  snatches  one  of  these 
strange  weapons  from  his  shield,  and  hurls 
it  at  the  foe,  much  as  an  Australian  flings 
his  boomerang,  an  American  Indian  his 
tomahawk,  and  a  Sikh  his  chakra,  giving  it 
a  revolving  motion  as  he  throws  it.  Owing 
to  this  mode  of  flinging,  the  weapon  covers 
a  considerable  space,  and  if  the  projecting 
blades  come  in  contact  with  the  enemy's  per- 
son, they  are  sure  to  disable,  if  not  "to  kill, 
him  on  the  spot. 

And  as  several  of  these  are  hurled  in  rapid 
succession,  it  is  evident  that  the  Neam-Kam 
warrior  is  no  ordinary  foe,  and  that  even  the 
possessor  of  fire-arms  might  in  reality  be 
overcome  if  taken  by  surprise,  for,  as  the 
"  boomerangs "  are  concealed  within  the 
shield,  the  first  intimation  of  their  existence 
would  be  given  by  their  sharp  blades  whirl- 
ing successively  through  the  air  with  deadly 
aim. 

Besides  the  lance  and  the  "boomerangs," 
each  Neam-Nam  carries  a  strangely-shaped 
knife  in  a  leathern  sheath,  and  oddly  enough 
the  hilt  is  always  downward.  It  is"  sharp  at 
both  edges,  and  is  used  as  a  hand-to-hand 
weapon  after  the  boomerangs  have  been 
thrown,  and  the  parties  have  come  too  close 
to  use  the  .spear  effectually.  From  the  pro- 
jection at  the  base  of  the  blade  a  cord  is  tied 
loosely  to  the  handle,  and  the  loop  passed 
over  the  wrist,  so  as  to  prevent  the  warrior 
from  being  disarmed. 

Some  of  the  Neam-Nam  tribes  use  a  very 
remarkable  shield.  It  is  spindle-shaped, 
very  long  and  very  narrow,  measuring  only 
four  or  five  inches  in  breadth  in  the  middle, 
and  tapering  to  a  point  at  either  end.  In 
the  middle  a  hole  is  scooped,  large  enough 


444 


THE  d6k. 


to  contain  tlie  hand,  and  a  bar  of  wood  is 
left  so  as  to  form  a  handle.  This  curious 
shield  is  carried  iu  the  left  hand,  and  is  used 
to  ward  oti'  the  lances  or  arrows  of  the  en- 
emy, which  is  done  by  giving  it  a  smart 
twist. 

In  principle  .and  appearance  it  resembles 
so  closely  the  shield  of  the  native  Austra- 
lian, that  it  might  easily  be  mistaken  for  one 
of  those  weapons.  Sometimes  a  warrior 
decorates  his  shield  by  covering  it  with  the 
skin  of  an  antelope,  wrapped  round  it  while 
still  wet,  and  then  sewed  together  in  a  line 
with  the  handle.  The  Shilloch  and  Dinka 
tribes  use  similar  weapons,  but  their  shields 
are  without  the  hollow  guard  for  the  hand, 
and  look  exactly  like  bows  without  the 
strings. 

Each  warrior  has  also  a  whistle,  or  call. 


made  of  ivory  or  antelope's  horn,  which  is 
used  for  conveying  signals;  and  some  of  the 
officers,  or  leaders,  have  large  war  trumpets, 
made  of  elephants'  tusks.  One  form  of  these 
trumpets  is  seen  in  the  illustration  "  Cabo- 
ceer  and  soldiers,"  on  page  •564.  The  reader 
will  observe  that,  as  is  usual  throughout 
Africa,  they  are  sounded  from  the  side,  like 
a  flute,  and  not  from  the  end,  like  ordinary 
trumpets. 

Altogether  Mr.  Petheriek  passed  a  con- 
siderable time  among  this  justly  dreaded 
tribe,  and  was  so  popular  among  them,  that 
when  he  left  the  country  he  was  accomia- 
nied  by  crowds  of  natives,  and  the  great  chief 
Dimoo  not  only  begged  him  to  return,  but 
generously  ottered  his  daughter  as  a  wife  iu 
case  the  invitation  were  accepted,  and  prom- 
ised to  keep  her  until  wanted. 


THE  DOE. 


Passing  by  a  number  of  small  and  com- 
paratively insignificant  tribes,  we  come  to  the 
large  and  important  tribe  of  the  Dor.  Like 
all  African  tribes  of  any  pretence,  it  includes 
a  great  number  of  smaller  or  sub-tribes, 
which  are  only  too  glad  to  be  ranked  among 
so  important  and  powerful  a  tribe,  and,  for 
the  sake  of  belonging  to  it,  they  forego  their 
own  individuality. 

Like  the  Neam-Nam,  the  Dor  acknowl- 
edged no  paramount  chief,  the  innumerable 
sub-tribes  of  which  it  is  composed  being  each 
independent,  and  nearly  all  at  feud  with  one 
another.  Indeed  the  whole  political  condi- 
tion of  the  Dor  is  wonderfully  similar  to  that 
of  Scotland,  when  clan  was  set  against  clan, 
and  a  continual  state  of  feud  prevailed 
among  them,  though  they  all  gloried  in  the 
name  of  Scotchman. 

As  in  the  old  days  of  Chevy  Chase,  a  hunt 
is  almost  a  sure  precursor  of  a  fight.  The 
Dor  are  much  given  to  hunting,  and  organ- 
ize battues  on  a  grand  scale.  They  weave 
strong  nets  of  bark  fibre,  and  fasten  them  be- 
tween trunks  of  trees,  so  as  to  cover  a  space 
of  several  miles.  Antelopes  and  otlier  game 
are  driven  from  considerable  distances  into 
these  nets;  and  as  the  hunters  have  to  pass 
over  a  large  space  of  country,  some  of  which 
is  .sure  to  be  claimed  by  inimical  tribes,  a 
skirmish,  if  not  a  regular  battle,  is  sure  to 
take  place. 

The  weapons  carried  by  the  Dor  are  of 
rather  a  formidable  description.  One  of  the 
most  curious  is  the  club.  It  is  about  two 
feet  six  inches  in  length,  and  is  remarkable 
for  the  shape  of  the  head,  which  is  formed 
like  a  mushroom,  but  has  sharp  edges.  As 
it  is  made  of  very  hard  wood,  it  is  a  most 
effective  weapon,  and  not  even  the  stone- 
like skull  of  a  Dor  warrior  can  resist  a  blow 
from  it.  The  bow  exhibits  a  mode  of  con- 
struction which  is  very  common  in  this  part 


of  Africa,  and  which  must  interfere  greatly 
with  the  power  of  the  weapon.  The  string 
does  not  extend  to  the  tips  of  the  bow,  so 
that  eighteen  inches  or  so  of  the  weapon  are 
wasted,  and  the  elasticity  impaired.  The 
reader  will  see  that,  if  the  ends  of  the  bow 
were  cut  off  immediately  above  the  string, 
the  strength  and  elasticity  would  suffer  no 
diminution,  and  that,  in  fact,  the  extra 
weight  at  each  end  of  the  bow  only  gives  the 
wea])on  more  work  to  do. 

Tlie  Africans  have  a  strange  habit  of  mak- 
ing a  weapon  in  such  a  way  that  its  efficiency 
shall  be  weakened  as  much  as  possible.  Xot 
content  with  leaving  a  foot  or  so  of  useless 
wood  at  each  end  of  the  bow,  some  tribes 
ornament  the  weapon  with  large  tufts  of 
loose  strings  or  fibres,  about  half  way  be- 
tween the  handle  and  the  tip,  as  if  to  cause 
as  much  disturbance  to  the  aim  as  possible. 
Spears  again  are  decorated  with  tufts  to  such 
an  extent  that  they  are  rendered  quite  un- 
manageable. 

Much  more  care  is  taken  with  the  arrows 
than  with  the  bows.  There  is  a  great  vari- 
ety in  the  shape  of  the  arrows,  as  also  in 
their  length.  They  are  all  iron-headed,  and 
every  man  seems  to  make  his  arrows  after 
his  own  peculiar  fashion;  sometimes  large 
and  broad-headed,  sometimes  slightly  barbed, 
though  more  commonly  slender  and  sharply 
pointed. 

In  my  collection  there  is  a  most  remark- 
able quiver,  once  belonging  to  a  warrior  of 
one  of  the  Dor  sub-tribes.  It  was  brought 
from  Central  Africa  by  Mr.  Petheriek. 
Nothing  can  be  simpler  than  the  construc- 
tion of  this  quiver.  The  maker  has  cut  a 
strip  of  antelope  hide  rather  more  than 
three  feet  in  length  and  fourteen  inches  in 
width.  He  has  then  poked  his  knife  through 
the  edges  at  moderately  regular  intervals,  so 
as  to  make  a  series  of  lioles.    /->  *--'--ng  about 


WEAPOXS   OF  THE  D^R. 


443 


half  an  inch  wide  has  next  been  cut  from 
the  same  hide,  and  passed  througli  the  top- 
most liole  or  slit,  a  large  knot  preventing  it 
from  slipping  through.  It  has  then  been 
passed  through  the  remaining  slits,  so  as  to 
lace  the  edges  together  like  the  sides  of  a 
boot.  The  bottom  is  closed  by  the  simple 
plan  of  turning  it  up  and  lacing  it  by  the 
same  thong  to  the  side  of  the  quiver. 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  any 
rougher  work.  The  maker  has  cut  the  slits 
quite  at  random,  so  that  he  has  occasionally 
missed  one  or  two,  and  he  has  not  taken  the 
least  pains  to  bring  the  sides  of  the  quiver 
together  throughout  their  length.  So  stupid 
or  careless  has  he  been,  that  he  has  begun 
by  cutting  the  strip  of  skin  much  too  nar- 
row, and  then  has  widened  it,  never  taking 
the  pains  to  sew  up  the  cut,  which  extends 
two-thirds  down  the  quiver. 

Four  or  five  of  the  arrows  have  the  leaf- 
shaped  head  and  need  not  bo  particularly 
described.  The  largest  of  the  arrows,  being 
a  "  cloth-yard  shaft,"  but  for  the  absence  of 
feathers,  might  vie  with  the  weapons  of  the 
old  English  archers.  The  head  is  remark- 
able for  a  heavy  ridge  which  runs  along  the 
centre  on  both" sides.  There  is  another  not 
so  boldly  barbed  as  thatwhich  has  just  been 
mentioned,  but  which  is  quite  as  formidable 
a  weapon,  on  account  of  a  thick  layer  of 
poison  that  begins  just  behind  the  head,  and 
extends  nearly  as  far  as  the  shaft. 

The  most  characteristic  forms,  however, 
are  these  two.  The  first  is  an  arrow  which 
is  barbed  with  a  wonderful  ingenuity,  the 
barbs  not  being  mere  projections,  but  actual 
spikes,  more  than  an  inch  in  length,  and  at 
the  base  nearly  as  thick  as  a  crow  quill. 
They  have  been  separated  from  the  iron 
heal  by  the  blow  of  a  chisel,  or  some  such 
implement,  and  have  then  been  bent  out- 
ward, and  sharpened  until  the  points  are 
like  those  of  needles.  Besides  these  long 
barbs,  the  whole  of  the  square  neck  of  the 
iron  is  jagged  exactly  like  the  Bechuana 
assagai  which  has  been  figured  on  page 
281. 

Such  an  arrow  cannot  be  extracted,  and 
the  only  mode  of  removing  it  is  to  push  it 
through  the  wound.  But  the  Central  Afri- 
cans have  evidently  thought  that  their  enemy 
was  let  off  too  cheaply  by  being  allowed  to 
rid  himself  of  the  arrow  by  so  simple  a  pro- 
cess, and  accordingly  they  have  invented  a 
kind  of  arrow  which  can  neither  be  drawn 
out  nor  pushed  through.  In  the  second  of 
these  arrows  there  is  a  pair  of  reversed  barbs 
just  at  the  junction  of  the  shaft  and  the  iron 
head,  so  that  when  the  arrow  has  once  pene- 
trated, it  must  either  be  cut  out  or  allowed 
to  remain  where  it  is.  Such  an  arrow  is  not 
poisoned,  nor  does  it  need  any  such  addi- 
tion to  its  terrors.  Both  these  arrows  are 
remarkable  for  having  the  heads  fastened  to 
the  shaft,  first  in  the  ordinary  way,  by  raw 
hide,  and  then  by  a  band  of  iron,  about  the 


sixth  of  an  inch  in  width.  Though  shorter 
than  some  of  the  other  arrows,  they  are  on 
that  account  much  heavier. 

One  of  the  fights  consequent  on  a  hunt  is 
well  described  by  Mr.  Petherick.  He  was  sit- 
ting in  the  shade  at  noon-day,  when  he  per 
ceived  several  boys  running  in  haste  to  the 
village  for  an  additional  supply  of  weapons 
for  tlieir  fathers.  "  The  alarm  spread  in- 
stantly that  a  tight  was  taking  place,  and 
the  women  en  masse  proceeded  to  the  scene 
with  yellings  and  shrieks  indescribable. 
Seizing  my  rifle,  and  accompanied  by  four  of 
my  followers,  curiosity  to  see  a  negro  fight 
tempted  me  to  accompany  them.  After  a  stiff 
march  of  a  couple  of  hours  through  bush 
and  glade,  covered  with  waving  grass  reach- 
ing nearly  to  our  waists,  the  return  of  sev- 
eral boys  warned  us  of  the  proximity  of  the 
fight,  and  of  their  fear  of  its  turning  against 
them,  the  opposing  party  being  the  most 
numerous.  Many  of  the  women  hurried 
back  to  their  homes,  to  prepare,  in  case  of 
emergency,  for  fiight  and  safety  in  the  bush. 
For  such  an  occurrence,  to  a  certain  extent, 
they  are  always  prepared;  several  parcels  of 
grain  and  provisions,  neatly  packed  up  in 
spherical  forms  in  leaves  surrounded  by  net- 
work, being  generally  kept  ready  in  every 
hut  for  a  sudtlen  start. 

"  Accelerating  our  pace,  and  climbing  up 
a  steep  hill,  as  we  reached  the  summit,  and 
were  proceeding  down  a  gentle  slope,  I  came 
in  contact  with  Djau  and  his  party  in  full 
retreat,  and  leaping  like  greyhounds  over 
the  low  underwood  and  high  grass.  On 
perceiving  me,  they  halted,  and  rent  the  air 
with  wiUr  shouts  of  'The  White  Chief!  the 
White  Chief!'  and  I  was  almost  suftbcated 
by  the  embraces  of  the  chief.  My  presence 
gave  them  courage  to  face  the  enemy  again; 
a  loud  peculiar  shrill  whoop  from  the  gray- 
headed  but  still  robust  chief  was  the  signal 
for  attack,  and,  bounding  forward,  they  were 
soon  out  of  sight.  To  keep  up  with  them 
would  have  been  an  impossibility;  but, 
marching  at  the  top  of  our  pace,  we  fol- 
lowed them  as  best  we  could.  After  a  long 
march  down  a  gentle  declivity,  at  the  bot- 
tom of  which  was  a  beautiful  glade,  we 
again  came  up  with  them  drawn  up  in  line, 
in  pairs,  some  yards  apart  from  each  other, 
within  the  confines  of  the  bush,  not  a  sound 
indicating  their  presence. 

"  Joining  them,  and  inquiring  what  had 
become  of  the  enemy,  the  man  whom  I 
addressed  silently  pointed  to  the  bush  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  glade,  some  three 
hundred  yards  across.  Notwithstanding 
my  intention  of  being  a  mere  spectator,  I 
now  felt  myself  compromised  in  the  fight; 
and,  although  unwilling  to  shed  blood,  I 
could  not  resist  my  aid  to  the  friends 
who  afforded  me  an  asylum  amongst  them. 
Marching,  accordingly,  into  the  open  space 
with  my  force  of  four  men,  I  resolved  that 
we  should  act  as  skirmishers  on  the  side  of 


440 


THE  d6r. 


our  hosts,  who  retained  their  position  in  the 
bush.  We  liad  proceeded  about  a  third  of 
the  way  across  the  glade,  wlieii  tlie  enemy 
advanced  out  of  the  wood  and  formed,  in  a 
long  line  of  two  or  three  deep,  on  its  con- 
tines  opposite  to  us.  I  also  drew  up  my 
force,  and  for  an  instant  we  stood  looking 
at  each  other.  Although  within  range,  at 
about  two  hundred  yards'  distance,  1  did 
not  like  to  tire  upon  them;  but  in  pref- 
erence continued  advancing,  thinking  the 
prestige  of  mj'  fire-arms  would  be  sufficient. 

"  I  was  right.  We  had  scarcely  marched 
fifty  yards  when  a  general  flight  took  place, 
and  in  an  instant  Djau  and  his  host,  amount- 
ing to  some  three  or  four  hundred  men, 
passed  in  hot  pursuit.  After  reflection  on 
the  rashness  of  exposing  myself  with  so  few 
men  to  the  hostility  of  some  six  hundred 
negroes,  and  in  self-congratulation  on  the 
eft'ect  my  appearance  in  the  fight  had  pro- 
duced, I  waited  the  return  of  my  liosts.  In 
the  course  of  an  hour  this  took  place ;  and, 
as  they  advanced,  I  shall  never  forget  the 
impression  they  made  upon  me.  A  more 
complete  picture  of  savage  life  I  could  not 
have  imagined.  A  large  host  of  naked 
negroes  came  trooping  on,  grasping  in  their 
hands  bow  and  arrow,  lances  and  clubs,  with 
wild  gesticulations  and  frightful  yells  pro- 
claiming their  victorj',  whilst  one  displayed 
the  reeking  head  of  a  victim.  I  refused  to 
join  them  in  following  up  the  defeat  of  their 
enemies  by  a  descent  on  their  villages. 

"With  some  difficulty  they  were  per- 
suaded to  be  content  with  the  success 
already  achieved  —  that  of  having  beaten  oft 
a  numerically  superior  force  —  and  return 
to  their  homes.  Their  compliance  was  only 
obtained  by  an  actual  refusal  of  further  co- 
operation; but  in  the  event  of  a  renewed 
attack  upon  their  villages,  the  probability 
of  which  was  suggested,  I  promised  them 
my  willing  support." 

The  death  of  an  enemy  and  the  capture 
of  his  body  are  always  causes  of  great  re- 
joicing among  the  Dor  tribes,  because  they 
gain  trophies  whereby  they  show  their  skill 
in  warfare.  In  the  centre  of  every  village 
there  is  a  large  open  space,  or  circus,  in  the 
middle  of  which  is  the  venerated  war  tree. 
Beneath  this  tree  are  placed  the  great  war 
drums,  whose  deep,  booming  notes  can  be 
heard  for  miles.  On  the  branches  are  hung 
the  whitened  skulls  of  slain  warriors,  and 
the  war  drums  only  sound  when  a  new  head 
is  added  to  the  trophy,  or  when  the  warriors 
are  called  to  arms. 

Four  of  the  enemy  were  killed  in  this 
skirmish,  and  their  bodies  were  thrown  into 
the  bush,  their  heads  being  reserved  for  the 
trophy.  On  the  same  evening  they  were 
brought  into  the  village  circus,  and  dances 
performed  in  honor  of  the  victors.  The 
great  drums  were  beaten  in  rhythmic  meas- 
ure, and  the  women  advanced  in  pairs, 
dancing  to  the  sound  of  the  drum  and  chant- 


ing a  war-song.  As  they  approached  the 
heads  of  the  victims,  they  halted,  and  ad- 
dressed various  insulting  epithets  to  them, 
clanking  their  iron  anklets  and  yelling  with 
excitement.  On  the  following  day  the  heads 
were  taken  into  the  bush  to  be  bleached, 
and,  after  they  were  completely  whitened, 
they  were  hung  on  the  trophy  with  the 
accompaniment  of  more  shouts  and  dances. 

All  their  hunting  parties,  however,  are 
not  conducted  in  this  manner,  nor  do  they 
all  lead  to  bloodshed.  When  they  hunt  the 
elephant,  for  example,  the  animal  is  attacked 
by  a  small  party,  and  for  the  sufficient  reason, 
namely,  that  he  who  first  wounds  the  ele- 
pliant  takes  the  tusks,  and  therefore  every 
additional  man  only  decreases  the  chance. 

They  have  one  singularly  ingenious  mode 
of  hunting  the  elephant,  which  is  conducted 
by  one  man  alone.  The  hunter  takes  with 
him  a  remarkable  spear  made  for  the  ex- 
press purpose.  One  of  these  spears,  v.-hich 
was  brought  from  Central  Africa  by  Mr. 
Petlierick,  is  in  mj'  collection,  and  a  repre- 
sentation of  it  may  be  seen  on  page  103,  fig. 
2.  They  vary  slightly  in  size,  but  my  speci- 
men is  "a  very  fair  example  of  the  average 
dimensions.  It  is  rather  more  than  six  feet 
in  length,  three  feet  of  which  are  due  to 
the  iron  head  and  the  socket  into  which  the 
shaft  passes.  As  may  be  seen,  the  shaft 
tapers  gradually,  so  as  to  permit  it  to  pass 
into  the  socket.  To  the  butt  is  fastened  a 
heav)'  piece  of  wood,  rather  more  than  four 
inches  in  diameter.  It  is  a  heavy  weapon, 
its  whole  weight  being  a  little  more  than 
seven  pounds,  and  is  so  ill-balanced  and  so 
unwieldy,  that,  unless  its  use  were  known, 
it  would  seem  to  be  about  the  most  clumsy 
weapon  that  ever  was  invented.  This,  how- 
ever, is  the  spear  by  which  the  Dor  and  Baer 
tribes  kill  the  elephant,  and  very  ingeniously 
they  do  it. 

Knowing  the  spots  where  the  elephant 
loves  to  hide  itself  in  the  noon-tide,  and 
which  are  always  in  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
the  hunter  proceeds  thither  in  the  early 
mornii>g.  and  carries  with  him  his  heavy 
spear  and  some  rope.  When  he  approaches 
the  place,  he  proceeds  to  take  some  large 
stones,  and  binds  them  to  the  butt  of  the 
spear,  plastering  them  over  thickly  with 
lumps  of  day,  so  as  to  make  his  heavy 
weapon  still  heavier.  He  then  ties  one  end 
of  the  rope  to  the  spear,  and  after  selecting 
a  suitable  tree,  climbs  it,  and  works  his  way 
out  upon  one  of  the  horizontal  branches, 
hauling  up  his  weapon  when  he  has  settled 
himself. 

He  now  awaits  the  coming  of  the  herd, 
and,  when  they  are  close  to  the  tree,  unties 
the  spear,  and  holds  it  in  readiness.  When 
an  elephant  with  good  tusks  passes  under 
him,  he  drops  the  spear  upon  tlie  animal's 
back,  the  weight  of  the  weapon  causing  it 
to  penetrate  deeply  into  the  body.  Startled 
at  the  sudden  pang,  the  elephant  rushes 


THEIE  AECHITECTUEE. 


447 


tlirough  the  trees,  trying  to  shake  off  tlie 
terrible  spear,  wliich  sways  about  from  side 
to  side,  occasionally  striking  against  the 
trunks  or  branches  of  the  trees,  and  so  cut- 
ting its  way  deeper  among  the  vital  organs, 
until  the  uiifortunate  animal  falls  from  loss 
of  blood.  The  hunter  does  not  trouble  him- 
self about  chasing  his  victim  at  once.  He 
can  always  track  it  by  its  bloody  traces,  and 
knows  full  well  that  within  a  moderate  dis- 
tance the  unforti^inate  animal  will  halt,  and 
there  die,  unless  it  is  disturbed  by  the  i)res- 
ence  of  man,  and  urged  to  further  exertions. 

The  reader  will  note  the  curious  similar- 
ity between  this  mode  of  elephant  hunting 
and  the  Bauyai  method  of  trapping  the  hip- 
popotamus, as  described  on  page  342.  The 
Dor  also  use  lances,  at  least  eleven  feet  long, 
for  elephant  hunting,  the  blades  measuring 
between  two  and  three  feet  in  length.  These, 
however,  are  not  dropped  from  a  tree,  but 
wielded  by  hand,  the  hunters  surrounding 
the  animal,  and  each  watching  his  opportu- 
nity, and  driving  his  spear  into  its  side 
when  its  attention  is  directed  toward  some 
on  the  other  side. 

The  Di'ir  hold  in  great  contempt  the  per- 
fect nudity  which  distinguishes  the  Kytch 
and  sever.al  other  tribes,  but  no  one  on  first 
entering  their  villages  would  suppose  such 
to  be  the  case.  The  dress  which  the  men 
■wear  is  simply  a  little  flap  of  leather  hang- 
ing behind  them.  This,  however,  in  their 
ideas  constitutes  dress;  and  when  some  of 
the  Djour  people  entered  a  Dor  village,  the 
latter,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  visitors, 
turned  their  little  aprons  to  the  front,  and 
so  were  considered  as  having  put  on  full 
dress. 

The  women  use  a  still  simpler  dress.  Un- 
til they  are  married,  they  wear  no  dress  at 
all;  but  when  that  event  takes  place,  they 
clothe  themselves  in  a  very  simple  manner. 
In  their  country  is  an  abundance  of  ever- 
greens and  creepers,  and  with  these  they 
form  their  dress,  a  branch  tucked  into  the 
girdle  in  front,  and  another  behind,  answer- 
ing all  purposes  of  clothing.  They  use 
these  leafy  dresses  of  such  a  length  that 
they  foil  nearly  to  the  ground.  Ornaments, 
hovvever,  they  admire  exceedingly,  and  the 
weight  of  a  Dor  woman's  decorations  is 
more  than  an  ordinary  man  would  like  to 
carry  about  with  him  for  a  whole  day.  Heavy 
strings  of  beads  are  hung  on  their  necks  and 
tied  round  their  waists,  the  most  valued 
beads  being  as  large  as  pigeon's  eggs,  and 
consequently  very  heavy.  Strings  of  beads 
also  fall  from  their  ears.  On  their  wrists 
they  wear  bracelets,  made  simply  of  iron 
bars  cut  to  the  proper  length,  and  bent 
round  the  wrist.  Others,  but  of  greater 
dimensions,  encircle  the  ankles;  and  as 
some  of  them  are  fully  an  inch  thick,  and 
quite  solid,  their  united  weight  is  very  con- 
siderable. 

Like    most  African   tribes,   the   Dor  are 


fond  of  wearing  amulets,  though  they  do 
not  seem  to  have  any  particular  idea  of 
their  meaning,  and  certainly  do  not  attach 
any  sanctity  to  them.  They  have  a  hazy 
idea  that  the  possession  of  a  certain  amulet 
is  a  safeguard  against  certain  dangers,  but 
they  do  not  trouble  themselves  about  the 
modus  operandi. 

In  this  tribe  we  may  notice  the  re-appear- 
ance of  tlie  lip  ornament.  In  the  manner 
in  which  it  is  worn  it  resembles  the  "pe- 
lele"  descrilied  on  page  36b,  but  it  is  woru 
in  the  under  instead  of  the  upper  hp.  One 
of  these  ornaments  is  now  before  me.  It  is 
cylindrical,  with  a  conical  top,  and  measures 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
exactly  an  inch  in  length.  The  base,  which 
conies  against  the  lower  teeth  and  gum,  is 
nearly  flat,  and  well  polished,  while  the  con- 
ical top,  which  projects  in  front  of  the 
mouth,  is  carved  very  neatly  with  a  "  cross- 
hatching  "  sort  of  a  pattern,  the  eftect  of 
which  is  heightened  by  the  charring  of  a 
certain  portion  of  it,  the  blackened  and  pol- 
ished surfaces  contrasting  well  with  the 
deep-red  color  of  the  wood.  In  order  to 
keep  it  in  its  place,  a  shallow  groove  runs 
round  it.  This  is  one  of  the  smaller  speci- 
mens, but  it  is  the  custom  of  the  owner  to 
wear  larger  and  larger  lip  ornaments,  until 
some  of  them  contrive  to  force  into  their 
lips  pieces  of  wood  three  inches  in  circum- 
ference. Before  taking  leave  of  the  D(5r 
costume,  it  may  be  as  well  to  observe  tliat 
in  the  Botocudo  tril)e  of  Tropical  America 
both  sexes  wear  a  similar  ornament  in 
their  lips,  and  in  most  instances  have  these 
strange  decorations  twice  as  large  as  those 
of  the  Dor  women. 

The  villages  of  the  Dor  tribes  are  I'eally 
remarkable.  The  houses  are  neatly  con- 
structed of  canes  woven  into  a  sort  of  basket 
work.  The  perpendicular  walls  are  about 
six  feet  high,  and  are  covered  by  a  conical 
roof,  the  whole  shape  of  the  hut  being  al- 
most exactly  like  that  of  the  lip  ornament 
which  has  just  been  described.  The  reed 
roof  is  ornamented  on  the  exterior  with 
pieces  of  wood  carved  into  the  rude  sem- 
blance of  birds. 

In  the  middle  of  each  hut  is  the  bedstead, 
and,  as  no  cooking  is  done  within  it,  the 
interior  of  the  hut  is  very  clean,  and  in  that 
respect  entirely  unlike  the  sooty  homes  of 
the  KafWr  tribes.  All  the  cooking  is  per- 
formed in  a  separate  hut,  or  kitchen,  and  is 
of  a  rather  simple  character,  the  chief  food 
being  a  kind  of  porridge.  The  doorway  is 
very  small,  and  is  barricaded  at  night  by 
several  logs  of  wood  laid  horizontally  upon 
each  other,  and  supported  at  each  end  by 
two  posts  driven  into  the  ground.  The 
whole  village  is  kept  as  clean  as  the  individ- 
ual houses,  and  the  central  circus  is  not  only 
swept,  but  kept  well  watered,  so  as  to  lay 
the  dust. 

The  most  singular  point  in  the  Dor  vil- 


448 


THE  DJOUR. 


lagc  lies  in  the  approaches  to  it,  which  are 
nari-ow  footpaths,  marked  out  on  each  side 
by  wooden  posts  roughly  carved  into  the 
human  form.  They  are  placetl  about  four 
feet  apart,  and  ari;  ditl'erent  in  size.  The 
one  nearest  the  village  is  the  largest,  while 
the  others  are  much  smaller,  and  are  repre- 
sented as  carrying  bowls  on  their  heads. 
The  natives  say  that  the  first  is  the  chief 
going  to  a  feast,  and  that  the  others  are  his 
attendants  carrying  food  on  their  heads. 

Several  of  these  wooden  figm-es  were 
brought  to  England  by  Mr.  Petherick,  and 
two  of  the  chiefs  are  represented  on  the 
next  page.  They  are  about  four  feet  in 
length.  It  may  be  imagined  that  a  double 
row  of  such  figures  must  give  a  most  curi- 
ous aspect  to  the  road. 

"The  village,"  writes  Mr.  Petherick,  "was 
prettily  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  liill,  around 
which  were  two  or  three  other  villages,  this 
forming  the  entire  community  of  a  large 
district.  From  its  summit  a  beautiful  view 
of  the  surrounding  country  was  obtained. 
Surrounding  the  village  at  a  moderate  dis- 
tance were  the  unfenced  gardens  of  the  vil- 
lagers, in  which  cucurbits,  vegetables,  and 
seeds  were  grown;  and  beyond,  to  the  east- 
ward, was  a  large  plain  of  cultivated  donrra 
fields;  and  southward,  at  about  a  mile  dis- 
tant, a  winding  brook  was  to  be  seen,  bor- 
dered with  superb  trees  and  flourishing 
canes.  The  bush  supplied  a  variety  of 
game,  consisting  of  partridges,  guiuea-tbwl, 
a  large  white  boar,  gazelles,  antelopes,  and 
giraffes.  Elephants  and  bulfaloes  I  did  not 
encounter,  and  I  was  told  that  they  only 
frequented  the  locality  in  the  r.ainy  season." 

There  are  three  Ibrms  of  the  guitar,  or 
rababa,  yet  in  neither  instrument  is  the 
neck  rigid,  as  in  the  guitars  and  violins  with 
which  we  are  all  familiar.  This  is,  however, 
intentional  on  the  part  of  the  maker,  its 
object  being  to  keep  the  strings  at  a  proper 
tension.  The  mode  in  which  it  is  tuned 
is  equally  simple  and  effective.  A  ring, 
mostly  made  of  the  same  fibre  as  the 
strings,  is  passed  over  each  neck,  so  that,  as 
it  is  slipped  up  or  down,  the  sound  becomes 


proportionately  grave  or  acute.  It  can  be 
thus  tuned  with  reasonable  accuracy,  as  I 
can  testify  by  experience,  the  only  draw- 
back being  that  the  notes  cannot  be  altered 
by  pressure  of  the  fingers  ujjon  the  strings, 
on  account  of  the  angle  which  they  make 
with  the  neck.  Five  sounds  only  can  be 
produced  by  this  instrument,  but  it  is  wor- 
thy of  notice  that  one  string  is  very  much 
longer  than  the  others,  so  that  it  produces  a 
deep  tone,  analogous  to  the  "  drone  "  in  the 
bagpipes. 

Although  tolerably  well-mannered  to  trav- 
ellers with  whom  they  were  acquainted,  the 
Dor  are  very  apt  to  behave  badh'  to  those 
whom  they  do  not  know.  Mr.  Petherick 
nearlj-  lost  his  life  by  a  sudden  and  treach- 
erous attack  that  was  made  on  him  hy  some 
of  this  tribe.  Accompanied  by  the  friendly 
chief,  Djau,  he  went  to  a  village,  and  began 
to  purchase  ivory.  In  spite  ol  Djau's  pres- 
ence the  peojile  were  suspicious,  and  became 
more  and  mure  insolent,  asking  higher  prices 
for  ever}-  tusk,  and  at  last  trying  to  run  off 
with  a  tusk  and  the  beads  that  had  been 
oliered  in  ]  aynient  for  it.  The  tusk  was 
regained,  whereupon  a  sudden  attack  was 
made,  and  a  lance  hurled  at  Mr.  Petherick, 
whom  it  missed,  but  struck  one  of  his  men 
in  the  shoulder.  Three  more  were  wounded 
by  a  volley  of  spears,  and  there  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  fire.  One  of  the  assailants  hav- 
ing been  wounded  in  the  leg,  firing  was 
stopped.  On  going  for  their  donkey,  who 
had  been  brought  to  carry  back  the  tusks, 
he  was  found  lying  dead,  having  been  killed 
by  the  vengeful  Dor. 

"Hereupon  Djau  recommended  that  the 
village  should  be  sacked  as  a  warning, 
which  was  done,  and  the  spoil  carried  home. 
Next  day  the  chief  of  the  village  came  very 
humbly  to  apologize,  bringing  some  tusks 
as  an  equivalent  for  the  donke}-,  and  as  a 
proof  of  good-will  for  the  future.  So  the 
tusks  were  accepted,  the  plunder  of  the  vil- 
lage restored,  and  harmony  was  thus  estab- 
lished, a  supplementary  present  of  beads 
being  added  as  a  seal  to  the  bargain. 


THE   DJOTJE. 


The  Djour  tribe  afford  a  remarkable  in- 
stance of  the  influence  which  is  exercised 
over  man  by  the  pecuharities  of  the  country 
in  which  he  is  placed.  Surrounded  by  pas- 
toral tribes,  which  breed  cattle  and  trouble 
themselves  but  little  about  the  cultivation 
of  the  ground,  the  Djour  are  agriculturists, 
and  have  no  cattle  except  goats.  The  solo 
reason  for  this  fact  is,  that  the  dread  tsetse- 
fly  is  abundant  in  the  land  of  Djour,  and 
consequently  neither  horse  nor  ox  has  a 
chance  of  life.    This  terrible  insect,  harm- 


less to  man  and  to  most  animals,  is  certain 
death  to  the  horse,  dog,  and  ox  tribe. 

It  is  very  little  larger  than  the  horse-fly, 
and  its  only  weapons  are  a  kind  of  lancet, 
which  projects  from  its  mouth,  as  one  may 
see  in  the  gad-fly.  Like  the  gad-fly,  the 
tsetse  only  causes  a  temporary  irritation 
when  it  bites  a  human  being,  and  the  stran- 
gest thing  is  that  it  does  no  harm  to  calves 
until  they  are  weaned.  It  does  not  sting, 
but,  like  the  gnat,  inserts  its  sharj)  probos- 
cis into  the  skin  for  the  purpose  of  sucking 


ORNAMENT. 

(See  pag:e451.) 


WOMEN'S  KNIVES. 
(See  page  451.) 


BEACELETS. 
(See  page  467.) 


WOODEN  CHIEFS. 
(See  page  448. 


NEUHE  HELMET. 

(See  page  468.) 
(449) 


SCALP   LOCKS. 

(See  page  467.) 


INGENIOUS  FURNACE. 


451 


the  blood.  After  an  ox  has  been  bitten,  it 
loses  condition,  the  coat  starts,  the  muscles 
become  tlaccid,  and  in  a  short  time  the  ani- 
mal dies,  even  the  muscle  of  the  heart  hav- 
ing become  so  soft  that,  when  pinched,  the 
fingers  can  be  made  to  meci  througli  it. 

Yet  the  mule,  ass,  and  goat  enjoy  a  per- 
fect immunity  from  this  pest,  and  conse- 
quently the  oiily  domesticated  animal  among 
the  Djour  is  the  goat.  The  tsetse  is  a  sin- 
gularly local  insect.  It  will  swarm  along 
one  bank  of  a  river,  and  the  other  bank  be 
free;  or  it  will  inhabit  little  hills,  or  perhaps 
a  patch  of  soil  on  level  ground.  Tsetse- 
haunted  places  are  well  known  to  the  na- 
tives, and  it  has  often  happened  that,  when 
u  herd  of  oxen  has  been  driven  through  one 
of  these  dreaded  spots,  not  a  single  animal 
has  escaped. 

Being  deprived  of  cattle,  the  Djour  do 
not  depend  wholly  upon  agriculture,  but  are 
admirable  workers  in  iron,  and  by  tliem  are 
made  many  of  the  weapons  and  polished 
iron  ornaments  which  are  so  much  in  re- 
quest throughout  Central  Africa.  Iron  ore 
is  abumlant  in  their  country,  and,  after  they 
have  finished  getting  in  their  crops,  the 
industrious  Djour  set  to  work  at  their  me- 
tallurgy, at  which  every  man  is  more  or  less 
an  adept.  After  procuring  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  ore,  they  proceed  to  smelt  it  in  fur- 
naces very  ingeniously  built. 

•'  The  cupolas  are  constructed  of  stiff  clay, 
one  foot  thick,  increasing  toward  the  bottom 
to  about  fourteen  inches  in  diameter,  and 
four  feet  in  height.  Underneath  is  a  small 
basin  for  the  reception  of  the  metal,  and  on 
a  level  with  the  surface  are  four  apertures, 
opposite  each  other,  for  the  recej)tion  of 
the  blast  pipes.  These  are  made  of  burnt 
clay,  and  are  attached  to  earthen  vessels 
about  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  and  six 
inches  in  height,  covered  with  a  loose 
dressed  goat-skin  tied  tightly  over  them, 
and  perforated  with  a  few  small  holes.  In 
tiie  centre  there  is  a  loop  to  contain  the  An- 
gers of  the  operator.  A  lad.  sitting  between 
two  of  these  vessels,  by  a  rapid  alternate 
vertical  motion  with  each  hand  drives  a 
current  of  air  into  the  furnace,  which, 
charged  with  alternate  layers  of  ore  and 
charcoal,  nourished  by  eight  of  these  rude 
bellows,  emits  a  flame  some  eighteen  inches 
in  height  at  the  top. 

"  Relays  of  boys  keep  up  a  continual  blast, 
and,  when  the  basin  for  the  reception  of  the 
metal  is  nearly  full,  the  charging  of  the  fur- 
nace is  discontinued,  and  it  is  blown  out. 
Through  an  aperture  at  the  bottom  the 
greater  part  of  the  slag  is  withdrawn,  and 
the  temperature  of  the  furnace  not  being 
sufficient  to  reduce  the  metal  to  the  fluid 
state,  it  is  mixed  up  with  a  quantity  of  im- 
purities, and  broken,  when  still  warm,  into 
small  pieces.  These  are  sulssequently  sub- 
mitted to  the  heat  of  a  smith's  hearth,  and 
hammered  with  a  huge  granite  boulder  on  a 


small  anvil,  presenting  a  surface  of  one  and 
a  half  inches  square,  stuck  into  an  immense 
block  of  wood.  By  this  method  the  metal 
is  freed  from  its  impurities,  and  converted 
into  malleable  iron  of  the  best  quality.  The 
slag  undergoes  the  operations  of  crushing 
and  washing,  and  the  small  globules  of  iron 
contained  in  it  are  obtained.  A  crucible 
charged  with  them  is  exposed  to  welding 
heat  on  the  hearth,  and  its  contents  are 
welded  and  purified  as  above. 

"  The  iron  being  reduced  to  small  malle- 
able ingots,  the  manufacture  of  lances,  hoes, 
hatchets,  &c.,  is  proceeded  with.  These  are 
be.aten  into  shape  by  the  boulder  wielded  by 
a  powerful  man;  and  the  master  smith  with 
a  hammer,  handleless,  like  the  pestle  of  a 
mortar,  finishes  them.  With  these  rude 
implements,  the  proficiency  they  have  at- 
tained is  truly  astonishing,  many  lancas  and 
other  articles  of  their  manufacture  which  I 
now  possess  having  been  pronounced  good 
specimens  of  workmanship  for  an  ordinary 
English  smith." 

In  an  illustration  on  page  449  may  be  seen 
an  example  of  the  workmanship  of  the  Djour 
tribe.  The  remarkable  ornament  with  a 
long  hook  is  an  armlet,  the  hooked  portion 
being  passed  over  the  arm,  and  then  bent, 
so  as  to  retain  its  hold.  The  singular  objects 
entitled  "  "Women's  knives  "  are  good  exam- 
ples of  the  patient  skill  displayed  by  the 
Djour  tribe  with  such  very  imperfect  tools. 

These  and  other  products  of  tlieir  inge- 
nuity are  dispersed  throughout  several  of 
the  tribes  of  Central  Africa,  many  of  them 
being  recognized  as  currency,  just  as  is  the 
English  sovereign  on  the  Continent.  As  if 
to  illustrate  the  truth  of  the  proverb,  that 
men  are  always  longing  for  that  which  they 
do  not  possess,  the  Djours  are  always  hank- 
ering after  beef,  and  in  consequence  buy 
cattle  largely  from  their  warlike  neighbors, 
the  Dinka  tribe.  The  tsetse  prevents  the 
Djour  from  keeping  the  cattle  jufitjiurchased, 
and  so  they  only  buy  them  in  order  to  kill 
and  eat  them  ni  once. 

Owing  to  this  traffic,  the  Djour  are  recog- 
nized as  the  chief  smiths  of  Central  Africa, 
and  they  can  always  find  a  market  for  their 
wares.  Consequently,  they  are  a  very  pros- 
perous tribe,  as  even  the  Dinkas  would  not 
wish  to  destroy  a  people  from  whom  they 
procure  the  very  weapons  with  which  they 
fight;  and  there  is  not  a  Djour  man  who 
cannot  with  ordinary  industry  earn  enough 
for  the  purchase  and  maintenance  of  a  wife 
as  soon  as  he  is  old  enough  to  take  one. 
Among  themselves  they  do  not  care  particu- 
larly about  wearing  as  ornaments  the  pro- 
ducts of  their  own  skill,  but  prize  beads 
above  every  other  personal  decoration;  and 
so  far  do  they  carry  this  predilection,  that 
their  wives  are  purchased  with  beads,  and 
not  with  goats  —  the  only  cattle  which  they 
can  breed.  There  is  scarcely  a  Djour  of  full 
age  who  has  not  a  wife,  if  not  in  fact,  yet  in 


452 


THE  DJOUE. 


view;  and  so  brisk  is  the  matrimonial  mar- 
ket, that  there  is  not  a  girl  in  the  country 
above  eight  years  of  age  who  has  not  been 
purchased  by  some  one  as  a  wife. 

Tobacco  is  as  dear  to  the  Djour  as  to  other 
African  tribes,  and  they  are  lond  of  smoking 
it  in  pipes  of  very  great  capacity.  They 
have  a  rather  odd  mode  of  managing  their 
pipes.  The  bowl  is  of  reddish  clay,  worked 
on  the  outside  into  a  kind  of  pattern  like 
that  in  frosted  glass.  The  stem  is  of  bamboo, 
and  is  very  thick,  and  the  junction  between 
the  stem  and  the  bowl  is  made  tolerably  air- 
tight by  binding  a  piece  of  raw  hide  round 
it.  A  long  and  narrow  gourd  ibrms  the 
mouthpiece,  and  round  it  is  wrapped  a  piece 
of  leather  like  that  wliich  fastens  the  bowl 
to  the  stem.  Lest  the  mouthpiece  should 
fall  Oft",  a  string  is  passed  round  it,  and  the 
other  end  fastened  to  the  lower  end  of  the 
stem. 

When  the  pipe  is  used,  a  quantity  of  fine 
bark  fibres  are  rolled  up  into  little  balls,  and, 
the  gourd  mouthpiece  being  removed,  they 
are  thrust  into  it  and  into  the  stem,  so  that, 
when  the  pipe  is  lighted,  they  may  become 
saturated  with  tobacco  oil.    This  fibre  is  not 


inserted  for  the  purpose  of  purifying  the 
smoke,  for  the  tobacco  oil  is  thought  to  be 
much  too  valuable  an  article  to  be  wasted, 
and  the  fibre  balls,  when  thoroughly  satu- 
rated, are  taken  out  and  chewed  as  if  they 
were  the  best  pigtail  tobacco. 

It  is  thought  to  be  a  delicate  attention  for 
two  friends  to  exchange  "  quids  "  from  each 
otiier's  pipe,  and,  when  one  person  has  ob- 
tained as  much  tobacco  oil  as  he  cares  for, 
he  passes  the  quid  to  another,  and  so  on, 
until  the  flavor  has  all  been  extracted.  I 
have  in  my  collection  one  of  tliese  pipes.  It 
is  two  feet  in  length,  and  the  bowl  is  capa- 
ble of  holding  a  large  handful  of  tobacco. 
Pipes  of  this  description,  though  dilfering 
slightly  in  details,  prevail  through  the  whole 
of  Central  Africa,  and  especially  along  the 
east  bank  of  the  Nile.  In  the  splendid  col- 
lection gathered  by  Mr.  Petherick,  and  ex- 
hibited in  London  in  1862,  more  than  twenty 
such  pipes  were  exhibited,  several  wth  horn 
stems,  some  mounted  with  iron,  and  in  one 
or  two  the  bark  "  quids  "  were  still  in  their 
places.  The  specimen  described  above  be- 
longed to  the  collsction. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


THE  LATOOKA  TRIBE. 


THEm  LIVKLT  AND  PLEASANT  DISPOSITION — SINGULAK  HEADDRESS — WEAPONS  —  THE  AHMED  BRACE- 
LET AND  ITS  USE  —  LATOOKA  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  DRESS  —  THE  CURIOUS  LIP  ORNAMENT  —  BOKKfi 
AND  HEK  DAUGHTER  —  WEALTH  OF  THE  LAIOOKAS  —  INGENIOUS  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  VILLAGES  — 
TABRANGOLLE,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  LATOOKA  —  CONDITION  OF  THE  WOMEN  —  BOKKE  AND  THE  SOL- 
DIER—  MODE  OF  GOVERNMENT — ABSENCE  OF  RELIGIOUS  IDEAS  —  SKILL  AT  THE  FORGE  —  THE 
MOLOTB,  OR  IRON  HOE — FONDNESS  FOR  CATTLE  —  REPULSE  OF.A  RAID,  AND  A  LATOOKA  VIC- 
TORY—  THE  DRUM  3IGNALS  —  FUNERAL  CEREMONIES  —  THE  STRANGE  DANCES  —  LATOOKA  BELLS. 


The  Latooka  tribe  inhabit  a  tract  of  country 
on  the  east  of  the  Nile,  lat.  40°  N.  Equally 
warlike  when  war  is  needed,  they  are  not 
the  morose,  inhospitable  set  of  savages  we 
have  seen  some  of  their  neighbors  to  be, 
but  are  merry,  jocose,  and  always  ready 
either  for  fighting,  laughing,  or  playing. 

The  dress  of  the  Latookas  is  at  once  sim- 
ple and  complicated.  The  men  wear  but 
little  dress  upon  their  bodies,  but  bestow 
a  wonderful  amount  of  attention  upon  their 
heads,  the  proper  tiring  of  which  is  so  long 
a  process,  that  a  man  cannot  hope  to  dress 
his  head  perfectly  until  he  has  arrived  at  full 
age.  Indeed,  from  the  time  that  a  Latooka 
begins  to  dress  his  head  at  least  seven  or 
eight  years  must  elapse  before  his  toilet  is 
completed.  The  following  account,  given 
by  Sir  S.  Baker,  affords  an  excellent  idea 
of  the  Latooka  headdress. 

"  However  tedious  the  operation,  the  result 
is  extraordinary.  The  Latookas  wear  most 
exquisite  helmets:  all  of  them  are  formed 
of  their  own  hair,  and  are  of  course  fixtures. 
At  first  sight  it  appears  incredible,  but  a 
minute  examination  shows  the  wonderful 
perseverance  of  years  in  producing  what 
must  be  highly  inconvenient.  The  thick, 
crisp  wool  is  woven  with  fine  twine,  formed 
from  the  bark  of  a  tree,  until  it  presents  a 
thick  net-work  of  felt.  As  the  hair  grows 
through  this  matted  substance,  it  is  sub- 
jected to  the  same  process,  until,  in  the 
course  of  years,  a  compact  substance  is 
formed,  like  a  strong  felt,  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  thick,  that  has  been  trained  into  the 
shape  of  a  helmet.  A  strong  rim,  of  about 
two  inches  deep,  is  formed  by  sewing  it  to- 
gether with  thread;  and  the  front  part  of 


the  helmet  is  protected  by  a  piece  of  pol- 
ished copper;  while  a  plate  of  the  same 
metal,  shaped  like  the  half  of  a  bishop's 
mitre,  and  about  a  foot  in  length,  forms  the 
crest. 

"  The  framework  of  the  helmet  being  at 
length  completed,  it  must  be  perfected  by 
ail  arrangement  of  beads,  should  the  owner 
be  sufficiently  rich  to  indulge  in,the  coveted 
distinction.  The  beads  most  in  fashion  are 
the  red  and  the  blue  porcelain,  about  the 
size  of  small  peas.  These  are  sewed  on  the 
nape  of  the  felt,  and  so  beautifully  arranged 
in  sections  of  blue  and  red,  that  the  entire 
helmet  appears  to  be  formed  of  beads;  and 
the  handsome  crest  of  polished  copper,  sur- 
mounted bjf  ostrich  plumes,  gives  a  most 
dignified  and  martial  appearance  to  this 
elaborate  head-gear.  No  helmet  is  sup- 
posed to  be  complete  witljout  a  row  of  cow- 
rie-shells stitched  round  the  rim,  so  as  to 
form  a  solid  edge." 

Necklaces  of  metal  are  also  worn  by  the 
men,  and  also  bracelets  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. Each  warrior  carries  in  addition  a  most 
remarkable  bracelet  on  his  right  wrist.  This 
is  a  ring  of  iron,  round  which  are  set  four 
or  five  knife-blades  with  points  and  edges 
scrupulously  kept  sliarp.  With  this  instru- 
ment they  can  strike  terrible  blows,  and,  if 
in  action  the  spear  is  dropped,  the  wearer 
instantly  closes  with  his  enem}',  and  strikes 
at  him  with  his  armed  bracelet.  The  other 
weapons  of  the  Latooka  tribe  are  a  strong 
lance,  or  a  short  mace,  mostly  made  of  iron, 
and  a  shield  about  four  feet  long  by  two 
wide.  The  shields  are  generally  made  of 
buffalo  hide,  but  the  best  are  formed  from 
the  skin  of  the  giraffe,  this  combining  the 


(«3) 


154: 


THE   LATOOKA. 


two  qualities  of  lightness  and  toughness. 
Bows  auti  arrows  are  not  used  by  the  La- 
tookas. 

The  women  take  comparativelj' little  pains 
with  their  toilet.  Instead  of  spending  their 
time  in  working  up  their  woollj'  hair  into 
the  felt-like  mass  which  decorates  the  men, 
they  shave  their  heads  entirely,  and  trust 
for  their  ornaments  to  beads,  paint,  and 
tattooing.  Like  the  belles  of  more  Southern 
tribes,  the  Latooka  women  extract  the  four 
incisor  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw;  and  the 
favorite  wife  of  the  king  told  Lady  Baker 
that  she  would  really  not  be  bad-looking  if 
she  would  only  remove  those  teeth,  and  give 
herself  a  coat  of  grease  and  vermilion. 

Bokke,  the  queen  in  question,  with  her 
daughter,  were  the  only  good-looking  women 
that  were  seen  in  that  country;  the  females 
being  strangely  large,  coarse,  and  powerful. 
On  bodily  strength  they  pride  themselves, 
and  each  woman  makes  it  a  daily  task  to 
carry  on  her  head  a  ten-gallon  jar  to  the 
water,  fill  it,  and  bring  it  back  again,  the 
distance  being  seldom  less  than  a  mile. 
Their  dress  is  rather  remarkable.  It  con- 
sists of  a  leathern  belt,  to  which  is  attached 
a  large  tlap  of  tanned  leather  in  front,  while  to 
the  back  are  tied  a  number  of  thongs,  two  feet 
or  more  in  length,  which  look  at  a  distance 
exactly  like  a  horse's  tail. 

The  most  fashionable  feminine  ornament 
in  the  Latooka  country  is  a  long  piece  of 
polished  crystal,  about  as  thick  as  a  draw- 
ing pencil.  A  hole  is  bored  in  the  under 
lip,  and  the  ornament  hung  from  it.  Sir  S. 
Baker  commended  himself  great!}'  to  Bokke 
and  her  daughter  by  presenting  them  with 
the  glass  stem  of  a  thermometer  that  had 
been  accidentally  broken,  and  his  gift  was 
valued  much  as  a  necklace  of  brilliants 
would  be  b\'  European  ladies.  In  order  to 
prevent  this  ornament  from  falling,  a  piece 
of  twine  is  knotted  upon  the  end  that  passes 
through  the  lip.  As  the  lower  teeth  are 
removed,  the  tongue  of  course  acts  upon  it, 
and  when  a  lady  is  speaking  the  movements  of 
the  tongue  cause  the  crystal  pendant  to  move 
about  in  a  very  ludicrous  manner.  Tattoo- 
ing is  mostly  confined  to  the  cheeks  and 
forehead,  and  consists  chiefly  of  lines. 

The  men  are  also  fond  of  decorating  their 
heads  with  the  feathers  of  various  birds,  and 
the  favorite  ornament  is  the  head  of  the 
crested  crane,  its  black,  velvet-like  plumage, 
tipped  with  the  gold-colored  crest,  having  a 
very  handsome  appearance  when  fixed  on 
the  top  of  the  head. 

When  Sir  S.  Baker  was  encamping  among 
the  Latookas,  he  could  not  purchase  either 
goats  or  cows,  though  large  herds  were 
being  driven  before  him,  and  he  was  there- 
fore forced  to  depend  much  on  his  gun  for 
subsistence.  The  feathers  of  the  I'ranes, 
ducks,  geese,  and  other  birds  were  thrown 
over  the  palisade  of  his  encampment,  and, 
during  the  wliole  time  of  his  visit,  the  boj's 


were  to  be  seen  with  their  heads  comically 
dressed  with  white  feathers,  until  they 
looked  like  huge  cauliflowers.  The  long- 
est feathers  were  in  greatest  request,  and 
were  taken  as  perquisites  by  tlie  boys  wlio 
volunteered  to  accompany  the  sportsman,  to 
carry  home  the  game  which  lie  shot,  and 
then  to  pluck  the  birds. 

In  general  appearance,  the  Latookas  are 
a  singidarly  fine  race  of  men.  They  are, 
on  an  average,  all  but  six  feet  in  height, 
and,althcugli  they  are  exceedingly  muscular 
and  powerful,  they  do  not  degenerate  into 
corpulency  nor  unwieldiness.  The  expres- 
sion of  the  countenance  is  pleasing,  and  the 
lips,  although  large,  are  not  of  the  negro 
type.  The  forehead  is  higli,  the  cheek- 
bones rather  prominent,  and  the  eyes  large. 
It  is  thought  that  their  origin  niust  have 
been  derived  from  some  of  tlie  Galla  tribes. 

The  Latookas  are  rich  as  well  as  power- 
ful, and  have  great  herds  of  cattle,  which 
they  keep  in  stockades,  constructed  after  a 
most  ingenious  fashion;  as  many  as  ten  or 
twelve  thousand  head  of  cattle  being  often 
herded  in  one  town.  Knowing  that  there 
are  plenty  of  hostile  ti'ibes,  who  would  seize 
every  ojiportunity  of  stealing  their  cows,  the 
Latookas  always  pen  them  in  very  strong 
stockades,  the  entrance  to  which  is  oiih'  a 
}-aid  or  thereabouts  in  width.  These  en- 
trances are  arch-shaped,  and  only  just  wide 
enough  to  allow  an  ox  to  pass  through,  and 
from  the  top  of  each  arch  is  hung  a  rude 
kind  of  cattle  hell,  formed  from  the  shell  of 
the  dolape  palm  nut,  against  which  the  ani- 
mal must  strike  as  it  passes  in  or  out  of 
the  stockade. 

The  path  which  leads  from  the  entrances 
is  no  wider  than  the  door  itself,  and  is 
flanked  at  either  side  by  a  high  and  strong 
palisade,  so  that,  if  an  eneni}'  were  to  attack 
the  place,  the}'  could  hardly  force  their  way 
along  passages  which  a  few  men  could  guard 
as  effectually  as  a  multitude.  Through  the 
village  runs  a  tolerably  wide  street,  and  into 
the  street  open  the  larger  entrances  into 
the  cattle  enclo.sures,  so  that,  if  the  inhabi- 
tants desired,  they  could  either  remove 
their  oxen  singly  by  the  small  doors,  or 
drive  them  out"  in  lierds  through  the  gates 
that  open  into  the  central  street. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  aspect  of  a 
Latooka  town  is  very  remarkable.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a  very  strong  palisade,  in 
which  are  several  doorways.  Through  the 
centre  of  the  village  runs  the  main  street, 
upon  which  all  the  cattle-pens  open,  and  the 
rest  of  the  interior  is  traversed  by  lanes,  so 
narrow  that  only  one  cow  can  pass  at  a 
time.  The  various  gates  and  doors  of  the 
village  are  closed  at  night,  and  carefully 
barred  with  branches  of  the  thorny  mimosa. 
Sometimes  these  villages  are  so  large  as  to 
deserve  the  name  of  towns.  Tarrangolle, 
the  capital  of  the  Latookas,  comprised  at 
least  three  thousand  homesteads;   and  not 


bokkJ;  and  the  soldier. 


455 


only  was  the  whole  town  surround  ed  by  a 
strong  iron-wood  palisadius;,  but  each  bome- 
siead  was  fortified  in  like  manner. 

The  wives  of  the  Latookas  seem  tolera- 
bly well  off  in  comparison  with  their  mar- 
ried sisters  of  other  tribes.  They  certainly 
work  hard,  and  carry  ponderous  weights, 
but  then  they  are  so  tall  and  strong,  that 
such  labor  is  no  very  great  hardship  to 
them.  That  they  are  not  down-trodden,  as 
women  are  in  too  many  parts  of  Africa,  is 
evident  from  the  way  in  which  they  comport 
themselves.  On  one  occasion  one  of  the 
armed  soldiers  belonging  to  the  Turkish 
caravan  met  a  woman,  who  was  returning 
from  the  water  with  her  heavy  jar  on  her 
head.  He  demanded  the  water,  and,  when 
she  refused  to  give  it  him,  threatened  her 
with  his  stick.  Bokke,  the  pretty  wife  of 
Commoro,  seeing  this  proceeding,  went  to 
the  rescue,  seized  the  .soldier  by  the  throat, 
and  wrested  his  stick  from  him,  while 
another  woman  twisted  his  gun  out  of  his 
hand.  Several  other  women  came  running 
to  the  spot,  threw  the  man  down,  and  ad- 
ministered a  sound  pommelling,  while  others 
poured  water  down  the  muzzle  of  his  gun, 
and  plastered  great  lumps  of  wet  mud  over 
the  lock  and  trigger. 

Wives  are  purchased  in  Latooka-land  for 
cows,  and  therefore  a  large  family  is  a  sure 
step  to  prosperity:  the  boys  becoming  war- 
riors, who  will  fight  for  their  tribe;  and  the 
girls  Ijcing  always  saleable  for  cows,  should 
they  live  to  womanhood.  Every  girl  is  sure 
of  being  married,  because,  when  a  man 
begins  to  procure  wealth,  the  first  thing 
that  he  does  is  to  buy  a  wife,  and  he  adds  to 
the  number  of  his  wives  as  fast  as  he  can 
muster  cows  enough  to  pay  for  them. 

When  Sir  S.  Baker  passed  through  the 
country,  the  great  chief  of  the  Latookas 
was  named  Moy.  He  had  a  brother,  named 
Commoro,  and,  although  in  actual  rank  Moy 
took  precedence  of  his  brother,  Commoro 
was  virtually  the  king,  having  fiir  more  in- 
fluence over  the  people  than  his  l)rother. 
Commoro  was  really  deservhig  of  this  intlu- 
ence,  and  was  remarkable  for  his  acuteness 
and  strong  common  sense.  Without  his 
exertions  the  Latookas  would  certainly  have 
assaulted  the  caravan,  and  great  slaugh- 
ter must  have  ensued,  the  natives  having 
learned  to  despise  guns  on  account  of  a  vic- 
tory which  they  had  lately  gained  over  a 
party  of  slave-stealers.  He  had  a  long  argu- 
ment with  his  visitor  respecting  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  and  resurrection  after 
death,  but  could  in  no  way  be  convinced 
that  a  man  could  live  after  death.  Had  he 
had  even  any  superstitious  feelings,  some- 
thing might  have  been  done  with  him,  but, 
like  many  other  sceptics,  he  flatly  refused  to 
believe  anything  which  is  without  the  range 
of  his  senses. 

The  familiar  illustration  of  the  grain  of 
corn  planted  in  the  earth  was  used,  but 


without  effect.  He  was  quite  willing  that 
the  grain  in  question  should  represent  him- 
self, but  controverted  the  conclusion  which 
was  drawn  from  the  premises.  The  ears 
of  corn  filled  with  grains,  which  would 
spring  up  after  the  decay  of  the  original 
seed,  were  not,  he  said,  representatives  of 
himself,  but  were  his  children,  who  lived 
after  he  was  dead.  The  ingenuity  with 
which  he  slipped  out  of  the  argument  was 
very  considerable,  and,  as  Sir  S.  Baker 
remarks,  "  it  was  extraordinary  to  see  so 
much  clearness  of  perception  combined 
with  such  complete  obtuseness  to  anything 
ideal." 

The  Latookas  are  very  good  blacksmiths, 
and  excel  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  lioe- 
blades,  or  "  molotes "  as  they  are  called. 
This  instrument  is  also  used  as  money. 
The  bellows  are  made  on  the  same  princi- 
ple as  those  used  by  the  Kaffir  tril)es,  but, 
instead  of  using  merely  a  couple  of  leather 
bags,  the  Latooka  blacksmith  employs  two 
earthenware  pots,  and  over  the  mouth  of 
each  pot  is  loosely  tied  a  large  piece  of  soft, 
pliable  leather,  kept  well  greased  to  insure 
its  softness.  A  perpendicular  stick  about 
four  feet  in  length  is  fastened  to  the  centre 
of  each  skin,  and,  when  these  are  w-orked 
rapidly  up  and  down,  the  wind  is  forced 
through  earthenware  tubes  which  commu- 
nicate" with  the  bottom  of  the  pots. 

The  tools  are  very  simple,  a  large  stone 
doing  duty  for  an  anvil,  and  a  smaller  for  a 
hammer,  while  a  cleft  stick  of  greenwood  is 
used  by  way  of  pincers.  Great  care  is  taken 
in  shaping  the  molotes,  which  are  always 
carefully  tested  by  balancing  them  on  their 
heads,  and  making  them  ring  by  a  blow  of 
the  finger.  AVhen  used  for  agriculture,  the 
molotes  are  fastened  to  the  end  of  wooden 
shafts,^eldom  less  than  seven,  and  often  ten, 
feet  in  length,  and  thus  a  powerful  leverage 
is  gained. 

Although  the  Latooka  is  generally  ready 
for  war,  he  is  not  a  born  warrior,  as  is  the 
case  with  many  tribes.  The  Zulu,  for  ex- 
ample, lives  chiefly  for  war;  he  thinks  of  it 
day  and  night,  and  his  great  ambition  is  to 
distinguish"himself  in  battle.  The  Latooka, 
on  the  other  hand,  seldom  wages  war  with- 
out a  cause  which  he  is  pleased  to  think  a 
good  one;  but,  when  he  does,  he  fights  well. 
The  chief  cause  for  which  a  Latooka  will 
fight  to  the  death  is  his  cattle.  He  will 
sometimes  run  away  when  a  powerful  party 
makes  a  raid  on  his  village,  and  carries  off 
his  wives  and  children  for  slaves;  but  if  they 
attempt  to  drive  off  his  cattle,  the  spirit  of 
the  noble  savage  is  set  a-blaze,  and  he  is  at 
once  up  in  arms. 

A  curious  example  of  this  trait  of  charac- 
ter occurred  during  Sir  S.  Baker's  residence 
in  Latooka-land.  One  of  the  Mahometan 
traders  (who,  it  will  be  remembered,  are  the 
very  pest  and  scourge  of  the  country)  gath- 
ered together  a  band  of  three  hundred  na- 


456 


THE   LATOOKA. 


tives.  and  more  than  a  hundred  of  his  own 
countrymen,  lor  the  purpose  of  making  a 
raid  u])on  a  certain  village  among  the 
mountains.  The  men  ran  away,  and  the  in- 
vaders captured  a  great  number  of  women 
and  children,  with  whom  they  might  have 
escaped  unmolested.  Unfortunately  for 
them,  they  were  told  of  a  large  herd  of 
cattle  which  they  had  missed,  and  accord- 
ingly returned,  and  began  to  drive  oil' 
their  siioil. 

The  Latookas  had  witnessed  the  capture 
of  their  wives  and  children  without  attempt- 
ing a  rescue,  but  the  attack  on  their  beloved 
cattle  was  too  much  for  them,  and  they 
poured  out  of  their  hiding  places  like  a 
swarm  of  angry  wasps.  Maddened  with  the 
idea  of  losing  their  cattle,  they  bravely  faced 
the  muskets  with  their  spears  and  shields, 
and  clustered  round  the  invaders  in  resist- 
less numbers.  Each  man,  as  he  advanced, 
leaped  behind  some  cover,  from  which  he 
could  hurl  a  lance,  while  others  climbed  up 
the  rocks,  and  rolled  great  stones  on  their 
enemies.  The  attack  was  so  sudden  and 
simultaneous,  that  the  Turks  found  them- 
selves beset  on  all  sides,  and  yet  could  hardly 
see  a  man  at  whom  they  could  aim. 

They  tied  in  terror  down  the  path,  and, 
mistaking  in  their  liaste  the  right  road,  they 
turned  aside  to  one  which  led  to  a  precipice 
five  hundred  feet  in  depth.  Seeing  their 
danger,  they  tried  to  retreat,  but  the  ever- 
increasing  multitudes  pressed  closer  and 
closer  upon  them,  forced  them  nearer  to  the 
precipice,  and  at  last  drove  them  all  over  it. 
Not  a  man  escaped,  and  although  a  few 
turned  and  fought  with  the  courage  of  de- 
spair, they  were  hurled  over  the  precipice 
after  their  comrades.  The  artist  has  rej^re- 
sented  this  victory  on  the  next  page. 

This  was  the  victory  over  fire-arms  which 
had  inspired  the  Latookas  with  such  con- 
temjit  tor  these  weapons,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  Commoro's  mediation,  they  would  have 
attacked  the  English  party.  That  subtle 
chief,  however,  well  knew  the  diflference 
between  asaulting  an  assemblage  of  Turks 
and  Africans  among  the  rocky  passes  and 
attacking  in  the  open  country  a  well-armed 
party  commanded  by  Europeans.  Such  an 
attack  was  once  meditated,  and  Sir  Samuel 
Baker's  account  of  it  gives  an  excellent  idea 
of  the  Latooka  mode  of  warfare.  The  reader 
must  remember  that  the  war  drum  is  an 
institution  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
Central  Africa. 

"  It  was  about  five  p.m.,  one  hour  before 
sunset.  The  woman  who  usually  brought 
us  water  delivered  her  jar,  but  disappeared 
immediately  after,  without  sweeping  the 
courtyard,  as  was  her  custom.  Her  children, 
who  usually  played  in  this  enclosure,  van- 
ished. On  searching  her  hut,  which  was  in 
one  corner  of  the  yard,  no  one  was  to  be 
found,  and  even  the  grinding-stone  was 
gone.      Suspecting  that  something  was   in 


the  wind,  I  sent  Karka  and  Gaddum-Her, 
the  two  black  servants,  to  search  in  various 
huts  in  the  neighborhood  to  observe  whether 
the  owners  were  present,  and  whether  the 
women  were  in  their  houses.  Not  a  woman 
could  be  found.  Neither  woman  nor  child 
remained  in  the  large  town  of  TarrangnUe. 
There  was  an  extraordinary  stillness,  where 
usually  all  was  noise  and  chattering.  All 
the  women  and  children  had  been  removed 
to  the  mountains,  about  two  miles  distant, 
and  this  so  quickly  and  noiselessly  that  it 
appeared  incredible." 

Commoro  and  Moy  were  then  sent  for, 
and  said  that  the  Turks  had  behaved  so 
badly,  by  robbing  and  beating  the  women, 
that  the  people  were  much  excited,  and 
would  endure  it  no  longer;  and,  not  being 
accustomed  to  any  travellers  except  slave- 
dealers,  they  naturally  included  Sir  S.  Ba- 
ker's party  in  that  category.  Commoro, 
however,  took  his  leave,  saying  that  he 
would  do  his  best  to  quiet  the  people. 

'•  The  sun  set,  and,  as  is  usual  in  tropical 
climates,  darkness  set  in  within  half  an 
hour.  Not  a  M'oman  had  returned  to  the 
town,  nor  was  the  voice  of  a  man  to  be  heard. 
The  natives  had  entirely  forsaken  the  por- 
tion of  the  town  that  both  I  and  the  Turks 
occupied.  There  was  a  death-like  stillness 
in  the  air.  Even  the  Turks,  who  were 
usually  uproarious,  were  perfectly  quiet;  and, 
although  my  men  made  no  remark,  it  was 
plain  that  we  were  all  occupied  by  the  same 
thoughts,  and  that  an  attack  was  expected. 

"  It  was  about  nine  o'clock,  and  the  still- 
ness had  become  almost  painful.  There 
was  no  cry  of  a  bird;  not  even  the  howl  of  a 
hyaena:  the  camels  were  sleeping;  but  every 
man  was  wide  awake,  and  the  sentries  well 
on  the  alert.  "We  were  almost  listening  to 
the  supernatural  stillness,  if  I  may  so  de- 
scribe the  perfect  calm,  when  suddenly  every 
one  startled  at  the  deep  and  solemn  boom 
of  the  great  war  drum,  or  nogara!  Three 
distinct  beats,  at  slow  intervals,  rang 
through  the  apparently  deserted  town,  and 
echoed  loudly  from  the  neighboring  moun- 
tain. It  was  the  signal!  A  few  minutes 
elapsed,  and,  like  a  distant  echo  from  the 
north,  the  three  mournful  notes  again  dis- 
tinctly sounded.  Was  it  an  echo";'  Impos- 
sible! 

"  Now  from  the  south,  far  distant,  but  un- 
mistakable, the  same  three  regular  beats 
came  booming  through  the  still  night  air. 
Again  and  again  from  every  quarter,  spread- 
ing far  and  wide,  the  signal  was  responded 
to,  and  the  whole  country  echoed  those 
three  solemn  notes  so  full  of  warning.  Once 
more  the  great  nogara  of  Tarrangolle 
sounded  the  original  alarm  within  a  few 
hundred  paces  of  our  quarters.  The  whole 
country  was  up.  There  was  no  doubt 
about  the  matter.  The  Turks  well  knew 
those  three  notes  to  be  the  war  signal  of  the 
Latookas.  .  .  . 


(.467; 


FUNERAL  CEREMONIES. 


459 


"  The  patrols  shortly  reported  that  large 
bodies  of  men  were  collecting  outside  the 
town.  The  great  nogara  again  beat,  and 
was  answered,  as  before,  from  the  neighbor- 
ing villages;  but  the  Turk's  drum  kept  up 
an  uninterrupted  roll,  as  a  challenge,  when- 
ever the  nogara  sounded.  Instead  of  the 
intense  stillness,  that  had  formerly  been 
almost  painful,  a  distinct  hum  of  voices  be- 
tokened the  gathering  of  large  bodies  of  men. 
However,  we  were  well  fortified,  and  the 
Latookas  knew  it.  We  occupied  the  very 
strongliold  which  they  themselves  had  con- 
structed for  the  defence  of  their  town;  and 
the  square,  being  surrounded  with  strong 
Iron-wood  palisades,  with  only  a  narrow 
entrance,  would  be  impregnable  when  held, 
as  now,  by  fifty  men  well  armed  against  a 
mob  whose  best  weapons  were  only  lances. 

"  I  sent  men  up  the  watchmen's  stations. 
These  were  about  twenty-five  feet  high; 
and,  the  night  being  clear,  they  could  dis- 
tinctly report  the  movements  of  a  large  mass 
of  natives  that  were  ever  increasing  on  the 
outside  of  the  town,  at  aliout  two  hundred 
yards  distance.  The  rattle  of  the  Turk's 
drum  repeatedly  sounded  in  reply  to  the 
nogara,  and  the  intended  attack  seemed  des- 
tined to  relapse  into  a  noisy  but  empty  bat- 
tle of  the  drums." 

Toward  midnight  Commoro  came  in  per- 
son, and  said  that  the  nogara  had  been 
beaten  without  his  orders,  and  that  he  would 
try  to  quiet  the  people.  He  admitted,  how- 
ever, that,  if  the  exploring  party  had  not 
been  or  their  guard,  an  attack  would  really 
have  been  made.  After  this  business.  Sir 
Samuel  very  wisely  determined  to  separate 
entirely  from  the  Turks,  and  therefore  built 
himself  a  camp  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  town,  so  that  the  Latookas  might 
not  again  think  that  the  two  parties  had  a 
common  interest. 

On  the  following  morning  the  women  ap- 
peared with  their  water  jars  as  usual,  and 
the  men,  though  still  excited,  and  under 
arms,  returned  to  their  homes.  By  degrees 
the  excitement  died  away,  and  then  they 
talked  over  the  affair  with  perfect  frankness, 
admitting  that  an  attack  was  meditated,  and 
rather  amused  that  the  intended  victims 
should  have  been  aware  of  their  plans. 

The  Latookas  are  not  free  from  the  vice 
of  thieving,  and,  when  employed  as  porters, 
have  exercised  their  craft  with  so  little 
attempt  at  concealment,  that  they  have  de- 
liberately broken  open  the  parcels  which 
they  carried,  not  taking  any  notice  of  the 
fact  that  a  sentry  was  watching  them  within 
a  few  yards.  Also  they  would  occasionally 
watch  an  opportunity,  slip  aside  from  the 
caravan,  and  sneak  away  with  their  loads. 

Funeral  ceremonies  differ  among  the  La- 
tookas according  to  the  mode  of  death.  If 
a  man  is  killed  in  battle,  the  body  is  not 
touched,  but  is  allowed  to  remain  on  the 
spot  where  it  fell,  to  be  eaten  by  the  hyoenas 

23 


and  the  vultures.  But  should  a  Latooka, 
whether  man,  woman,  or  child,  die  a  natural 
death,  the  body  is  disposed  of  in  a  rather 
singular  manner.  Immediately  after  death, 
a  shallow  grave  is  dug  in  the  enclosure  that 
surrounds  each  house,  and  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  door.  It  is  allowed  to  remain  here 
for  several  weeks,  when  decomposition  is 
usually  completed.  It  is  then  dug  up,  the 
bones  are  cleaned  and  washed,  and  are  then 
placed  in  an  earthenware  jar,  and  carried 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  outside  the  vil- 
lage. 

No  particular  sanctity  attaches  itself  either 
to  the  bones  or  the  spot  on  which  they  are 
deposited.  The  earthen  jars  are  broken  in 
course  of  time,  and  the  bones  scattered 
about,  but  no  one  takes  any  notice  of  them. 
In  consequence  of  this  custom  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  large  town  presents  a  most 
singular  and  rather  dismal  aspect,  the 
ground  being  covered  with  bones,  skulls, 
and  earthenware  jars  in  various  states  of 
preservation ;  and,  indeed,  the  traveller 
always  knows  when  he  is  approaching  a 
Latooka  town  by  coming  across  a  quantity 
of  neglected  human  remains. 

The  Latookas  have  not  the  least  idea 
why  they  treat  their  dead  in  this  singular 
manner,  nor  why  they  make  so  strange  a 
distinction  between  the  bodies  of  warriors 
who  have  died  the  death  of  the  brave  and 
those  who  have  simply  died  from  disease, 
accident,  or  decay.  Perhaps  there  is  no 
other  country  where  the  body  of  the  dead 
warrior  is  left  to  the  beasts  and  birds,  while 
those  who  die  natural  deaths  are  so  elabo- 
rately buried,  exhumed,  and  placed  in  the 
public  cemetery.  Why  they  do  so  they  do 
not  seem  either  to  know  or  to  care,  and,  as 
far  as  has  been  ascertained,  this  is  one  of 
the  many  customs  which  has  survived  long 
after  those  who  practise  it  have  forgotten 
its  signification. 

During  the  three  or  four  weeks  that  clajjse 
between  the  interment  and  exhumation  of 
the  body  funeral  dances  are  performed. 
Great  numbers  of  both  sexes  take  part  in 
these  dances,  for  which  they  decorate  them- 
selves in  a  very  singular  manner.  Their 
hair  helmets  are  supplemented  by  great 
plumes  of  ostrich  feathers,  each  man  wear- 
ing as  many  as  he  can  manage  to  fasten  on 
his  head,  and  skins  of  the  leopard  or  mon- 
key are  hung  from  their  shoulders.  The 
chief  adornment,  however,  is  a  large  iron 
bell,  which  is  fastened  to  the  small  of  the 
back,  and  which  is  sounded  by  wriggling 
the  body  after  a  very  ludicrous  fashion.  A 
faithful  representation  of  one  of  these  dan- 
ces is  given  the  reader  on  page  465. 

"A  large  crowd  got  up  in  this  style  cre- 
ated an  indescribable  hubbub,  heightened 
by  the  blowing  of  horns  and  the  beating  of 
seven  nogaras  of  various  notes.  Every 
dancer  wore  an  antelope's  horn  susjiended 
round  the  neck,  which  he  blew  occasionally 


4C0 


THE  LATOOKA. 


in  the  height  of  Iiis  excitement.  These 
instruments  produced  a  sound  partaking  of 
the  braying  of  a  donkey  and  the  screech  of 
an  owl.  Crowds  of  men  rushed  round  and 
round  in  a  sort  of  galop  infernel,  brandish- 
ing their  arras  and  iron-headed  maces,  and 
keeping  tolerably  in  line  tive  or  six  deep, 
following  the  leader,  who  headed  them,  dan- 
cing backward. 

"  The  women  kept  outside  the  line,  dan- 
cing a  slow,  stupid  step,  while  a  long  string 
of  young  girls  and  small  children,  their 
heads  and  necks  rubbed  witli  red  ochre  and 
grease,  and  prettily  ornamented  with  strings 
of  beads  round  their  loins,  kept  a  very  good 
line,  beating  time  with  their  feet,  and  jing- 
ling the  numerous  iron  rings  which  adorned 
their  ankles  to  keep  time  to  the  drums. 

"  One  woman  attended  upon  the  men, 
running  through  the  crowd  with  a  gourd- 
ful  of  wood-ashes,  handfuls  of  which  she 
showered  over  their  heads,  powdering  them 
like  millers:  the  object  of  the  operation  I 
could  not  understand.  The  premiere  dan- 
seuse  was  immensely  fat;  she  had  passed  the 
bloom  of  youth,  but,  malyre  her  unwieldy 
state,  she  kept  up  the  pace  to  the  last,  quite 
unconscious  of  her  general  appearance,  and 
absorbed  with  the  excitement  of  the  dance." 

These  strange  dances  form  a  part  of  every 
funeral,  and  so,  when  several  persons  have 
died  successively,  the  funeral  dances  go  on 
for  several  months    together.      The    chief 


Commoro  was  remarkable  for  his  agility 
in  the  funeral  dances,  and  took  his  part  in 
every  such  ceremony,  no  matter  whether  it 
were  for  a  wealthy  or  a  poor  man,  every 
one  who  dies  being  equally  entitled  to  the 
funeral  dance  without  any  distinction  of 
rank  or  wealth. 

The  bells  which  are  so  often  mentioned 
in  those  tribes  inhabiting  Central  Africa 
are  mostly  made  on  one  principle,  though 
not  on  precisely  the  same  pattern.  These 
simple  bells  evidently  derive  their  origin 
from  the  shells  of  certain  nuts,  or  other 
hard  fruits,  which,  when  suspended,  and  a 
wooden  clapper  hung  within  them,  can  pro- 
duce a  sound  of  some  resonance. 

The  next  advance  is  evidently  the  carving 
the  bell  out  of  some  hard  wood,  so  as  to  in- 
crease its  size  and  add  to  the  power  ot  its 
sound.  Next,  the  superior  resonance  of  iron 
became  apparent,  and  little  bells  were  made, 
shaped  exactly  like  the  before-mentioned 
nuts.  This  point  once  obtained,  the  variety 
in  the  shape  of  the  bells  is  evidently  a  mere 
matter  of  caprice  on  the  part  of  the  maker. 

One  form  approaches  nearer  to  our  famil- 
iar type  of  bell  than  any  other,  and  really 
bears  a  very  close  resemblance  to  the 
strangely-shaped  bells  of  Siam  or  Burmah. 
Instead  of  being  flattened,  as  are  the  others, 
it  is  tolerably  wide,  and  is  so  formed  that  a 
transverse  section  of  it  would  give  the  figure 
of  a  quatrefoiL 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


THE  SHIE,  BAKI,  DJIBBA,  NUEHK,  DINKA,  A^^D  SHILLOOK  TEIBES. 


MCALITT  OF  THE  SHIK  TKIEE  —  THEIR  PORTABLE  PROPERTY  —  DRESS  AND  GENERAL  APPEARANCE  — 
A  STRANGE  STORY  —  BASKET  MAKING  —  THE  BARI  TRIBE  AND  THEIR  CHARACTER  —  SLA\-E  DEAL- 
ING —  BAKI  ARCHERS— A  DARING  SHARPSHOOTER  — THE  BOY'S  STRATAGEM— ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE 
BARI  —  THE  DJIBBA  TRIBE  —  THEIR  NATIONAL  PRIDE  —  D.JIBBA  WEAPONS  —  THE  AXE,  CLUB,  AND 
KNIFE — BRACELET  —  THE  SCALP-LOCKS  ORNAMENT — A  PROUD  WARRIOR  — THE  NOUAER  OR  NUEHR 
TRIBE  — THE  CLAY  WIG  AND  BEAD  HELMET— THE  CHEEF,  JOCTIAN,  AND  HIS  mPORTUNTTY — 
NUEHR  SALUTATION  —  THE  DINKA  TRIBE  AND  ITS  WjVRLIKE  CHARACTER  —  ZENEB  TO  THE  RESCUE 
—  FEUD  WITH  THE  SHILL0OK9  AND  BAGARAS  —  DRESS  OF  THE  DINKA  — TREACHERY,  AND  THE 
TABLES  TURNED — THE  DINItA  MARKET  —  AN  EMBASSY  OF  PEACE — THE  SHILLO0K3,  THEIR  LO- 
CALITY, DRESS,  AND  APPEARANCE  —  THEIR  PREDATORY  HABITS  —  SKILL  IN  BOATING  —  A  PAS- 
TORAL COLONY  AND  ITS  MANAGEMENT  — FISH-SPEARENG  — A  SHILLOOK  FAMILY  —  GOVERNMENT 
AMONG  THE  SHILLOOKS  —  MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS. 


As  the  Shir  ti-ibe  are  frequently  mentioned 
by  tliose  travellers  who  have  passed  through 
Central  Africa,  a  brief  mention  of  them  will 
be  necessary.  The  Shir  country  extends  on 
either  side  of  the  Nile,  in  lat.  6°  N.,  and 
long.  .30°  E. 

The  men  are  remarkable  for  never  stir- 
ring out  of  their  villages  without  all  their 
personal  property  about  them.  Clothes,  in 
our  sense  of  the  word,  are  not  considered  as 
property,  the  principal  article  of  costume 
being  a  tuft  or  two  of  cock's-feathers  on  the 
top  of  the  head.  But  they  always  carry 
their  little  stools  slung  on  their  backs,  and 
no  one  ever  moves  without  his  loved  pipe. 
Upon  their  pipe  they  lavish  all  their  ar- 
tistic powers,  which,  however,  are  not  very 
considerable.  Precious  as  is  iron  in  this 
country,  being  used,  like  gold  in  Europe,  as 
a  medium  of  currency,  the  pipes  are  all 
mounted  with  this  costly  metal.  The  bowls 
are  made  of  clay,  conical  in  shape,  and  hav- 
ing a  couple  of  prongs  on  which  to  rest. 
They  are  very  large,  holding  quite  a  handful 
of  tobacco,  and  their  mouthpieces  are  almost 
invariably  made  of  iron. 

Besides  the  implements  of  peace,  the  Shir 
always  carry  with  them  their  weapons  of 
war.  These  consist  of  clubs,  made  of  a  kind 
of  ebony,  black,  solid,  and  heavy,  a  couple  of 
lances,  a  bow,  and  a  bundle  of  arrows,  so 
that  their  hands  are  quite  full  of  weajsons. 
The  bows  are  always  kept  strung,  and  the 
arrows  are  pointed  with  some  hard  wood, 
iron  being  too  costly  a  metal  for  such  a  pur- 


pose. They  are  about  three  feet  in  length, 
and  without  feathers,  so  that  they  can  only 
be  used  at  a  short  distance. 

The  women,  however,  have  some  preten- 
sions to  dress.  To  a  belt  which  goes  round 
the  waist  is  attached  a  small  lappet  of  leather, 
which  hangs  in  front.  Tliis  is  balanced 
behind  by  a  sort  of  tail  or  long  tassel  of  very 
thin  leather  thongs,  which  reach  nearly 
down  to  the  knees.  Captain  Speke  remarks 
that  this  article  of  ch-ess  is  probably  the 
foundation  of  the  reports  that  in  Central 
Africa  there  is  a  race  of  men  who  have  tails 
like  horses.  Such  reports  are  rife,  not  only 
among  Europeans,  but  among  the  Central 
Africans  themselves,  each  tribe  seeming  to 
think  that  they  are  the  only  perfect  race  of 
men,  and  that' all  others  have  some  physical 
defect. 

A  very  amusing  instance  of  such  a  belief 
is  narrated  by  Mr.  Petherick,  a  native  hav- 
ing given  him  a  most  circumstantial  account 
of  tribes  among  which  he  had  been,  and 
where  he  had  seen  some  very  singular  peo- 
ple. In  one  ti'ibe,  for  example,  he  had  seen 
people  who,  like  the  white  man,  could  kill  at 
a  great  distance.  But  instead  of  having  odd- 
shaped  pieces  of  wood  and  iron,  which  made 
a  noise,  they  had  bows  and  arrows,  which  lat- 
ter could  not  be  extracted.  Had  he  stopped 
here  he  might  have  been  beheved,  the  only 
exaggeration  being  in  the  range  of  the 
weapon.  Unfortunately  for  his  own  charac- 
ter, he  must  needs  add  a  number  of  other 
circumstances,  and  proceeded  to  tell  of  a 


(461) 


462 


THE   BARI. 


people  who  had  four  e5'e«,  two  in  tlie  usual 
places  and  two  behind,  and  wlio  could  there- 
fore walk  backward  as  well  as  forward  —  like 
the  decapitated  lady  in  the  fairy  tale,  whose 
head  was  replaced  -wrong  side  forward, 
'■  which  was  very  useful  in  dressing  her 
back  hair." 

The  next  tribe  through  which  he  passed 
friglitened  liim  exceedingly.  They  had  the 
usual  number  of  eyes,  but  one  eye  was  under 
each  arm,  so  that,  when  they  wanted  to  look 
about  them,  they  were  obliged  to  lift  up  their 
arms.  Not  liking  these  strange  comjianions, 
he  went  still  farther  southward,  and  there  he 
saw  people  with  tails  a  yard  in  leugtli,  and 
with  faces  like  monkeys.  But  the  most  lior- 
rible  people  among  whom  he  travelled  were 
dwarfs,  who  had  such  enormous  ears  that, 
wlien  they  wished  to  rest  for  the  night,  tliey 
spread  one  ear  beneath  tliem  for  a  mattress, 
and  the  other  above  them  by  way  of  cover- 
ing. 

The  strange  part  in  connection  with  these 
wild  tales  is,  that  none  of  them  are  now.  To 
the  lovers  of  old  legends  all  these  monstrous 
races  of  men  are  perfectly  familiar.  More- 
over, in  that  wonderful  old  book,  the  "  Nu- 
remberg Chronicle,"  there  are  woodcuts  of  all 
the  strange  people.  There  are  the  Acephali ; 
whose  eyes  are  in  their  Ijreasts;  there  are 
the  tailed  men,  the  ape-faced  men,  the 
dwarfs,  and  the  large-eared  men.  The  ori- 
gin of  several  of  these  wild  notions  is  evi- 
dent enough,  and  it  seems  probable  that  the 
idea  of  the  large-eared  race  arose  from  the 
enormous  ears  of  the  African  elephant,  one 
of  which  is  large  enough  to  shelter  a  man 
beneath  its  covert. 

To  return  to  the  Shir  women.  They  are 
very  fond  of  ornament,  and  nearly  all  the 
iron  in  the  country  which  is  not  used  in 
the  decoration  of  pipes,  or  for  the  '"  sjiade- 
money,"  is  worn  upon  the  legs  of  the  women. 
Rings  of  considerable  thickness  are  fastened 
round  the  ankles,  and  a  woman  of  considera- 
tion will  often  liave  so  many  of  these  rings 
that  they  extend  for  up  the  leg.  As  the 
women  walk,  these  rings  make  a  clanking 


sound,  as  if  they  wore  iron  fetters;  but 
among  the  Shir  belles  tliis  sound  is  thought 
to  be  very  fashionable,  and  they  cultivate 
the  art  of  walking  so  as  to  make  the  anklets 
clank  as  much  as  ))ossible.  There  is  another 
ornament  of  which  they  are  very  fond. 
They  take  the  shells  of  the  river  'mussel, 
and  cut  it  into  small  circular  pieces,  r.bout 
the  size  of  ordinary  pearl  ))uttons.  These 
are  strung  together  with  the  hair  of  the  gi- 
rafte's-tail,  which  is  nearly  as  strong  as  iron 
wire,  and  are  rather  eftective  when  contrasted 
with  the  Ijlack  skins  of  the  wearers.  Like 
the  Wauyoro  and  other  tribes,  the  Shir  of 
both  sexes  knock  out  the  incisor  teeth  of  the 
lower  jaw. 

These  women  are  skilful  as  basket  makers, 
the  principal  material  being  the  leaf  of  the 
dome  or  doom  jialm.  I  have  a  mat  of  their 
manufacture,  which  is  woven  so  neatly  and 
closely,  and  ■(N'ith  so  tasteful  an  arrangement 
of  colors,  that  it  might  easily  be  taken  for 
the  work  of  an  European.  It  is  oval,  and 
about  eighteen  inclies  in  diameter.  The 
centre  is  deep-red,  surrounded  liy  alternate 
rings  of  red  and  black,  which  have  a  very 
admirable  eifect  upon  the  pale-yellow  of  the 
mat  itself 

The  food  of  the  Shir  tribe  consists  largely 
of  the  lotus-seed,  the  white  species  being 
that  which  is  commonly  used.  Just  before 
the  seed  is  ripe  it  is  gathered  in  the  pod, 
which  looks  something  like  an  artichoke, 
and  contains  a  vast  quantity  of  little  grains, 
rather  like  those  of  the  poppy  both  in  size 
and  flavor.  When  gathered,  the  pods  are 
bored  and  strung  upon  reeds  aliout  foiu-  feet 
in  length.  They  are  then  taken  into  the 
village,  dried  in  the  sun,  and  stored  away  for 
food.  Tlie  fruit  of  the  doom  palm  is  also 
ground  and  used  as  flour. 

There  is  one  very  strange  kind  of  diet 
which  prevails  along  the  upper  part  of  the 
White  Nile.  The  people  have  large  herds 
of  cattle,  and  they  not  only  live  on  the  milk, 
but  bleed  them  monthly,  and  cook  the  blood 
with  their  flour  and  meal. 


THE  BAKI. 


Between  lat.  4°  and  8°  N.  and  long.  31° 
3.3'  E.  there  are  several  tribes  so  peculiar  as 
to  deserve  a  brief  notice  before  we  pass 
westward  to  the  land  of  the  negroes.  The 
lirst  of  these  is  tlie  Bari  tribe,  which  is  situ- 
ated on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Nile. 

They  are  a  warlike  and  dangerous  tribe, 
being  well  armed,  and  capable  of  using  their 
weapons,  so  that  a  traveller  who  wishes  to 
pass  safely  through  their  land  must  be  able 
to  show  an  armed  front.  When  Captains 
Speke  and  Grant  passed  through  their  coun- 
try, an  umbrella  was  accidentally  left  behind, 
aiid  some  of  the  men  sent  to  fetch  it.    The 


Bari,  however,  drew  up  in  battle  array,  evi-' 
dently  knowing  that  without  their  leaders 
the  men  might  be  safely  bullied,  so  that  the 
umbrella  was  left  to  the  mercies  of  the  Bari 
chief. 

Owing  to  their  position  on  the  Nile,  they 
do  a  great  business  in  the  slave  trade,  for  as 
far  as  Gondokoro,  the  capital  of  the  Bari 
country,  steamers  have  been  able  to  ascend 
the  river.  Consequently,  every  party  of 
strangers  is  supposed — and  mostly  with 
truth^ — to  be  a  slaving  expedition,  and  is 
dreaded  by  one  part  of  the  population,  while 
it  is  courted  by  the  other.     The  quarrelsome 


THE  BOY'S  STKATAGEM. 


463 


disposition  of  tlie  B.ari  has  often  brought 
them  into  collision  with  the  traders,  and,  as 
might  be  imagined,  tlie  superior  arms  and 
discipline  of  the  latter  have  given  them  such 
a  superiority,  that  the  Bari  are  not  as 
troublesome  as  they  used  to  be.  Still,  they 
are  always  on  the  watch  for  an  opportunity 
of  extortion,  and,  if  a  traveller  even  sits 
under  a  tree,  they  will  demand  payment  for 
its  sliade. 

"When  Sir  S.  Baker  was  at  Gondokoro,  he 
was  looked  upon  as  a  spy  and  opposer  of 
the  slave-trade,  and  consequently  ran  much 
greater  risk  of  being  killed  than  among  the 
acknowledged  savage  tribes  of  the  interior. 
And  as  the  slave  dealers  had  further  comj)!!- 
cated  matters  by  stealing  cattle  from  one 
sub-tribe,  with  which  they  bought  slaves 
from  another,  the  journey  through  ]5ari-land 
was  certain  to  be  most  perilous,  and  prob- 
ably would  be  rendered  impossible. 

Once  they  organized  a  regular  attack  upon 
the  party,  stationing  themselves  on  either 
side  of  a  rocky  gorge  througli  which  the  road 
ran,  and  keepiuc;  up  a  continual  discharge 
of  their  poisoned  arrows.  Fortunately,  some 
of  the  natives,  brilliant  in  their  scarlet  war 
paint,  had  been  seen  ahead  of  the  gorge, 
and  preparations  had  been  made  for  receiv- 
ing the  attack.  They  ran  along  the  rocks 
like  monkeys,  every  now  and  then  halting 
to  discharge  a  poisoned  arrow,  and  then 
running  on  in  readiness  for  another  shot. 
They  showed  much  courage  on  the  occasion, 
coming  within  fifty  or  sixty  yards  of  the 
armed  escort,  in  spite  of  tlieir  fire-arms, 
which  they  seemed  justifiably  to  despise,  as 
the  men  who  carried  them  had  no  idea  of 
aim,  and,  provided  that  they  pointed  a  mus- 
ket somewhere  toward  the  enemy,  and  tired 
it,  thought  that  they  had  done  all  that  was 
required. 

However,  the  Bari  were  quite  as  bad  as 
archers,  and  not  a  single  arrow  took  eflect. 
Many  were  diverted  from  their  line  by  the 
branches  of  trees  and  the  clusters  of  bam- 
boo, while  those  that  flew  straight  were 
easily  avoided,  on  account  of  the  weakness 
and  stiffness  of  the  bow,  whicli  would  only 
project  them  feebly  and  slowly.  The  end  of 
the  skirmish  was  that,  although  the  leader 
of  the  expedition  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  fire  at  so  insignificant  an  enemy, 
one  of  the  Bari  was  somehow  shot  through 
the  body,  probably  by  a  bullet  aimed  at 
somebody  else,  and  a  few  were  thought  to 
be  wounded.  They  then  took  to  their  heels 
and  ran  off. 

During  the  march  the  Bari  still  hung 
about  the  caravan,  and  at  night  completely 
surrounded  it,  their  forms  being  quite  invis- 
ible unless  the  sentinel  lay  on  the  ground, 
and  contrived  to  see  the  outline  of  their 
forms  above  the  horizon.  They  even  were 
audacious  enough  to  creep  close  to  the  camp, 
and  discharge  their  arrows  at  random  into  it, 
in  the  hope  of  hitting  some  one;  but  this 


mode  of  assault  was  effectually  checked  by  a 
volley  of  buckshot,  which  killed  one  of  the 
most  daring  of  them.  When  his  body  was 
found  next  morning,  lying  about  thirty  yards 
from  the  camp,  the  bow  was  in  his  hand,  and 
a  supjily  of  poisoned  arrows  by  his  side. 
Four  of  his  arrows  were  afterward  found  in 
the  camp,  and  their  ingeniously  barbed  heads 
charged  with  deadly  poison  showed  that  the 
death  of  the  former  owner  was  well  deserved. 

It  was  fortunate  for  the  travellers  that  the 
Bari  are  such  wretched  archers,  as  the  ar- 
rows, when  they  do  strike  a  man,  are  tolera- 
lily  sure  to  kill  him.  The  poison  with  which 
they  are  imbued  has  not  the  rapidity  of  ac- 
tion which  distinguishes  that  of  the  Bos- 
jesman,  but  it  is  scarcely  less  formidable, 
though  less  swift.  The  etiect  of  the  poison 
is  to  destroy  the  life  of  the  surrounding  flesh, 
so  that  a  limb  which  has  been  pierced  by 
one  of  the  arrows  is  attacked  by  a  slow  kind 
of  mortiticafion,  and  thus  the  wound  ensures 
death,  which  is  far  more  painful,  because  so 
much  slower,  than  that  which  is  caused  by 
the  poison-grub,  the  euphorbia  juice,  or  the 
venom  of  the  serpent. 

Unpleasant  as  these  Bari  are  in  their 
ordinary  state,  they  can  be  trained  into  good 
and  faithful  attendants,  and  are  excellent 
material  for  soldiers.  On  one  occasion, 
when  a  large  party  of  the  Madi  had  attacked 
a  body  of  traders,  killed  the  standard-bearer, 
and  nearly  carried  off  the  standaril  itself,  a 
young  Bari  boy  came  to  the  rescue,  shot 
with  his  pistol  the  man  who  was  carrying  off 
the  standard,  snatched  it  from  him,  and  took 
it  safely  to  his  master. 

One  of  these  Bari  lads,  a  drummer  named 
Arnout,  saved  the  life  of  his  master  by  a 
stratagem.  While  the  latter  was  reloading 
his  gun,  he  was  attacked  by  several  natives, 
when  young  Arnout  ran  "up,  and,  though 
weaponless,  presented  his  drimistick  at  the 
enemy.  Thinking  it  to  be  some  novel  kind 
of  fire-arm,  the  assailants  ran  away,  leaving 
Arnout  master  of  the  field. 

The  appearance  of  the  Bari  is  rather 
remarkable.  Their  heads  are  round  and  bul- 
let-shaped, with  low  foreheads,  and  much 
develo]iment  behind  the  ears  and  at  the 
nape  of  the  neck,  so  that  the  general  con- 
formation of  the  head  is  anything  Init  pleas- 
ing, and  is  a  good  index  to"  the  character  of 
the  people.  As  they  shave  their  heads,  the 
formation  of  the  skull  is  easily  seen.  They 
are  a  tall,  well-grown,  and  well-fed  people, 
thus  being  a  great  contrast  to  the  Kytch  and 
several  other  tribes;  and,  although  they 
wear  but  little  clothing,  they  contrive  t'o 
spend  much  time  on  personal  adornment. 
The  men  shave  the  whole  of  their  heads, 
with  the  exception  of  a  little  tuft  of  hair  on 
the  top,  which  is  preserved  as  an  attaclnnent 
for  a  few  feathers  from  a  cock's  tail.  When 
they  go  to  war,  and  even  in  their  own  vil- 
lages, they  rub  themselves  with  a  kind  of 
vermilion  mixed  with  grease,  and  cover  the 


464 


THE  DJIBBA. 


whole  of  their  persons  with  this  pigment. 
The  men  never  stir  without  their  weapons, 
which  consist  of  a  bow,  arrows,  and  a 
spear. 

The  l)ow  is  fully  six  feet  in  length,  and 
looks  a  very  formidable  weapon;  but  it  is  so 
stilV  and  inelastic  that,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  it  cannot  propel  the  heavy  ar- 
rows witli  much  force.  The  arrows  are 
cruelly  barbed,  and  the  butt  of  the  shaft  is 
spread  out  so  as  to  allow  a  wide  notch  to  be 
cut  in  it.  Tliis  widened  butt  is  seen  in  ar- 
rows throughout  a  large  part  of  Africa;  and 
tliere  is  now  before  me  a  Zanzibar  quiver, 
full  of  arrows,  kindly  presented  by  J.  A. 
Wood,  Esq.,  ll.N.  These  arrows  are  made 
with  wonderful  neatness,  but  are  spoiled  in 
appearance  by  the  width  of  the  butt.  IIow 
the  natives  can  use  these  arrows  without 
having  their  left  hand  cut  to  pieces  by  the 
Initt  is  really  wonderful;  and  as  it  must 
strike  against  the  bow,  and  deflect  the  ar- 
l-QW  from  its  intended  course,  the  wretched 
archery  of  the  natives  is  accounted  for. 

Besides  his  weapon,  the  Bari  man  alwaj's 
carries  his  stool,  slinging  the  latter  behind 
him.  When  he  stands,  he  has  an  odd  mode 
of  reposing  himself,  which  reminds  the 
observer  of  the  stork,  flamingo,  and  other 
long-shanked  birds.  One  foot  rests  on  the 
ground,  while  the  other  is  pressed  against 
the  leg  just  below  the  knee,  and  the  man 
steadies,  himself  by  resting  the  butt  of  the 
spear  on  the  ground.  Generally,  the  bow, 
arrows,  and  pipe  are  tucked  between  the 
legs  while  the  owner  is  standing. 

The  women  shave  the  whole  of  their 
heads,  and,  by  way  of  dress,  wear  a  little 
apron  about  six  inches  square,  sometimes 
made  of  beads  strung  together,  and  some- 
times of  iron  rings  linked  in  each  other  like 
chain  mail.    These  last  aprons  are  much 


valued.  They  also  adorn  themselves  by 
making  a  vast  quantity  of  semi-circular  scars 
on  the  body,  from  the  breast  down  to  the 
waist,  so  that  at  a  little  distance  they  look 
as  if  they  wore  a  cuirass  of  scales.  "  They 
are  as  fond  of  the  vermilion  and  grease  as 
their  husbands,  and  the  ett'ect  of  tiiis  pig- 
ment on  tlie  scars  is  to  increase  the  resem- 
blance to  scale  armor. 

The  houses  are  neatly  built.  Eacli  family 
resides  within  a  considerable  space  sur- 
rounded by  a  hedge  of  euphorbia,  and  the 
whole  of  the  interior  is  levelled,  and  care- 
fully laid  down  with  a  sort  of  cement,  com- 
l)Osed  of  wood-ashes,  cow-dung,  and  clay. 
This  mixture  soon  dries  in  the  sun,  and 
fin'ms  a  kind  of  asphalt,  so  that  it  can  be 
swept  easily.  The  huts  are  floored  with 
the  same  material,  and  both  they  and  the 
enclosure  are  kept  scrupulously  clean.  The 
homestead  (see  engraving)  consists  of  a 
number  ot  huts,  according  to  tlie  size  of  the 
iamily;  and  near  them  are  placed  the  gran- 
aries, which  are  carefully  raised  on  ])osts. 

As  is  the  case  in  so  many  parts  oi'  Africa, 
the  roof  of  the  circular  hut  projects  for  some 
distance  beyond  the  low  walls,  so  as  to  form 
a  sort  of  shady  veranda.  The  door  of 
the  hut  is  not  more  than  two  feet  high. 
This  form  of  hut  reminds  the  traveller  of 
the  Bechuana  houses,  while  another  custom 
is  almost  exactly  identical  with  one  which  is 
practised  among  the  Damaras.  If  the  reader 
will  refer  to  page  302,  he  will  see  a  rciirc- 
sentation  of  a  "Damara  tomb.  The  Bari 
bury  their  dead  within  the  enclosure  of  the 
homestead,  and  in  like  manner  fix  a  jKile  in 
the  ground,  and  tie  to  it  the  horns  and  skulls 
of  oxen.  In  order  to  show  that  it  is  the  tomb 
of  a  Bari,  a  tuft  of  cock"s  feathers  is  fastened 
to  the  top  of  the  pole,  in  imitation  of  that 
which  the  deceased  once  bore  on  his  head. 


THE  DJIBBA. 


Proceeding  still  northward,  and  diverg- 
ing a  little  to  the  east,  we  come  to  a  large 
and  formidable  tribe  called  the  Djibba. 
Their  territory  is  situated  about  lat.  7°  N. 
and  long.  34°  E.,  and  occupies  a  large  tract  of 
country  almost  encircled  by  the  Sobat  River, 
one  of'  the  many  tributaries  of  the  Nile. 

The  Djibba  are  a  bold  and  warlike  tribe. 
They  are  not  negroes,  neither  are  they 
black,  their  color  being  a  dark  brown. 
Their  stature  is  tall,  and,  except  in  color, 
they  bear  much  resemblance  to  the  Shil- 
look.s,  who  will  be  presently  described.  It 
has  been  thouglit  that  they  may  be  an  otf- 
shoot  of  that  tribe,  but  they  indignantly 
deny  any  relationship  either  to  the  Shillook 
or  any  other  tribe;  and  even  hold  them- 
selven  aloof  from  the  warlike  Dinkas,  with 
whom  so  many  inferior  tribes  are  only  too 
glad  to  claim  relationship. 


These  people  are  essentially  warriors,  and 
have  a  most  remarkable  set  of  weapons. 
Spears  of  course  they  possess,  and  he  is  a 
ha])py  man  who  has  a  weapon  with  an  iron 
head.  Iron  is  scaixe  in  the  Djil)ba  country, 
and,  in  consequence,  many  of  the  warriors 
are  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  fast- 
ening the  sharp  horns  of  antelopes  to  their 
spear  shaft,  until  they  can  manage  to  pro- 
cure the  coveted  iron  head.  When  a  Djibba 
warrior  does  possess  so  valuable  a  weapon, 
he  takes  verj'  great  care  of  it,  keeping  the 
edges  as  sharp  as  a  razor,  and  covering  the 
head  with  a  hide  sheath.  The  sheath  is 
attached  to  tlie  shaft  by  a  thong,  so  that 
there  shall  be  no  danger  of  losing  it,  and  it 
is  never  uncovered  except  when  the  spear 
is  to  be  used.  They  also  have  clulis  and 
axes  of  different  shapes.  The  most  common 
club  is  formed  from  a  dark,  hard,  and  heavy 


(1-)  A  llAKI  HOMESTEAD. 
(See  page  464.) 


,  1' 


S#|J*  fM 


(2.)    FUNEUAL   DANCE. 
(See  page  459.) 


(465) 


A  PROUD   WARRIOR. 


467 


wood,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  mushroom- 
like sliape  of  the  head.  This  shape  is  par- 
ticularly mentioned,  because  it  is  a  favorite 
one  in  Central  Africa,  and  among  the  Dor 
tribe  expands  until  it  is  exactly  like  a  large 
flat-heailed  mushroom,  with  sharp  edges. 
Tlie  most  characteristic  form  of  axe  resem- 
bles the  battle-axe  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
which  was  equally  adapted  for  thrustiug  or 
striking. 

If  the  reader  will  refer  to  p.  449,  he  will 
see,  over  the  title  "  Bracelets,"  two  objects 
which  serve  the  double  purpose  of  orna- 
ments and  weapons.  As  is  evident  from 
their  shape,  they  are  worn  on  the  wrist,  so 
that  the  wearer  is  never  entirely  unarmed. 
The  Djibba  workman  takes  a  tliin  plate  of 
iron,  sliarpens  the  edges,  and  cuts  a  row  of 
deep  notches  along  them;  he  then  rolls  it 
longitudinally,  so  as  to  form  half  a  cylinder; 
and,  lastly,  bends  it  round  into  the  form  of  a 
bracelet.  When  it  is  placed  on  the  wrist, 
the  two  ends  are  pressed  or  Iiammered  to- 
gether, until  the  bracelet  is  held  firmly  in 
its  place. 

Another  far  more  formidable  weapon,  fig. 
2,  is  a  bracelet  made  of  a  flat  plate  of  iron, 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  width.  On  the 
inside  it  is  very  thick,  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
at  least,  and  it  is  thifmed  gradually  to  the 
edge,  which  is  kept  exceedingly  sharp.  In 
order  to  prevent  it  from  injuring  the  wearer, 
a  sort  of  sheath  of  stout  leather  runs  round 
the  edge,  and  is  held  in  its  place  by  its  own 
elasticit}',  so  that  it  can  be  pulled  off  in  a 
moment,  and  replaced  almost  as  quickly. 
Whenever  the  warrior  comes  to  close  quar- 
ters, he  strips  off  the  leathern  sheath,  and, 
rushing  in  upon  his  adversary,  strikes  at  the 
face  with  the  sharp  edge,  or,  flinging  the  left 
arm  round  him,  cuts  his  naked  Ijody  almost 
into  pieces  with  rapid  strokes  of  this  terri- 
ble weapon. 

A  well-armed  Djibba  warrior  also  carries 
a  club  made  on  exactly  the  same  principle. 
It  is  alrout  the  size  of  an  ordinary  racket, 
and  very  nearly  the  same  shape,  except  that 
the  flattened  portion  is  not  so  regular.  In- 
deed, if  an  ordinary  golf-club  had  a  head 
which  could  be  flattened  out  until  it  was 
about  a  foot  long,  and  seven  or  eight  inches 
wide,  it  would  almost  exactly  resemble  the 
"  assaya,"  as  this  club  is  called.  The  edge 
of  the  weapon  is  kept  very  sharp,  and  is 
guarded  by  a  sheath  of  hide  exactly  like 
that  of  the  knife-bracelet.  The  New  Zeal- 
anders  formerly  used  an  axe-club  of  similar 
construction,_  though  very  much  larger. 

In  the  illustration  on"  page  449,  entitled 
"  Scalp-locks,"  is  shown  another  proof  of  the 
essentially  warlike  nature  of  the  Djibba  tribe. 
When  a  Djibba  warrior  kills  a  foe  in  battle, 
he  cuts  off  his  head,  and  takes  it  home  with 


him;  he  then  cuts  a  number  of  leathern 
thongs,  removes  all  the  hair  from  the  head 
of  the  enemy,  and  hands  them  both  to  a 
friend,  who  undertakes  the  ofiice  of  decorat- 
ing the  victor  with  the  proofs  of  valor. 

First  the  thongs  are  plaited  into  sixteen 
or  seventeen  bands,  a  part  of  one  being 
shown  of  its  original  size  at  fig.  2.  One 
end  of  the  bands  is  then  woven  firmly  into 
the  back  of  the  head,  and  is  so  managed, 
that  as  the  hair  grows  it  renders  the  fasten- 
ing more  and  more  secure.  The  hair  of  tlie 
dead  man  is  then  matted  together  into  a 
sort  of  felt,  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
thickness,  and  sewed  firmly  to  the  under 
side  of  the  leathern  bands.  This  process 
being  accomplished,  the  Djibba  warrior 
stalks  proudly  forth,  feeling  himself  every 
inch  a  man,  and  enjoying  the  envy  and 
admiration  of  those  who  have  not  as  j'et 
been  fortunate  enough  to  attain  such  an 
honorable  trophy.  • 

Whenever  he  kills  another  enemjf,  ho 
adds  to  the  length,  but  not  to  the  width,  of 
this  singular  ornament;  and  as  he  des])oils 
the  slain  man  of  all  his  ornaments,  he  is 
able  to  buy  cowries  with  which  to  enhance 
the  beauty' of  his  scalp-locks,  fastening  them 
in  rows  along  the  leathern  bands.  A  wai- 
rior  of  eminence  will  sometimes  have  this 
trophy  of  inordinate  length.  I  have  seen 
one  that  was  brought  over  by  Mr.  Petherick, 
which  was  so  long  that,  when  a  man  of 
ordinary  height  placed  it  on  his  head,  the 
end  trailed  on  the  ground.  It  was  so  thickly 
covered  with  cowries,  that  the  leathern 
bands  and  hair  could  not  be  seen  until  it 
was  lifted  up,  and  the  proud  owner  had  also 
extended  the  cowries  over  the  top  of  his 
head  nearly  to  the  eyes  in  front,  and  over 
the  ears  on  either  side.  The  weight  of  this 
ornament  was  enormous,  and  it  is  really 
wonderful  that  any  amount  of  pride  could 
have  induced  any  man  to  subject  himself  to 
such  discomfort.  The  celebrated  pearl  suit 
of  Prince  Esterhazy  must  have  been  singu- 
larly uncomfortable,  but  then  it  was  only 
worn  on  special  occasions,  whereas  the 
Djibba  warrior  cannot  relieve  himself  of 
his  honorable  but  weighty  decoration. 

The  existence  of  such  an  ornament  shows 
that  the  Djibba  are  fond  of  decoration. 
They  are  moderately  well  clothed,  wearing 
goat-skin  dresses,  with  the  hairy  side  out- 
ward. The  dress  passes  over  the  left  shoul- 
der, leaving  the  right  arm  free,  and  then 
goes  round  the  waist,  descending  to  mid- 
thigh.  Ivory  armlets  of  good  workmanslii]) 
are  worn  on  the  upper  arm,  heavy  belts  of 
cowries  are  tied  round  the  waist,  and  both 
the  ankles  and  waist  are  ornamented  with 
polished  iron  rings. 


468 


THE   NUEIIR. 


THE  NUEHR. 


TVe  now  come  to  another  of  those  remark- 
able tribes  which  inliabit  Central  Africa. 

About  lat.  9°  N.  and  long.  25°  E.  there  is 
a  large  district  inhabited  Ijy  a  tribe  called 
the  Nuehr  or  Nouacr.  Contrary  to  the 
usual  custom,  this  tribe  posses.ses  land  on 
both  sides  of  the  Nile,  wliich  in  the  midst 
of  their  territory  spreads  itself  into  a  lake. 
The  Nuelir  are  a  tine-looking  race  of  sav- 
ages, and  verj'  like  savages  they  look.  The 
men  are  tall,  powertul,  and  well-formed, 
but  their  features  approach  the  negro  type, 
and  are  heavier  and  coarser  than  those  of 
the  tribes  which  have  been  previously  men- 
tioned. The  women  are  not  nearly  so  good- 
looking  as  the  men,  and  are  rather  clumsily 
built. 

Neither  sex  is  much  troubled  with  clothes. 
The  males  never  w*ar  an_y  clothes  at  all;  nor 
do  the  females,  until  they  are  married,  when 
they  tie  a  fringe  of  grass  round  their  waists, 
some  of  the  wealthier  women  being  able  to 
use  a  leathern  fringe,  of  which  the}'  are 
very  proud.  Their  ornaments  really  seem 
to  serve  no  other  purpose  but  to  disfigure 
the  wearers  as  much  as  possible.  Begin- 
ning with  the  head,  the  men  stain  their 
woolly  hair  of  a  dusty  red  by  a  mixture  of 
which  ashes  form  the  chief  part.  Thej' 
then  take  a  sort  of  pipe-clay,  and  plaster  it 
thickly  into  the  hair  at  the  back  part  of  the 
head,  dressing  it  up  and  shaping  it  until  it 
is  formed  into  a  cone,  the  shape  of  the  or- 
nament varying  according  to  the  caprice  of 
the  individual.  By  means  of  this  clay  head- 
dress ihe  hair  is  thrown  liack  from  the  face, 
the  expression  of  which  is  not  improved  by 
the  horizontal  lines  that  are  tattooed  across 
it. 

A  headdress  of  remarkable  beauty  was 
brought  from  this  tribe  by  Mr.  Pethorick, 
and  is  now  in  the  collection  of  Colonel  Lane 
Fox.  It  is  white,  in  imitation  of  the  white 
clay  with  which  the  head  is  usually  deco- 
rated, and  is  made  of  cylindrical  beads 
shaped  as  if  they  were  pieces  of  tobacco 
pipe.  These  beads,  or  bugles,  as  they  ought 
perhaps  to  be  called,  are  threaded  on  string, 
and  fastened  together  in  a  very  ingenious 
manner.  The  singular  point  in  this  head- 
dress is  the  exact  resemblance  to  the  sol- 
dier's casque  of  ancient  Egypt,  and  to  the 
helmets  now  in  use  in  India,  and  other  parts 
of  the  world.     (See  "  Helmet,"  page  449.) 

The  natural  glossy  black  of  the  skin, 
which  has  so  pleasing  an  apjiearance,  is 
utterly  destroyed  by  a  coating  of  wood 
ashes,  which  gives  to  tlie  surfiice  a  kind  of 
grayish  look.  On  the  ujiper  arm  they  gen- 
erally wear  a  large  armlet  of  ivory,  and 
have  heavy  coils  of  beads  round  their  necks. 
The  wrists  are  adorned  with  rings  of  copper 
and  other  ornaments,  and  on  the  right  wrist 
they  carry  an  iron  ring  armed  with  project- 


ing blades,  very  similar  to  that  which  is 
worn  by  the  Latookas. 

Joctian,  the  chief  of  the  Nuehr  tribe,  was 
asked  by  Sir  S.  Baker  what  was  the  use  of 
this  weapon,  and  by  way  of  answer  he  sim- 
ply pointed  to  his  wife's  arms  and  back, 
which  were  covered  with  scars  i)rt)duced  by 
this  primitive  wife-tamer.  He  seemed  cjuite 
proud  of  these  marks,  and  evidently  consid- 
ered them  merely  as  ocular  proofs"  that  his 
wife  was  properly  subservient  to  her  hus- 
band. In  common  with  the  rest  of  his  tribe, 
he  had  a  small  bag  slung  round  his  neck  by 
way  of  a  pocket,  which  held  bits  of  wood, 
beads,  and  all  kinds  of  trifles.  He  asked  for 
everj'thing  he  saw,  and,  when  anything  of 
small  size  was  given  him,  it  straightway 
went  into  the  bag. 

Still,  putting  aside  these  two  traits  of 
cruelty  and  covetousness,  Joctian  seems  to 
have  been  a  tolerably  agreeable  savage,  and 
went  away  delighted  with  the  presents  he 
had  received,  instead  of  grumbling  that  he 
could  not  get  more,  as  is  the  usual  way 
among  savage  chiefs.  It  was  rather  strange 
that,  although  he  was  so  charmed  with  beads 
and  bracelets,  he  declined  to  accept  a  knife, 
saying  that  it  was  useless  to  him.  He  had 
in  his  hands  a  huge  pipe,  holding  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  tobacco.  Every 
Nuehr  man  has  one  of  these  pipes,  which 
he  always  carries  with  him,  and,  should  his 
supply  of  tobacco  be  exhausted,  he  lights  a 
piece  of  charcoal,  puts  it  into  his  pipe,  and 
inhales  the  vapor  that  it  draws  from  the 
tobacco-saturated  bowl. 

The  women  are  not  so  much  adorned  as 
the  men,  probably  because  the  stronger  sex 
prefer  to  use  the  ornaments  themselves. 
At  a  little  distance  the  women  all  look  as  if 
they  were  smoking  cigarettes.  This  odd 
appearance  is  caused  b_v  a  strange  ornament 
which  they  wear  in  their  upper  lip.  They 
take  a  piece  of  iron  wire,  about  four  inches 
in  length,  and  cover  it  with  small  beads.  A 
hole  is  then  pierced  in  the  upper  lip,  and 
the  ornament  inserted,  so  as  to  project  for- 
ward and  rather  upward. 

The  Nuehr  are  very  fond  of  beads,  and 
are  glad  to  exchange  articles  of  food  for 
them.  One  kind  of  bead,  about  the  size  and 
shape  of  a  pigeon's  egg,  is  greatly  valued  by 
them;  and.  when  Mr.  Petherick  was  travel- 
ling through  their  country,  he  purchased  an 
ox  for  eight  such  beads.  The  chief  came 
on  board  the  boat,  and,  as  usual,  asked  for 
everything  he  saw.  Among  other  odd 
things,  hescft  his  affections  on  Mr.  Pether- 
ick's  shoes,  which,  as  they  were  nearly  worn 
out,  were  presented  to  him.  Of  course  they 
were  much  too  small  for  him,  and  the  at- 
tempts which  he  made  to  put  the.m  on  were 
very  amusing.  After  many  failures,  he 
determined  ou  taking  them  home,  where 


CHARACTER  OF  THE   DINKA. 


469 


he  thouglit  he  might  be  able  to  get  them  on 
by  greasing  his  feet  well. 

When  the  chief  entered  the  cabin,  and 
saw  the  wonders  of  civilized  life,  he  was 
quite  overcome  with  the  novel  grandeur, 
and  proceeded  to  kneel  on  one  knee,  in 
order  to  give  the  salutation  due  to  a  great 
chief  "  Grasping  my  right  hand,  and  turn- 
ing up  the  palm,  he  quietly  spat  into  it,  and 
then,  looking  into  my  face,  he  deliberately 
repeated  the  process.  Staggered  at  the 
man's  audacity,  my  first  impulse  was  to 
knock  him  down,  but,  his  features  express- 


ing kindness  only,  I  vented  my  rage  by 
returning  the  compliment  with  all  possible 
interest.  His  delight  seemed  excessive,  and, 
resuming  his  seat,  he  expressed  his  convic- 
tion that  I  must  be  a  great  chief.  Similar 
salutes  followed  with  each  of  his  attend- 
ants, and  friendship  was  established."'  This 
strange  salutation  extends  through  many  of 
the  tribes  that  surround  the  Nuelir;  but  in 
some,  as  for  example  the  Kytch,  the  saluter 
merely  pretends  to  spit  in  the  hand  of  his 
friend,  and  does  not  really  do  so. 


THE  DINKA. 


Still  south  of  the  Nuehr  tribe  we  come 
to  a  singular  district  extending  on  either 
side  of  the  Nile.  This  country  is  inhabited 
by  two  tribes,  who  are  both  warlike,  both  at 
deadly  feud  with  each  other,  and  both  fond 
of  making  unexpected  raids  into  the  ene- 
my's country.  The  tribe  that  inhabits  the 
left  or  west  bank  is  called  the  Shillook,  and 
that  which  occupies  the  eastern  bank  is  the 
Diuka  or  Denka  tribe.  We  will  take  the 
Dinkas  first. 

They  have  more  of  the  negro  in  their 
aspect  than  the  tribe  which  has  j'ust  been 
described.  They  include  many  smaller  or 
sub-tribes,  all  of  which  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage, or  at  least  a  dialect  of  it.  Without 
going  into  any  minute  details  as  to  the 
peculiarity  of  each  division,  we  will  simply 
take  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  great 
and  formidable  Dinka  tribe.  That  they  are 
exceedingly  warlike  has  already  been  stated. 
Indeed,  had  they  not  been  so,  they  would 
long  ago  have  been  exterminated;  for,  what 
with  the  incessant  inroads  of  the  Shillooks 
and  Bagaras  from  the  west,  and  various 
Arab  tribes  from  the  north  and  east,  they 
could  not  have  held  their  own  had  they  not 
been  brave  men,  and  trained  to  arms. 

The  martial  spirit  extends  even  to  the 
■vfomen,  and  was  once  of  very  great  service 
to  .Sir  Samuel  Baker,  while  on  his  travels. 
A  dangerous  quarrel  had  suddenly  arisen, 
and  a  number  of  Arabs  were  attacking 
the  white  leaders,  some  being  armed  with 
swords  and  the  others  with  spears.  One  of 
the  latter  had  got  behind  Sir  Samuel's  head- 
man, and  was  about  to  make  a  thrust  with 
his  lance.  There  happened  to  Ijc  with  the 
exploring  party  a  Dinka  woman,  named 
Zeneb,  and,  as  soon  as  she  saw  the  e'mcKic, 
she  snatched  up  the  heavy  handle  of  an  axe, 
rushed  into  the  thickest  of  the  fray,  knocked 
down  the  Arab  with  a  blow  on  his  head,  and 
instantl}'  twisted  his  spear  out  of  his  hand, 
while  he  was  stunned  with  the  unexpected 
blow.  This  timely  aid  was  the  turning 
point  in  the  skirmish,  and  in  a  minute  or 
two  the  Arabs  were  conquered  and  dis- 
armed.   Zeneb  had  afterward  the  satisfac- 


tion of  smashing  the  lances  of  the  van- 
quished Arabs,  and  boiling  the  cofl'ee  with 
the  fragments. 

The  principal  weapon  of  the  Dinkas  is 
the  lance,  but  they  also  use  clubs  of  various 
shapes.  In  form  they  strongly  remind  the 
observer  of  certain  clubs  in  use  among  the 
Polynesians,  and  indeed  might  easily  be 
mistaken  for  such  weapons.  The  club  is 
employed  for  a  double  purpose.  It  is  held 
in  the  left  hand,  and  used  as  a  shield,  with 
which  to  turn  aside  the  lance  thrust  of 
the  enemy,  and,  when  the  enemy  has  been 
wounded,  the  club  is  ready  for  the  operation 
of  knocking  out  his  brains. 

Warlike  as  they  may  be,  the  Dinkas  are 
not  so  actively  aggressive  as  their  neigh- 
bors, the  Shillooks,  and  never  frequent  the 
banks  of  the  Nile  unless  compelled  to  do  so 
by  drought.  They  are  agricultvu'ists  after  a 
fashion,  and  keep  vast  lierds  of  cattle,  and  it 
is  chiefly  on  account  of  their  cattle  that  they 
are  sometimes  forced  to  approach  the  river 
bank,  and  so  to  expose  themselves  to  the 
attacks  of  their  inveterate  foes,  the  Shil- 
looks and  Bagaras,  who  not  only  steal  their 
cattle,  but  carry  off  their  women  and  chil- 
dren. The  Bagaras  are  excellent  horsemen, 
and  swim  their  steeds  across  the  river,  pla- 
cing one  hand  on  the  animal's  quarters,  and 
swimming  alongside.  They  are  also  great 
elephant  hunters,  pursuing  their  mighty 
game  on  horseback,  armed  only  with  a 
spear,  leaping  from  the  horse  and  inflicting 
a  mortal  wound,  and  springing  on  their 
steeds  again  before  the  elepliant  has  had 
time  to  turn  himself. 

The  dress  of  both  sexes  is  simple  enough. 
The  men  wear  a  piece  of  skin  attached  to  a 
girdle,  but  it  hangs  behind  and  not  before, 
except  on  occasions  of  ceremonj',  when  it  is 
carefully  brought  round  to  the  front.  Beads 
are  of  course  worn,  the  quantity  varying 
according  to  the  means  of  the  possessor. 
The  married  women  wear  small  aprons,  and 
the  girls  and  children  nothing  at  all,  with 
the  exception  of  beads  and  other  orna- 
ments. Like  those  of  the  Nuehr  tribe,  the 
Dinka  women  perforate  the  upper  lip,  and 


470 


THE  DINKA. 


l^lace  in  it  a  little  bit  of  stick  covercfl  with 
beads.  The  women  are  not  at  all  pretty, 
whatever  good  looks  they  may  have  had 
being  completely  neutralized  by  the  habit 
of  shaving  the  head.  The  girls  are  very 
fond  of  an  ornament,  which  is  a  series  of 
hollow  iron  cones,  about  half  an  inch  or  so 
in  diameter  at  the  bottom,  and  tapering  to  a 
point  above.  Through  the  upper  part  a 
hole  is  bored,  so  that  the  cones  can  be 
strung  on  a  leathern  thong.  They  are  of 
very  ditierent  lengths;  those  which  come 
in  front  being  about  lour  inches  long,  while 
those  at  the  back  measure  barely  two 
inches.  As  the  girl  walks  about,  this  waist- 
band gives  forth  a  pleasant  tinkling,  of 
which  the  wearer  is  extremely  proud.  Such 
an  ornament  is  extremely  prized,  and,  as 
it  is  almost  indestructible,  it  is  handed 
down  from  mother  to  child,  and  so  there  is 
scarcely'  a  Dinka  maiden  who  does  not  pos- 
sess one. 

The  pursuits  of  the  Dinkas  in  time  of 
peace  are  mostly  limited  to  hunting  and 
tending  cattle.  Agriculture  is  rather  de- 
spised, and  left  to  the  women,  and  the  con- 
sequence is,  that  the  capabilities  of  the  soil 
are  never  fairly  developed.  Indeed,  they 
only  till  small  patches  of  ground  near  their 
huts,  and  there  cultivate  maize,  millet, 
gourds,  .yams,  nuts,  cotton,  capsicum,  and 
similar  plants.  They  seldom  eat  the  flesh 
of  their  cattle,  unless  a  cow  happens  to  die 
a  natural  death,  in  which  case  a  great  feast 
is  held:  for  their  supplies  of  meat  they  trust 
almost  entirely  to  their  skill  in  hunting. 
The  rich  live  principally  on  the  milk  of 
their  cattle,  and,  should  they  have  more 
milk  than  they  can  consume,  thej'  barter  it 
with  other  tribes  for  grain.  They  are  clever 
fishermen,  and  those  who  are  not  well  ofl 
are  accustomed  to  frequent  the  banks  of 
rivers  or  lakes,  trying  to  kill  the  hipjjopota- 
mus,  and  in  the  mean  time  subsisting  on 
fish.  They  have  an  ingenious  method  of 
transporting  fish  to  a  distance  by  wrapping 
them  in  thick  clay,  and,  as  this  covering  can 
be  made  air-tight,  the  fish  can  be  kept  for 
several  days  even  in  so  hot  a  country. 

Agriculture  being  thus  neglected,  it  nat- 
urally follows  that  great  distress  is  occasion- 
ally felt  in  the  countiy, great  numbers  being 
reduced  to  spend  the  whole  of  their  time  in 
searching  for  grains  and  berries.  Some- 
times they  hire  themselves  as  servants,  and 
take  care  of  the  herds;  and  in  bad  years  it 
is  not  unconimou  to  find  in  the  bush  the 
bodies  of  men,  women,  and  children,  who 
have  died  from  hunger  in  a  country  which 
is  capat)le  of  supplying  both  the  necessaries 
and  luxuries  of  life. 

With  one  1n-anch  of  the  Dinka  tribe,  Mr. 
Petherick  remained  for  some  time,  and  had 
a  good  opportunity  for  studying  their  man- 
ners. His  first  reception  was  not  a  promis- 
ing one,  ns  the  chief  fullj'  intended  to  take 
by  force  all  the  beads  that  had  been  brought 


for  the  purchase  of  ivory,  and  threatened 
destruction  to  the  whole  party  if  this  mod- 
est notion  were  not  at  once  carried  out. 
However,  the  discharge  of  a  gun,  and  its 
effects  at  a  distance,  terrified  the  chief  to 
such  au  extent,  that  he  was  very  glad  to 
assume  a  more  humble  tone.  The  next 
stratagem  was  to  frighten  away  all  the  por- 
ters, so  that  the  merchandise  could  not  be 
carried  out  of  the  country,  and  to  cut  off  the 
supplj'  of  water  and  provisions,  in  order  to 
force  Mr.  Petherick  and  his  party  to  leave 
the  district.  Indeed,  the  chief  stated  plainly 
that,  as  they  could  not  remove  their  goods 
out  of  his  country,  the  best  plan  would  be  to 
hand  them  over  at  once,  and  proceed  on  their 
journey. 

Previous  to  these  events,  the  life  of  the 
same  traveller  had  been  endangered  by  an 
alliance  of  six  Dinka  tribes  against  him, 
they  having  imbibed  the  usual  notion  that 
the  onty  object  of  a  white  man  in  coming 
into  their  territory  was  to  destroy  the  slave- 
trade,  and  bring  white  enemies  among  them. 
This  was  while  he  was  among  the  Dor  tribe, 
with  some  of  whom  the  Dinkas  had  already 
contrived  to  pick  a  quarrel.  He  therefore 
fenced  in  his  camp  very  strongly,  and,  by 
erecting  a  kind  of  bastion  at  each  angle, 
made  it  so  formidable  a  fortress  that  the 
Dinkas  were  afraid  to  attack  it.  They  hung 
about  the  place  for  six  weeks,  and  at  last 
Mr.  Petherick  determined  on  striking  a  bold 
stroke,  and  turning  the  tables  upon  them. 
Knowing  the  exceeding  value  which  they 
placed  on  cattle,  he  thought  that  if  he  could 
carry  off  one  of  their  herds  they  would  be 
brought  to  their  senses.  He  sent  off  a  de- 
tachment of  his  partj",  who  seized  six  hun- 
dred head  of  cattle,  besides  sheep  and  goats 
innumerable.  As  had  been  anticipated,  the 
Dinkas,  who  really  value  their  cattle  much 
more  than  human  life,  were  terror-stricken, 
and  came  humbly  suing  for  peace.  This 
was  granted,  on  their  giving  in  their  sub- 
mission, and  the  cattle  were  handed  over  to 
a  Dor  chief,  in  oi-der  to  provide  food  for  his 
village.  However,  the  Dinkas  kept  bad 
faith,  for  they  continually  hung  upon  Mr. 
Petherick's  line  of  march;  and  once  a  sub- 
tribe,  called  Ajack.  had  the  temerity  to  make 
an  open  charge.  Of  course  they  were  at  once 
repulsed,  wiili  a  loss  of  several  dead  and 
wounded;  but  in  consequence  of  these  re- 
peated attacks  it  was  found  necessary  to 
halt  for  the  night  in  some  cattle-shed,  and 
to  loop-hole  the  walls  for  musketry. 

A  considerable  trade  in  beads  and  tusks 
was  done  among  the  Dinka  trilie,  who  at 
last  became  rather  sharp  dealers.  Mr. 
Petherick  gives  an  amusing  account  of  one 
of  their  markets: — "After  fifteen  days' 
tedious  tracking,  we  made  fast  under  some 
Dinka  villages  sitnatedon  its  southern  bank, 
where  we  succeeded  in  bartering  numerous 
tusks  from  the  natives,  who  received  us  with 
open  arms,  in  the  hope  that  wo  would  de- 


AN  EMBASSY  OF  PEACE. 


471 


fend  them,  in  case  of  emergency,  from  the 
aggressions  of  tlie  Nnelir. 

"  I  proceeded  on  sliore  to  meet  tliem, 
accompanied  by  an  interpreter,  a  man  bear- 
ing a  )jag  of  various  Ijinds  of  beads,  and  half 
a  dozen  armed  men,  to  guard  against  treach- 
ery, wliicli,  considering  the  negroes  were 
armed  with  clul)s  and  lances,  was  a  neces- 
sary precaution.  My  interpreter  and  my- 
self seated  ourselves  opposite  to  the  owner 
of  the  tusk,  who  ol)stinately  retained  his 
seat,  refusing  us  an  inspection  of  it.  Plac- 
ing a  hide  on  the  ground,  a  variety  of  beads, 
cowrie-shells,  and  copper  bracelets  were  dis- 
played thereon.  The  beauty  of  these  pro- 
voked striking  signs  of  approbation,  the 
vender  and  bystanders  grinning  and  rub- 
bing their  stomachs  with  both  hands.  A 
consultation  then  took  place  between  the 
party  and  his  friends  as  to  the  relative  mer- 
its of  the  beads,  which  resulted  in  the  fol- 
lowing dialogue:  — 

"  Vendor.  — '  Ah!  your  beads  are  beauti- 
ful, but  the  bride  (tusk)  I  offer  is  lovely:  like 
yourself,  she  is  white  and  tall,  and  worthy 
of  great  price.' 

"  Self.  — '  Truly  the  beauty  of  the  bride  is 
imdeniable;  but,  from  what  I  can  see  of  her, 
she  is  cracked,  whilst  my  beads  are  per- 
fect.' 

"  Vendor.  — '  The  beads  you  offer  are  truly 
beautiful,  but  I  think  they  must  have  been 
gathered  before  they  were  ripe.' 

"  Self.  — '  Oh,  no !  they  were  gathered  when 
mature,  and  their  color  is  peculiar  to  them, 
and  you  will  find  that  they  will  wear  as  well 
as  the  best  red;  they  came  from  a  dilierent 
country.' 

"  Vendor.  — '  Well,  let  me  have  some  more 
of  them.' 

"  His  request  being  complied  with,  rising 
from  the  tusk  and  throwing  himself  upon 
the  beads,  he  collected  them  greedily;  at  the 
same  time  the  possession  of  the  tusk  was 
disputed  by^half  a  dozen  negroes,  who,  stat- 
ing they  had  assisted  to  carry  it  on  their 
shoulders,  claimed  a  recompense.  On  this 
being  complied  with  by  a  donation  to  each 
man,  another  set  of  men  came  forward 
under  the  same  pretence,  and  the  tusk  was 
seized  by  my  men  at  one  extremity,  whilst 
they  had  hold  of  the  other,  and  in  perfect 
good  humor  struggled  for  its  possession  :  at 
last,  to  cut  the  matter  short,  I  threw  hand- 
fuls  of  beads  among  the  crowd,  which  re- 
sulted in  the  immediate  abandonment  of  the 
tusk  for  a  scramble  after  them.  In  the  mean- 
time the  purchase  was  carried  off  and  safely 
lodsjed  on  board." 

When  Mr.  Petherick  passed  through  the 
same  country  in  1856,  the  Ajack  sub-tribe 


thought  that  they  had  better  make  peace 
with  so  formidable  a  visitor,  and  accordingly 
the  chief  Anoin  begged  him  to  rest  for  the 
night  at  one  of  their  villages,  and  favorably 
concluded  a  treaty  of  amity.  As  soon  as 
the  camp  had  been  made,  and  the  sentries 
set,  a  number  of  young  girls  —  some  of  them 
really  good-looking,  for  Africans  —  arrived 
with  milk  and  flour,  and  were  delighted 
with  some  beads,  which  they  added  to  their 
attire  ;  this  consisting  of  bead  strings  round 
their  necks,  waists,  and  ankles.  Encouraged 
by  their  reception,  others  arrived  in  succes- 
sion, and  set  to  work  at  grinding  corn  and 
boiling  porridge  as  if  they  had  belonged  to 
the  expedition  all  their  lives. 

Suddenly  a  whistle  was  heard  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  scarcely  had '  the  sound  died 
away,  when  all  the  women  had  vanished,  and 
a  dead  silence  succeeded  to  the  merry  chat- 
ter which  had  filled  the  place.  After  a  while 
a  strange  voice  was  heard  in  the  surrounding 
darkness,  asking  for  permission  to  approach, 
and,  when  an  assuring  answer  was  returned, 
Anoin  and  his  brother  stepped  into  the  light, 
of  the  watch-flres,  followed  by  a  number  of 
men  leading  an  ox.  They  were  fully  armed; 
but  their  dress  consisted  merely  of  a  piece 
of  leopard  skin  slung  over  Anoin's  shoulder 
as  a  mark  of  rank.  Anoin  wore  bracelets  of 
copper,  while  those  of  his  companions  were 
of  iron.  Both  he  and  his  brother  wore  caps 
made  of  white  beads  sowed  tightly  on  soft 
hide.  The  beads  were  strung  on  cotton 
threads,  spun  by  themselves  with  a  distaff 
and  spindle,  and  a  thorn  had  served  the  pur- 
pose of  a  needle. 

After  seating  themselves,  Anoin  began  a 
speech,  ottering  peace,  and  presenting  the 
bullock  as  a  proof  of  sincerity.  The  animal 
was  accepted,  and  in  less  than  an  liour  the 
only  relics  of  the  ox  were  the  white  and 
polished  bones  scattered  on  the  ground.  A 
number  of  smaller  chiefs  then  assembled, 
and  all  proceeded  to  greet  Mr.  Petherick  by 
the  usual,  though  scarcely  agreeable,  custom 
of  spitting  in  his  face,  and  they  then  pro- 
ceeded to  business. 

First,  the  Dinka  chiefs  laid  their  spears 
and  clubs  in  the  middle  of  the  circle,  and 
then  Mr.  Petherick  laid  upon  them  his  rille 
and  pistols.  The  chief  next  stepped  over 
the  lieap  several  times,  and  vowed  that 
neither  he  nor  any  of  his  tribe  would  ever 
use  the  weapons  against  the  white  man,  and 
wishing  that,  if  the  oath  were  broken,  he 
should  be  the  first  to  perish  by  the  weapons 
of  the  aggrieved  party.  Mr.  Petherick  went 
through  the  same  ceremony  himself,  and  a 
copious  indulgence  in  beer  and  jjipes  ce- 
mented the  alliance. 


472 


THE  SniLLOOKS. 


THE   SHILLOOKS. 


Exactly  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
White  Nile  is  found  the  great  Shillooli  tri))c, 
Witli  whicli  tlie  Dinlva  is  ahvaj's  at  feud. 
The  Shillooks  are  a  tall  and  tinely-mado 
race  of  men,  approaching  very  closely  to  the 
negro,  being  black,  with  wool!}'  hair.  The 
Hat  nose  and  enormous  lips  of  the  true  negro 
are,  however,  absent,  and  only  in  a  few  cases 
is  there  an  approach  toward  that  structure. 

The  Shillook  men  are  very  lond  of  orna- 
ment, though  dress  is  not  considered  neces- 
sary. Their  ornaments  are  similar  to  those 
which  have  already  been  described,  and  con- 
sist chiefly  of  iron  bracelets,  anklets,  and 
bead  necklaces.  "Thej-  have  also  one  rather 
singular  decoration.  This  is  an  enormous 
ivory  ring,  which  is  worn  above  the  elbow 
of  tiie  right  arm.  It  is  concave  on  the  in- 
side, and  is  so  large  that  it  is  used  as  a 
pocket  for  holding  small  objects.  Small  caps 
of  black  ostrich  plumes  decorate  their  heads, 
and  many  of  these  caps  are  ornamented  with 
a  circle  of  cowrie  shells  in  the  middle.  Their 
weajjons  are  clubs  and  lances,  the  latter 
being  very  long,  and  having  iron  wire 
twisted  round  the  butt,  so  as  to  counterbal- 
ance the  liead.  Thej'  also  carrj'  the  remark- 
able bow-like  shield  which  has  been  already 
mentioned. 

The  women  wear  no  clothing  until  mar- 
riage, and  then  assume  a  couple  of  pieces  ot 
dressed  hide,  one  in  front  and  the  other 
behind.  These  hides  reach  nearly  to  the 
ankles,  and  are  decorated  rouuil  the  lower 
edge  with  iron  rings  and  bells.  The  heads 
are  shaved,  and  the  ears  are  liored  all  round 
their  edges  with  a  number  of  holes,  from 
which  hang  small  clusters  of  beads. 

The  villages  of  the  Shillooks  are  built  very 
regularly,  and  in  fact  are  so  regular  as  to  be 
stiff  and  formal  in  appearance.  The  houses 
are  made  of  reeds,  tall,  of  nearly  the  same 
height,  and  placed  close  to  each  other  in 
regular  rows  or  streets,  and  when  seen  from 
a  distance  are  compared  by  Sir  S.  Baker  to 
rows  of  button  mushrooms. 

The  Shillooks  are  quite  an  accomplished 
people,  being  warlike,  pastoral,  agricultural, 
piscatorial,  and  having  a  well-defined  gov- 
ernment. Not  only  do  they  keep  up  the 
continual  feud  with  their  jjowerful  neighbors, 
the  Dinkas,  Init  they  take  advantage  of  tlie 
overflowing  of  the  Nile  to  launch  their  ca- 
noes, drop  quietly  down  the  river,  and  attack 
the  Aral)  population  on  either  bank.  So 
bold  are  they,  that  on  several  occasions  they 
descended  the  river  nearly  half  way  to  Khar- 
toum, hid  their  canoes  in  the  reeds,  and 
crossed  the  country  to  Sennaar  or  the  Blue 
Nile.  Taking  the  inhabitants  by  surprise, 
they  carried  off  munbers  of  women  and  chil- 
dren as  slaves,  drove  away  large  herds  of 
cattle,  re-embarked,  and  got  safely  home 
with  their  spoil.    At  length  the  Egyptian 


Government  was  obliged  to  interfere,  and 
had  to  place  troops  between  the  White  and 
Blue  Nile.  Besides  their  canoes,  the  Shil- 
looks make  most  ingenious  vessels,  wliich 
are  a  sort  of  compromise  between  a  raft  and 
a  canoe. 

In  this  part  of  Africa  there  is  a  tree  called 
the  ambatch,  or  ambadj  (A  nemone  mirahilis). 
This  tree  grows  tolerably  straight,  and 
tapers  gradually  from  the  ground  to  the  tip. 
Ifc  never  grows  to  any  great  size,  and  the 
wood  is  almost  as  light  as  cork.  To  make  a 
raft,  the  Shillook  cuts  a  sufficient  number  of 
aniliadj  trees,  lays  them  side  by  side,  and 
lashes  them  firmly  to  each  other.  The 
tapering  ends  are  then  drawn  together  with 
cords,  and  also  lashed  firmly,  and  the  result 
is  a  singularly  effective  and  buoyant  raft, 
easil}-  guided  from  its  shape,  and  so  light 
that  a  man  can  carry  it  on  his  shoulders. 
When  these  rafts  are  taken  out  of  the  water, 
they  are  placed  upright  on  their  bases,  and 
two  or  three  are  supported  against  each 
other,  just  as  soldiers  pile  tlieir  arms.  One 
of  these  rafts,  nine  feet  in  length,  and  only 
four  feet  wide  at  the  stern,  can  carry  two 
men. 

The  Shillooks  are  very  clever  in  the  man- 
agement of  their  rafts,  which  they  propel 
with  small  paddles;  and  even  tlie  little  boys 
ma}'  be  seen  paddling  about,  not  in  the  least 
afraid  of  the  swarming  crocodiles,  but  always 
carrying  a  lance  with  which  to  drive  ofl"  the 
horrid  rejitiles  if  they  attempt  an  attack. 

When  Mr.  Petherick  was  passing  through 
this  country,  the  daring  Shillooks  had  estab- 
lished a  small  colonj-on  the  eastern  orDinka 
bank  of  the  river,  on  account  of  the  good 
pasturage.  As  soon  as  the  Dinka  had  with- 
drawn toward  the  interior,  the  Shillooks 
crossed  over,  built  a  number  of  reed  huts, 
ran  an  extemporized  fence  round  them,  and 
then  brought  over  their  cattle.  They  had 
plenty  of  outposts  inland,  and  as  soon  as  the 
enemy  were  reported  the  Shillooks  endiarked 
in  their  rafts,  and  paddled  over  to  their  own 
side  of  the  river,  the  cattle  plunging  into  the 
water  in  obedience  to  a  well-known  call,  and 
following  the  canoes  and  rafts  of  their  mas- 
ters. Strange  to  say,  tlie  crocodiles  do  not 
meddle  with  cattle  under  such  circum- 
stances. 

Aided  by  their  rafts,  the  Shillooks  employ 
much  of  their  time  in  fishing.  They  do  not 
use  either  net  or  hook,  but  employ  the  more 
sportsmanlike  spear.  This  weajion  is  about 
ten  feet  in  length,  and  has  a  barbed  iron 
head  loosely  stuck  into  the  end  of  the  shaft, 
both  being  connected  by  a  slack  cord.  As 
soon  as  the  fish  is  struck,  the  shaft  is  disen- 
gaged from  the  head,  and  being  of  light 
wood  floats  to  the  surface,  and  so  "  plays " 
the  fish  until  it  is  exhausted,  and  can  be 
drawn  ashore  b}-  a  hooked  stick.     The  Shil- 


CODE   OF  GOVERNMENT. 


473 


looks  often  catch  fish  at  random,  wading 
through  the  river  against  tlie  stream,  and 
striking  tlieir  spears  right  and  left  into  the 
water. 

Polygamy  is  of  course  practised  among 
the  people.  Mr.  Petherielc  gives  a  very 
amusing  description  of  an  interview  with  a 
chief  and  his  family. 

"  At  one  of  these  villages,  Gosa,  with  a 
view  to  establishing  a  trade  in  hides,  or  if 
possible  in  ivory,  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  its  chief,  Dood,  who,  with  several  of  the 
village  elders,  entered  my  boat,  the  bank 
being  crowded  with  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  of  the  village.  The  chief,  a  man  past 
middle  age,  struck  me  by  his  intelligent 
remarks,  and  a  Ijcaring  as  straightforward  as 
it  was  dignified  and  superior  to  that  of  his 
companions.  A  few  jireseuts  of  beads  were 
greetUly  clutched  by  his  attendants,  he,  how- 
ever, receiving  them  as  if  they  were  his  due; 
and,  passing  an  order  to  one  of  his  men,  the 
trifle  I  had  given  him  was  returned  by  a 
counter-present  of  a  .sheep.  On  his  leaving 
I  requested  he  would  call  before  sunrise, 
attended  by  his  sons  only,  when  I  would 
make  him  and  them  suitable  presents. 

"  Long  before  the  appointed  time  Dood 
and  a  crowd  of  men  and  stripling.s,  with 
their  inseparable  accompaniments  of  clubs 
and  lances,  on  the  shore,  woke  me  from  my 
slumbers;  and,  as  I  appeared  on  deck,  a 
rush  took  place  toward  me,  with  cries  of 
'The  Beuj!  the  Benj!'  (the  chief),  followed 
by  salutations  innumerable.  As  soon  as 
these  shouts  subsided,  Dood,  disembarrass- 
ing his  mouth  with  some  difficulty  of  a  quid 
of  tobacco  the  size  of  a  small  orange,  sat 
down  by  my  side. 

"  My  first  remark  was  astonishment  at  the 
number  of  his  followers,  having  e.Kpected 
none  but  his  sons.  'Oh,  'tis  all  right:  you 
don't  know  my  family  yet;  but,  owing  to 
j'oiir  kind  promises,  I  sent  to  the  cattle- 
kraals  for  the  boys;'  and  with  the  pride  of 
a  father  he  said,  '  These  are  my  fighting 
sons,  who  many  a  time  have  stuck  to  me 
against  the  Dinka,  whose  cattle  have 
enabled  them  to  wed.' 

"  Notwithst.anding  a  slight  knowledge  of 
negro  families,  I  was  still  not  a  little  sur- 
prised to  find  his  valiant  progeny  amount  to 
forty  grown-up  men  and  hearty  lads.  '  Yes,' 
he  said,  'I  did  not  like  to  bring  the  girls 
and  little  boys,  as  it  would  look  as  if  I 
wished  to  impose  upon  your  generosity.' 

" '  Wliat!  more  little  boys  and  girls !  What 
may  be  their  number,  and  how  many  wives 
have  you  ? ' 

" '  Well,  I  have  divorced  a  good  many 
wives;  they  get  old,  you  know;  and  now  I 
have  only  ten  and  five.'  But  when  he 
began  to  count  his  children,  he  was  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  a  reed,  and,  breaking  it 
up  into  small  pieces,  said,  '  I  take  no  notice 
of  babies,  as  they  often  die,  you  know; 
women  are  so  foolish  about  children  that  I 


never  care  for  them  until  they  are  able  to 
lay  a  snare.' 

"  Like  all  negroes,  not  being  able  to  count 
beyond  ten,  he  called  over  as  many  names, 
wliich  he  marked  by  placing  a  piece  of  reed 
on  the  deck  before  liim;  a  similar  mark 
denoted  another  ten,  and  so  on  until  he  had 
named  and  marked  tlie  number  of  his  cliil- 
dren.  The  sum  total,  with  the  exception, 
as  he  had  explained,  of  I)abies  and  cliildren 
unable  to  protect  themselves,  was  fifty-three 
boys  and  twenty  girls  —  viz.  seventy-tlireo! 

'"'  After  the  aijove  explanation  I  could  no 
longer  withhold  presents  to  the  host  on  the 
shore;  and,  pleased  with  my  donations,  he 
invited  me  to  his  house,  where  I  partoolc  of 
merissa  and  broiled  fowl,  in  which,  as  a 
substitute  for  fat,  the  entrails  had  been  left. 
Expressing  a  desire  to  see  his  wives,  he 
willingly  conducted  me  from  hut  to  hut, 
where  my  skin,  hair,  and  clothes  underwent 
a  most  scrutinizing  examination.  Eacli  wife 
was  located  in  a  separate  batch  of  huts;  and, 
after  having  distributed  my  pocketfuls  of 
loose  lieads  to  the  lady  chieftains  and  their 
young  fiimilies,  in  whose  good  graces  I  had 
installed  myself,  I  took  leave  of  the  still 
sturdy  village   chief." 

The  code  of  government  among  the  Shil- 
looks  is  simple  enough.  There  is  a  sultan 
or  superior  officer,  who  is  called  the  "  Meek," 
and  who  possesses  and  exercises  powers  that 
are  almost  irresponsible.  The  Meek  seems 
to  ajjpreciate  the  proverb  that  "  familiarity 
breeds  contempt,"  and  keeps  himself  aloof 
from  his  own  subjects,  seldom  venturing 
beyond  the  limits  of  liis  own  homestead. 
He  will  not  even  address  his  subjects 
directly,  but  forces  them  to  communicate 
with  him  through  the  medium  of  an  official. 
Any  one  who  approaches  him  must  do  so 
on  his  knees,  and  no  one  may  either  stand 
erect  or  carry  arms  in  his  presence.  He 
executes  justice  firmly  and  severely,  and 
especially  punishes  murder  and  theft  among 
his  subjects,  the  culprit  being  sentenced  to 
death,  and  his  family  sold  as  slaves. 

Theft  and  murder,  liowever,  when  com- 
mitted against  other  tribes,  are  considered 
meritorious,  and,  when  a  marauding  party 
returns,  the  Meek  takes  one-third  of  the 
plunder.  He  also  has  a  right  to  the  tusks 
of  all  elephants  killed  by  them,  and  he  also 
expects  a  )irei-e;it  from  every  trader  who 
passes  lliro.igh  his  territory.  The  Meek 
will  not  allow  strangers  to  settle  within  the 
Shillook  territories,  but  permits  them  to 
reside  at  Kaka,  a  large  town  on  their 
extreme  north.  Here  many  trading  Arabs 
live  wliile  they  are  making  their  fortune  in 
exchanging  beads,  cattle  bells,  and  other 
articles  for  cattle,  slaves,  and  ivory.  The 
trade  in  the  latter  article  is  entirely  carried 
on  by  the  Meek,  who  lias  the  monopoly  of 
it,  and  makes  the  most  of  liis  privilege. 
The  traffic  at  Kaka  is  by  no  means  a  free 
trade,  for  the  Meek  not  only  takes  all  the 


474 


THE   SniLLOOKS. 


ivory,  but  his  officials  watch  the  proceediugs 
in  the  market,  and  exercise  a  supervision 
over  every  bargain. 

Probably  on  account  of  the  presence  of 
strangers,  "the  Meek  does  not  live  at  Kaka, 
but  takes  up  his  residence  out  in  a  village 
some  ten  miles  up  the  river. 

I  have  in  my  collection  a  curious  musical 
instrument,  which  we  may  call  a  flute,  in 
lieu  of  a  better  word.  It  is  made  of  some 
hard  wood,  and  is  rudely  covered  with  a 
spiral  belt  of  iron  and  leather.  An  iron 
ring  is  also  fastened  through  it,  through 
which  passes  the  leathern  strap  by  which 
it  is  carried.    The  top  hole  is  very  small. 


and  the  sound  produced  by  the  instrument 
is  of  a  wailing  and  lugubrious  character. 
Inside  the  flute  is  fltted  an  odd  implement 
which  we  may  call  the  cleaner.  It  is  com- 
posed of  an  ostrich  feather  with  the  vanes 
cut  short,  and  in  order  to  render  it  long 
enough  to  reach  to  the  bottom  of  the  flute, 
it  is  lengthened  by  a  wooden  handle,  to  the 
end  of  which  is  attached  a  tuft  of  hairs  from 
a  cow's  tail,  by  way  of  ornament.  In  length 
the  flute  measures  rather  more  than  eigh- 
teen inches,  and,  in  consequence  of  the 
amount  of  iron  upon  it,  the  weight  is  more 
than  might  be  supposed. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


THE  ISHOGO,  ASHANGO,  AJ^D  OBONGO  TRIBES. 


WESTERN  AFRICA  —  THE  ISHOGO  TRIBE  AND  ITS  LOCALITY  —  DRESS  AND  ASPECT  OF  THE  PEOPLE  — 
THE  SINGULAR  HEADDRESS  OF  THE  WOMEN — THEIR  SKILL  IN  WEAVING — THE  OUANDJAS,  OR 
NATIVE   FACTORIES  —  THE  LOOM  AND  SHUTTLE  —  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  ISHOGOS  —  CURIOUS  DOORS 

—  THE   VILLAGE  TREE  —  THE  m'PAZA  OR  TWIN  CEREMONY  —  GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ISHOGOS 

—  THE  ASHANGO  TKIEE  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PEOPLE  —  AN  UNLUCKY  SHOT  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES 

WAR  CEREMONIES  —  THE   TEMPLE,    OR   M'EUITI   HOUSE,    AND   THE    RELIGIOUS   RITES   PERFORMED 

IN  IT  —  SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  ASHANGOS  —  THE  KENDO,  OR  BELL  OF  ROYALTY  —  RECEPTION  OF 
A  VISITOR  — THE  OBONGO  TELBE,  OR  BUSHMEN  OF  WEST  AFRICA  —  THEIR  SHORT  AND  STUNTED 
LOOK  —  KINDNESS  OF  THE  ASHANGOS  TOWAKD  THEM  —  THE  OBONGO  MARKET — DOMESTIC  CUS- 
TOMS AND  FUNERAL  CEREMONIES. 


We  ai'e  now  coming  among  some  of  the 
negro  tribes,  and  shall  see  them  as  they  are 
in  their  normal  state  before  their  customs 
and  mode  of  life  have  been  altered  by  the 
influence  of  Europeans. 

A  little  below  the  equator,  and  between  10° 
and  12°  E.  longitude,  is  a  district  inhabited 
by  the  Ishogo,  a  very  large  and  remarkable 
tribe.  The  Ishogo  live  along  a  rather  nar- 
row tract  of  country  that  extends  diago- 
nally southwestward,  parallel  with  the  Rein- 
bo  N'gouyai  River,  but  divided  from  it  by  a 
range  of  hills. 

The  Ishogo  are  a  fine  race  of  men,  black, 
with  woolly  hair,  but  not  exhibiting  the 
extreme  negro  development  which  charac- 
terizes the  aborigines  of  the  west  coast. 
They  decorate  themselves  in  rather  a  sin- 
gular manner.  Both  sexes  add  a  ruddy 
tinge  to  their  native  black  by  rubbing  them- 
selves with  a  red  powder  obtained  by  scrap- 
ing two  pieces  of  bar-wood  together,  and 
they  also  disfigure  themselves  by  removing 
the  two  middle  teeth  of  the  upper  jaw. 

Like  other  woolly-haired  races,  the  Ishogo 
are  very  proud  of  their  heads,  and  diminish 
the  already  scanty  supply  of  hair  with  which 
Nature  has  supplied  them.  Eyelashes  and 
eyebrows  are  unfashionable  among  them,  and 
are  carefully  erased,  while  the  hair  of  the  head 
IS  dressed  in  the  most  extraordinary  style. 
The  men  shave  a  circle  round  their  heads, 
only  allowing  a  round  patch  to  remain  on 
the  crown.  This  is  separated  into  three 
divisions,  each  of  which   is   plaited  into  a 


lappet-like  form,  coming  to  a  point  at  the 
end,  and  being  finished  ofi'  with  a  large 
bead,  or  perhaps  a  piece  of  polished  wire. 
On  account  of  the  slow  growth  of  the  hair, 
an  Ishogo  cannot  complete  his  headdress 
under  several  years. 

The  women  begin  by  making  a  sort  of 
frame  of  grass  cloth,  and  fixing  it  to  the 
head,  at  the  top  or  at  the  back,  as  their 
taste  may  direct.  They  then  work  the 
woolly  hair  into  it,  and,  when  that  part  of 
the  process  is  completed,  shave  away  all 
the  hair  that  is  not  required  for  the  pur- 
pose. When  the  headdress  is  complete,  it 
stands  some  eight  or  ten  inches  from  the 
head,  and  consequently  a  term  of  j'ears 
elapses  before  this  odd  ornament  reaches 
perfection.  In  fact,  a  complete  headdress 
is  never  seen  on  any  one  under  flve-and- 
twenty. 

The  "  chignon,"  if  we  may  apply  such  a 
term  to  the  headdress,  has  four  partings,  one 
in  front,  one  behind,  and  one  at  each  side. 
Of  course  this  elaborate  ornament  cannot 
be  dressed  by  the  owners,  and,  as  a  general 
rule,  it  is  intrusted  to  professional  hands, 
several  women  in  every  town  making  hair- 
dressing  a  regular  business.  After  being 
arranged,  the  head  is  not  touched  for  sev- 
eral months,  when  the  structure  is  taken 
to  pieces,  and  elaborately  rebuilt,  the  fresh 
growth  of  hair  being  woven  into  it.  The 
operation  of  taking  down  and  rebuilding 
one  of  these  towers  is  a  very  long  and  te- 
dious one,  and  occupies  a  full  day. 


(475) 


476 


THE   ISIIOGO. 


Four  modes  of  arranging  the  tower,  if  it 
may  be  called  so,  prevail  among  the  Ishogo. 
The  ordinary  plan  is  to  raise  it  perpen- 
dicularly from  the  top  of  tlie  head,  so  that 
at  a  distance  it  looks  exactly  as  if  the  woman 
were  carrying  a  cylindrical  basket  on  her 
head.  Sometimes,  when  the  base  of  the 
tower  is  placed  half  ^\•<ly  between  the  top 
of  the  head  and  the  neck,  the  direction  is 
diagonal,  and,  when  the  hair  at  the  back  of 
the  head  is  retained,  the  tower  projects 
backward  and  horizontally.  These  are  the 
usual  fashions;  but  some  of  the  women 
wear,  in  addition  to  the  tower,  a  tuft  of 
hair,  which  is  allowed  to  remain  at  each 
side  of  the  head,  and  is  trained  into  a  ball 
just  above  the  ear. 

The  dress  of  the  Ishogo  is  ''  grass  cloth  " 
of  their  own  manufacture.  They  are  cele- 
brated for  the  soft  and  close  texture  of  this 
cloth,  which  is,  however,  not  made  from 
grass,  but  from  the  cuticle  of  young  palm 
leaves,  stripped  off  dexterously  by  the  fin- 
gers. M.  du  Chailhi  gives  the  following 
account  of  the  weavers:  — 

"  In  walking  down  the  main  street  of 
Mokenga  a  number  of  ouandjas,  or  houses 
without  walls,  are  seen,  each  containing 
four  or  five  looms,  with  the  weavers  seated 
before  them,  weaving  the  cloth.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  ouandja  a  wood  fire  is  seen  burn- 
ing, and  the  weavers,  as  you  pass  by,  are 
sure  to  be  seen  smoking  their  pipes,  and 
chatting  to  one  another  whilst  going  on  with 
their  work.  The  weavers  are  all  men,  and 
it  is  men  also  who  stitch  the  '  bongos '  to- 
gether to  make  '  denguis  '  or  robes  of  them. 
The  stitches  are  not  very  close  together,  nor 
is  the  thread  very  fine,  but  the  work  is  very 
neat  and  regular,  and  the  needles  are  of 
their  own  manufacture.  The  bongos  are 
very  often  striped,  and  sometimes  made  even 
in  check  patterns.  This  is  done  l>y  their  dye- 
ing some  of  the  threads  of  the  warp,  or  of  the 
warp  and  woof,  with  various  simple  colors. 
The  dyes  are  all  made  of  decoctions  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  wood,  except  for  black,  when 
a  kind  of  iron  ore  is  used.  The  bongos 
are  employed  as  money  in  this  part  of 
Africa." 

Two  of  the  words  in  this  passage  need 
explanation.  The  loom  of  the  Ishogo  is 
made  as  follows: — -A  bar  of  wood,  about 
two  feet  in  length,  is  suspended  horizon- 
tally from  the  roof  of  the  weaving  hut,  and 
over  this  bar  are  passed  the  threads  which 
constitute  the  warp,  their  other  ends  being 
fastened  to  a  corresponding  bar  below,  which 
is  fixed  tightly  down  by  a  couple  of  forked 
sticks  thrust  into  the  ground.  The  alter- 
nate threads  of  the  warp  are  divided  by  two 
slight  rods,  the  ends  of  which  are  held  in 
the  fingers  of  the  left  hand,  which  cross 
them  alternately,  while  the  woof  is  inter- 
laced by  means  of  a  sword-sli.aped  shuttle, 
which  also  serves  to  strike  it  down  and  lay 
it  regularly. 


In  consequence  of  this  form  of  loom  it  is 
only  possible  to  weave  pieces  of  cloth  of  a 
limited  length,  and,  as  these  cloths  are  used 
as  currency,  they  are  all  made  of  the  same 
length.  Each  of  these  pieces  is  called  a 
"  bongo,"  and  when  two  are  sewed  to- 
gether they  become  "  denguis." 

The  women  are  only  allowed  to  wear  two 
of  these  jiieces  of  cloth,  the  size  of  the 
wearer  not  being  taken  into  consideration. 
One  is  hung  at  each  side,  and  the  edges  are 
joined  before  and  behind,  so  that  a  large 
and  fat  woman  presents  a  verv  absurd  ap- 
pearance, the  pieces  of  cloth  being  too  short 
to  meet  properly. 

The  Ishogos  seldom  go  armed,  and  al- 
though they  have  spears,  and  bows  and 
arrows,  they  do  not  carry  them  except 
when  actually  required.  It  is  thought  eti- 
quette, however,  for  them  to  take  their 
swords  with  them  when  they  go  to  visit  an- 
other village.  They  are  a  quiet  and  peaceful 
people,  and  although  they  have  at  hand  the 
means  of  inloxicating  themselves,  they  are 
remarkable  for  their  sobriety,  in  which  vir- 
tue they  present  a  pleasing  contrast  to  their 
noisy,  quarrelsome,  and  intemperate  neigh- 
bors, the  Apono  tribe. 

The  villages  of  the  Ishogo  tribe  are  often 
very  large,  containing  two  hundred  or  more 
huts.  Each  hut  is,  on  an  average,  twenty- 
two  feet  in  length,  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  in 
width,  and  is  divided  by  partitions  into  three 
compartments.  The  mud  walls  are  not  quite 
five  feet  in  height,  and  the  top  of  the  roof  is 
about  nine  feet  from  the  ground.  The  doors 
are  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  central  com- 
partment, and  are  very  small,  only  a  little 
more  than  two  feet  and  a  Jialf  in  heiglit, 
and  are  not  hung  on  hinges,  but  turn  in  the 
middle  on  a  couple  of  pivots,  one  at  the  top 
and  the  other  at  the  bottom.  Perhaps  one 
reason  for  this  diminutive  size  is,  that  the 
nati\'es  have  no  saws,  and  their  only  method 
of  making  a  door  is  by  felling  the  trunk  of 
a  tree,  cutting  it  into  the  proper  length,  and 
laboriously  chipping  away  the  wood  at  each 
side.  The  doors  are  decorated  with  various 
devices,  complicated  and  even  elegant  pat- 
terns being  painted  on  them  in  red,  lilack, 
and  white,  &c.  Most  of  the  houses  have 
the  outer  surface  of  the  walls  covered  with 
the  liark  of  trees. 

The  furniture  of  these  huts  is  scarcely 
equal  to  the  excellence  of  the  architecture. 
Hanging  from  the  roof  are  a  quantity  of 
calabashes,  which  contain  water,  palm  wine, 
and  oil,  and  are  accompanied  by  plenty  of 
cotton  bags  and  cooking  vessels.  A  weii- 
furnished  hut  has  also  a"  number  of  jilates 
and  dishes,  made  either  from  reeds  or  from 
the  rind  of  a  plant  called  '■  astang,"  divided 
into  strips,  and  against  the  walls  are  stored 
the  bundles  of  palm  fibres  from  \\hich  the 
bongos  are  woven.  Tobacco  is  also  stored 
within  the  hut,  and  is  completely  enveloped 
in  leaves. 


(1.)    THE   CEltEMONY   OF  M'PAZA.    (See  page  479.) 


(2.)  OBONGO  MARKET.    (See  page  488.) 
(478) 


MTAZA,  OR  TWIN  CEREMONIES. 


479 


The  usual  form  of  a  village  is  a  single 
street,  of  great  length,  and  sometimes  ex- 
ceedingly wide.  The  street  of  one  village 
was  fully  a  hundred  yards  in  width,  and  was 
kept  so  neatly  that  not  a  single  weed  was  to 
be  seen  in  it,  —  a  really  remarkable  fact 
when  we  remember  the  exceeding  rapidity 
with  which  vegetation  grows  in  this  coun- 
try. Each  village  has  at  least  one  "  palaver- 
house,"  while  many  have  several.  The  "  p,a- 
laver-house  "  is  more  of  a  slied  than  a  house, 
and  consists  ehielly  of  a  roof  and  the  posts 
which  support  it.  '  In  this  house  the  men 
meet  daily,  to  smoke,  to  hold  trials,  to  re- 
ceive strangers,  and  to  indulge  in  that  in- 
terminable gossip  of  which  a  relic  still  exists 
in  the  "  discoorsing  "  of  Ireland. 

Tliere  is  also  a  temple,  or  M'buiti  house, 
in  which  a  kind  of  religious  service  is  held, 
and  which  always  contains  a  large  wooden 
idol,  which  the  people  hold  in  great  rev- 
erence. Tlie  proceedings  within  this  edifice 
will  be  presently  described. 

In  the  middle  of  every  Ishogo  and 
Ashango  village  there  is  a  single  large  tree, 
belonging  to  the  genus  Fieus.  When  the 
site  of  a  village  is  first  laid  out,  a  sapling  of 
this  tree  is  planted,  the  (jrosperity  of  tlie 
future  village  being  connected  with  it.  If 
it  should  live  and  nourish,  the  new  village 
will  be  prosperous;  but,  if  it  should  die,  the 
place  is  abandoned  and  a  new  site  chosen. 
Some  of  the  villages  are  distinguished  by 
having  two  heads  of  the  gorilla,  one  male 
and  the  other  female,  stuck  on  poles  under 
tlie  sacred  tree,  and  M.  du  Chaillu  learned 
afterward  that  certain  charms  were  buried 
at  the  root  of  the  same  tree. 

Among  the  Ishogos  there  is  a  very  re- 
markable custom  connected  with  the  birth 
of  twins.  In  many  parts  of  the  world  twins 
are  destroyed  as  soon  as  born,  but  in  this 
country  they  are  permitted  to  live,  though 
under  '^restrictions  which  tell  much  more 
severely  on  the  mother  than  on  her  oil- 
spring.  The  Ishogo  have  a  vague  kind  of 
a  notion  that  no  woman  ought  to  produce 
more  tlian  a  single  infant  at  a  time,  and  that 
nature  desires  to  correct  the  mistake  by 
killing  one  of  the  children  before  it  is  able 
to  take  care  of  itself  After  that  time  —  ?. 
e.  when  the  children  are  alrout  six  years  old 
—  the  balance  of  the  births  and  deaths  is 
supposed  to  be  equalized,  and  no  further 
precautions  need  be  taken. 

Therefore,  as  soon  as  twins  are  born,  the 
house  is  marked  otf  in  some  way  so  as  to 
distinguish  it.  In  one  instance,  mentioned 
by  M.  du  Chaillu,  two  long  poles  were 
planted  at  each  side  of  the  door,  a  piece  of 
cloth  was  hung  over  the  entrance,  and  a 
row  of  white  jiegs  driven  into  the  ground 
just  in  front  of  the  threshold.  These  marks 
are  intended  to  warn  strangers  from  enter- 
ing the  hut,  as,  if  any  one  except  tlie  chil- 
dren and  their  parents  do  so,  the  delinquent 
is  seized  and  sold  into  slavery.  The  twins 
21 


themselves  are  not  allowed  to  play  with  the 
other  children,  and  even  the  very  utensils 
and  cooking  pots  of  the  hut  cannot  be  used. 

In  consequence  of  this  curicjus  law,  tliere 
is  nothing,  next  to  being  childless,  which 
the  women  dread  so  much  as  having  twins 
born  to  them,  and  nothing  annoys  an  Ishogo 
woman  so  much  as  telling  her  that  she  is 
sure  to  liave  twins.  Perhaps  the  most  irri- 
tating restriction  is  that  which  forbids  the 
woman  to  talk.  She  is  allowed  to  go  into 
the  forest  for  firewood,  and  to  perform  such 
necessary  household  tasks,  as  otherwise  she 
and  her  children  must  starve.  But  she  is 
strictly  forljidden  to  speak  a  word  to  any 
one  who  does  not  belong  to  her  own  family 
—  a  prohiliition  annoying  enough  to  any 
one,  liut  doulily  so  in  Africa,  where  perpetual 
talk  is  almost  one  of  the  necessaries  oi'  life. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  a 
ceremony  takes  place  by  wdiich  all  parties 
are  released  from  their  long  confliienieiit, 
and  allowed  to  enter  the  society  of  their 
fellows.  At  daybreak  proclamation  is  made 
in  the  street,  and  two  women,  namely,  the 
mother  and  a  friend,  take  their  stand  at 
tlie  door  of  the  hut,  having  previously  whit- 
ened their  legs  and  faces.  They  next  march 
slowly  down  the  village,  beating  a  drum  in 
time  to  the  step,  and  singing  an  appropriate 
song.  A  general  dance  and  feast  then  t.akes 
place,  and  lasts  throughout  the  night,  and, 
after  the  ceremony  is  over,  all  restrictions 
are  removed.  This  rite  is  called  "  M'paza,'' 
a  word  which  both  signifies  twins  and  the 
ceremony  by  wdiicli  they  and  their  motht^r 
are  set  free  from  their  imprisonment.  It  is 
illustrated  on  the  478th  page. 

As  in  other  parts  of  Africa,  the  natives 
have  a  way  of  keeping  up  their  dancing  and 
drumming  and  singing  all  night,  partly  on 
account  (.>f  the  coolness,  and  partly  because 
they  are  horribly  superstitious,  antl  have  an 
idea  that  e\-il  spirits  might  hurt  them  under 
cover  of  the  night,  if  they  were  not  fright- 
ened away  by  the  fires  and  noise. 

One  of  these  dances  is  called  M'muirri,  on 
account  of  the  loud  reverberating  sound 
produced  by  their  li]is.  It  is  properly  a 
war-dance,  and  is  performed  by  men  alone. 
They  form  in  line,  and  advance  and  retreat 
simultaneously,  stamping  so  as  to  mark 
the  time,  beating  their  lireasts,  yelling,  and 
making  the  reverberating  sound  which  has 
been  already  mentioned.  Their  throats 
being  apparently  of  brass  and  their  lungs  of 
leather,  the  Ishogo  villagers  keep  up  this 
horrid  ujiroar  throughout  the  night,  without 
a  moment's  cessation,  and  those  who  are  for 
the  moment  tired  of  singing,  and  do  not 
own  a  drum,  contribute  their  share  to  the 
general  noise  by  clapping  two  pieces  of 
wood  together. 

With  all  their  faults,  the  Ishogos  are  a 
pleasant  set  of  people,  and  M.  du  Chaillu, 
who  lived  with  them,  and  was  accompanied 
by  Ishogos  in  his  expedition,  says  that  they 


480 


THE   ASHANGO. 


arc  the  gentlest  and  kindest-hearted  negroes 
that  he  ever  mi't.  After  his  retreat  from 
Ashaiigo-land,  which  will  next  be  men- 
tioned, the  Isliogos  received  him  witli  even 
more  tlian  usual  hospitality,  arranged  his 


journey  westward,  and  the  whole  population 
of  the  villages  turned  out  of  their  houses 
and  accompanied  him  a  little  distance  on 
his  way. 


ASHANGO. 


Eastvtard  of  the  Ishogos  is  a  people 
called  the  Ashango.  They  speak  a  dilferent 
dialect  from  the  tshogo,  and  call  themselves 
a  diliereut  race,  but  their  manners  and  cus- 
toms are  so  similar  to  those  of  the  Ishogos 
that  a  very  brief  account  of  them  is  all  that 
is  needed. 

Ashango-land  was  the  limit  of  M.  du 
Chaillu's  second  expedition,  which  was  sud- 
denly brought  to  a  close  by  a  sad  accident. 
The  people  had  been  rather  suspicious  of 
his  motives,  and  harassed  him  in  his  camp, 
so  that  a  few  sliots  were  fired  in  the  air  by 
wa}'  of  warning.  Unfortunately,  one  of  the 
guiis  was  discharged  before  it  was  raised,  and 
the  Ijullet  struck  an  unfortunate  man  in  tlie 
head,  killing  him  instantly.  The  whole  vil- 
lage flew  to  arms,  the  war-drum  sounded,  and 
the  warrior  s  crowded  to  the  spot,  with  their 
barbed  spears,  and  bows  and  poisi:)ned  arrows. 

For  a  moment  there  was  a  lull:  the  inter- 
preter, whose  hand  fired  the  unlucky  shot, 
explained  that  it  was  an  accident,  and  that 
tlie  price  of  twenty  men  should  be  paid  as 
compensation.  Beads  and  cloth  were  pro- 
duced, and  one  of  the  headmen  bad  just 
assented  to  the  proposal,  when  a  loud  wail- 
ing was  heard,  and  a  woman  ruslied  out  of 
a  iuit,  announcing  that  the  favorite  wife  of 
the  friendly  headman  had  been  killed  by  the 
same  fatal  bullet,  which,  after  scattering 
the  brains  of  the  man,  had  passed  through 
the  thin  walls  of  the  hut," and  killed  the 
poor  woman  within. 

After  this  announcement  all  hopes  of 
peace  were  at  an  end;  the  husliand  natu- 
rally cried  for  vengeance;  and,  amid  a 
shower  of  arrows,  one  of  which  struck  the 
inter]ireter,  and  another  nearly  severed  M. 
du  Chaillu's  finger,  the  party  retreated  as 
they  best  could,  refraining  from  firing  as 
long  as  they  could,  but  at  last  being  forced  to 
fire  in  self-defence.  In  order  to  escape  as 
fast  as  they  could,  the  porters  were  obliged 
to  throw  away  the  instruments,  specimens 
of  natural  history,  and  photographs,  so 
that  the  labor  of  months  was  lost,  and 
scarcely  anything  except  the  journal  was 
saved.  Each  village  to  which  they  came 
sent  out  its  warriors  against  them.  M.  du 
Cliaillu  was  dangerously  wounded  in  the 
side,  and  had  at  last  to  throw  away  his  best 
but  heaviest  rifle.  It  was  only  after  the 
death  of  several  of  their  number  that  the 
Ashangos  perceived  that  they  had  to  con- 
tend ■ivith  a  foe  who  was  more  than  a  match 
for  them,  and  at  last  gave  up  the  pursuit. 


It  was  necessary,  however,  to  conceal  the 
fact  of  being  wounded,  for  several  of  the 
tribes  had  an  idea  that  their  white  visitor 
was  invulnerable  to  spears  and  arrows,  and 
it  was  a  matter  of  great  consequence  tlint 
such  a  notion  should  be  encouraged.  All 
kinds  of  wild  rumors  circulated  about 
him:  some  saying  that  the  Asliango  arrows 
glanced  olf  his  body  witliout  hurting  him, 
just  as  the  Scotch  Iselieved  that  the  luillets 
were  seen  hopping  like  hail  ofl'  the  body  of 
Claverhouse;  while  others  improved  on  the 
tale,  and  avowed  that  he  had  changed  him- 
self into  a  leopard,  a  gorilla,  or  an  elejihant, 
as  the  case  might  be,  and  under  tliis  strange 
form  had  attacked  the  enemies  and  driven 
them  away. 

The  Ashangos  are  even  better  clothed 
than  the  Ishogos,  wearing  denguis  of  con- 
siderable  size,  and  even  clotliing  their 
cliildren,  a  most  unusual  circumstance  in 
Central  Africa.  The  women  wear  hair- 
towers  like  those  of  the  Ishogos,  but  do  not 
seem  to  expend  so  much  troul)le  upon  them. 
They  seem  to  lead  tolerably  happy  lives, 
and  indeed  to  have  their  own  wa}'  in  most 
things. 

The  Ashango  warriors  are  well  armed, 
carr3'ing  swords,  spears,  and  poisoned  ar- 
rows. The  spear  and  arrow-heads  and 
swords  are  not  made  by  themselves,  but  by 
the  Shimlia  and  Ashangui  tribes,  who  seem 
to  be  the  acknowledged  smiths  in  this  part 
of  the  country.  The  sword  is  carried  by 
almost  every  Ashango,  and  when  one  of 
these  weapons  is  bought  or  sold,  the  trans- 
action is  alwaj's  carried  on  in  private. 

Before  the 'Ashangos  go  out  to  war,  they 
have  a  sort  of  magical  ceremonv,  called 
"  Cooking  the  War-dTsh."  The  witch-doctor 
is  summoned,  and  sets  to  work  preparing  a 
kind  of  porridge  of  all  sorts  of  hertis  and 
fetishes  in  an  enormous  pot.  None  but  the 
warriors  are  allowed  to  see  the  preparation, 
and,  when  the  mess  is  cooked,  each  warrior 
eats  a  portion.  None  of  it  is  allowed  to 
be  left,  and  after  they  have  all  eaten,  the 
remainder  is  rubbed  over  their  bodies,  until 
they  have  excited  themselves  to  the  neces- 
sary iiitch  of  enthusiasm,  when  they  rush 
out  and  at  once  proceed  to  the  attack. 

There  are  a  number  of  minor  ceremonies 
connected  with  food;  one  of  which  is,  that 
the  women  are  not  allowed  to  eat  goat  flesh 
or  fowls,  the  jirobable  reason  being,  accord- 
ing to  M.  du  Chaillu,  that  the  meu  want  to 
eat  these  articles  themselves. 


THE  KEXDO,  OR  BELL  OF  ROYALTY. 


481 


In  Asliango-land,  as  well  as  among  the 
Isliogos,  the  temple,  or  idol  hut,  is  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  buildings.  Generally, 
the  people  did  not  like  strangers  to  enter 
their  temples,  but  in  one  village  he  suc- 
ceeded in  entering  a  temple,  or  M'buiti 
house,  and  seeing  the  strange  worship 
which  was  conducted. 

"  This  idol  was  kept  at  the  end  of  a  long, 
narrow,  and  low  hut,  forty  or  fifty  feet  long, 
and  ten  feet  broad,  and  was  painted  in  red^ 
white,  and  black  colors.  When  I  entered 
the  hut,  it  was  full  of  Ashango  people, 
ranged  in  order  on  each  side,  with  lighted 
torches  stuck  in  the  ground  before  them. 
Among  them  were  conspicuous  two  M'buiti 
men,  or,  as  they  might  be  called,  priests, 
dressed  in  cloth  of  vegetable  fibre,  with 
their  skins  painted  grotesquely  in  various 
colors,  one  .side  of  the  face  red,  the  other 
white,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  breast  a 
broad,  yellow  stripe;  the  circuit  of  the  eyes 
was  also  daubed  with  paint.  These  colors 
are  made  by  boiling  various  kinds  of  wood 
and  mixing  the  decoction  with  clay. 

"  The  rest  of  the  Ashaugos  were  also 
streaked  and  daubed  with  various  colors, 
and  by  the  light  of  their  torches  they  looked 
like  a  troop  of  devils  assembled  in  the  lower 
regions  to  celebrate  some  diabolical  rite; 
around  their  legs  were  bound  white  leaves 
from  the  heart  of  the  palm  tree;  some  wore 
feathers,  others  had  leaves  twisted  in  the 
shape  of  horns  behind  their  ears,  and  all 
had  a  bundle  of  palm  leaves  in  their  hands. 

"Soon  after  I  entered,  the  rites  be- 
gan: all  the  men  squatted  down  on  their 
haunches,  and  set  up  a  deafening  kind  of 
wild  song.  There  was  an  orchestra  of 
instrumental  performers  near  the  idol,  con- 
sisting of  three  drummers  with  tv/o  drum- 
sticks each,  one  harper,  and  a  performer  on 
the  sounding  -  stick,  which  latter  did  not 
touch  the  ground,  but  rested  on  tvvo  other 
sticks,  so  that  the  noise  was  made  the 
more  resonant.  The  two  M'buiti  men,  in 
the  mean  time,  were  dancing  in  a  fimtastical 
manner  in  the  middle  of  the  temple,  putting 
their  bodies  into  all  sorts  of  strange  contor- 
tions. Every  time  the  M'buiti  men  opened 
their  mouths  to  speak,  a  dead  silence  ensued. 

"  As  the  ceremony  continued,  the  crowd 
rose  and  surrounded  the  dancing  men,  re- 
doubling at  the  same  time  the  volume  of 
their  songs,  and,  after  this  went  on  for  some 
time,  returning  to  their  former  positions. 
This  was  repeated  several  times.  It  seemed 
to  me  to  be  a  kind  of  village  feast. 

"  The  M'buiti  men,  I  ought  to  mention, 
had  been  sent  for  from  a  distance  to  officiate 
on  the  occasion,  and  the  whole  affair  was 
similar  to  a  rude  sort  of  theatrical  represen- 
tation. The  M'buiti  men,  like  the  witch- 
craft doctors,  are  important  persons  among 
these  inland  tribes ;  some  have  more  reputa- 
tion than  others,  but  in  general  those  who 
live  furthest  off  are  much  esteemed.     At 


length,  wearied  out  with  the  noise,  and  being 
unable  to  see  any  meaning  or  any  change  in 
the  performances,  I  returned  to  my  hut  at 
half  past  ten." 

Being  exceedingly  superstitious,  the 
Ashangos  generally  thought  that  their  white 
visitor  was  not  a  man,  but  a  spirit,  as  he 
could  perform  such  wonders.  He  had  a 
musical  box,  and  set  it  playing,  to  the  great 
consternation  of  the  people.  Their  awe  was 
increased  by  his  leaving  the  box  where  it 
stood,  and  going  away  into  the  forest.  The 
fact  that  the  instrument  should  continue  to 
play  with  no  one  near  it  was  still  more  ter- 
rible, and  a  crowd  of  people  stood  round  in 
dead  silence  —  a  very  convincing  proof  of 
their  awe-stricken  state.  An  accordion  jjro- 
duced  even  a  greater  sensation,  and  none 
but  the  chief  dared  to  utter  a  sound.  Even 
he  was  very  much  frightened,  and  continued 
beating  his  "  kendo,"  or  magic  bell  of  office, 
and  invoking  help  from  the  spirits  of  his 
ancestors. 

This  chief  was  a  very  pious  mau  in  his 
own  fashion.  He  had  a  little  temple  or 
oratory  of  his  own,  and  every  morning  and 
evening  he  repaired  to  the  oratory,  shut  him- 
self up,  beat  his  bell,  and  invoked  the  spirits, 
and  at  night  he  always  lighted  a  fire  before 
beating  the  bell. 

The  "  kendo  "  is  a  very  remarkable  badge  of 
office.  It  is  bell-shaped,  but  has  a  long  iron 
handle  bent  in  a  hook-like  shape,  so  that  the 
"  kendo "  can  be  carried  on  the  shoulder. 
Leopard's  fur  is  fastened  to  it,  much  to  the 
deadening  of  the  sound,  and  the  whole  in- 
strument forms  an  emblem  which  is  re- 
spected as  much  as  the  sceptre  among  our- 
selves. As  the  chief  walks"  along,  he  rings 
the  bell,  which  announces  his  presence  by  a 
sound  like  that  of  a  common  sheep  or  cow 
bell. 

When  M.  du  Chaillu  was  among  the 
Ashango,  scarcely  any  articles  of  civilized 
manufacture  had  penetrated  into  the  coun- 
try. The  universal  bead  had  reached  tliem, 
and  so  had  a  few  ornaments  of  brass.  There 
was  an  article,  however,  which  was  some- 
times found  among  them,  and  which  was 
about  the  last  that  could  be  expected.  It 
was  the  common  black  beer-bottle  of  Eng- 
land. These  bottles  have  penetrated  almost 
as  far  as  the  beads,  and  are  exceedingly 
prized  by  the  chiefs,  who  value  no  article  of 
property  more  than  a  black  bottle,  which 
they  sling  to  their  belts,  and  in  which  they 
keep  their  plantain  wine.  Calabashes  would, 
of  course,  answer  their  purpose  better,  being 
less  fragile,  but  the  black  bottle  is  a  chief's 
great  ambition.  Mostly,  the  wives  do  as 
they  like;  but,  if  a  wife  should  happen  to 
break  a  bottle,  she  has  committed  an  offence 
tor  which  no  pardon  is  expected. 

The  Ashangos  have  an  odd  custom  of 
receiving  a  visitor.  When  they  desire  to  do 
him  particular  honor,  they  meet  him  with 
some  dishes  of  their  red  paint,  with  which 


482 


THE   OBOXGO. 


he  is  expected  to  besmear  himself.  If  a 
stranger  approach  a  house,  and  the  owner 
asks  him  to  make  himself  red,  he  is  quite 


happy,  and,  if  the  pigment  should  not  Fje 
oft'ered,  he  will  go  oil"  in  dudgeon  at  the 
slight. 


OBONGOS,  OR  BUSHMEN  OF  ASHANGO-LAND. 


Somewhere  near  the  equatorial  line, 
and  between  long.  11°  and  12°  E.,  there  is  a 
tribe  of  dwarfed  negroes,  called  the  Obougos, 
■who  seem  to  be  among  the  very  lowest  of 
the  human  race,  not  only  in  stature,  but  in 
civilization. 

The  Obongos  have  no  settled  place  of 
residence,  their  houses  being  simply  huts 
made  of  branches,  and  constructed  so 
slightly  that  no  home  interests  can  possibly 
attach  to  them.  They  are  merely  made  of 
leafy  boughs  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  are  so 
slight  that  a  whole  village  of  Obougos  will 
change  its  residence  with  scarcely  a  warn- 
ing. The  principal  cause  of  abandonment 
seems  to  be  summed  up  in  the  single  word 
"  vermin,"  with  which  the  huts  swarm  to 
such  an  extent  that,  long  after  they  have 
been  abandoned,  no  one  can  enter  without 
being  covered  with  swarms  of  these  offen- 
sive little  insects.  The  huts  are  merely 
made  of  green  boughs,  and  the  hole  which 
serves  as  a  door  is  closed  with  a  smaller 
bough.  They  are  scattered  about  without 
any  order  in  the  oisen  space  left  among  the 
trees. 

The  resemblance  between  the  Obongos 
and  the  Bosjesmans  of  Southern  Africa  is 
really  wonderful.  Like  them,  the  Obongos 
are  short,  though  not  ill-shaped,  much  lighter 
in  hue  than  their  neighbors,  and  have  short 
hair  growing  in  tufts,  while  the  Ashangos 
are  tall,  dark,  and  have  rather  long  bushy 
hair. 

Their  color  is  pale  yellow-brown,  their 
foreheads  narrow,  and  their  cheek-bones 
high.  The  average  height  is  about  four  feet 
seven  inches,  according  to  M.  du  Chaillu's 
measurements,  though  he  found  one  woman 
who  was  considered  very  tall,  and  who  was 
five  feet  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch  high.  The 
men  are  remarkable  for  having  their  breasts 
and  legs  covered  with  hair,  which  grows  in 
tufts  like  that  of  the  head. 

This  diminutive  stature  is  not  entirely 
owing  to  the  small  size  of  the  whole  figure, 
but  to  the  shortness  of  the  legs,  which,  un- 
like those  of  African  races  in  general,  are 
very  short  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
body.  Thus,  instead  of  looking  like  ordi- 
nary but  well-shaped  men  seen  through  a 
diminishing  glass,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
Bosjesman  of  Southern  Africa,  they  have  a 
dwarfish  and  stunted  appearance,  which, 
added  to  the  hairy  limbs  of  the  men,  gives 
them  a  weird  and  elfish  appearance. 

The  dress  of  the  Obongos  —  when  they 
have  any  dress  at  all,  which  is  seldom  the 
case  —  consists  entirely  of  old  and  worn  out 


denguis,  which  are  given  to  them  by  the 
Ashangos.  Indeed,  the  Ashangos  behave 
very  kindly  to  these  wretched  little  beings, 
and  encourage  them  to  take  up  their  resi- 
dence near  villages,  so  that  a  kind  of  traffic 
can  be  carried  on.  Degraded  as  these  little 
beings  seem  to  be,  they  are  skilful  trappers, 
and  take  great  quantities  of  game,  the  sup- 
plies of  which  they  sell  to  the  Ashangos  for 
plantains,  iron  cooking  pots,  and  other 
implements.  (See  illustration  No.  2,  on  p. 
478.)  On  one  occasion  M.  du  Chaillu  saw  a 
dozen  Ashango  women  going  to  the  huts  of 
the  Obongos,  carrying  on  their  heads  plan- 
tains which  they  were  about  to  exchange  for 
game.  The  men  had  not  returned  from 
hunting,  but,  on  seeing  that  the  Obongo 
women  were  sutfering  from  hunger,  and 
forced  to  live  on  some  very  unwholesome- 
looking  nuts,  they  left  nearly  all  the  i)lan- 
tains,  and  came  away  without  the  game. 

The  woods  in  which  they  live  are  so  filled 
with  their  traps  that  a  stranger  dares  not 
walk  in  them,  lest  he  should  tumble  into  a 
pitfall  which  was  constructed  to  catch  the 
leopard,  wild  Itoar,  or  antelope,  or  have  his 
legs  caught  in  a  trap  which  was  laid  for 
monkeys.  There  is  not  a  path  through  the 
trees  which  does  not  contain  a  pitfall  or  two, 
and  outside  the  path  the  monkey  traps  are 
so  numerous  that  even  bj-  daylight  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  avoid  them.  Being  a  wandering 
race,  the  Obongos  never  cultivate  the  ground, 
but  depend  for  their  food  on  the  game  which 
they  take,  and  on  the  roots,  berries,  and  nuts 
which  they  find  in  the  woods.  Animal  food 
is  coveted  by  them  with  astonishing  eager- 
ness, and  a  promise  of  goat's  flesh  will  bribe 
an  Obongo  when  even  beads  fail  to  touch 
him. 

The  origin  of  the  Obongos  is  a  mystery, 
and  no  one  knows  whether  they  are  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  soil,  or  whether 
they  came  from  a  distance.  The  probability 
is,  that  they  were  the  original  inhabitants, 
and  that  the  Ashangos,  being  a  larger  and 
more  powerful  race,  have  gradually  pos- 
sessed themselyes  of  that  fertile  land,  whose 
capabilities  were  wasted  by  the  nomad  and 
non-laboring  Obongos. 

It  is  strange  that  they  should  liave  re- 
tained their  individuality  throughout  so 
long  a  period,  in  which  phenomenon  they 
present  a  curious  resemblance  to  the  gipsies 
of  Europe,  who  have  for  centuries  been  among 
us,  though  not  of  us.  The  Obongos  never 
marry  out  of  their  own  tribe,  and  as  they  live  in 
littlecommunities  of  ten  or  twelve  huts,  it  is 
evident  that  they  can  have  but  little  matri- 


MODE   OF  BURIAL. 


483 


monial  choice.  Indeed,  the'Ashangos  say  that 
the  ties  of  kinship  are  totally  neglected,  and 
that  the  Obongos  permit  marriages  to  take 
place  between  brothers  and  sisters.  This 
circumstance  may  perhaps  account  for  their 
dwai'fed  stature. 

They  are  a  timid  people,  and  when  M.  du 
Chaillu  visited  them  he  could  hardly  catch 
a  sight  of  them,  as  they  all  dashed  into  the 
wood  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  stranger.  It 
was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  intercepting  several  women  and 
some  children,  and  by  presents  of  beads  and 
promises  of  meat  conciliating  some  of  them, 
and  inducing  them  to  inspire  confidence 
in  their  comrades.  One  little  old  woman 
named  Misounda,  who  was  at  first  very  shy, 
became  quite  confident,  and  began  to  laugh 
at  the  men  for  running  away.  She  said  that 
they  were  as  timid  as  tlie  squirrel,  which 
cried  "  Que,  Que,"  and  squeaked  in  imitatiou 


of  the  animal,  at  the  same  time  twisting  her 
odd  little  body  into  all  sorts  of  droll  contor- 
tions, intended  to  represent  the  terror  of  her 
frightened  companions. 

When  an  Obongo  dies,  it  is  usual  to  take 
the  body  to  a  hollow  tree  in  the  forest,  and 
drop  it  into  the  hollow,  which  is  afterward 
filled  to  the  top  with  earth,  leaves,  and 
branches.  Sometimes,  however,  they  em- 
ploy a  more  careful  mode  of  burial.  They 
take  the  body  to  some  running  stream,  the 
course  of  which  has  been  previously  di- 
verted. A  deep  grave  is  dug  in  the  bed  of 
the  stream,  the  Ixxly  placed  in  it,  and  cov- 
ered over  carefully.  Lastly,  the  stream  is 
restored  to  its  original  course,  so  that  all 
traces  of  the  grave  are  soon  lost.  This 
remarkable  custom  is  not  peculiar  to  the 
Obongos,  but  has  existed  in  various  parts  of 
the  world  from  the  earliest  known  time. 


CHAPTER    XL  VI. 


THE  APONO  AJSTD  APINGI  TRIBES. 


lOCAlTTT  OF  THE    APONO    TRIBE — THEIR    LIVELY    CHARACTER  —  DRESS    AND    ORNAMENT  —  THE  GIANT 

DANCE — WEAPONS — APONO  ARCHITECTUKE — RELIGION  AND  SUPERSTITION  —  SICKNESS,  DEATH, 
AND  BURLiL  —  AN  APONO  LEGEND^ THE  APLNGI  TRIBE  —  THEIR  GENERAL  APPE.AJRANCE  AND 
MODE  OF  DRESS  —  SKILL  IN  WEAVING  —  DEXTERITY  AS  BOATMEN  —  A  SCENE  ON  THE  REMBO  — 
CURIOUS  M.\TRIMONIAL  ARRANGEMENT  —  SLAVERY  AMONG  THE  APINGI  —  A  HUNTER'S  LEOPARD- 
CHARM —  FUNERAL  CUSTOMS. 


Proceeding  toward  the  westei-n  coast  of 
Africa,  we  now  come  to  the  Apono  tribe, 
which  inhabit  a  district  just  below  the  Equa- 
tor, and  between  long.  11°  and  1'2°  E. 

The}'  are  a  merry  race,  and  carry  to 
excess  the  African  custom  of  drumming, 
dancing,  and  singing  throughout  the  entire 
night.  Drinking,  of  course,  forms  a  chief 
part  of  the  amusements  of  the  night,  the 
liquid  used  being  the  palm  wine,  which 
is  made  in  great  quantities  in  many  parts 
of  tropical  Africa.  Perhaps  the  innate 
good  nature  of  the  Apono  people  was 
never  shown  to  greater  advantage  than 
on  one  occasion  when  M.  du  Chaillu  de- 
termined to  stop  the  revehy  that  cost  him 
his  repose  at  night,  and  the  services  of 
his  intoxicated  porters  by  day.  He  did 
so  by  the  very  summary  process  of  going 
to  the  hut  where  the  feast  was  held,  kicking 
over  the  vessels  of  palm  wine,  and  driving 
the  chiefs  and  their  attendants  out  of  the 
hut.  They  were  certainly  vexed  at  the  loss 
of  so  much  good  liquor,  but  contented  them- 
selves with  a  grumble,  and  then  obeyed 
orders. 

The  Aponos  proved  to  be  very  honest 
men,  according  to  the  African  ideas  of  hon- 
esty; and,  from  M.  du  Chaillu's  account,  did 
not  steal  his  property,  and  always  took  his 
part  in  the  numberless  squabbles  with  dif- 
ferent chiefs.  They  are  not  pleasing  in  ap- 
pearance, not  so  much  from  actual  ugliness 
of  feature,  but  from  their  custom  of  dis- 
figuring themselves  artificially.  In  the  first 
place,  they  knock  out  the  two  middle  teeth 


of  the  upper  jaw,  and  file  all  the  rest  to 
sharp  points.  Tattooing  is  carried  on  to  a 
considerable  extent,  especially  by  the  women, 
who  have  a  habit  of  raising  little  elevated 
scars  in  their  foreheads,  sometimes  arranged 
in  the  form  of  a  diamond,  and  situated  be- 
tween the  ej'es.  Several  marks  are  made 
on  the  cheeks,  and  a  few  ou  the  chest  and 
abdomen. 

The  dress  of  the  Aponos  resembles  tliat 
of  the  Ishogo  tribe,  and  is  made  of  grass 
cloth.  Themen  wear  the  denguis  or  man- 
tles, composed  of  several  grass  cloths  sewed 
together,  while  the  women  are  restricted  to 
two,  one  of  which  is  attached  on  either  side, 
and  made  to  meet  in  the  back  and  front  if 
they  can.  AVhile  the  women  are  young,  the 
dress  is  amply  sufficient,  but  when  they  be- 
come old  and  fat,  the  cloths,  which  are 
always  of  uniform  size,  cannot  be  made  to 
meet  by  several  inches.  However,  the  dress 
in  question  is  that  which  is  sanctioned  by 
ordinary  custom,  and  the  Aponos  are  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  it. 

The  palm  wine  which  has  just  been  men- 
tioned is  made  by  the  Aponos  in  a  very 
simple  manner.  When  the  fruit  is  nearly 
ripe,  the  natives  climb  the  trees  and  hang 
hollowed  gourds  under  the  fruits  for  the 
jnu'pose  of  receiving  the  precious  liquor. 
They  are  so  fond  of  this  drink,  that  even  in 
the  early  morning  they  may  be  seen  climb- 
ing the  trees  and  drinking  from  the  sus- 
pended calabashes.  During  the  season  the 
Apono  peoiile  are  constantly  intoxicated, 
and,  in  consequence,  are  apt  to  be  quarrtl- 


t484) 


(2.)    FISIIINU    SCEiNE.    («fe  pa<;i;  i'J2.) 
C4»G) 


THE  GIAXT  DAXCE. 


4S7 


some  and  lazy,  willing  to  take  offence  at  any 
slight,  whetlier  real  or  imagined,  and  to 
neglect  the  duties  which  at  other  times  of 
the  year  they  are  always  ready  to  perform. 

Fortunately  for  themselves,  the  palm  wine 
season  lasts  only  a  few  months,  and  during 
the  remainder  of  the  year  the  Aponos  are 
perforce  obliged  to  be  sober.  While  it 
lasts,  the  country  is  most  unpleasant  to  a 
stranger,  the  sound  of  the  drum,  the  dance, 
and  the  song  scarcely  ever  ceasing  night  or 
day,  while  the  people  are  so  tetchy  and 
quarrelsome  that  a  day  never  passes  without 
a  tight,  which  often  leaves  considerable  scars 
behind  it. 

One  of  their  dances  is  very  peculiar,  and 
is  called  by  the  name  of  Ocuya,  or  Giant 
Dance.  The  reader  will  find  it  illustrated 
on  the  previous  page. 

This  curious  dance  is  performed  by  a  man 
who  enacts  the  part  of  the  giant,  and  raises 
himself  to  the  necessary  height  by  means  of 
stilts.  He  then  endues  a  wicker-work 
frame,  shaped  like  the  body  of  a  man,  and 
dressed  like  one  of  the  natives,  in  large 
grass  cloths.  The  dress  reaches  to  the 
ground,  so  as  to  conceal  the  stilts,  and,  in 
spite  of  this  drawback,  the  performer  walks 
and  dances  as  if  he  were  using  his  unaided 
feet.  Of  course  he  wears  a  mask,  and  this 
mask  is  mostly  of  a  white  color.  It  has 
large,  thick  lips,  and  a  mouth  partly  open, 
showing  the  gap  in  which  the  upper  incisor 
teeth  had  once  existed.  The  headdress  is 
much  like  a  lady's  bonnet  of  1864  or  186.5. 
The  material  of'whicii  it  is  made  is  monkey 
skin,  and  it  is  ornamented  with  feathers. 

The  Aponos  are  not  distinguished  as  war- 
riors, their  weapons  being  very  formidable  in 
appearance,  and  very  inefficient  in  practice. 
Each  Apono  has  his  bow  and  arrows.  The 
former  is  a  stitf,  cumbrous  kind  of  weapon. 
It  is  bent  nearly  in  a  semi-circle,  the  string 
being  nearly  two  feet  from  the  centre  of  the 
bow.  The  string  is  of  vegetable  fibre.  The 
arrows  are  ingeniously  armed  with  triangu- 
lar iron  heads,  each  being  attached  to  a  hol- 
low neck,  through  which  the  shaft  passes 
loosely.  The  head  is  poisoned,  and  when  it 
penetrates  the  flesh  it  remains  fixed  in  the 
wound,  while  the  shaft  falls  to  the  ground, 
just  as  is  the  case  with  the  Bosjesman  arrows 
already  described. 

Their  spears  are  also  rather  clumsy,  and  are 
too  heavy  to  be  thrown.  They  are,  however, 
rather  formidable  in  close  combat.  The 
weapon  which  is  most  coveted  by  the  Apono 
tribe  is  a  sort  of  sword,  or  rather  scimitar, 
with  a  wooden  handle  and  a  boldly  curved 
blade.  An  ambitious  young  Apono  is  never 
happy  until  he  has  obtained  one  of  these 
scimitars,  and  such  a  weapon,  together  with 
a  handsome  cap  and  a  well-made  "  dengui," 
will  give  a  man  a  most  distinKuished  ap- 
pearance among  his  fellows.  Although  the 
curved  form  is  most  common,  some  of  these 
swords  are  straight,  and  are  not  made  by 


themselves,  but  by  the  Abombos  and  Iljavis, 
who  live  to  the  east  of  them.  The  l.ilade  of  this 
weapon  is  four  feet  in  length, and  the  han<lle 
is  shaped  like  a  dice-box,  the  '•  tang  ''  of  the 
blade  running  through  it  and  being  clenched 
on  the  end  of  the"  hilt.  From  the  same 
tribes  they  procure  their  anvils,  which  are 
too  large  for  their  resources;  their  only 
melting  pots  being  scarcely  able  to  hold 
more  than  a  pint  of  iron  ore.  The  shields  i)f 
the  Apono  are  circular  and  made  of  basket 
work. 

The  villages  of  the  Apono  are  well  and 
neatly  built.  One  of  them,  belonging  to 
Nchiengain,the  principal  chief  of  the  Apono 
tribe,  was  measured  by  M.  du  Chaillu,  and 
found  to  consist  of  one  long  street,  nearly 
four  hundred  and  fifty  yards  long,  and 
eighteen  yards  wide.  The  houses  were  all 
separated  by  an  interval,  and  each  liouse 
was  furnished  with  a  little  veranda  in 
front,  under  which  the  inhabitants  sit  and 
smoke  their  pipes,  eat  their  meals,  and  en- 
joy a  chat  with  their  neighbors.  The  ma- 
terial of  the  houses  is  chiefly  bamboo,  and 
strips  of  the  leaf-stalks  of  palm  trees,  and 
the  average  height  of  a  hut  is  about  seven 
feet. 

One  of  the  villages,  named  Mokaba,  de- 
served the  name  of  a  town,  and  was  ar- 
ranged  in  a  somewhat  different  manner. 
The  houses  were  arranged  in  three  parallel 
rows,  forming  one  wide  principal  street  in 
the  middle,  and  a  narrow  street  on  either 
side.  The  houses  are  arranged  in  hollow 
squares,  each  square  belonging  to  one  fomily. 
As  often  as  a  man  marries  a  fresh  wife,  he 
builds  a  separate  house  for  her,  and  all  these 
new  houses  are  arranged  in  the  form  of  a 
quadrangle,  the  empty  space  being  planted 
with  palm  trees,  which  are  the  property-  of 
the  headman  of  each  group,  and  which  pass 
at  his  death  to  his  heir.  These  palm  trees 
are  valuable  property,  and  are  especially 
prized  as  furnishing  material  for  the  palm 
wine  which  the  Apono  tribe  drink  to  such 
an  extent. 

Superstition  is  as  rife  among  the  Aponos 
as  among  other  tribes  which  have  been 
mentioned,  and  preserves  its  one  invariable 
characteristic,  i.  e.  an  ever-present  fear  of 
evil.  Wlien  M.  du  Chaillu  visited  them, 
they  were  horribly  afraid  of  such  a  monster 
as  a  white  man,  and  jumped  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  any  one  who  was  unlike  them- 
selves must  be  both  evil  and  supernatural. 

It  was  with  some  difficulty  that  the  chief 
Nchiengain  was  induced  to  allow  the  travel- 
lers to  pass  through  his  territories;  and  even 
after  permission  had  been  granted,  it  was 
thought  better  to  send  a  man  who  was  the 
personal  friend  of  the  chief,  and  who  would 
serve  to  calm  tlie  fears  with  which  he  re- 
garded the  approach  of  his  visitors.  There 
was  certainly  some  reason  for  his  fear,  for,  by 
some  unfortunate  mischance,  the  small-pox 
swept  through  the  country  during  the  time  of 


488 


THE  APLNGI. 


M.  du  Chaillu's  travels,  and  it  was  ver}' 
natural  that  the  people  should  think  that 
the  white  stranger  was  connected  with  the 
disease. 

■\Vhen,  at  last,  the  traveller  entered  the 
Apono  village,  there  was  a  general  conster- 
nation, the  men  running  away  as  fast  as  their 
legs  could  carry  theni,"and  the  women  flee- 
ing to  their  huts,  clasping  their  children  in 
thL'ir  arms,  and  shrieking  with  terror.  The 
village  was,  in  fact,  deserted,  in  spite  of  the 
example  set  by  the  chief,  who,  although  as 
much  frightened  as  any  of  his  subjects,  bore 
in  mind  the  responsibilities  of  his  office,  and 
stood  in  front  of  his  house  to  receive  his  vis- 
itor. In  order  to  neutralize  as  much  as  pos- 
sil)le  the  eftccts  of  the  white  man's  witchery, 
he  had  hung  on  his  neck,  body,  and  limlis  all 
the  fetishes  which  he  possessed,  and  had  be- 
sides covered  his  body  with  mysterious  lines 
of  alumbi  chalk.  Thus  fortified,  he  stood  in 
front  of  his  hut,  accompanied  by  two  men, 
who  bravely  determined  to  take  part  with 
their  chief  in  his  perilous  adventure. 

At  first  Nchiengain  was  in  too  great  a 
fright  to  look  at  his  visitor,  but  before  very 
long  he  ventured  to  do  so,  and  accept  some 
presents.  Afterward,  when  he  had  got  over 
the  fear  with  which  he  regarded  the  white 
man,  he  acted  after  the  fashion  of  all  African 
chiefs,  i.  e.  he  found  all  sorts  of  excuses  for 
not  furnishing  his  gnests  with  guides  and 
]iorters;  the  real  object  being  to  keep  in  his 
liands  the  wonderful  white  man  who  had 
such  inexhaustible  treasures  at  command, 
and  who  might  make  him  the  richest  and 
most  powerful  chief  in  the  country. 

The  idols  of  the  Apono  tribe  are  hideously 
ugly.  When  M.  du  Chaillu  was  in  Apono- 
laud,  he  naturally  wished  to  bring  home  a 
specimen  of  a  native  idol,  and  after  some 
trouble  induced  Kchiengain  to  present  him 
with  a  specimen.  The  chief  obligingly  sent 
his  wife  to  the  temple  to  fetch  an  idol,  which 
he  generously  presented  to  his  guest.  It 
was  a  wooden  image,  so  large  that  the 
woman  could  scarcely  carry  it,  and  was  of 
such  a  character  that  it  could  not  possibly 
be  exhilnted  in  Europe. 

These  people  seem  to  possess  inventive 
faculties  of  no  small  extent,  if  we  may  judge 
li'om  a  strange  legend  that  was  told  by  one 
of  them.  According  to  this  tale,  in  former 
times  there  was  a  great  chief  called  Red- 
jiona,  the  father  of  a  beautiful  girl  called 
Arondo.  He  was  very  fond  of  this  daughter, 
and  would  not  allow  any  one  to  marry  her, 


unless  he  promised  that,  if  his  daughter  died 
before  her  husband,  he  should  die  with  her 
and  be  buried  in  the  same  grave.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  announcement,  no  one  dared 
to  ask  for  Arondo's  hand,  and  she  remained 
unmarried  for  several  years. 

At  last  a  suitor  showed  himself,  in  the 
person  of  a  man  named  Akenda  Mbani. 
This  name  signifies  '■  he  who  never  goes 
twice  to  the  same  place ;''  and  he  had  taken 
it  in  consequence  of  a  law  or  command  of 
his  father,  that  he  must  never  go  twice  to 
the  same  place.  He  married  Arondo,  and, 
being  a  mighty  hunter,  he  brought  h(ime 
))lenty  of  game;  but  if  he  had  by  cliance 
killed  two  large  animals,  such  as  antelopes  or 
boars,  together,  he  brought  home  one,  and 
made  his  father-in-law  letch  the  other,  on 
the  plea  that  he  could  not  go  twice  to  the 
same  place. 

After  some  years  Arondo  was  taken  ill 
with  a  headache,  which  became  worse  and 
worse  until  she  died,  and,  according  to 
agreement,  Akenda  Mbani  died  with  her. 
As  soon  as  she  was  dead,  her  father  gave 
orders  to  prepare  a  large  grave  for  the  hus- 
band and  wife.  In  the  grave  was  placed  the 
bed  of  the  married  pair,  on  which  their 
bodies  were  laid,  and  they  were  accompanied 
by  a  slave  killed  to  wait  on  them  in  the  land 
of  spirits,  and  by  much  wealth  in  the  shape  of 
ivory,  plates,  mats,  and  ornaments.  Akenda 
Mbani  was  also  furnished  with  his  sword, 
spear,  and  hunting  bag.  The  grave  was 
then  tilled  up,  and  a  mound  of  sand  heaped 
upon  it. 

When  Agambouai,  the  village  orator,  saw 
these  arrangements,  he  disapproved  of  them, 
and  told  Eedjiona  that  the  hya-nas  would 
scratch  up  the  mound  of  sand,  and  devour  the 
bodies  of  his  daughter  and  her  husband.  So 
Eedjiona  ordered  the  grave  to  be  made  so 
deep  that  the  hysenas  could  not  get  at  the 
bodies.  Accordingly,  the  sand  was  removed, 
and  the  bodies  of  Akenda  Mbani  and  his 
wife  were  seated  on  stools  while  the  grave 
was  deepened.  When  it  was  deep  enough, 
the  people  replaced  the  bed,  and  lowered  the 
slave  and  Arondo  into  the  grave.  They 
then  proceeded  to  place  Akenda  Mbani  by 
her,  but  he  suddenly  revived,  and  declined 
to  take  his  place  in  the  grave  a  second  time, 
on  the  ground  that  he  never  went  twice  to 
the  same  place.  Eedjiona  was  very  angry  at 
this,  but  admitted  the  validity  of  the  excuse, 
and  consoled  himself  by  cutting  off  the  head 
of  Agambouai. 


THE  APINGI. 


Passing  westward  toward  the  coast,  we 
come  to  the  Apingi  tribe.  These  people 
inhabit  a  tolerably  large  tract  of  country, 
and  extend  along  the  west  side  of  a  range  of 
hills  which  separates  them  from  the  Ishogo. 


The  Apingi  are  not  a  handsome  race. 
Their  skin  is"  black,  with  a  decided  tinge  of 
yellow,  but  this  lightness  of  hue  may  proba- 
bly be  owing  to  the  mountainous  regions 
wiiich  they  inhabit.    They  wear  tlie  usual 


"NATIVE  INNOCENCE." 


489 


grass  cloth  round  the  waist,  and  tho  women 
are  restricted  to  two  of  the  squares,  each 
twenty-four  inches  long  by  eighteen  wide, 
as  is  the  custom  throughout  a  large  portion 
of  West  Africa.  They  do  not,  however, 
look  on  clothing  in  the  same  light  as  we  do, 
and  so  the  scantiness  of  their  apparel  is  of 
no  consequence  to  them. 

This  was  oddly  shown  by  the  conduct  of 
the  head  wife  of  Remandji,  an  Apingi  chief. 
She  came  with  her  husband  to  visit  M. 
du  Chaillu,  who  presented  her  with  a  piece 
of  light-colored  cotton  cloth.  She  was 
delighted  with  the  present,  and,  much  to 
her  host's  dismay,  proceeded  to  disrobe  her- 
self of  her  ordinary  dress,  in  order  to  indue 
the  new  garment.  But,  when  she  had  laid 
aside  the  grass-cloth  petticoat,  some  object 
attracted  her  attention,  and  she  began  to 
inspect  it,  forgetting  all  about  her  dress, 
chattering  and  looking  about  her  for  some 
time  before  she  bethought  herself  of  her  cot- 
ton rol)e,  which  she  put  on  quite  leisurely. 

This  woman  was  rather  good-looking,  but, 
as  a  rule,  tho  Apingi  women  are  exceed- 
ingly ugly,  and  do  not  improve  their  beauty 
by  the  custom  of  filing  the  teeth,  and  cover- 
ing themselves  with  tattooing.  This  prac- 
tice is  common  to  both  sexes,  but  the  women 
are  fond  of  one  pattern,  which  makes  them 
look  much  as  if  they  wore  braces,  a  broad 
band  of  tattooed  lines  passing  over  each 
shoulder,  and  meeting  in  a  V-shape  on  the 
breast.  From  the  point  of  the  V,  other 
lines  are  drawn  in  a  curved  form  upon  the 
abdomen,  and  a  similar  series  is  carried 
over  the  back.  The  more  of  these  lines  a 
woman  can  show,  the  better  dressed  she  is 
supposed  to  be. 

The  grass  cloths  above-mentioned  are  all 
woven  by  the  men,  who  can  make  them 
either  plain  or  colored.  A  square  of  the 
former  kind  is  a  day's  work  to  an  Apingi, 
and  a  colored  cloth  requires  from  two  to 
three  days'  labor.  But  the  Apingi,  like 
other  savages,  is  a  very  slow  workman,  and 
has  no  idea  of  the  determined  industry  with 
which  an  European  pursues  his  daily  labor. 
Time  is  nothing  to  him,  and  whether  a 
grass  cloth  takes  one  or  two  days'  labor  is  a 
matter  of  perfect  indiflference.  He  will  not 
dream  of  setting  to  work  without  his  pipe, 
and  always  lias  his  friends  about  him,  so 
that  he  may  lighten  the  labors  of  the  loom 
by  social  converse.  Generally,  a  number 
of  looms  are  set  up  under  the  projecting 
eaves  of  the  houses,  so  that  the  weavers 
can  talk  as  much  as  they  like  with  each 
other. 

The  Apingi  are  celebrated  as  weavers, 
and  are  said  to  produce  the  best  cloths  in 
the  country.  These  are  held  in  such  estima- 
tion that  "they  are  sold  even  on  the  coast, 
and  are  much  used  as  mosquito  curtains. 
The  men  generally  wear  a  robe  made  of 
eight  or  nine  squares.  Barter,  and  not  per- 
sonal use,  is  the  chief  object  in  making 


these  cloths,  the  Apingi  thinking  that  their 
tattooing  is  quite  enough  clothing  for  all 
social  purposes.  Indeed,  they  openly  say 
that  the  tattooing  is  their  mode  of  dress, 
and  that  it  is  quite  as  reasonable  as  cov- 
ering up  the  body  and  limbs  with  a  num- 
ber of  absurd  garments,  which  can  have 
no  object  but  to  restrain  the  movements. 
Sometimes  the  Apingi  wear  a  cloth  over 
one  shoulder,  but  this  is  used  as  a  sign  of 
wealth,  and  not  intended  as  dress. 

Like  most  tribes  which  live  on  the  banks 
of  rivers,  the  Apingi,  who  inhabit  the  dis- 
trict watered  by  theRembo  Kiver,  are  clever 
boatmen,  and  excellent  swimmers.  The 
latter  accomplishment  is  a  necessity,  as  the 
canoes  are  generally  very  small  and  frail, 
tlat-bottomed,  and  are  easily  capsized.  They 
draw  scarcely  any  water,  this  structure 
being  needful  on  account  of  the  powerful 
stream  of  the  Rembo,  which  runs  so  swiftly 
that  even  these  practised  paddlers  can 
scarcely  make  more  than  three  or  four 
miles  an  hour  against  the  stream. 

When  M.  du  Chaillu  was  passing  up  the 
Rembo,  he  met  with  an  accident  that  showed 
the  strength  of  the  current.  An  old  woman 
was  paddling  her  boat  across  the  stream, 
butr  the  light  bark  was  swept  down  by  the 
stream,  and  dashed  against  that  of  Du 
Chaillu,  so  that  both  upset.  As  for  the  old 
woman,  who  had  a  bunch  of  plantains  in 
her  boat,  she  thought  of  nothing  but  her 
fruit,  and  swam  down  the  stream  bawling 
out  lustily,  "  Where  are  my  plantains  ? 
Give  me  my  plantains  !  "  She  soon  cap- 
tured her  canoe,  took  it  ashore,  emptied  out 
the  water,  and  paddled  off  again,  never 
ceasing  her  lamentations  about  her  lost 
bunch  of  plantains. 

There  is  a  curious  matrimonial  law  among 
the  Apingi,  which  was  accidentally  discov- 
ered by  M.  du  Chaillu.  A  young  man,  who 
had  just  married  the  handsomest  woman  in 
the  country,  showed  all  the  marks  of  pov- 
erty, even  his  grass  cloth  dress  being  ragged 
and  worn  out.  On  being  asked  the  reason 
of  his  shabby  appearance,  he  pointed  to  his 
young  wife,  and  said  that  she  had  quite 
ruined  him.  On  further  interrogation,  it 
was  shown  that  among  the  Apingi,  if  a  man 
fell  in  love  with  the  wife  of  a  neighbor,  and 
she  reciprocated  the  affection,  the  lover 
might  purchase  her  from  the  husband,  who 
was  bound  to  sell  her  for  the  same  price 
that  he  originally  paid  for  her.  In  the 
present  instance,  so  large  a  sum  had  been 
paid  for  the  acknowledged  belle  of  the  coun- 
try that  the  lover  had  been  obliged  to  part 
with  all  his  property  before  he  could  secure 
her. 

As  is  often  the  case  in  Africa,  the  slaves 
are  treated  very  well  by  their  masters. 
Should  a  slave  be  treated  harshly,  he  can  at 
any  time  escape  by  means  of  a  curious  and 
most  humane  law.  He  finds  an  o]iportunity 
of  slipping  away,  and  goes  to  another  vil- 


490 


THE  APINGI. 


lage,  where  he  chooses  for  himself  a  new 
master.  This  is  done  by  "  beating  bongo," 
i.  e.  by  laying  the  hands  on  the  head  and 
saying,  "  Father,  I  wish  to  serve  you.  I 
choose  you  tor  my  master,  and  will  never 
go  back  to  my  old  master."  Such  an  otl'er 
may  not  be  refused,  neither  can  the  fugitive 
slave  be  reclaimed,  unless  he  should  return 
to  the  village  whicli  he  left. 

The  Apingi  are  very  fond  of  palm  wine, 
and,  like  other  neighboring  tribes,  hang  cal- 
abashes in  the  trees  for  the  purpo.se  of 
receiving  the  juice.  Being  also  rather 
selflsh,  they  mostly  visit  their  palm  trees 
in  the  early  morning,  empty  the  calabashes 
into  a  vessel,  and  then  go  off  into  the  woods 
and  drink  the  wine  alone,  lest  some  acquaint- 
ance should  happen  to  see  them,  and  ask  for 
a  share. 

Hospitality  is  certainly  one  of  the  virtues 
of  the  Apingi  tribe.  When  M.  du  Chaillu 
visited  them,  the  chief  Remandji  presented 
him  with  tbod,  the  gift  consisting  of  fowls, 
cassava,  plantains,  and  a  young  slave.  The 
latter  article  was  given  in  accordance  with 
the  ordinary  negro's  idea,  that  the  white 
men  are  cannibals,  and  pinx-hase  black  men 
for  the  purpose  of  eating  them.  "  Kill  him 
for  your  evening  meal,"  said  the  hospitable 
chief;  '■  he  is  tender  and  f;\t,  and  you  must 
be  hungry."  And  so  deeply  was  the  idea  ot 
cannibalism  implanted  in  his  mind,  that 
nothing  would  make  tliis  really  estimable 
gentleman  comprehend  that  men  could  jjos- 
sibly  be  wanted  as  laborers,  and  not  as  arti- 
cles of  food. 

However,  a  very  fair  meal  (minus  the 
slave)  was  prepared,  and  when  it  was  served 
up,  Remaudji  appeared,  and  tasted  every  dish 
that  was  placed  before  his  guests.  He  even 
drank  a  little  of  the  water  as  it  was  poured 
out,  this  custom  being  followed  throughout 
the  tribe,  the  wives  tasting  the  food  set  be- 
fore their  husbands,  aud  the  naen  that  whicli 
they  offer  to  tlieir  guests.  It  is  singular  to 
see  how  ancient  and  universal  is  the  office  of 
"  taster,"  and  how  a  custom  which  still  sur- 
vives in  European  courts  as  a  piece  of  state 
ceremonial  is  in  active  operation  among  the 
savage  ti-ibes  of  "Western  Africa. 

Tlie  religious,  or  rather  the  superstitious, 
system  of  the  Apingi  difters  little  from  that 
which  we  have  seen  in  other  districts,  and 
seems  to  consist  chiefly  in  a  belief  in  fetishes, 
and  charms  of  various  kinds.  For  example, 
when  M.  du  Chaillu  told  Remandji  that  he 
would  like  to  go  on  a  leopard  hunt,  the  chief 
sent  for  a  sorcerer,  or  "  ouganga,"  who  knew 
a  charm  which  enabled  him  to  kill  any  num- 
ber of  leopards  without  danger  to  himself. 
The  wizard  came,  and  went  tlirough  his 
ceremonies,  remarking  that  the  white  man 
might  laugh  as  much  as  he  please,  but  that 
on  the  next  day  he  would  see  that  his  charm 
(monda)  would  bring  a  leopard. 

On  tlio  following  morning  he  started  into 
the  woods,  and  in  the  afternoon  returned 


with  a  fine  leopard  which  he  had  killed.  He 
asked  such  an  exorbitant  price  for  the  skin 
that  the  purchase  was  declined,  and  the  skin 
was  tlieretbre  put  to  its  principal  use, 
namel}',  making  fetish  belts  for  warriors. 
A  strip  of  skin  is  cut  from  the  head  to  tlie 
tail,  and  is  then  charmed  bj'  the  ouganga, 
whose  incantations  are  so  powerful  that 
neither  bullet,  arrow,  nor  spear,  can  wound 
the  man  who  wears  the  belt.  Of  course 
such  a  belt  commands  a  very  high  price, 
which  accounts  for  the  unwillingness  of  the 
sorcerer  to  part  with  the  skin. 

As  is  usuiil  in  many  parts  of  the  world, 
when  twins  are  born,  one  of  tliem  is  killed, 
as  an  idea  prevails  that,  if  both  are  allowed 
to  live,  the  mother  will  die.  Only  one  case 
was  known  where  twins,  boys  seven  years 
of  age,  were  allowed  to  survive,  and,  as 
their  mother  did  not  die,  she  was  respected 
as  a  very  remarkable  woman. 

Seeing  the  treasures  which  their  white 
visitor  brought  among  them,  the  Apingi 
could  not  be  disabused  of  the  notion  that  he 
made,  or  rather  created,  them  all  himself, 
and  that  he  was  able,  by  his  bare  word,  to 
make  unlimited  quantities  of  the  same  arti- 
cles. One  day  a  great  consultation  was 
held,  and  about  thirty  chiefs,  with  Re- 
mandji at  their  head,  came  and  preferred 
the  modest  request  that  tlie  white  man 
would  make  a  pile  of  beads  as  high  as  the 
tallest  tree,  and  another  of  guns,  powder, 
cloth,  brass  kettles,  and  copper  rods.  Xoth- 
ing  could  persuade  them  that  such  a  feat 
was  impossible,  and  the  refusal  to  perlbrm 
the  expected  miracle  was  a  severe  disap- 
pointment to  the  Apingi  chiefs,  who  had 
come  from  great  distances,  each  bringing 
with  him  a  large  band  of  followers.  There 
was  even  an  Ashango  chief,  who  bad  come 
from  his  own  country,  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  to  the  eastward,  bringing  with  him  a 
strong  party  of  men  to  carry  away  his  share 
of  the  goods. 

This  scene  appears  to  have  made  a  great 
impression  on  the  natives,  for  when  Re- 
mandji and  his  son  died,  an  event  which 
happened  not  long  after  Du  Chaillu  had  left 
the  country,  the  people  firmly  believed  that 
the  latter  had  killed  him  on  account  of  his 
friendship  for  him,  deisriug  that  they  should 
be  comjjanions  in  the  spirit  laud,  wliicli  they 
believed  was  the  ordinary  habitation  of  white 
men. 

Their  burijil  customs  are  rather  curious, 
and  not  at  all  agreeable.  The  body  is  left 
in  the  house  where  the  sick  person  has  died, 
and  is  allowed  to  remain  there  as  long  as  it 
can  hold  together.  At  last,  the  nearest  rela- 
tion of  the  deceased  comes  aud  carries  off 
the  body  on  his  shoulders,  bearing  it  to 
some  convenient  spot  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  village.  No  grave  is  dug,  but  the 
corpse  is  laid  on  the  ground,  some  pieces  of 
ivory  or  a  few  personal  ornaments  are  laid 
by  it,  aud  the  funeral  ceremony  is  at  au  end. 


CHAPTER  XL VII. 


THE  BAKALAI. 


DISTRICTS  INHABITED  ET  THE  BAKALAI —THEIR  KOriNG  AND  UNSETTLED  HABITS — SKILL  IN  HUNTING 
—  DIET  AND  MODE  OF  COOKINO — A  FISH  BATTUE  —  CLEANLY  HABITS  OF  THE  BAKALAI — FOR- 
BIDDEN MEATS  —  CRUEL  TREATMENT  OF  THE  SICK,  AND  SUPERSTITIONS  OF  THE  BAKALAI  — 
THEIR  IDOLS — THE  WOMEN  AND  THEIR  RELIGIOUS  KITES — AN  INTRUSION  AND  ITS  CONSE- 
QUENCES—  THE    "keen"    OVER  A  DEAD  PERSON. 


The  large  and  important  trilje  of  the  Ba- 
kalai  inhabit  a  considerable  tract  of  country 
between  the  Equator  and  2°  S.,  and  long. 
10°  to  13°  E.  The  land  in  which  they  dwell 
is  not  tenanted  by  themselves  alone,  but  they 
occupy  SO  much  space  in  it  that  it  may  fairly 
be  called  by  their  name.  They  have  a  pecul- 
iar faculty  for  colonization,  and  have  ex- 
tended their  settlements  in  all  directions, 
some  being  close  to  the  western  coast,  and 
others  far  to  the  east  of  the  Ashangos.  Of 
course,  their  habits  differ  according  to  the 
kind  of  country  in  which  they  are  placed, 
but  in  all  situations  tliey  are  bold  and  enter- 
prising, and  never  fail  to  become  masters  of 
the  district. 

One  clan  or  branch  of  this  tribe,  however, 
has  abandoned  these  roving  haljits,  and  has 
settled  permanently  at  a  place  called  Obindji, 
after  the  chief  of  the  clan.  Being  conven- 
iently situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Onenga 
and  Ofouboa  rivers,  Obindji  has  a  command- 
ing position  for  trade,  and,  having  contracted 
an  alliance  with  the  great  chief  Quengueza, 
carries  on  a  prosperous  commerce,  ebony 
being  their  special  commodity.  In  conclu- 
ding his  alliance  with  them,  Quengueza 
showed  his  wisdom  by  insisting  upon  their 
maintaining  peace  with  all  their  neighbors, 
this  indeed  having  been  his  policy  through- 
out his  life. 

When  Du  Chaillu  was  passing  along  the 
Eembo  River.  Quengueza  addressed  the  por- 
ters who  carried  the  goods,  and  gave  them 
excellent  advice,  which,  if  they  would  only 
have  followed  it,  would  have  kept  them 
clear  of  many  subsequent  quarrels  and  mis- 
fortunes. He  advised  them  never  to  pick  up 
bunches  of  plantain  or  nuts  that  might  be 


lying  on  the  road,  because  those  were  only 
placed  as  a  bait.  Also,  if  told  to  catch  and 
kill  goats  or  fowls,  or  to  pluck  fruit,  they 
were  to  refuse,  saying  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  the  host  to  supply  the  food,  and  not  to  set 
his  guests  to  fetch  it  for  themselves.  They 
were  specially  enjoined  not  to  enter  other 
houses  but  those  allotted  to  them,  not  to  sit 
on  strange  seats,  and  to  keep  clear  of  the 
women. 

Obindji's  town  showed  clearly  the  charac- 
ter of  the  inhabitants.  Bound  to  keep  the 
peace  by  the  treaty  with  Quengueza,  they 
were  still  prepared  against  the  incursions  of 
inimical  tribes.  Usually,  the  houses  are 
made  of  bamboo,  but  those  of  Obindji  had 
regular  walls,  made  of  broad  strips  of  bark 
lashed  firmly  to  the  bamboo  uprights.  When 
the  house  is  made  of  bamboo  alone,  tlie  in- 
haljitants  can  be  seen  nearly  as  well  as  if 
they  were  birds  in  cages,  and  consequently 
the  enemy  can  shoot  at  them  between  the 
bars.  In" Obindji,  however,  the  houses  were 
not  only  defended  by  the  bark  walls,  but 
were  further  guarded  by  being  separated 
into  two  rooms,  the  inner  ciiamber  being 
that  in  which  the  family  sleep.  So  suspi- 
cious are  the}',  that  they  never  spread  the 
couch  on  the  same  spot  for  two  successive 
nights. 

Their  great  ambition  seems  to  be  the  pos- 
session of  the  rivers,  hy  means  of  which 
they  can  traverse  the  countrj',  make  raids, 
or  plant  new  settlements  in  any  promising 
spot.  Thus  all  along  the  great  river  Rembo 
are  found  districts  inhabited  by  Bakalai,  and 
each  of  the  settlements  is  sure  to  be  the 
jjarent  of  other  colonies  on  either  bank. 
Moreover,  they  are  of  strangely  nomad  hab- 


(491) 


492 


THE   BAKALAI. 


its,  settling  down  for  a  time,  and  then  sud- 
denly breaking  up  their  village,  taking  away 
what  jiortable  stores  they  can  carry,  aban- 
doning the  rest,  and  settling  down  like  a 
flight  of  locusts  in  some  fresh  spot.  The 
causes  for  this  curious  habit  are  several,  but 
superstition  is  at  the  bottom  of  them  all,  as 
will  be  seen  when  we  come  to  that  branch  of 
the  subject. 

The  complexion  of  the  Bakalai  is  dark, but 
not  black,  and,  as  a  rule,  they  are  of  fair 
height  aud  well  made.  They  wear  the  usual 
grass  cloth  as  long  as  they  cannot  procure 
American  or  European  goods,  but,  whenever 
they  can  purchase  a  piece  of  cotton  print, 
they  will  wear  it  as  long  as  it  will  hang  to- 
gether. Of  washing  it  they  seem  to  have  no 
conception,  and  to  rags  they  have  no  objec- 
tion. Neither  do  the  Bakalai  wash  them- 
selves. Those  who  live  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  swim  like  ducks,  and,  as  their  aquatic 
excursions  often  end  in  a  capsize,  they  are 
perforce  washed  in  the  stream.  But  wash- 
ing in  the  light  of  ablution  is  never  per- 
formed by  them,  and  those  who  li\x'  inland, 
and  have  no  river,  never  know  the  feeling  of 
■water  on  their  oily  bodies. 

On  account  of  their  migratory  habits,  they 
have  but  little  personal  property,  concen- 
trating all  their  wealth  in  the  one  article  of 
wives.  A  Bakalai  will  go  to  hunt,  an  art  in 
which  he  is  very  expert,  and  will  sell  the 
tusks,  skins,  and  horns  for  European  goods. 
As  soon  as  he  has  procured  this  wealth,  he 
sets  off  to  buy  a  new  wife  with  it,  and  is  not 
very  particular  about  her  age,  so  that  she  be 
j-oung.  A  girl  is  often  married  when  quite 
a  child,  and  in  that  case  she  lives  with  her 
parents  until  she  has  reached  the  marriage- 
able ago,  which  in  that  country  is  attained 
at  a  very  early  period. 

In  consequence  of  this  arrangement,  chil- 
dren are  eagerly  expected,  and  joyfully  wel- 
comed when  they  make  their  appearance. 
As  a  rule,  African  women  are  not  jirolific 
mothers,  so  that  a  wife  who  has  several  chil- 
dren is  held  in  the  highest  estimation  as  the 
jiroducer  of  valuable  property,  and  carries 
things  with  a  high  hand  over  her  husband 
and  his  other  wives.  The  ideas  of  consan- 
guinit}'  are  very  curious  among  the  Bakalai. 
A  man  will  not  marry  a  wife  who  belongs  to 
the  same  village  or  clan  as  himself,  and  yet, 
if  a  man  dies,  his  son  takes  his  wives  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and,  if  he  has  no  son  old 
enough  to  do  so,  they  pass  to  his  brother. 
Slaves  also  constitute  part  of  a  Bakalai's 
projierty,  and  are  kept,  not  so  much  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  their  master's  work,  which 
is  little  enough,  but  as  live  stock,  to  be  sold 
to  the  regular  slave-dealers  whenever  a  con- 
venient opportunity  may  occur. 

The  principal  food  of  the  Bakalai  is  the 
cassava  or  manioc,  which  is  prepared  so  that 
it  passes  into  the  acid  state  of  fermentation, 
and  becomes  a  sour,  but  otherwise  flavorless 
mess.     The  chief  advantage  of  this  mode  of 


preparation  is,  that  it  will  keep  from  six 
weeks  or  two  months,  and  at  the  end  of  that 
time  is  no  nastier  than  it  was  when  com- 
parativelj'  fresh.  They  have  also  a  singu- 
larly unpleasant  article  of  diet  called  njavi 
oil.  It  is  made  from  the  seeds  of  the  njavi, 
one  of  the  large  forest  trees  of  the  country, 
and  is  prepared  by  first  boiling  the  seed, 
then  crushing  it  on  a  board,  "and  lastly 
squeezing  out  the  oil  in  the  hand.  Much 
oil  is  wasted  by  this  primitive  process,  and 
that  which  is  obtained  is  very  distasteful  to 
European  palates,  the  flavor  resembling  that 
of  scorched  lard.  It  is  chiefly  used  incook- 
ing  vegetables,  and  is  also  employed  for  the 
hair,  being  mixed  with  an  odoriferous  pow- 
der, and  plastered  liberally  on  their  woolly 
heads.  It  is  jirincipally  with  this  oil  that  the 
skin  is  anointed,  a  process  which  is  really 
needful  for  those  who  wear  no  clothing  in 
such  a  climate.  Palm  oil  is  sometimes  em- 
ployed for  the  same  purpose,  but  it  is  too 
dear  to  be  in  general  use.  Even  the  natives 
cannot  endure  a  very  long  course  of  this 
manioc,  and,  when  they  have  been  con- 
demned to  eat  nothing  but  vegetable  food 
for  several  weeks,  have  a  jiositive  craving  for 
meat,  and  will  do  anything  to  procure  it. 

This  craving  after  animal  food  sometimes 
becomes  almost  a  disease.  It  is  known  by 
the  name  of  gouamba,  and  attacks  both 
white  and  black  men  alike.  Qucngueza 
himself  was  occasionally  subject  to  it,  and 
was  actually  found  weejiing  with  the  agony 
of  gouamba,  a  proceeding  wliich  seems 
absurd  and  inierile  to  those  who  have  never 
been  subjected  to  the  same  affliction.  Those 
who  sutler  from  it  become  positive  wild 
beasts  at  the  sight  of  meat,  which  they 
devour  with  an  eagerness  that  is  horrible 
to  witness.  Even  M.  du  Chaillu,  with  all 
his  guns  and  other  means  of  destroying 
game,  occasionally  suffered  from  gouamba, 
which  he  describes  as  "  real  and  frightful 
tortin-e." 

The  Bakalai  do  not  think  of  breeding 
their  goats  and  chickens  for  food,  their 
wandering  habits  precluding  them  from 
either  agriculture  or  pastoral  pursuits,  and 
they  are  obliged,  therefore,  to  look  to  fish- 
ing and  hunting  for  a  supply  of  animal  food. 
The  former  of  these  pursuits  is  principally 
carried  on  during  the  dry  season,  when  the 
waters  of  the  river  have  receded,  and  pools 
have  been  left  on  the  plains.  To  those  jiools 
the  Bakalai  jiroc-eed  in  numbers,  men,  wo- 
men, and  children  taking  part  in  the  work. 
Each  is  furnished  with  a  pot  or  bowl,  with 
which  they  bail  out  the  water  until  tlie  fish 
are  left  struggling  in  the  mud.  The  whole 
party  then  rush  in,  secure  the  fish,  and  take 
them  home,  when  a  Large  portion  is  con- 
sumed on  the  spot,  but  the  greater  quantity 
dried  in  the  smoke  and  laid  up  for  future 
stores.     (See  illustration  p.  4f^().) 

Savages  as  they  are,  the  Bakalai  are  very 
cleanly  in  their  cooking,  as  is  mentioned  by 


CEUEL  TREATMENT  OF  THE   SICK. 


493 


M.  du  Chaillu.  "  The  Bakalai  were  cooking 
a  meal  before  setting  out  on  tlieir  travels. 
It  is  astonishing  to  see  the  neatness  with 
which  these  s.avagcs  prepare  their  food.  I 
watched  some  women  engaged  in  boihng 
plantains,  which  form  the  bread  of  all  this 
region.  One  built  a  bright  Are  between 
two  stones.  The  others  peeled  the  plan- 
tains, then  carefully  washed  them  — just  as 
a  clean  white  cook  would  —  and,  cutting 
them  in  several  pieces,  put  them  in  the 
earthen  pot.  This  was  then  filled  with 
water,  covered  over  with  leaves,  over  which 
were  placed  the  banana  peelings,  and  then 
the  pot  was  put  on  the  stones  to  boil.  Meat 
they  h.ad  not,  but  roasted  a  few  ground-nuts 
instead;  but  the  boiled  plantains  they  ate 
with  great  quantities  of  Cayenne  pepper." 
From  this  last  circumstance,  it  is  evident 
that  the  Bakalai  do  not  share  in  the  super- 
stitious notion  about  red  pepper  which  has 
been  lately  mentioned. 

With  all  this  cleanliness  in  cooking,  they 
are  so  fond  of  animal  food  that  they  will  eat 
it  when  almost  falling  to  pieces  with  decom- 
position. And,  in  spite  of  their  love  for  it, 
there  is  scarcely  any  kind  of  meat  which  is 
not  prohibited  to  one  family  or  another,  or 
at  all  events  to  some  single  individual.  For 
example,  when  one  of  the  party  has  shot  a 
wild  bull  (Bos  brachiceros),  their  principal 
chief  or  king  refused  to  touch  the  flesh,  say- 
ing that  it  was  "  roonda,"  or  prohibited  to 
liimself  and  his  family,  because,  many  gen- 
erations back,  a  woman  of  his  family  had 
given  birth  to  a  calf.  Another  family  was 
prohibited  from  eating  the  flesh  of  the  croc- 
odile, for  similar  reasons.  So  careful  are 
the  Bakalai  on  this  subject  that  even  their 
love  for  meat  fails  before  their  dread  of  the 
"roonda,"  and  a  man  will  sooner  die  of 
starvation  than  eat  the  prohibited  food.  Of 
course,  this  state  of  things  is  singularly 
inconvenient.  The  kindred  prohibitions  of 
Judaism  and  Mahometanisju  are  trying 
enough,  especially  to  travellers,  who  cannot 
expect  any  great  choice  of  food.  But,  as  in 
the  latter  cases,  the  prohibited  articles  are 
invariably  the  same,  there  is  little  difficulty 
about  the  commissariat. 

Among  the  Bakalai,  however,  if  the  trav- 
eller should  hap]3en  to  employ  a  party  of 
twenty  men,  he  may  find  that  each  man  has 
some  ''  roonda  "  which  will  not  permit  him 
to  join  his  comrades  at  their  repast.  One 
man,  for  example,  may  not  eat  monkey's 
flesh,  while  another  is  prohibited  to  eat 
pork,  and  a  third  is  forbidden  to  touch  the 
hippopotamus,  or  some  other  animal.  So 
strict  is  the  law  of  "  roonda,"  that  a  man 
will  often  refuse  to  eat  anything  that  has 
been  cooked  in  a  kettle  which  may  once 
have  held  the  forbidden  food. 
_  This  brings  us  naturally  to  other  .supersti- 
tions, in  which  the  Bakalai  seem  to  be  either 
peculiarly  rich,  or  to  have  betrayed  more  of 
their  religious  system  than  strangers  can 


generally  learn  from  savages.  The  usual 
amount  of  inconsistency  is  found  in  their 
religion,  if  we  may  dignify  with  such  a 
name  a  mere  string  of  incongruous  super- 
stitions. In  the  first  place,  there  is  nothing 
which  they  dread  so  much  as  death,  which 
they  believe  to  be  the  end  of  all  life;  and 
yet  they  have  a  nearly  equal  fear  of  ghosts 
and  spirits,  which  they  believe  to  haunt  the 
woods  after  dark. 

This  fear  of  death  is  one  of  their  princi- 
pal inducements  to  shift  their  dwellings.  If 
any  one  dies  in  a  village.  Death  is  thought 
to  have  taken  possession  of  the  place,  and 
the  inhal)itants  at  once  abandon  it,  and 
settle  down  in  another  spot.  The  preva- 
lence of  (his  idea  is  the  cause  of  much  cru- 
elty toward  the  sick  and  infirm,  who  are 
remorselessly  driven  from  the  villages,  lest 
they  should  die,  and  so  bring  death  into 
the  place. 

M.  du  Chaillu  gives  a  very  forcible  illus- 
tration of  this  practice.  "I  have  twice  seen 
old  men  thus  driven  out,  nor  could  I  per- 
suade any  one  to  give  comfort  and  shelter 
to  these  friendless  wretches.  Once,  an  old 
man,  poor  and  naked,  lean  as  death  himself, 
and  barely  able  to  walk,  hobbled  into  a  Ba- 
kalai village,  where  I  was  staying.  Seeing 
me,  the  poor  old  fellow  came  to  beg  some 
tobacco  —  their  most  cherished  solace.  I 
asked  him  where  he  was  going. 

" '  I  don't  know.' 

"  '  Where  are  you  from? ' 

"  He  mentioned  a  village  a  few  miles  off. 

"  '  Have  you  no  friends  there?  ' 

"  '  None.' 

" '  No  son,  no  daughter,  no  brother,  no 
sister? ' 

"'None.' 

" '  You  are  sick?  ' 

"  '  They  drove  me  away  for  that.' 

" '  What  will  you  do?  ' 

"'Die!' 

"  A  few  women  came  up  to  him  and  gave 
him  water  and  a  little  food,  but  the  men 
saw  death  in  his  eyes.  They  drove  him 
away.  He  went  sadly,  as  though  knowing 
and  submitting  to  his  fate.  A  few  days 
after,  his  poor  lean  body  was  found  in  the 
wood.     His  troubles  were  ended." 

This  is  the  "  noble  savage,"  whose  unso- 
phisticated virtues  have  been  so  often  lauded 
by  those  who  have  never  seen  him,  much 
less  lived  with  him. 

The  terror  which  is  felt  at  the  least  suspi- 
cion of  witchcraft  often  lends  to  bloody  and 
cruel  actions.  Any  one  who  dies  a  natural 
death,  or  is  killed  by  violence,  is  thought  to 
have  been  bewitched,  and  the  first  object 
of  his  friends  is  to  find  out  the  sorcerer. 
There  was  in  a  Bakalai  village  a  little  boy, 
ten  years  of  age,  \\'ho  was  accused  of  sorcery. 
The  mere  accusation  of  a  crime  which  can- 
not be  disproved  is  quite  enough  in  this 
land,  and  the  population  of  the  village  rushed 
on  the  poor  little  boy,  and  cut  him  to  pieces 


494 


THE  BAKALAI. 


with  their  knives.  They  were  positively 
mad  with  rage,  and  did  not  cool  down  for 
several  hours  afterward. 

The  prevalence  of  this  superstition  was  a 
sad  trial  to  M.  du  Chaillu  when  he  was 
seized  with  a  fever.  He  well  knew  that  his 
black  friends  would  think  that  he  had  been 
bewitched,  and,  in  case  of  his  death,  would 
be  sure  to  pounce  upon  some  unlucky  wretch, 
and  put  him  to  a  cruel  death  as  a  wizard. 
Indeed,  while  he  was  ill  one  of  his  men 
took  up  the  idea  of  witchcraft,  and  at  night 
paraded  the  village,  threatening  to  kill  the 
sorcerer  who  had  bewitched  his  master. 

Idolatry  is  carried  on  here,  as  in  most 
heathen  countries,  by  dancing,  drumming, 
and  singing,  neither  the  songs  nor  dances 
being  very  decent  in  their  character.  One 
of  the  chief  idols  of  the  Bakalai  was  in 
the  keeping  of  Mbango,  the  head  of  a  clan. 
The  image  is  made  of  wood,  and  rejire- 
sents  a  grotesque  female  figure,  nearly  of 
the  size  of  life.  Her  eyes  are  copper,  her 
feet  are  cloven  like  those  of  a  deer,  one 
cheek  is  yellow,  the  other  red,  and  a  neck- 
lace of  leopard's  teeth  hangs  round  her 
neck.  She  is  a  very  powerful  idol,  speaks 
on  great  occasions,  and  now  and  then 
signifies  approbation  by  nodding  her  head. 
Also  she  eats  meat  when  it  is  offered  to 
her,  and,  when  she  has  exhibited  any  of 
those  tokens  of  power,  she  is  taken  into  the 
middle  of  the  street,  so  that  all  the  people 
may  assemble  and  feast  their  eyes  on  the 
wooden  divinity. 

Besides  the  ordinary  worship  of  the  idol, 
the  women  have  religious  ceremonies  of 
their  own,  which  strangely  remind  the 
reader  of  the  ancient  mysteries  related  by 
sundry  classic  authors.  To  one  of  these 
ceremonies  M.  du  Chaillu  became  a  specta- 
tor in  rather  an  unexpected  manner. 

"  One  day  the  women  began  their  pecul- 
iar worship  of  Njambai,  which  it  seems  is 
their  good  spirit:  and  it  is  remarkable  that 
all  the  Bakalai  clans,  and  all  the  females  of 
tribes  I  have  met  during  my  journeys,  wor- 
shij)  or  venerate  a  spirit  with  this  same 
name.  Near  the  sea-shore  it  is  pronounced 
Njembai,  but  it  is  evidently  the  same. 

"  This  worship  of  the  women  is  a  kind  of 
mystery,  no  men  being  admitted  to  the 
ceremonies,  which  are  carried  on  in  a  house 
very  carefully  closed.  This  house  was  cov- 
ered with  dry  palm  and  banana  leaves,  and 
had  not  even  a  door  open  to  the  street.  To 
make  all  close,  it  was  set  against  two  other 
houses,  and  the  entrance  was  through  one 
of  these.  Quengueza  and  Mbango  warned 
me  not  to  go  near  this  place,  as  not  even 
they  were  permitted  so  much  as  to  take  a 
look.  All  the  women  of  the  village  painted 
their  faces  and  bodies,  beat  drums,  marched 
about  the  town,  and  from  time  to  time  en- 
tered the  idol  house,  where  they  danced  all 
one  night,  and  made  a  more  outrageous 
noise  than  even  the  men  had  made  before. 


They  also  presented  several  antelopes  to 
the  goddess,  and  on  the  fourth  all  but  a  few 
went  off  into  the  woods  to  sing  to  Njambai. 

"  I  noticed  that  half-a-dozen  remained, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  morning  entered 
the  Njambai  bouse,  where  they  stayed  in 
great  silence.  Now  my  curiosity,  which 
had  been  greatly  excited  to  know  what  took 
place  in  this  secret  worship,  finally  over- 
came me.  I  determined  to  see.  Walking 
several  times  up  and  down  the  street  past 
the  house  to  allay  suspicion,  I  at  last  sud- 
denly pushed  aside  some  of  the  leaves,  and 
stuck  my  head  through  the  wall.  For  a 
moment  I  could  distinguish  nothing  in  the 
darkness.  Then  I  beheld  three  perfectly 
naked  old  hags  sitting  on  the  clay  floor, 
with  an  immense  bundle  of  greegrees  be- 
fore them,  which  they  seemed  to  be  silently 
adoring. 

"  When  they  saw  me  they  at  once  set  up 
a  hideous  howl  of  rage,  and  rushed  out  to 
call  their  companions  from  the  bush;  in  a 
few  minutes  these  came  hurrying  in,  crying 
and  lamenting,  rushing  toward  me  with  ges- 
tures of  anger,  and  threatening  me  for  my 
offence.  I  quickly  reached  my  house,  and, 
seizing  my  gun  in  oue  hand  and  a  revolver 
in  the  other,  told  them  them  I  would  shoot 
the  first  one  that  came  inside  my  door.  The 
house  was  surrounded  by  above  three  hun- 
dred infuriated  women,  every  one  shouting 
out  curses  at  me,  but  the  sight  of  my  re- 
volver kept  them  back.  They  adjourned 
presently  for  the  Njambai  house,  and  from 
there  sent  a  deputation  of  the  men,  who 
were  to  inform  me  that  I  must  pay  for  the 
palaver  I  had  made. 

"  This  I  peremptorily  refused  to  do,  tell- 
ing Quengueza  and  Mbango  that  I  was  there 
a  stranger,  and  must  be  allowed  to  do  as  I 
pleased,  as  their  rules  were  nothing  to  me, 
who  was  a  white  man  and  did  not  believe  in 
their  idols.  In  truth,  if  I  had  once  paid  for 
such  a  transgression  as  this,  there  would 
have  been  an  end  of  all  travelling  for  me, 
as  I  often  broke  through  their  absurd  rules 
without  knowing  it,  and  my  only  course  was 
to  declare  myself  irresponsible. 

"  However,  the  women  M'ould  not  give 
up,  but  threatened  vengeance,  not  only  on 
me,  but  on  all  the  men  of  the  town;  and,  as 
I  positively  refused  to  pay  anything,  it  was 
at  last,  to  my  great  surprise,  determined  by 
Mbango  and  his  male  subjects  that  they 
would  make  up  from  their  own  possessions 
such  a  sacrifice  as  the  women  demanded  of 
me.  Accordingly  Mbango  contributed  ten 
fathoms  of  native  cloth,  and  the  men  came 
one  by  one  and  put  their  offerings  on  the 
ground;  some  plates,  some  knives,  some 
mugs,  some  beads,  some  mats,  and  various 
other  articles.  Mbango  came  again,  and 
asked  if  I  too  would  not  contribute  something, 
but  I  refused.  In  fact,  I  dared  not  set  such 
a  precedent.  vSo  when  all  had  given  what 
they  could,  the  whole  amount  was  taken  to 


THE   "KEEN"  OVER  THE  DEAD. 


495 


the  ireful  women,  to  whom  Ml)ango  said 
that  I  was  liis  and  liis  men's  guest,  and  that 
they  could  not  ask  me  to  pay  in  sucli  a  mat- 
ter, therefore  they  paid  the  demand  them- 
selves. With  this  the  women  were  satisfied, 
and  there  the  quarrel  ended.  Of  course  I 
could  not  make  any  further  investigations 
into  their  mysteries.  The  Njambai  feast 
lasts  about  two  weeks.  I  could  learn  very 
little  about  the  spirit  whicli  they  call  by 
tliis  name.  Their  own  ideas  are  quite 
vague.  They  know  only  that  it  protects 
the  women  against  their  male  enemies, 
avenges  their  wrongs,  and  serves  them  in 
various  ways  if  they  please   it." 

The  superstitions  concerning  death  even 
extend  to  those  cases  where  a  man  has  been 
killed  by  accident.  On  one  occasion,  a  man 
had  been  shot  while  bathing,  whereupon 
tlie  whole  tribe  fell  into  a  panic,  thought 
that  the  village  had  been  attacked  by  witches. 


and  straightway  abandoned  it.  On  their 
passage  to  some  more  favored  spot,  they 
halted  for  the  night  at  another  village,  and 
at  sunset  they  all  retired  to  their  huts,  and 
began  the  mournful  chant  with  which  tliey 
celebrate  the  loss  of  their  friends.  The 
women  were  loud  in  their  lamentations,  as 
they  poured  out  a  wailing  song  which  is 
marvellously  like  the  "  keen  "  of  the  Irish 
Ijeasantry  :  — 

"  You  will  never  speak  to  us  any  morel 

"  We  cannot  see  your  face  any  more! 

"  You  will  never  walk  with  us  again! 

"  You  will  never  again  settle  our  palavers 
for  us  !  " 

And  so  on,  ad  libitum.  In  fact,  the  lives 
of  the  Bakalai,  which  might  be  so  joyous 
and  free  of  care,  are  quite  embittered  by 
the  superstitious  feara  which  a.ssail  them  on 
every  side. 


CHAPTER    XLVIII. 


THE  ASHIRA. 


ATPEARANCE  AND  DRESS  OP  THE  NATIVES  —  A  MATBIMONTAI,  SQUABBLE  —  NATtJBAL  CITN"OTNG  OP  THE 
ASHIRA  —  VARIOUS  MODES  OF  PROCURING  FOOD  —  NATIVE  PLANTATIONS  —  THE  CHIEF'S  "  KOMBO," 
OK  SALUTATION  —  ASHIRA   ARCHITECTURE  —  NATIVE  AGRICULTURE  —  SLAVERY  AMONG  THE  ASHIRA 

—  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY  —  AN    "HEROIC"    TREATMENT — SUPERSTITIONS  —  HOW  TO  CATCH  GAME 

—  TRIAL    OF    THE    ACCUSED  —  THE    ORDEAL    OF  THE    KING — THE  ASHIRA  FAREWELL  —  FUNERAL 
CEREMONIES  —  DEATH   AND  BURIAL  OF  OLENDA. 


The  tribe  next  In  order  is  the  Ashira. 
These  people  are  not  so  nomad  in  their  hab- 
its as  tlie  Baltalai,  and  are  tlierefore  more 
concentrated  in  one  locality.  They  cer- 
tainly are  apt  to  forsake  a  villaa;e  on  some 
great  occasion,  but  they  never  move  to  any 
great  distance,  and  are  not  so  apt  to  take 
flight  as  the  Bakalai.  The  i^shira  are  a  sin- 
gularly flue  race  of  men.  Their  color  is 
usually  black,  but  individuals  among  them, 
especially  those  of  high  rank,  are  of  a  com- 
paratively light  hue,  being  of  a  dark,  warm 
bronze  i-ather  than  black.  The  features  of 
the  Ashira  are  tolerably  good. 

The  dress  of  the  natives  has  its  distin- 
guishing points.  The  men  and  married 
women  wear  the  grass-cloth  robe,  and  the 
former  are  fond  of  covering  their  heads  with 
a  neat  cap  made  of  grass.  So  much  stress 
do  they  lay  on  this  article  of  apparel,  that 
the  best  way  of  propitiating  an  Ashira  man 
is  to  give  him  one  of  the  scarlet  woollen 
caps  so  affected  by  fishermen  and  yachtsmen 
of  our  country.  There  is  nothing  which  he 
prizes  so  highly  as  this  simple  article,  and 
even  the  king  himself  will  think  no  sacrifice 
too  great  provided  that  he  can  obtain  one  of 
these  caps. 

The  men  also  carry  a  little  grass  bag, 
which  they  sling  over  one  shoulder,  and 
which  is  ornamented  with  a  number  of  pen- 
dent strings  or  thongs.  It  answers  the  juir- 
pose  of  a  pocket,  and  is  therefore  very  useful 
where  the  clothing  is  of  so  very  limited  a 
character.  Both  sexes  wear  necklaces.  l)race- 
lets,  and  anklets,  made  of  thick  cojiper  bars, 
and  they  also  display  some  amount  of  artis- 
tic taste  in  the  patterns  with  which  they  dye 
their  robes. 


The  strangest  part  of  Ashira  fashion  is, 
that  the  females  wear  no  clothing  of  any 
kind  until  they  are  married.  They  certainly 
tie  a  small  girdle  of  grass  cloth  round  the 
waists,  but  it  is  only  intended  for  ornament, 
not  for  dress.  As  is  usual  in  similar  cases, 
the  whole  of  the  toilet  is  confined  to  the  dress- 
ing of  the  hair  and  painting  of  the  body. 
The  woolly  hair  is  teased  out  with  a  .skewer, 
well  rubbed  with  oil  and  clay,  and  worked 
up  until  it  looks  something  like  a  cocked 
hat,  rising  high  on  the  top  of  the  head 
and  coming  to  a  point  before  and  behind. 
Mostly,  the  hair  is  kept  in  its  position  by  a 
number  of  little  sticks  or  leaves,  which  are 
passed  through  it,  and  serve  as  the  frame- 
work on  which  it  rests.  Filing  the  teeth  is 
practised  \>y  the  Ashira,  though  very  few  of 
them  carry  the  practice  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  reduce  the  teeth  to  iioints. 

Among  the  West  Africans,  the  women 
are  not  so  badly  treated  as  in  the  south,  and 
indeed,  are  considered  nearly  as  the  equals 
of  men.  They  can  hold  pro]ierty  of  their  own, 
and  are  quite  aware  of  the  imjMirlance  whit  h 
such  an  arrangement  gives  them.  Mayolo, 
one  of  the  chiefs,  had  a  most  absurd  quarrel 
with  his  favorite  wife,  a  young  woman  of 
twenty  years  of  age.  and  remarkable  for  her 
light-coiored  skin  and  hazel  eyes.  She  had 
contrived  either  to  lose  or  waste  some  of  his 
tobacco,  and  he  threatened  to  punish  her 
by  taking  away  the  pipe,  which,  among  these 
tribes,  belongs  equally  to  the  husband  and 
wife.  She  retorted  that  he  could  not  do  so,  be- 
cause the  jdantain  stem  of  the  pipe  was  cut 
from  one  other  own  trees,  and  if  he  quarrelled 
with  her.  she  would  take  away  the  stem,  and 
not  allow  him  to  cut  another  from  the  plantain 


(496) 


CUNNING  OF  THE  ASHIRA. 


497 


trees,  which  beloncied  to  her  and  not  to  him. 
Tlie  quarrel  was  soon  made  up,  but  the  fact 
that  it  tool?  place  at  all  shows  the  position 
which  the  women  hold  in  domestic  affairs. 

As  is  often  the  case  with  savages,  the 
Ashira  exhibits  a  strange  mixture  of  char- 
acter. Ignorant  thougli  he  may  be,  he  is 
possessed  of  great  natural  cunning.  No  man 
can  lie  with  so  innocent  a  face  as  the  "  noble 
savage,"  and  no  one  is  more  capable  of  tak- 
ing care  of  his  own  interests.  The  Ashira 
porters  were  a  continual  source  of  trouble  to 
l)u  Chaillu,  and  laid  various  deep  plans  for 
increase  of  wages.  Those  of  one  clan  re- 
fused to  work  in  company  with  those  of 
another,  and,  on  the  principle  of  trades' 
unions,  struck  work  unanimously  if  a  man 
belonging  to  another  clan  were  permitted  to 
handle  a  load. 

Having  thus  left  the  traveller  with  all  his 
packages  in  the  forest,  their  next  plan  was 
to  demand  higher  wages  before  they  would 
consent  to  re-enter  the  service.  In  the 
course  of  the  palaver  which  ensued  on  this 
demand,  a  curious  stroke  of  diplomacy  was 
discovered.  The  old  men  appeared  to  take 
his  part,  declared  that  the  demands  of  the 
young  men  were  exorbitant,  and  aided  him 
in  beating  them  down,  asking  higher  wages 
for  them-<elves  as  a  percentage  on  their  hon- 
oraljle  conduct.  When  the  affair  was  settled, 
and  the  men  paid,  the  young  men  again 
struck  work,  saying  that  it  was  not  fair  for 
the  old  men,  who  had  no  burdens  to  carry,  to 
have  higher  wages  than  themselves,  and 
demanding  that  all  should  be  paid  alike.  In 
course  of  investigation  it  was  discovered  that 
this  was  a  deeply-laid  scheme,  planned  by 
lioth  parties  in  order  to  exact  higher  wages 
for  the  whole. 

These  people  can  be'  at  the  same  time  dis- 
honest and  honorable,  hard-hearted  and 
kind,  disobedient  and  taithful.  When  a 
number  of  Ashira  porters  were  accompany- 
ing Du  Chaillu  on  his  journey,  they  robbed 
him  shamefully,  by  some  unfortunate  coin- 
cidence stealing  just  those  articles  which 
could  not  be  of  the  least  use  to  them,  and 
the  loss  of  which  would  lie  simply  irreparable. 
That  they  should  steal  his  provisions  was 
to  be  expected,  but  why  they  should  rob  him 
of  his  focussing  glasses  and  black  curtains  of 
the  camera  was  not  so  clear.  The  cunning 
of  the  Ashira  was  as  remarkable  as  their  dis- 
honesty. All  the  villages  knew  the  whole 
circumstances.  They  knew  who  were  the 
thieves,  what  was  stolen,  and  where  the 
property  had  been  hidden,  but  the  secret 
was  so  well  kept  that  not  even  a  child  gave 
the  least  hint  which  would  lead  to  the  dis- 
covery of  the  stolen  goods. 

Yet  when,  in  the  course  of  the  journey, 
they  were  reduced  to  semi-starvation,  on 
account  of  the  negro  habit  of  only  carrying 
twQ  or  three  days'  pr(jvision,  the  men  hap- 
pened to  kill  a  couple  of  monkeys,  and  of- 
fered them  both  to  the  leader  whom  they 
2S 


had  been  SO  remorselessly  plundermg.  Even 
when  he  refused  to  take  them  to  himself, 
they  insisted  on  his  retaining  the  lion's  share, 
and  were  as  pleasant  and  agreeable  as  if  no 
differences  had  existed. 

Next  day,  however,  those  impulsive  and 
unreriecting  creatures  changed  their  con- 
duct again.  They  chose  to  believe,  or  say 
they  believed,  tliat  the  expedition  would 
come  to  harm,  and  tried  to  get  their  pay  in 
advance,  for  the  purpose  of  running  off'  with 
it.  When  this  very  transparent  device  was 
detected,  they  openly  avowed  their  intentiou 
of  running  away,  and  threatened  to  do  so 
even  without  their  pay.  Fortunately,  the 
dreaded  name  of  Quengueza  had  its  effect 
on  them,  and,  as  it  was  represented  to  them 
that  war  would  certainly  be  made  on  the 
Ashira  by  that  chief  if  they  dared  to  forsake 
the  white  traveller  whom  he  had  committed 
to  their  charge,  they  resumed  their  burdens. 
In  the  course  of  the  day  supplies  arrived, 
and  all  was  peace  again. 

The  reason  why  the  natives  dislike  taking 
much  food  with  them  is  ttiat  the  plantains 
which  tbrm  the  usual  rations  are  very 
heavv,  and  the  men  would  rather  trust  to 
the  chance  of  coming  on  a  village  than 
trouble  themselves  with  extra  loads.  How- 
ever, there  are  the  koola  and  mpegai  nuts, 
on  which  the  natives  usually  live  while  trav- 
elling in  the  nut  season. 

The  koola  is  a  singularly  useful  nut.  It 
grows  in  such  abundance  on  the  tree,  that 
when  the  nuts  are  ripe,  the  whole  crown  of 
the  koola  tree  appears  to  be  a  single  mass 
of  fruit.  It  is  round,  about  as  large  as  a 
cherry,  and  the  sliell  is  so  hard  that  it  ha-s 
to  be  broken  between  two  stones.  Thirty 
of  these  nuts  are  considered  sufficient  for  a 
meal,  even  for  a  native  African,  and,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  trees  are  so  plentiful  that 
the  natives  do  not  trouble  themselves  about 
carrying  food  in  the  nut  season.  M.  du 
Chaillu,  however,  was  singularly  unfortu- 
nate, for  he  contrived  to  miss  the  koola 
trees  on  his  journey,  and  hence  the  whole 
party  suffered  great  privation. 

The  wild  swine  know  the  value  of  the 
koola  nuts  as  well  as  the  natives,  and  in 
the  season  become  cjuite  fat  and  sleek. 

The  mpegai  nut  is  round,  like  the  koola, 
but  the  kernel  is  three-lobed.  It  is  so  full 
of  oil  that  it  is  formed  into  cakes  by  the 
sim]de  operation  of  pounding  the  kernel, 
folding  the  jiaste  in  leaves,  and  smoking 
them  over  a  wood  fire.  When  thus  treated, 
it  can  be  kept  for  a  considerable  time,  and  ■ 
is  generally  eaten  with  pepper  and  salt,  if 
these  can  be  obtained.  Neither  the  koola 
nor  the  mpegai  are  cultivated  by  the  im- 
provident natives. 

About  ten  miles  from  Olenda's  residence 
was  a  village  belonging  to  a  chief  named 
Angouka,  and  remarkaljle  for  the  manner 
in  which  the  plantain  was  cultivated.  In 
one  plantation  there  were  alx)ut  thirtj'  thou- 


498 


THE   ASHIRA. 


sand  trees,  set  about  five  feet  apart.  Each 
ti'ee  produced  five  or  six  shoots,  but  the  cul- 
tivators cut  away  all  but  two  or  three  of  the 
tinest,  in  accordance  with  true  arboricultural 
principles.  On  an  average,  thirty  jjounds" 
■weight  of  fruit  were  grown  on  each  tree, 
and  the  natives  managed  so  as  to  keep  up  a 
tolerably  constant  supply  by  planting  several 
varieties  of  the  tree,  some  bearing  fruit  in 
six  months  after  planting,  some  ten  months, 
and  others  not  until  eighteen  months,  the 
last  being  the  best  and  most  fertile. 

While  describing  the  journeys  of  certain 
travellers,  mention  is  frequently  made  of 
the  porters  and  their  loads.  The  burdens 
are  carried  in  rather  a  peculiar  manner. 
The  men  have  a  sort  of  oblong  basket, 
called  "  otaitai,"  which  is  made  of  canes 
woven  closely  along  the  bottom,  and  loosely 
along  the  sides.  The  elasticity  of  the  sides 
enables  it  to  accommodate  itself  to  various- 
sized  loads,  as  they  can  be  drawn  together 
if  the  loads  should  be  small,  or  expanded  to 
admit  a  larger  burden.  Three  broad  straps, 
made  of  rushes,  are  fixed  to  the  otaitai,  one 
passing  over  each  shoulder  of  the  porter 
and  the  other  one  over  his  forehead. 

Some  of  the  ceremonies  employed  by  the 
Ashira  are  very  curious.  Each  chief  has  a 
sort  of  salutation,  called  "  Kombo,"  which 
he  addresses  to  every  one  of  importance 
whom  he  meets  for  the  first  time.  For 
example,  when  M.  du  Chaillu  met  Olenda, 
the  head  chief  of  a  sub-tribe  of  the  Ashira, 
a  singular  scene  took  place.  After  waiting 
for  some  time,  he  heard  the  ringing  of  the 
"kando"  or  sacred  bell,  which  is  the  em- 
blem of  royalty  in  this  land,  and  \\liich  is 
only  sounded  on  occasions  of  ceremonj". 

Presently  the  old  chief  appeared  —  a  man 
of  venerablii  aspect,  and  very  old  indeed. 
His  woolly  hair  was  perfectly  white,  his 
body  bent  "almost  double  with  age,  and  his 
face  one  mass  of  wrinkles.  By  way  of  add- 
ing to  the  beauty  of  his  countenance,  he 
had  covered  one  side  of  his  face  with  red 
and  the  other  with  white  stripes.  He  was 
so  old  that  he  was  accompanied  by  many 
of  his  children,  all  old,  white-headed,  and 
wrinkled  men.  The  natives  held  him  in 
great  respect,  believing  that  he  had  a  pow- 
erful fetish  against  death. 

As  soon  as  he  had  recovered  from  the 
sight  of  a  clothed  man  with  straight  hair, 
steady  eyes,  and  a  white  face,  he  proceeded 
to  make  a  speech  which,  when  translated, 
was  as  follows:  ''I  have  no  bowels.  lam 
like  the  Ovenga  River;  I  cannot  be  cut  in 
two.  But  also,  I  am  like  tlie  Niembai  and 
Ovenga  rivers,  which  unite  together.  Thus 
my  body  is  united,  and  nothing  can  divide 
it."  This  address  w.as  rather  pnzz.ling  be- 
cause no  sense  could  be  made  from  it,  but 
the  interpreter  explained  that  this  was 
merely  the  kombo,  and  that  sense  was  not  a 
necessary  ingredient  in  it. 

According  to  the  etiquette  of  the  countrj-, 


after  Olenda  had  made  his  salutation,  he 
otiered  his  presents,  consisting  of  three 
goats,  tweutj'  fowls,  twenty  bunches  ot 
plantains,  several  baskets  of  ground-nuts, 
some  sugar-cane,  and  two  slaves.  That  the 
last-mentioned  articles  should  be  declined 
was  a  most  astonishing  phenomenon  to  the 
Ashira.  This  mode  of  salutation  is  finely 
represented  in  an  engraving  on  the  next 
page. 

The  villages  of  the  Ashira  are  singularly 
neat  and  cleanly,  a  most  remarkable  fact, 
considering  the  propensity  to  removal  on 
the  death  of  an  inhabitant.  They  consist 
mostly  of  one  long  street,  the  houses  being 
built  of  bark,  and  having  the  ground  cleared 
at  the  back  of  the  houses  as  well  as  in  the 
front,  ^  almost  the  onlv  example  of  such 
industry  in  this  part  of  Africa.  Paths  inva- 
riably lead  from  one  village  to  another. 

The  Ashira  are  a  toleraldy  industrious 
tribe,  and  cultivate  the  land  around  iheir 
villages,  growing  tobacco,  ])lantains,  yams, 
sugar-cane,  and  other  plants  with  much 
success.  The  tobacco  leaves,  when  plucked 
and  dried,  are  plaited  together  in  a  s-ert  of 
fiat  rojie.  and  are  then  rolled  up  tightly,  so 
that  a  considerable  quantity  of  tobacco  is 
contained  in  a  very  small  space. 

Of  course,  they  drink  the  palm  wine,  and, 
as  the  method  of  procuring  this  universally 
favorite  beverage  is  rather  peculiar,  it  will 
be  briefly  exiilained.  The  native,  ti.king 
with  him  an  empty  calabash  or  tw  o,  and  a 
kind  of  auger,  climbs  the  tree  bj'  means  of 
a  hoop  made  of  pliant  creepers;  lying  the 
hoop  loosely  round  the  tree,  he  gets  into  it, 
so  that  his  back  is  pressed  against  the  hoop 
and  his  feet  against  the  tree.  B}'  a  succes- 
sion of"  hitches,"  he  ascends  the  tree,  much 
as  a  chimnej'-sweep  of  the  old  times  used  to 
ascend  the  wide  chimneys,  which  are  now 
superseded  by  the  narrow,  niathine-swept 
flues,  lifting  the  hoop  at  every  hitch,  and  so 
getting  up  the  tree  with  wfmderful  rapidity. 
When  he  has  reached  the  top,  he  takes  the 
auger  out  of  the  little  bag  which  is  hung 
round  his  neck,  and  bores  a  deep  hole,  just 
below  the  crown  of  the  palm.  A  leaf  is 
then  plucked,  rolled  up  in  a  tubular  form, 
and  one  end  inserted  into  the  h61e,  the  cala- 
bash being  hung  just  below  the  other  end. 
During  the  night'  the  sap  runs  freely  into 
the  calabash,  several  quarts  being  jirocured 
in  a  single  night.  In  the  morning  it  is 
removed'and  a  fresh  calabash  substituted. 
Even  in  its  fresh  state  the  juice  is  a 
very  pleasant  drink,  but  after  standing  for 
twenty -four  hours  it  ferments,  and  then 
becomes  extremely  intoxicating,  the  process 
of  fermentation  being  generally  l;astened 
by  adding  the  remains"  of  the  previous  day's 
brewing.  The  supply  of  juice  decrea>ses 
gradually,  an<l,  when  the  native  thinks  that 
the  tree  will  jiroduce  no  more,  he  ]ilugs  up 
the  hole  with  clay  to  prevent  insects  from 
building  their   nests   in  it,  and   so  killing 


(2.)    OLENDA'S  SALUTATION    TO    AN    ISUOUU    CUIKF.     (bci;  pagL    las.i 

(499; 


AN  "  HEKOIC  "  TEEATMENT. 


501 


the  valuable  tree.  Three  weeks  is  the  aver- 
age juice-producing  time,  and  if  a  tree  be 
forced  beyond  tliis  point  it  is  apt  to  die. 

Besides  the  tobacco,  the  Ashira  cultivate 
a  plant  called  the  lianiba,  i.  e.  Cannabis,  or 
Indian  hemp,  either  the  same  species  from 
which  the  far-famed  haschish  of  the  East  is 
made,  or  very  closely  allied  to  it.  They 
always  choose  a  rich  and  moist  soil  on  the 
sunny  side  of  a  hill,  as  the  plant  requires 
both  heat  and  moisture  to  attain  perfection. 
The  natives  seem  to  prefer  their  liamba  even 
to  the  tobacco;  but  there  are  some  doubts 
whetlier  both  these  plants  have  not  been 
imported,  the  tobacco  from  America  and 
the  liamba  fronr  Asia,  or  more  likely  from 
north-ivestern  Africa.  Du  Chaillu  says  that 
the  Ashira  and  Apingi  are  the  only  tribes 
who  cultivate  it.  Its  effects  upon  the  smok- 
ers are  terrible,  causing  them  to  become  for 
the  time  insane,  rushing  into  the  woods  in 
a  franfic  state,  quarrelling,  screaming,  and 
at  last  foiling  down  in  convulsions.  Perma- 
nent madness  is  often  the  result  of  over- 
indulgence in  this  extraordinary  luxury. 

The  above-mentioned  traveller  met  with 
an  idiot  among  the  Ashira.  Contrary  to 
the  usual  development  of  idiocy  among  the 
Africans,  the  man  .  was  lively  and  jocular. 
Jumping  about  with  all  kinds  of  strange 
antics,  and  singing  joyous  songs.  The  other 
inhabitants  were  very  fond  of  him,  and 
treated  him  well,  and  with  a  sort  of  rever- 
ence, as  something  above  their  comprehen- 
sion. Idiots  of  the  dull  kind  are  treated 
harshly,  and  the  usual  mode  of  getting  rid 
of  them  is  to  sell  them  as  slaves,  and  so  to 
foist  them  upon  the  purchaser  before  he 
learns  the  quality  of  his  bargain. 

Slavery  exists  among  the  Ashira  as  among 
other  tribes,  but  is  conducted  in  so  humane 
a  character  that  it  has  little  connection  with 
the  system  of  .slavery  as  the  word  is  gener- 
ally understood.  Olenda,  for  example,  had 
great  numbers  of  slaves,  and  kept  them  in 
separate  settlements,  each  consisting  of  two 
or  three  hundred,  each  such  settlement  hav- 
ing its  chief,  himself  a  slave.  One  of  these 
slave  chiefs  was  an  Ashango,  a  notile-look- 
ing  man,  with  several  wives  and  plenty  of 
children.  He  exercised  quite  a  patriarchal 
sway  over  the  people  under  his  charge,  and 
neither  he  nor  the  slaves  seemed  to  consider 
their  situation  at  all  degrading,  calling  them- 
selves the  children  of  Olenda. 

This  village  was  remarkably  neat,  and 
the  houses  were  better  built  than  those  of 
the  Ashira  generally.  The  inhabitants  had 
cleared  a  large  tract  of  ground,  and  cov- 
ered it  with  the  plantains,  sugar-canes,  and 
ground-nuts,  all  of  which  were  thriving 
wonderfully,  and  had  a  most  picturesque 
appearance  when  contrasted  with  the  wild 
beauties  of  the  surrounding  forest.  Most  of 
these  slave  families  had  been  inherited  by 
Olenda,  and  many  of  them  had  never  known 
any  other  kind  of  life. 


Medicine  and  surgery  are  both  practised 
among  the  tribes  that  live  along  the  Rembo, 
and  in  a  very  singular  manner.  The  oddest 
thing  about  the  practitioner  is,  that  the 
natives  always  try  to  procure  one  from 
another  tribe,  so  that  an  Ashango  patient 
has  a  Bakalai  doctor,  and  ytce  I'ccsrj.  Tlie 
African  prophet  has  little  honor  in  his  own 
country,  but,  the  farther  he  goes,  the  more 
he  is  respected.  Evil  spirits  that  have  delied 
all  the  exorcisms  of  home-bred  prophets  are 
sure  to  quail  before  the  greater  powers  of  a 
sorcerer  who  lives  at  a  distance  ;  while  the 
same  man  who  has  failed  at  home  is  toler- 
ably sure  to  succeed  abroad. 

Tlie  natives  have  one  grand  panacea  for 
all  kinds  of  disorders,  the  same  being  used 
for  both  lumbago  and  leprcsy.  This  con- 
sists of  scarifying  the  afflicted  part  with 
a  knife,  making  a  great  number  of  slight 
cuts,  and  then  rubbing  in  a  mixture  of 
pounded  capsicum  and  lime  juice.  The 
agony  caused  by  this  operation  is  horritde, 
and  eventhe  blunt  nerves  of  an  African  can 
b.arely  endure  the  pain.  If  a  native  is  seized 
with  dysentery,  the  same  remedy  is  ajiplied 
internally,  and  the  patient  will  sometimes 
drink  half  a  tumblerful  for  a  dose.  There  is 
some  ground  for  their  faith  in  the  capsicum, 
for  it  really  is  beneficial  in  the  West  African 
climate,  and  if  a  traveller  feels  feverish  he 
can  generally  relieve  the  malady  by  taking 
plenty  of  red  pepper  with  his  food.  Some- 
times, when  the  disease  will  not  yield  to  the 
lime  juice  and  jiepper,  stronger  remedies  are 
tried.  M.  du  Chaillu  saw  a  curious  instance 
of  the  manner  in  which  a  female  practitioner 
exercised  her  art  on  Mdyolo,  whose  quarrel 
with  his  wife  has  already  been  mentioned. 

The  patient  was  seated  on  the  ground, 
with  a  genet  skin  stretched  before  him,  and 
the  woman  was  kneading  his  body  with  her 
hands,  muttering  her  incantations  in  a  low 
voice.  A\'"hen  she  had  finished  this  mani)iu- 
lation,  she  took  a  piece  of  the  alumbi  chalk, 
and  drew  a  laroad  stripe  down  the  middle  of 
his  chest  and  along  each  arm.  Iler  next 
process  was  to  chew  a  quantity  of  roots  and 
seeds,  and  to  spirt  it  over  the  body,  directing 
her  heaviest  shots  at  the  affected  parts. 
Lastly,  she  took  a  bunch  of  drieil  grasses, 
twisted  them  into  a  kind  of  torch,  lighted  it, 
and  applied  the  flame  to  various  parts  of  the 
body  and  limbs,  beginning  at  the  feet  and 
ending  with  the  head.  When  the  torch  had 
l.uirned  itself  out,  she  dashed  the  glowing 
end  against  the  patient's  body,  and  so  ended 
her  operations.  Mayolo  sat  jierfectly  still 
during  the  proceedings,  looking  on  wi'h 
curiosity,  and  only  wincina:  slightly  as  the 
flame  scorched  his  skin.  The  Africans  have 
a  great  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  fire,  and  seem 
to  think  that,  when  it  has  been  applied, 
it  effectually  prevents  a  recurrence  of  tlu' 
disease. 

The  worship  of  the  Ashira  is  idolatry  of 
the  worst  description.    One  of  their  ongaras. 


502 


THE  ASIIIKA. 


or  idols,  named  the  Housekeeper,  was  pur- 
chased by  Du  Chailki.  It  was,  of  course, 
hideousl_Y  ugly,  represented  a  female  figure, 
and  waskopt  in  the  house  of  a  chief  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  property.  The  natives 
were  horribly  atraidof  it,  and,  so  long  as  the 
Housekeeper  was  in  her  place,  the  owner 
might  leave  his  goods  in  perfect  security, 
knowing  that  not  a  native  would  dare  to 
touch  them. 

Skilful  hunters  as  they  are,  they  never 
start  on  the  chase  without  preparing  them- 
selves l)v  sundry  charms.  They  hang  all 
kinds  of  strange  tetishes  about  their  persons, 
and  cut  the  backs  of  their  hands  for  luck, 
the  tlowing  blood  having,  according  to  their 
ideas,  a  wonderful  efficacy.  If  they  can  rub 
a  little  powdered  sulphur  into  the  cuts,  the 
power  of  the  charm  is  supposed  to  be 
doubled,  and  any  man  who  has  thus  pre- 
pared himself  never  misses  his  aim  when  he 
shoots.  Painting  the  fince  red  is  also  a  great 
assistance  in  hunting;  and,  in  consequence 
of  these  strange  beliefs,  a  party  of  natives 
just  starting  for  the  chase  presents  a  most 
absurd  ap]3earance. 

Along  the  river  Rembo  are  certain  sacred 
spots,  on  which  the  natives  think  themselves 
bound  to  land  and  dance  in  honor  of  the 
spirit.  In  one  place  there  is  a  ceremony 
analogous  to  that  of  "  crossing  the  line  "  in 
our  o\vn  vessels.  When  any  one  passes  the 
spot  for  the  tirst  time,  he  is  obliged  to  dis- 
emliark,  to  chant  a  song  in  praise  of  the 
local  deity,  to  pluck  a  bough  from  a  tree  .and 
plant  it  "in  the  mud.  When  Du  Chaillu 
passed  the  spot,  ho  was  requested  to  follow 
the  usual  custom,  but  refused,  on  the  ground 
of  disbelief  in  polytheism.  As  usual,  the 
natives  admitted  his  plea  as  far  as  he  was 
concerned.  He  was  a  great  white  man,  and 
one  God  was  enough  for  the  rich  and  wise 
white  men.  But  black  men  were  poor  and 
ignorant,  and  therefore  wanted  plenty  of 
gods  to  take  care  of  them. 

Many  superstitions  seem  to  be  connected 
with  trees.'  There  is  one  magnificent  tree 
called  the  "  oloumi,"  perhaps  the  largest 
species  that  is  to  be  found  in  Western 
Africa.  The  bark  of  the  oloumi  is  said  to 
possess  many  healing  qualities,  and,  if  a  man 
washes  himself  all  over  with  a  decoction  of 
the  bark  before  starting  on  a  trading  ex- 
]iedition,  he  will  be  sure  to  make  good 
liargains.  Consequently,  the  oloumi  trees 
(which  are  rather  scarce)  are  always  dam- 
aged by  the  natives,  who  tear  great  strips  of 
bark  from  the  trunk  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing this  magic  decoction. 

A  rather  remarkable  ordeal  is  in  use 
among  the  Ashira,  —  remarkalde  because  it 
is  so  exactly  like  the  ordeals  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

A  B.ikalai  canoe  had  been  injured,  and  a 
little  boy,  son  to  Aquilai,  a  far-famed  Baka- 
lai  sorcerer,  said  that  the  damage  had  been 
done    by   one    of  Quengueza's    men.      Of 


course  the  man  denied  the  accusation,  and 
called  for  the  ordeal,  and,  as  the  matter 
concerned  the  Bakalai,  an  Ashira  ■wizard 
was  summoned,  according  to  the  usual  cus- 
tom. He  said  that  "  the  only  way  to  make 
the  truth  appear  was  by  the  trial  of  the  ring 
boiled  in  oil."  Hereupon  the  Bakalai  and 
the  Goumbi  (i.  e.  Gamma)  men  gathered 
together,  and  the  trial  was  at  once  made. 

"The  Ashira  doctor  set  three  little  bil- 
lets of  bar  wood  in  the  ground,  with  their 
ends  together,  then  piled  some  smaller 
pieces  between,  until  all  were  laid  as  high 
as  the  three  pieces.  A  native  pot  half  full 
of  palm  oil  was  set  upon  the  wood,  and  the 
oil  was  set  on  fire.  When  it  Inu-ned  up 
brightly,  a  brass  ring  from  the  doctor's  hand 
was  cast  into  the  pot.  The  doctor  stood  by 
with  a  little  vase  full  of  grass,  soaked  in 
water,  of  which  he  threw  in  now  and  then 
some  bits.  This  made  the  oil  burn  up 
afresh.  At  last  all  was  burnt  out.  and  now 
came  the  trial.  The  accuser,  the  little  boy, 
was  required  to  take  the  ring  out  of  the  pot. 
He  hesitated,  but  was  pushed  on  by  his 
father.  The  people  cried  out,  '  Let  us  see  if 
he  lied  or  told  truth.'  Finally  he  put  his 
hand  in,  seized  the  redhot  ring,  bvit  quickly 
dropped  it,  having  severely  burned  his  fin- 
gers. At  this  there  was  a  shout,  "He  lied! 
He  lied! '  and  the  Goumbi  man  was  declared 
innocent." 

The  reader  will  remember  that  when  Du 
Chaillu  visited  the  Ashira,  he  was  received 
by  the  wonderful  old  chief  Olenda,  whose 
salutation  was  of  so  extraordinary  a  char- 
acter. The  mode  in  which  he  dismissed  his 
guests  was  not  less  curious.  Gathering  his 
old  and  white-haired  sons  round  him,  Olenda 
addressed  the  travellers,  wishing  them  suc- 
cess, and  uttering  a  sort  of  benediction. 
He  then  took  some  sugar-cane,  bit  a  piece 
of  the  pith  out  of  it,  cliewed  it,  and  sjiat  a 
small  portion  into  the  hand  of  each  of  the 
travellers,  muttering  at  the  same  time  some 
words  to  the  effect  that  he  hoped  that  all 
things  would  go  pleasantly  with  them,  and 
be  sweet  as  the  breath  which  he  had  bloMii 
on  their  hands.  The  reader  will  find  this 
"Farewell"  illustrated  on  jtage  409. 

Adv,anced  as  was  his  age,  he  lived  for 
some  years  longer,  until  he  succundied  to 
the  small-pox  in  common  with  many  of  his 
relatives  and  peoiile.  The  circumstances 
attending  his  death  and  burial  were  very 
characteristic  of  the  people. 

First  Olend.Vs  he.ad  wife  died  of  it,  and 
tlien  the  disease  spread  with  frightful  rnjiid- 
ity  through  the  district,  the  wlmle  of  the 
chiefs  wives  being  taken  with  it,  and  Mjioto, 
his  nephew  and  heir,  dying  after  a  very 
short  illness.  Then  Olenda  himself  took 
the  disease.  D.ay  .after  day  the  poor  old 
man's  plaintive  voice  was  heard  chanting 
his  song  of  grief  at  the  pestilence  which 
had  destroyed  his  clan,  and  one  morning 
he  complained  of  fever  and  thirst,  the  sure 


DEATH  AND  BUKIAL  OF  OLENDA. 


503 


«igns  of  tlie  disease.  On  the  third  day 
afterward  Olenda  was  dead,  having  pre- 
viously exhorted  the  people  that  if  he  died 
they  were  not  to  hold  the  white  man  respon- 
sible for  his  death.  The  exhortation  was 
needful,  as  tliey  had  already  begun  to  accuse 
him  of  bringing  the  small-pox  among  them. 
His  body  was  disposed  of  in  the  usual 
Ashira  manner.  It  was  taken  to  an  open 
place  outside  the  village,  dressed  in  his  best 
clothes,  and  seated  on  the  earth,  surrounded 
with  various  articles  of  property,  such  as 
chests,  plates,  jugs,  cooking  utensils,  pipes, 
and  tobacco.  A  fire  was  also  made  near 
him,  and  kept  burning  for  several  weeks. 
As  the  body  was  cai'riod  to  the  place  of 


sepulture,  the   people  broke    out    in  wild 

plaintive  cries,  addressing  the  deceased, 
and  asking  him  why  he  left  his  people. 
Around  him  were  the  bones  of  many  other 
chiefs  who  had  preceded  him  to  the  spirit- 
world;  and  as  the  Ashira  do  not  bury  their 
dead,  but  merely  leave  them  on  the  surlace 
of  the  ground,  it  may  be  imagined  that  the 
place  presented  a  most  dismal  aspect. 

For  several  days  after  Olenda's  death  the 
people  declared  that  they  had  seen  their 
deceased  chief  walking  among  them,  and 
saying  that  he  had  not  left  them  entirely, 
but  would  guard  and  watch  over  them,  and 
would  return  occasionally  to  see  how  they 
were  going  on. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 


THE  CAMMA,  OR  COMMI. 


THE  FERN.4ND  VAZ,  OB  REjnJO  ER'ER  —  KING  QUENGUEZA  AND  HI3  DOMINIONS  —  APPEAJRANCE  OF  THE 
CA.M3L4  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AS  EXESIPLIFIED  BY  THEIR  KING  —  THE  "PALAVER"  AND 
ITS  DISCIPLINE  —  HONESTY  OF  THE  C^VMMA  —  THE  COURSE  OF  JUSTICE  AND  LAW  OF  REPRISAL  — 
CODE  OF  ETIQUETTE  —  CAMMA  DIGNITY'  —  DANCING  AMONG  THE  CAMMA  —  THE  GORILLA  DANCE  — 
SUPERSTITION,  ITS  USE  AND  ABUSE  —  QUENGDEZA'S  TEMPLES— HIS  PERILOUS  WALK — GOOD  AND 
EVIL  SPIRITS  —  THE  O VENGUA,  OB  VAMPIRE  —  THE  TERRORS  OF  SUPERSTITION  —  INITIATION  INTO 
THE  SACRED  MY'STERLES  —  EXORCISM  —  THE  SELF-DECEIVEK — THE  GODDESS  OF  THE  SLAVES  — 
THE  ORDEAL  OF  THE  MEOUNDOU  —  A  TERRIBLE  SCENE  —  SICKJiESS,  DEATH,  AND  BURIAL  — 
DISPOSITION  OF  THE  DEAD  —  BREAKING  UP  OF  MOURNING  —  THE    WATER  CUSTOM. 


If  the  reader  will  look  on  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  just  below  the  Equator,  he  will  see 
a  large  and  important  river  called  the  Eer- 
nand  Vaz.  This  river  skirts  the  coast  for 
some  distance,  and  is  very  wide,  but,  when 
it  turns  eastward,  it  suddenly  narrows  its 
channel,  aud  is  known  by  the  name  of 
Kembo.  The  whole  of  the  district  through 
■wliich  the  Kembo  flows,  as  far  as  long.  10°  E., 
is  inhabited  by  the  great  Camma  or  Commi 
tribe,  which  is  evidently  another  band  of 
the  same  family  that  supplies  all  the  tribes 
along  the  Reml3o. 

This  tribe  is  broken  up  into  a  vast  num- 
ber of  sub-tribes  or  clans,  and  each  of  these 
elans  is  ruled  by  a  chief,  who  acknowledges 
himself  to  be  a  vassal  of  one  great  chief  or 
king,  named  Quengucza.  This  man  was  fond 
of  calliug  himself  King  of  the  Remlio,  b}' 
■which  we  must  understand,  not  that  lie  was 
king  of  all  the  tribes  that  inhabit  its  banks, 
but  that  he  had  authority  over  the  river, 
and  could  prevent  or  encourage  trattic  as  he 
chose.  And,  as  the  Eembo  is  the  great 
highway  into  Central  Africa,  his  position 
was  necessarily  a  very  important  one. 

Still,  although  he  was  not  absolutely  the 
king  of  these  tribes,  several  of  them  ackno  wl- 
e<lged  his  superiority,  and  respected  him, 
and  respect,  as  is  well  said  in  "  Eothen," 
implies  the  right  of  the  respected  person  to 
t.ake  the  property  of  those  who  respect  him. 
Consequently  Quengueza  had  a  right — and 
exercised  it — to  the  wife  of  any  Bakalai  or 
Ashira,  and  even  tlie  chiefs  of  those  tribes 


thought  themselves  honored  by  placing  their 
wives  at  the  disposal  of  so  eminent  a  per- 
sonage. And  he  certainly  claimed  an  au- 
thority over  the  river  itself  aud  its  trattic. 
The  Bakalai  had  submitted  themselves  to 
him  for  the  sake  of  alliance  with  so  power- 
ful a  chief,  aud  found  that  he  was  by  no 
means  disposed  to  content  himself  with  the 
mere  name  of  sovereignty.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  passing  along  the  Rembo,  he 
found  that  the  Bakalai  had  quarrelled  with 
a  neighlKiriug  tribe,  and  had  built  a  fence 
across  the  river,  leaving  only  a  small  gap, 
which  could  easily  be  defended.  On  coming 
to  this  obstacle,"  Quengueza  became  very 
augry,  called  for  axes,  and  in  a  minute  or 
two  the  fence  was  demolished,  and  the  pas- 
sage of  the  river  fi-eed.  The  Bakalai  stood 
ou'the  banks  in  great  numbers,  and,  although 
well  armed,  dared  not  interfere. 

The  mode  of  government  which  prevails 
through  all  these  tribes  may  be  called  the 
patriarchal.  Each  tribe  is  divided  into  a 
number  of  sub-tribes  or  clans,  each  of  which 
resides  in  a  separate  locality,  that  is  usually 
called  after  the  name  of  the  chief  or  patri- 
arch. This  man  is  always  reverenced,  be- 
cause he  is  sure  to  be  old  and  rich,  and  age 
aud  wealth  are  greatly  venerated  in  this 
part  of  the  world.  Tlieir  authority,  how- 
ever, is  extremely  limited,  and  they  are 
rather  the  chief  advisers  of  their  clan  than 
autocrats.  There  is  no  real  monarchy, 
such  as  is  found  among  the  Kaffir  tribes, 
although  the  most  important  chief  is  some- 


(504) 


KING  QUENGUEZA. 


503 


times  greeted  with  the  title  of  king.  The 
honor,  liowever,  is  an  empty  one,  as  the 
other  chiefs  have  no  idea  of  submitting 
themselves  to  one  whom  they  consider  to 
be  but  primus  inter  pares. 

The  Gamma  are  a  flue  race  of  people, 
and,  like  the  Ashira,  are  not  entirely  black, 
but  vary  much  in  hue,  some  having  a  de- 
cided olive  or  chocolate  tint  of  skin.  Nei- 
ther are  their  features  those  of  the  true 
negro,  the  face  of  the  king  Quengueza 
resembling  that  of  a  North  American  In- 
dian rather  than  that  of  an  African.  The 
character  of  the  Gamma  is  well  typified  by 
that  of  their  chief,  Quengueza.  He  exhib- 
ited a  singular  mixture  of  nobility,  mean- 
ness, kindness,  cruelty,  selfishness,  and  gen- 
erosity, as  is  well  shown  by  the  visits  of  M. 
du  Cliaillu  and  Mr.  W.  Reade  —  the  former 
thinking  much  more  highly  of  him  than 
the  latter. 

Like  other  savage  chiefs,  Quengueza  could 
not  bear  his  white  visitors  to  leave  him.  He 
openly  thwarted  Mr.  Reade,  and  it  is  evi- 
dent from  M.  du  Chaillu's  account  that, 
while  he  was  pretending  to  procure  porters 
for  the  journey  to  the  Bakalai,  he  was  in 
reality  throwing  every  obstacle  in  the  way. 
Tlie  ]30ssession  of  a  white  man  is  far  too 
valuable  to  a  black  chief  to  be  surrendered 
in  a  hurry,  and  Quengueza  knew  his  own 
interests  too  well  to  allow  such  profitable 
visitors  to  leave  his  land  as  long  as  he  could 
detain  them  in  it. 

Once  Mr.  Reade  had  succeeded  in  slipping 
off,  in  spite  of  the  king's  assertion  that  he 
would  accompany  his  "  dear  friend  "  and  his 
continual  procrastination.  He  had  paddled 
to  some  distance,  when  "  suddenly  my  men 
stopped,  and  looked  at  each  other  with 
anxious  faces.  Lazily  raising  myself,  I 
looked  back,  and  could  see  at  a  great  dis- 
tance a  large  black  spot,  and  something 
rising  and  falling  like  a  streak  of  light  in 
the  sunshine.  The  men  put  their  hands  to 
their  ears:  I  listened,  and  could  hear  now 
and  til  en  a  faint  note  borne  toward  us  on 
the  wind. 

"' What's  that,  Mafuk ? ' 
'"King,  sir.' 

"'O,  he  is  coming,  is  he?'  said  I,  laugh- 
ing. '  Well,  he  can  easily  catch  us,  now  he 
is  so  near.     Kahhi!  '  (i.  e.  Paddle!) 

_ "  My  stewards  gave  an  uneasy  smile,  and 
did  not  answer  me. 

"  The  men  dipped  their  paddles  into  the 
water,  and  that  was  all.  Every  man  was 
listening  with  bent  head,  as  if  trying  to  de- 
tect the  words,  or  the  tune.  I  looked  round 
again.  I  could  see  that  it  was  a  large  canoe, 
manned  by  about  twenty  men,  witJi  a  kind 
of  thatched  house  in  its  stern.  The  song 
still  continued,  and  could  now  be  heard 
plainly.  My  men  flung  their  paddles  down, 
and  began  to  talk  to  one  another  in  an  ex- 
cited manner. 
" '  What  is  the  matter?  '  said  I,  pettishly. 


"  The  sweat  was  running  down  Mafuk's 
forehead.  He  knew  what  he  had  to  fear,  if 
I  did  not. 

" '  It  is  the  war  song! ' 

"  On  came  the  canoe,  low  and  dark,  black 
with  men,  the  paddles  tossing  the  white 
water  in  the  air.  On  it  came,  shot  swiftly 
past  us,  arched  round,  and  came  close  along- 
side. Then  arose  a  storm  of  angry  voices, 
Quengueza's  raised  above  the  rest. 

" '  What  does  he  say,  Mafuk  ? ' 

"  '  Says  we  must  go  back.'  " 

And  go  back  they  were  forced  to  do,  for 
just  at  that  moment  another  war-boat  came 
gliding  along,  and  the  whole  party  were 
taken  prisoners,  Quengueza  embracing  his 
"  dear  friend,"  and  being  quite  lively  and 
jocular  by  reason  of  his  success  in  recaptur- 
ing him.  Yet  this  man,  superstitious  as  he 
was,  and  dreading  above  all  things  the  small- 
pox, that  scourge  of  savage  nations,  took 
into  his  own  hut  a  favorite  little  slave,  who 
had  been  seized  with  small-pox,  laid  the 
boy  on  a  mat  close  to  his  own  bed,  and 
insisted  on  nursing  him  throughout  the 
illness. 

Afterward,  when  the  small-pox  had  swept 
through  the  country,  and  almost  desolated 
it,  the  sorrow  of  Quengueza  was  great  and 
unfeigned.  Wives,  slaves,  and  relations  had 
all  been  carried  off  by  the  dreaded  plague ; 
the  town  of  Goumbi,  where  he  lived,  was 
deserted;  and  the  poor  old  chief  was  obliged 
to  collect  the  few  survivors  of  his  clan,  and 
establish  a  new  settlement  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  His  lamentations  had  all 
the  sublimity  of  intense  grief,  and  he  sat 
chanting  his"  monodyover  the  dead,  just  as 
Gatliu  describes  a  North  American  chief 
when  his  tribe  had  perished  by  the  same 
feai'ful  disease. 

No  malady  is  so  terrible  to  the  savage  as 
small-pox.  Scarcely  susceptible  of  bodily 
pain,  enduring  the  most  frightful  wounds 
with  quiet  composure,  and  tenacious  of  life 
to  an  astonishing  degree,  he  succumlis  in- 
stantly to  sickness;  and  an  ailment  which 
a  white  man  resists  and  finally  throws  oft', 
will  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  be  fatal  to  the 
black  one.  Yet  for  himself  Quengueza  had 
no  fears,  and  his  sole  lamentations  were 
for  his  friends.  "  The  Bakalai,"  said  he, 
"are  all  gone;  the  Rembo  people  are  all 
gone;  my  beloved  Monbou  (his  head  slave) 
is  gone;  I  am  alone  in  the  world." 

In  spite  of  the  many  barbarous  customs 
of  the  Gamma  tribes,  they  have  a  code  of 
minutely  regulated  etiquette.  If,  for  ex- 
ample, the  king  holds  a  council,  he  takes  his 
seat  on  an  elevated  throne,  and  bears  in  his 
hand  a  wooden  stalT.  When  he  has  had  his 
say,  he  passes  the  staff  to  the  person  who  is 
to  speak  next,  and  he  in  turn  to  his  succes- 
sor. In  such  meetings  the  utmost  order  is 
]ireserved,  and  no  one  thinks  of  interrupting 
tlie  speaker  so  long  as  he  has  possession  of 
the  staft". 


506 


THE   GAMMA. 


It  is  not  everj'  one  who  has  the  ri,i;ht  of 
speech  in  tlie  council.  This  is  a  privilefre 
extended  to  a  very  few  men  called  Council- 
lors, or  Mak.'igas,  and  only  to  them  does  the 
king  hand  the  staff  which  gives  the  permis- 
sion to  speak.  They  are  exceedingly  jealous 
of  this  honor,  and  yet  it  has  been  conferred 
ujion  two  white  men,  one  being  M.  du 
Chaillu,  and  the  other  a  Captain  Lawlin  of 
New  York.  The  latter  individual  caused 
quite  a  revolution  in  his  district,  abolishing 
the  many  impediments  to  trade,  inflicting 
severe  penalties  on  quarrelsome  chiefs  who 
made  warlike  aggressions  on  their  neigh- 
bors, and  establishing  a  strict  code  of  crim- 
inal laws. 

Some  such  arrangements  as  the  posses- 
sion of  the  orator's  stalf  i.s  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  the  due  regulation  of  the  innumera- 
ble "  palavers,"  or  native  parliaments,  that 
are  continually  being  held  on  all  sorts  of  sub- 
jects. If  one  trader  overreaches  another,  and 
can  be  detected  in  time,  a  palaver  is  held ;  and 
ii  similar  ceremony  is  gone  through  if  a  trader 
pays  for  goods  in  advance  and  does  not  receive 
them.  Runaway  wives  are  the  most  fertile 
source  of  palavers,  and,  if  the  accused  be 
proved  guilty,  the  jjeualty  is  very  severe. 
Generally  the  offending  wife  has  her  nose 
and  ears  cut  off,  and  a  similar  punishment  is 
inflicted  on  the  man  with  whom  she  is 
found;  but  the  latter  has  the  privilege  of 
commuting  this  sentence  for  a  tine  —  gener- 
ally a  slave.  Murder  is  a  frequent  cause  of 
palavers,  and  it  is  a  rather  remarkable  tact 
that  the  natives  draw  uo  distinction  be- 
tween accidental  homicide  and  wilful  murder. 
Death  is  not  necessarily  the  punishment  of 
homicide,  but,  as  a  rule,  a  heavy  fine  is  sub- 
stituted for  the  capital  penalty. 

If  the  culprit  cannot  be  captured,  the 
injured  husband  has  a  singular  mode  oi^  pro- 
curing a  jialaver.  He  goes  out  and  kills  the 
first  man  he  meets,  proclaiming  that  he  has 
done  so  because  some  one  has  run  away 
with  his  wife.  The  course  of  justice  then 
passes  out  of  his  hands.  The  relatives  of 
the  murdered  man  are  now  bound  to  take 
up  the  quarrel,  which  they  do  by  killing,  not 
the  murderer,  but  some  one  of  another  vil- 
lage. His  friends  retaliate  upon  a  third 
village,  and  so  the  feud  passes  from  one  vil- 
lage to  another  until  the  whole  district  is  in 
arms.  The  gates  are  barricaded,  no  one 
dares  to  go  out  alone,  or  unarmed,  and  at 
last  one  unfortunate  clan  has  a  man  mur- 
dered and  can  find  no  chance  of  retaliation. 
The  chief  of  the  clan  then  holds  a  ])alaver, 
and  puts  forward  his  claim  against  the  man 
who  ran  away  with  the  wife.  The  chief  of 
the  delinquent's  clan  then  pays  a  fine,  the 
affair  is  settled,  and  peace  is  restored. 

Too  ofl;en,  however,  when  a  wife  is,  or 
appears  to  be,  unfaithful,  lier  husband  is  in 
collusion  with  her,  for  the  purpose  of  ex- 
torting money  out  of  some  imprudent  young 
man.    She  gets  up  a  flirtation  with  the  sus^ 


ceptible  victim,  and  appoints  a  meeting  at  a 
spot  where  the  husband  has  placed  himself 
in  concealment.  As  soon  as  the  couple 
reach  the  appointed  place,  out  comes  the 
husband,  and  threatens  a  palaver  if  a  fine  be 
not  paid  at  once.  The  young  man  knows 
well  enough  what  the  result  of  the  palaver 
will  be  to  him,  and  accordingly  makes  the 
best  of  the  business  and  pays  his  fine.  So 
completely  established  is  this  system,  that 
even  the  most  powerful  chiefs  have  been 
known  to  ])urchase  pretty  wives  for  the 
express  purpose  of  using  them  as  traps 
wherewith  to  ensnare  the  young  men. 

As  time  is  not  of  the  least  consequence  to 
the  Camma,  and  they  are  rather  pleased 
th.an  otherwise  when  they  can  find  some 
sort  of  amusement,  a  palaver  will  some- 
times expend  a  week  upon  a  trivial  cause. 
All  these  palavers  are  held  in  the  simple 
buildings  erected  for  the  purpose.  These 
edifices  are  little  more  than  sheds,  composed 
of  a  roof  supported  on  poles,  and  open  on  all 
sides.  The  king  sits  in  the  middle  on  an 
elevated  throne  made  of  grass,  and  covered 
with  leopard  skins  as  emblems  of  his  rank, 
while  all  the  others  are  obliged  either  to 
stand  or  to  sit  on  the  ground. 

When  palavers  are  of  no  avail,  and  noth- 
ing but  war  can  be  the  result  of  the  quarrel, 
both  parties  try  to  frighten  the  enemy  by 
the  hideousness  of  their  appearance.  They 
are  perfectly  aware  that  they  could  not  with- 
stand a  charge,  and,  knowing  that  the  en- 
emy is  not  more  gifted  with  courage  than 
themselves,  try  to  inspire  terror  by  their 
menacing  aspect.  They  paint  their  faces 
white,  this  being  the  war  color,  and  some- 
times add  bars  and  strijies  of  red  i)aint. 
The  white  paint,  or  chalk,  is  prepared  in 
their  greegree  or  idol  houses,  and  is  thought 
to  be  a  very  powerful  charm.  They  also 
hang  fetishes  of  various  kinds  upon  their 
bodies,  and  then  set  off  in  their  canoes,  yell- 
ing, shouting,  flourishing  their  weapons, 
and  trying  to  intimidate  their  adversaries, 
but  taking  very  good  care  not  to  come 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's 
boats. 

The  Camma  seem  to  be  a  better  princi- 
pled people  than  the  Ashira.  When  Du 
Chaillu  was  troubled  with  the  strikes  among 
his  Ashira  porters,  his  Camma  men  stood 
by  him,  and  would  not  consent  to  his  plan 
of  sending  them  forward  with  part  of  the 
goods.  They  feared  lest  lie  should  be  ]ioi- 
soned  among  the  Ashira,  and  insisted  on 
leaving  some  of  their  party  with  their 
chief. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  the  old 
chief  Olenda  was"  held  in  great  respect  by 
his  people.  Among  the  tribes  of  Equatorial 
Africa  much  reverence  is  paid  to  age,  an  old 
person  being  looked  upon  as  nearly  akin  to 
the  spirits  hito  whose  land  he  is  soon  to 
enter.  Contrary  to  the  usual  custom  of  the 
South,  the  youiia  never  enter  the  presence 


(2.)    QUENGEZA'S    WALli..     (See  page  511.) 
(508) 


CAMMA  DANCES. 


509 


of  an  old  man  or  woman  without  bending 
low,  and  making  a  genuine  school-girl  cour- 
tesy. When  they  seat  themselves,  it  is 
always  at  a  respectful  distance;  and  if  they 
ai-e  asked  for  a  pipe,  or  for  water,  they  pre- 
sent it  on  one  knee,  addressing  a  man  as 
"  Father  "  and  a  woman  as  "  Mother."  It  is, 
moreover,  contrary  to  etiquette  for  a  young 
man  to  tell  bad  news  to  an  old  one.  Even 
the  dead  bodies  of  the  old  are  honored,  and 
the  bones  and  skulls  are  laid  up  in  little 
temples  made  expressly  f<3r  them.  They 
are  usually  laid  in  clialk,  which  is  therefore 
thought  to  possess  sundry  virtues,  and  with 
that  chalk  the  relations  of  the  dead  man 
mark  their  bodies  whenever  they  are  about 
to  engage  in  any  important  undertaking. 
The  skull  is  also  put  to  practical  uses.  If  a 
trader  comes  to  make  purchases,  the  vender 
always  entertains  him  hospitably,  but  has  a 
definite  purpose  in  so  doing.  Before  he 
prepares  tlie  banquet,  he  goes  to  the  fetish 
house,  and  scrapes  a  little  powder  from  the 
skull.  This  he  mixes  with  the  food,  and 
thus  administers  it  to  his  guest.  The  spirit 
of  the  dead  man  is  then  supposed  to  enter 
into  the  body  of  the  person  who  has  eateu  a 
portion  of  his  skull,  and  to  impress  him  to 
make  good  bargains  with  his  host  —  in  other 
words,  to  be  cheated 

When  a  stranger  first  enters  a  Camma 
village,  he  is  rather  surprised  at  the  uumljer 
of  boxes  which  he  sees.  The  fact  is,  that 
among  the  Camma  boxes  are  conventionally 
held  to  represent  property,  the  neighbors 
giving  them  the  credit  of  being  filled  with 
valuables.  Consequently  it  is  the  ambition 
of  every  Camma  man  to  collect  as  many 
chests  as  he  can,  leaving  the  chance  of  fill- 
ing them  to  a  future  opportunity.  When  his 
white  visitors  gave  Queugueza  their  pres- 
ents, the  old  chief  was  quite  as  much  struck 
with  the  number  of  boxes  as  with  their  con- 
tents, and  expressed  his  gratitude  accord- 
ingly- 

The  dances  of  the  Camma  have  much  in 
common  with  those  of  other  tribes,  but  they 
have  one  or  two  peculiarities  of  their  own. 
A  fat  old  head-chief,  or.  king,  as  their  rulers 
are  generally  called  —  though,  by  the  way, 
the  term  ''  patriarch  "  would  be  much  more 
appropriate  —  gave  a  grand  dinner  in  honor 
of  his  white  visitor.  Noise  is  one  of  the 
chief  elements  in  a  negro's  enjoj'ment,  as  it 
is  in  the  case  of  a  child.  The  negro,  in  fact, 
is  the  veriest  child  in  many  things,  and 
alwaj's  remains  a  child.  On  this  occasion 
the  "•  band "  distinguished  themselves  by 
making  a  noise  disproportionately  loud  for 
their  numbers. 

There  was  a  row  of  drummers,  each  beat- 
ing his  noisy  instrument  with  such  energy 
that  a  constant  succession  of  drummers  took 
the  instruments,  the  stoutest  and  strongest 
being  worn  out  in  less  than  an  hour.  There 
were  also  a  number  of  boys  beating  with 
sticks  upon  hollow  pieces  of  wood,  and,  as 


if  the  drummers  and  log-beaters  did  not 
make  sufficient  noise,  the  musicians  had 
hung  a  row  of  brass  kettles  on  poles,  and 
were  banging  them  with  sticks  as  if  they 
had  been  drums.  Add  to  this  the  shout.s 
and  screams  of  the  excited  d.ancers,  and 
the  noise  may  be  tolerably  well  apiireciated. 
The  artist  has  sketched  this  singular  dance 
on  the  previous  page. 

Great  quantities  of  palm  wine  were  drunk, 
and  the  consequence  was,  that  before  very 
long  the  whole  of  the  dancers  and  musi- 
cians, including  the  king  himself,  were  in 
various  stages  of  intoxication.  As  to  the 
king,  being  rather  more  inebriated  than  his 
subjects,  he  must  needs  show  his  own  skill 
in  the  dance,  and  therefore  jumped  and 
leaped  about  the  ground  with  great  agility 
for  so  he.avy  a  man,  while  his  wives  bowed 
down  to  hisfeet  as  he  danced,  clapped  their 
hands  in  time  to  the  music,  and  treated  him 
with  the  deepest  veneration. 

As  to  the  dance  itself,  the  less  said  about 
it  the  better.  It  is  as  immodest  as  the 
unrestrained  savage  temperament  can  make 
it,  inrtamed  by  strong  drink  and  by  the  sound 
of  the  drum,  "which  seems  to  excite  the  peo- 
ple almost  to  madness.  The  songs  with 
which  tliey  accompany  the  dance  are  of 
a  similar  nature,  and  are  worse  than  the 
worst  specimens  of  heathen  vice  as  narra- 
ted by  the  classic  satirists. 

There  is,  however,  one  dance  in  which 
the  immodest  element  does  not  exist.  It  is 
called  the  Gorilla  Dance,  and  is  performed 
as  a  means  of  propitiating  the  deities  before 
starting  on  a  gorilla  hunt:  for  this  is  part  of 
the  great  gorilla  country,  in  which  alone  is 
found  that  huge  and  powerful  ape  which 
has  lately  attracted  so  much  attention.  An 
account  of  a  gorilla  hunt  will  be  given  when 
we  come  to  the  Fan  tribe,  but  at  present 
we  will  content  ourselves  with  the  gorilla 
dance,  as  seen  by  Mr.  W.  Reade.  He  had 
made  several  unavailing  attempts  to  kill  a 
gorilla,  and  had  begun  to  despair  of  success, 
although  the  place  was  a  well-known  haunt 
of  these  animals. 

"  One  morning  Etia,  the  chief  hunter  of 
the  village,  came  and  told  me  that  he  had 
heard  the  cry  of  a  njina  (i.  e.  gorilla)  close 
to  one  of  the  neighboring  plantations.  He 
said  that  we  should  certainly  lie  able  to  kill 
him  next  day,  and  that  during  the  night  he 
and  his  friends  would  celebrate  the  gorilla 
dance. 

"  This  Etia  was  a  Mchaga  slave.  His 
skin,  to  use  Oshupia's  comparison,  was  like 
that  of  an  old  alligator  —  all  liorny  and 
wrinkled;  his  left  hand  had  been  crippled 
by  the  teeth  of  a  gorilla;  his  face  was 
absurdly  hideous,  and  yet  reminded  me  of 
something  which  I  had  seen  before.  After 
puzzling  myself  for  a  long  time,  I  at  laslt 
remembered  that  it  was  the  mask  which 
Mr.  Ryder  wore  in  the  character  of  Caliban 
at  the  Princess'  which  Etia  resembled  so 


610 


THE  CAMMA. 


closely.    That  nijiht  I  could  have  imagined 
him  less  man  than  monster. 

"  In  the  house  allotted  to  the  slaves  three 
old  men,  tlieir  faces  grotesquely  chalked, 
played  the  drums,  the  sounding  lug,  and  the 
one-stringed  liarp.  To  them  danced  Etia, 
imitating   the   uncouth   movements   of  the 

gorilla.  Then  the  iron  bell  was  rung,  and 
imbuiri,  the  evil  spirit,  was  summoned  to 
attend,  and  a  hoarse  rattle  mingled  with  the 
other  sounds.  The  dancers  rushed  yelling 
into  the  midst,  and  sprang  into  the  air. 
Then  would  l)e  a  pause,  broken  oul}'  by  the 
faint  slow  tinkling  of  the  harp,  then  the 
drum  would  be  beaten,  and  the  sticks  thun- 
dered on  the  log. 

"  In  another  dance  Caliban  assumed  the 
various  attitudes  peculiar  to  the  ape.  Now 
he  would  be  seated  on  the  ground,  his  legs 
apart,  his  elbows  I'esting  on  his  knees,  his 
head  drooping,  and  in  his  face  the  vacant 
expression  of  the  brute;  sometimes  he 
folded  his  hands  on  his  forehead.  Suddenly 
he  would  raise  his  head  with  prone  ears  and 
flaming  eyes,  while  a  loud  shout  of  applause 
would  prove  how  natural  it  was.  In  the 
chorus  all  the  dancers  assumed  such  pos- 
tures as  these,  while  Etia,  chmbing  ape-like 
up  the  pole  which  supported  the  roof,  tow- 
ered above  them  all. 

"  In  the  third  dance  he  imitated  the  go- 
rilla attacked  and  being  killed.  The  man, 
who  played  the  hunter  inimitably,  acted  ter- 
ror and  irresolution  before  he'  pulled  the 
trigger  of  his  imaginary  gun.  Caliban,  as 
gorilla,  charged  upon  all  fours,  and  fell  dead 
at  the  man's  feet,  in  the  act  of  attempting 
to  seize  him  witli  one  hand. 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  nothing  short  of 
seeing  a  gorilla  in  its  wild  state  could  have 
afforded  me  so  much  interest  or  given  me 
so  good  a  clue  to  the  animal's  real  habits. 
Tor  here  could  be  no  imposture.  It  was 
not  an  entertainment  arranged  for  my  ben- 
efit, but  a  religious  festival  held  on  the  eve 
of  an  enterprise." 

This  dance  brings  us  to  the  religion,  or 
rather  the  superstition,  of  the  Camma  peo- 
ple. Superstition  has  its  estimable,  its 
gi'otesque,  and  its  dark  side,  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  peojile  among  whom  these 
three  phases  are  more  strongly  marked. 

The  estimable  side  is,  of  course,  the  value 
of  superstition  as  a  substitute  for  ti'ue  relig- 
ion—  a  feeling  of  which  the  savage  never 
has  tlie  least  idea,  and  which  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  make  him  comprehend.  He 
often  takes  very  kindly  to  his  teacher,  picks 
U]!  with  wonderful  readiness  the  phrases 
which  he  hears,  regulates  his  external  life 
in  accordance  with  the  admonitions  he  has 
received;  but  it  is  very,  vex-y  seldom  indeed 
that  any  real  conviction  has  touched  his 
heart;  and,  as  soon  as  the  direct  influence 
of  his  teacher  is  removed,  he  reverts  to  his 
old  mode  of  life.  Mr.  Reade  relates  a  rather 
striking  example  of  this  tendency.    He  met 


a  negress  on  her  way  to  church,  accompa- 
nied by  a  beautiful  little  girl. 

Addressing  the  child,  he  asked  whether 
she  was  the  woman's  daughter.  Tlie  mother 
answered  in  the  affirmative;  and,  in  the 
same  breath,  oftered  to  sell  her.  This  was 
the  original  negro  nature.  Just  then  the 
bell  stopped,  and  her  education  made  itself 
apparent.  "Ilei-gh!"  she  cried,  "you  no 
hear  bell  stop?  Me  go  now.  After' church 
we  palaver,  give  me  plenty  dasli  (i.  e.  jH'es- 
ents),  den  we  drink  rum,  den  you  take  him 
(f.  e.  the  girl);  palaver  .said." 

Superstition,  therefore,  takes  the  place  of 
personal  religion,  and,  in  spite  of  the  dread 
excesses  into  wliich  it  leads  the  savages,  it 
does  at  all  events  keep  before  them  the  idea 
of  a  spiritual  world,  and  impresses  upon 
them  the  fact  that  there  exist  beings  higher 
and  greater  than  themselves.  That  their 
superstitions,  debased  and  gross  as  they  are, 
have  3'et  the  power  of  impressing  the  native 
mind  with  a  feeling  of  veneration,  is  evident 
by  the  extreme  unwillingness  of  these  peo- 
ple to  utter  the  name  bv  which  they  desig- 
nate the  Great  Spirit.  Of  course  their  idea 
of  a  God  is  very  imperfect,  but  still  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  impress  them  with  such  awe  that 
they  can  scarcely  be  induced  to  ]ironounce 
the  sacred  name.  Only  twice  did  Jlr.  Reade 
hear  it.  Once,  when  they  were  in  a  danger- 
ous storm,  the  men  threw  up  their  arms, 
and  ejaculated  the  holy  name  as  if  it  were 
some  great  charm;  and  on  another  occasion, 
when  a  man  was  asked  suddenly  wliat  was 
the  native  name  for  God,  he  pointed  up- 
ward, and  in  a  low  voice  uttered  the  word 
"Njambi." 

The  ceremonies  observed  at  the  time  of 
full  moon  have  been  several  times  men- 
tioned in  the  course  of  the  present  work. 
Du  Chaillu  gives  an  account  of  one  of  these 
ceremonies  as  performed  by  the  Camma, 
which  is  useful  in  showing  the  precise 
object  of  the  ceremony. 

One  day  Quengueza  sent  word  that  he 
was  ill,  and  that  the  people  must  consult 
Ilogo,  the  spirit  of  the  moon,  and  ask  him 
whether  he  was  bewitched,  and  how  he  was 
to  be  cured.  Accordingly,  just  before  the 
full  moon,  a  crowd  of  women  assembled  in 
front  of  Quengueza's  house,  accompanied 
by  the  drums  and  the  usual  noisy  appurte' 
nances  of  a  negro  festival.  They  formed 
themselves  into  a  hollow  circle,  and  sang 
songs  in  honor  of  Ilogo,  clapping  their 
hands  in  unison  with  the  beating  of  the 
drums. 

In  the  midst  of  the  circle  sat  a  woman 
steadfastly  gazing  at  the  moon,  and  waiting 
for  inspiration.  Two  women  tried  this  post 
unsuccessfully,  but  the  third  soon  began  to 
tremble,  her  limbs  to  work  convulsively, 
then  to  stiffen,  and  at  last  she  fell  insensible 
to  the  ground.  Then  arose  the  chant  to 
Ilogo  with  redoubled  energy,  the  singers 
repeating  the  same  words  over  and  over 


QUENGUEZA'S  WALK 


511 


again  for  about  half  an  hour,  until  the  pros- 
trate form  of  the  woman  began  to  show 
signs  of  returning  sensibility.  On  being 
questioned,  she  said  that  she  had  seen  Ilogo, 
and  that  he  had  told  her  that  the  king  was 
not  bewitched,  but  that  he  could  be  healed 
by  a  remedy  prepared  from  a  certain  jdant. 
She  looked  utterly  prostrated  by  the  inspira- 
tion, and  not  only  her  hearers,  but  also  her- 
self, thoroughly  believed  in  the  truth  of  her 
strange  statement. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Quengueza  was  nearly 
as  superstitious  as  his  subject.s.  He  never 
stirred  without  his  favorite  fetish,  which  was 
an  ugly  little  wooden  image,  embellished 
with  a  row  of  four  sacred  cowries  stuck  on 
its  abdomen.  These  cowries  are  not  in- 
digenous to  Western  Africa,  and  seem  to 
have  been  brought  from  the  eastern  coast 
of  the  continent.  Whenever  he  ate  or 
drank,  the  fetish  always  bore  him  company, 
and  before  eating  he  sahited  it  by  passing 
the  four  sacred  cowries  over  his  lips.  Before 
drinking  he  always  poured  a  few  drops  over 
the  feet  of  the  image  by  way  of  a  libation. 

AVhen  travelling,  he  liked  to  have  with 
him  one  of  his  medicine  men,  who  could 
charm  away  rain  by  blowing  with  his  magic 
horn.  So  sure  was  the  doctor  of  his  powers, 
that  on  one  occasion  he  would  not  allow  the 
party  to  repair  a  dilapidated  hut  in  whicli 
they  passed  tlie  night.  As  it  happened,  a 
violent  shower  of  rain  fell  in  tlie  middle  of 
the  night,  and  drenched  the  whole  party. 
The  doctor,  however,  was  not  at  all  dis- 
concerted, but  said  that  if  he  had  not 
blown  tlie  horn  the  raiu  would  have  I)oen 
much  heavier.  Still  his  natural  strengtli  of 
mind  sometimes  asserted  itself,  and  on  one 
remarkable  occasion,  when  the  small-pox 
had  destroyed  so  many  people,  and  the 
survivors  were  crying  out  for  vengeance 
against  the  sorcerers  who  had  brought  the 
disease  upon  them,  Quengueza  forbade  any 
more  slaughter.  The  small-pox,  he  said, 
was  a  wind  sent  from  Njamlii  (pronounced 
N'yamye),  who  had  killed  enough  people 
already. 

Like  most  native  chiefs,  Quengueza  had  a 
pet  superstition  of  his  own.  At  his  own 
town  of  Goumbi  (or  jSfgumbi,  as  it  is  some- 
times spelt),  there  was  a  very  convenient 
and  dry  path  leading  from  the  houses  to  the 
river.  Quengueza,  however,  never  would 
use  this  path,  but  always  embarked  or 
landed  at  an  abominable  mud  bank,  over 
■which  it  was  necessary  to  run  as  fast  as 
possible,  in  order  to  avoid  sinking  in  the 
river.  The  reason  was,  that  when  iio  came 
to  the  throne  he  had  been  told  that  an 
enemy  had  placed  an  evil  spirit  in  the  path, 
and  that  lie  would  die  if  he  went  along  it. 
So  powerful  was  this  spirit,  tliat  several 
unavailing  attempts  had  been  made  to  drive 
it  away,  and  at  last  Quengueza  was  obliged 
to  send  for  a  renowned  Bakalai  wizard 
named  Aquilai.    This  was  the  same  man 


who  was  mentioned  in  paf»e  602  as  the 
father  of  the  boy  who  -n^.r,  tried  by  the 
ordeal  of  the  hot  ring. 

"  The  people  gathered  in  great  numbers 
under  the  immense  hangar  or  covered  space 
in  which  I  had  lieen  received,  and  there  lit 
tires,  round  wliich  they  sat.  .  .  .  About  ten 
o'clock,  when  it  was  pitch  dark,  the  doctor 
commenced  operations  by  singing  some 
boasting  songs  recounting  his  power  over 
witches.  This  was  the  signal  for  all  the 
people  to  gather  into  their  houses,  and 
aliout  their  tires  under  the  hangar.  iSText, 
all  the  fires  were  carefully  extinguislied,  all 
the  lights  put  out,  and  In  about  an  hour 
more  not  a  light  of  any  kind  was  in  the 
whole  town  excejjt  mine.  I  gave  notice 
that  white  men  were  exempted  from  the 
rule  made  in  such  cases,  and  this  was 
allowed.  Tlie  most  pitchy  darkness  and 
the  most  complete  silence  reigned  every- 
where. No  voice  could  be  heard,  even  in  a 
whisper,  among  the  several  thousand  people 
gathered  in  the  gloom. 

"At  last  the  curious  silence  was  broken 
by  the  doctor;  who,  standing  in  the  centre 
of  the  town,  began  some  loud  babbling  of 
which  I  could  not  make  out  the  meaning. 
From  time  to  time  the  people  answered  him 
in  chorus.  This  went  on  for  an  hour;  and 
was  really  one  of  the  strangest  scenes  I 
ever  took  part  in.  .  .  .  The  hollow  voice 
of  the  witch-doctor  resounded  curiously 
through  the  silence,  and  when  the  answer 
of  many  mingled  voices  came  through  the 
darkness,  it  really  assumed  the  air  of  a 
serious,  old-foshioned  incantation  scene. 

"At  last,  just  at  midnight,  I  heard  the 
doctor  approach.  He  had  bells  girded  about 
him,  which  he  jingled  as  he  walked.  He 
went  separately  to  every  family  in  the  town, 
and  asked  if  the  witch  which  obstructed  the 
king's  highway  belonged  to  them.  Of  course 
all  answered  'No.'  Then  he  began  to  run 
up  and  down  the  bewitched  street,  calling 
out  loudly  for  the  witch  to  go  off".  Presently 
he  came  back,  and  announced  that  he  could 
no  longer  see  the  aniemha,  and  that  doubt- 
less she  had  gone  never  to  come  back.  At 
this  all  the  people  rushed  out  and  shouted, 
'Go  away!  go  away!  and  never  come  back 
to  hurt  our  king.'  Then  fires  were  lit,  and 
we  all  sat  down  to  eat.  This  done,  all  the 
fires  were  again  extinguished,  and  all  the 
people  sang'wild  songs  until  four  o'clock 
Then  the  fires  were  again  lit.  At  sunrise 
the  whole  population  gathered  to  accom- 
pany their  king  down  the  dreaded  street  to 
the  water. 

"  Quengueza,  I  knew,  was  brave  as  a  hun- 
ter and  as  a  warrior.  He  was  also  intelli- 
gent in  many  things  where  his  ]ieo]ile  were 
very  stupid.  But  the  poor  old  king  was 
now  horrilily  afraid.  He  was  assured  that 
tlie  witch  was  gone,  but  he  evidently 
thought  himself  walking  to  almost  certain 
deatii.    He  would  have  refused  to  go  if  it 


512 


THE   GAMMA. 


had  been  possible.  He  hesitated,  but  at 
last  determined  to  face  his  fate,  and  walked 
nianl'uUy  down  to  the  river  and  baek  amid 
the  plaudits  of  his  loyal  subjects."  The 
artist  has  represented  this  victory  over 
superstitious  fear,  on  the  5U8th  page. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  this  land  are 
many  of  these  prohibitory  superstitions. 
When,  for  example,  a  woman  is  aliout  to 
become  a  mother,  both  she  and  her  husband 
are  proliibited  from  seeing  a  gorilla,  as  all 
the  natives  firmly  believe  that,  in  such  a 
case,  the  expected  child  would  be  a  gorilla 
cub,  and  not  a  human  baby.  Drinking  the 
■water  of  the  Rembo  is  also  prohibited, 
because  the  bodies  of  those  who  are  exe- 
cuted for  witchcraft  are  cho])ped  u|)  and 
flung  into  it,  and  the  natives  imagine  that, 
if  tliey  were  to  drink  of  the  water,  tliey 
would  become  sorcerers  against  their  will. 
Yet,  as  if  to  show  the  inconsistency  of 
superstition,  there  is  a  rite,  which  will  be 
presently  mentioned,  in  which  tasting  the 
water  is  the  principal  ceremony. 

There  is  a  certain  island  in  the  Eembo  of 
which  the  natives  have  the  greatest  dread.  It 
is  thickly  covered  with  trees,  and  the  people 
fully  believe  that  in  the  midst  of  this  island 
there  lives  a  huge  crocodile  covered  with 
brass  scales.  This  crocodile  is  an  enchanter, 
and  by  his  incantations  every  one  who  lands 
on  the  island  either  dies  suddenly,  or  goes 
mad  and  wanders  about  until  he  dies.  Du 
Chaillu  of  course  did  land,  and  traversed  the 
island  in  difi'erent  directions.  The  people 
■were  stupefied  with  astonishment;  but  even 
the  fact  of  his  safe  return  made  no  difterence 
in  their  belief,  because  he  was  white,  and 
the  great  enchanter  had  no  power  over  white 
men. 

As  to  the  fetishes,  they  are  innumerable. 
Weather  fetishes  are  specially  plentiful,  but, 
unlike  the  charms  of  Southern  Africa,  they 
are  used  to  keep  off  the  rain,  not  to  produce 
it.  One  fetish  gave  our  traveller  a  vast 
amount  of  trouble.  He  had  purchased,  from 
a  petty  chief  named  Ral)o!o,  a  small  deserted 
■village,  and  had  built  a  new  house.  The 
edifice  was  completed  all  but  the  veranda, 
when  the  builders  refused  to  work  any 
longer,  as  they  had  come  upon  a  great 
health  fetish  that  Eabolo  had  placed  there 
when  the  village  was  first  built.  They  flatly 
refused  to  touch  it  until  Babolo  came,  and, 
even  after  his  permission  had  been  gained, 
they  were  very  nervous  about  the  seeming 
desecration. 

The  fetish  was  a  good  example  of  such 
articles.  Buried  in  the  sands  were  two  sladls, 
one  of  a  man  and  another  of  .a  chimpanzee, 
this  combination  having  a  high  rejiutation 
among  the  Gamma.  These  were  buried  at 
the  foot  of  the  two  posts  that  constituted  the 
entrance  to  the  ■village.  Then  came  a  quan- 
tity of  crockery  and  broken  glass,  and  then 
gome  more  chimpanzee  skulls,  while  a  couple 
of  'woodeu  idols  kept  comjiany  with  the  com- 


jionent  parts  of  the  charm.  A  sacred  creeper 
was  also  planted  by  the  posts,  which  it  had 
covered  with  its  branches,  and  the  natives 
believe  that  as  long  as  the  creeper  survives, 
so  long  does  the  fetish  retain  its  jiower. 
Kabolo  was  very  proud  of  his  health  fetish, 
as  no  one  had  died  in  the  village  since  it  had 
been  set  up.  But,  as  there  had  never  been 
more  than  fifteen  inhabitants,  the  low  death- 
rale  is  easily  accounted  for. 

From  their  own  accounts,  the  Gamma 
must  have  a  very  unpleasant  country.  It  is 
overrun  with  sjiirits,  but  the  evil  far  out- 
number the  good,  and,  according  to  the 
usual  custom  of  ignorant  nations,  the  Ganmia 
pay  their  chief  reverence  to  the  former,  be- 
cause they  can  do  the  most  harm. 

As  specimens  of  these  spirits,  three  will  be 
mentioned.  The  first  is  a  good  spirit  called 
Mbuiri,  who  traverses  the  country,  and  occa- 
sionally pays  a  visit  to  the  villages.  He  has 
taken  under  his  protection  the  town  of 
Aniambia,  which  also  has  the  privilege  of 
being  guarded  by  an  evil  .spirit  of  equal 
power,  so  that  the  inhabitants  enjoy  a  jieace 
of  mind  not  often  to  be  found  in  the  Gamma 
country.  There  is  only  one  drawliack  to  the 
repose  of  the  place,  and  that  is  the  sjiirit  of 
an  ins.ane  woman,  who  made  her  habitation 
outside  the  village  when  she  was  alive,  and 
continues  to  cultivate  her  plantation,  though 
she  is  a  spirit.  She  retains  her  dislike  to 
human  beings,  and,  if  she  can  catch  a  man 
alone,  she  seizes  him,  and  beats  him  to  death. 

The  evil  spirit  which  protects  Aniambia  is 
a  very  ■wicked  and  mischievous  being  named 
Abambou,  who  lives  chiefly  in  burial-places, 
and  makes  his  bed  of  skeletons.  In  order  to 
propitiate  Abnmlion,  oflerings  are  made  to 
him  daily,  consisting  entirely  of  food.  Some- 
times the  Gamma  cook  the  ibod,  and  lay  it  in 
lonely  places  in  the  wood,  ■ndiere  Abambou 
would  be  sure  to  find  it;  and  sometimes  they 
propitiate  him  by  oflerings  of  plantains, 
sugar-cane,  and  nuts.  A  prayer  accomjanics 
the  offering,  and  is  generally  couched  in  the 
universal  tbrm  of  asking  the  protecting  spirit 
to  help  the  Gnn-ma  and  destroy  inimical 
tribes.  It  is  rather  curious  that,  when  a  free 
man  makes  an  oflering  to  Abambou,  lie 
wraps  it  in  leaves;  but  the  slaves  are  obliged 
to  lay  it  on  the  bare  ground. 

Fetish  houses  are  appropriated  to  !Mbinri 
and  Abambou,  and  are  jdaced  close  to  each 
other.  They  are  little  huts,  about  six  feet 
high  and  six  wide.  No  image  is  placed  in 
the  huts,  Init  only  a  fire,  which  is  always 
kept  burning,  and  a  chest,  on  the  top  of 
which  are  laid  some  sacred  chalk  and  red 
parrot's   feathers. 

A  bed  is  usually  prepared  in  Abambous 
house,  on  which  he  may  repose  when  he  is 
tired  of  walking  up  and  down  the  country; 
and,  as  the  medicine-man  takes  care  that  no 
one  but  himself  .shall  open  the  door  of  the 
hut,  the  villagers  pass  liy  in  awe-struck 
silence,  none  knowing  whether  at  that  mo- 


THE   OVEXGUA  OE  VAMPIKE. 


E;13 


ment  the  dreadful  Abambou  may  not  be 
sleeping  within.  Now  and  then  he  is  ad- 
dressed publicly,  the  gist  of  the  speeches 
being  that  evei-ybody  is  quite  well  and  per- 
fectly happy,  and  hopes  that  he  will  not  hurt 
them. 

The  evil  spirit,  however,  who  is  most 
feared  by  this  tribe  is  the  Ovengua  or  Vam- 
pire. It  is  most  surprising  to  And  the  Hun- 
garian and  Servian  superstition  about  the 
vampire  existing  among  the  savages  of 
"W  estern  Africa,  and  yet'  it  flourishes  in  all 
its  details  along  the  banks  of  the  llembo. 

No  worship  is  paid  to  the  Ovengua,  who  is 
not  thought  to  have  any  power  over  diseases, 
nor  to  exercise  any  influence  upon  the  tenor 
of  a  man's  life,  fie  is  simply  a  destructive 
demon,  capricious  and  cruel,  murdering 
without  reason,  and  wandering  ceaselessly 
through  the  forests  in  search  of  victims.  By 
day  he  hides  in  dark  caverns,  so  that  travel- 
lers need  not  fear  him,  but  at  night  he  comes 
out,  takes  a  human  form,  and  beats  to  death 
all  whom  he  meets.  Sometimes  when  an 
Ovengua  comes  across  a  body  of  armed  men, 
they  resist  him,  and  kill  the  body  in  which 
he  has  taken  up  his  residence. 

When  an  Ovengua  has  been  thus  killed, 
the  conquerors  make  a  fire  and  burn  the 
body,  taking  particular  care  that  not  a  bone 
shall  be  left,  as  from,  the  bones  new  Oven- 
guas  are  made.  Tha  natives  have  a  curious 
idea  that,  if  a  person  dies  from  witchcraft, 
the  body  decays  until  the  bones  are  free  from 
flesh.  As  soon  as  this  is  the  case,  they  leave 
the  grave  one  by  one,  form  themselves  end 
to  end  into  a  single  line,  and  then  gradually 
resolve  themselves  into  a  new  Ovengua.  Sev- 
eral places  are  especially  dreaded  as  being 
favorite  resorts  of  this  horrible  demon,  and 
neither  bribes,  tlireats,  nor  persuasions,  can 
induce  a  Gamma  to  venture  near  them  after 
nightfall.  It  is  very  probable  that  cunning 
and  revengeful  men  may  take  advantage  of 
the  belief  in  the  vampire,  and,  when  they 
have  conceived  an  antipathy  against  any 
one,  may  waylay  and  murder  him  treacher- 
ously, and  then  contrive  to  throw  the  blame 
on  the  Ovengua. 

The  prevalence  of  this  superstition  may 
perhaps  account  for  much  of  the  cruelty 
exercised  upon  tliose  who  are  suspected  of 
witchcraft,  the  fear  of  sorcery  being  so  over- 
whelming as  to  overcome  all  feelings  of 
humanity,  and  even  to  harden  the  heart  of 
the  parent  against  the  child.  The  slightest 
appearance  ot  disbelief  in  such  an  accusation 
would  at  once  induce  the  terrified  multitude 
to  include  both  parties  in  the  accusation, 
and  the  consequence  is  that,  when  any  one 
is  suspected  of  witchcraft,  none  are  so  loud 
and  virulent  in  their  execrations  as  those 
who  ought  to  be  the  natural  protectors  of  the 
accused. 

Mr.  C.  Reads,  in  his  "  Savage  Africa," 
gives  an  example  of  the  cruelty  which  is 
inspired  by  terror. 


A  petty  chief  had  been  ill  for  some  time, 
and  a  woman  had  been  convicted,  by  her 
own  confession,  of  having  bewitched  liim. 
It  is  true  that  the  confession  had  been  ex- 
torted by  flogging,  but  this  fact  made  no  dif- 
ference in  the'minds  of  the  natives,  who  had 
also  forced  her  to  accuse  her  son,  a  boy  only 
seven  years  old,  of  having  been  an  accom- 
plice in  the  crime.  This  was  done  lest  he 
should  grow  up  to  manhood,  and  then 
avenge  his  mother's  death  upon  her  mur- 
derers. 

"  On  the  ground  in  their  midst  crouched 
the  child,  the  mark  of  a  severe  wound  visi- 
ble on  his  arm,  and  his  wrists  bound  to- 
gether by  a  piece  of  withy.  I  shall  never 
forget  that  child's  face.  It  wore  that  ex- 
pression of  dogged  endurance  which  is  one 
of  the  traditional  characteristics  of  the  sav- 
age. While  I  was  there,  one  of  the  men 
held  an  axe  before  his  eyes  —  it  was  the 
brute's  idea  of  humor.  The  child  looked  at 
it  without  showing  a  spark  of  emotion. 
Some,  equally  fearless  of  death,  would  have 
displayed  contempt,  auger,  or  acted  curios- 
ity; but  he  was  the  perfect  stoic.  His  eye 
flashed  for  a  moment  when  his  name  was 
first  mentioned,  but  only  for  a  moment.  He 
showed  the  same  indiflerence  wlien  he  heard 
his  life  being  pleaded  for,  as  when,  a  little 
while  before,  he  had  been  taunted  with  his 
death." 

Both  were  killed.  The  mother  was  sent 
to  sea  in  a  canoe,  killed  with  an  axe,  and 
then  thrown  overboard.  The  unfortunate 
boy  was  burnt  alive,  and  bags  of  gunpowder 
were  tied  to  his  legs,  which,  according  to  the 
account  of  a  spectator,  "made  him  jump 
like  a  dog."  On  being  asked  why  .so  cruel 
a  death  had  been  inflicted  on  the  poor  boy, 
while  the  mother  was  subjected  to  the  com- 
paratively painless  death  by  the  axe,  the 
man  was  quite  astounded  that  any  one 
should  draw  so  subtle  a  distinction.  Death 
was  death  in  his  opinion,  however  inflicted, 
and,  as  the  writhing  of  the  tortured  child 
amused  the  spectators,  he  could  not  see  why 
they  should  deprive  themselves  of  the  grati- 
fication. 

"  This  explains  well  enough  the  cruelty  of 
the  negro:  it  is  the  cruelty  of  the  boy  who 
spins  a  cockchafer  on  a  pin;  it  is  the  cruelty 
of  ignorance.  A  twirling  cockchafer  and  a 
boy  who  jumps  like  adog  are  ludicrous  sights 
to  those  who  do  not  possess  the  sense  of 
sympathy.  How  useless  is  it  to  address  such 
p'eople  as  these  with  the  logic  of  reason,  reli- 
gion, and  humanity!  Such  superstitions  can 
only  be  quelled  by  laws  as  ruthless  as  them- 
selves." 

Another  curious  example  of  this  lack  oi 
feeling  is  given  liy  the  same  author.  Some- 
times a  son,  who  really  loves  his  mother 
after  his  own  fashion,  thinks  that  she  is  get- 
ting very  old,  and  becoming  more  infirm  and 
unable  to  help  him.  So  he  kills  her,  under 
the  idea  that   she  will  be  more  useful  to 


514 


THE   CAMMA. 


him  as  a  spirit  than  in  bodily  form,  and, 
before  dismissing  her  into  tlie  next  world, 
charges  her  with  messages  to  his  friends 
and  relatives  who  have  died.  The  Camraa 
do  not  tliink  that  when  they  die  they  are 
cut  oft",  even  from  tangible  communication 
with  their  friends.  "  The  people  who  are 
dead,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "  when  they 
are  tired  of  staying  in  the  bush  (i.  e.  the 
burying-ground),  then  they  come  for  one  of 
their  people  whom  they  like.  And  one 
ghost  will  say,  '  I  am  tired  of  staying  in  the 
bush;  please  to  build  a  little  house  for  me 
in  the  town  close  to  your  house.'  He  tells 
the  man  to  dance  and  sing  too;  so  the  men 
call  plenty  of  women  by  night  to  dance  and 
sing." 

In  accordance  with  his  request,  the  people 
build  a  miniature  hut  for  the  unquiet  spirit, 
then  go  to  the  grave  and  make  an  idol. 
They  then  take  tlie  bamboo  frame  on  which 
the  body  was  carried  into  the  bush,  and 
which  is  always  left  on  the  spot,  place  on  it 
some  dust  from  the  grave,  and  carry  it  into 
the  hut,  the  door  of  which  is  closed  by  a 
white  cloth. 

Among  the  Camma,  as  with  many  savage 
tribes,  there  is  a  ceremony  of  initiation  into 
certain  mj^steries,  through  which  all  have  to 
pass  before  they  can  be  acknowledged  as 
men  and  women.  These  ceremonies  are 
kept  profoundly  secret  from  the  uninitiated, 
but  Mr.  Reade  contrived  to  gain  from  one  of 
his  men  some  information  on  the  subject. 

On  the  introduction  of  a  novice,  he  is 
taken  in  a  fetish  house,  stripped,  severely 
flogged,  and  then  plastered  with  goat's 
dung,  tlie  ceremony  being  accompanied  by 
music.  Tlien  he  is  taken  to  a  screen,  from 
behind  which  issues  a  strange  and  uncouth 
sound,  supposed  to  be  produced  by  a  spirit 
named  Ukuk.  There  seems,  however,  to  be  a 
tacit  understanding  that  the  spirit  is  only  sup- 
posed to  be  present  in  a  vicarious  sense,  as 
the  black  informant  not  only  said  that  the 
noise  was  made  by  the  fetish  man,  but 
showed  the  instrument  with  which  he  pro- 
duced it.  It  was  a  kind  of  whistle,  made  of 
hollowed  mangrove  wood,  and  closed  at  one 
end  by  a  piece  of  bat's  wing. 

During  five  days  after  initiation  an  apron 
is  worn,  made  of  dry  palm  leaves.  These 
ceremonies  are  not  restricted  to  certain 
times  of  the  year,  but  seem  to  be  held  when- 
ever a  few  candidates  are  ready  for  initiation. 
Mr.  Reade  had  several  times  seen  lads  wear- 
ing the  mystic  apron,  Ijut  had  not  known  its 
signification  until  Mongilomba  betrayed  the 
secrets  of  the  lodge.  The  same  man  also 
gave  some  information  regarding  the  initia- 
tion of  the  females.  He  was,  however,  very  re- 
ticent on  the  subject,  partly,  perhaps,  because 
the  wome  n  kept  their  secret  close,  and  partly 
because  he  was  afraid  lest  they  might  hear 
tliat  he  had  acted  the  spy  upon  them,  and 
avenge  their  insulted  rites  by  mobbing  and 
beating  him. 


Some  of  the  ceremonies  are  not  concealed 
very  carefully,  being  performed  in  the  open 
air.  The  music  is  taken  in  hand  by  elderly 
women,  called  Ngembi,  who  commence 
operations  b}'  going  into  the  forest  and 
clearing  a  space.  The}'  then  return  to  the 
village,  and  build  a  sacred  hut,  into  which 
no  male  is  allowed  to  enter.  The  novice,  or 
Igonji,  is  now  led  to  the  cleared  space  — 
wliich,  by  the  way,  must  be  a  spot  which 
she  has  never  before  visited  —  and  there 
takes  her  place  by  a  fire  which  is  carefully 
watched  by  the  presiding  Ngembi,  and  never 
suffered  to  go  out.  For  two  days  and  nights 
a  Ngembi  sits  beside  the  fire,  feeding  it  with 
sticks,  and  continually  chanting, '' The  fire  will 
never  die  out."  On  the  third  day  the  novice 
is  rubbed  with  black,  white,  and  red  chalk, 
and  is  taken  into  the  sacred  hut,  where  cer- 
tain unknown  ceremonies  are  performed,  the 
men  surrounding  it  and  beating  drums, 
while  the  novice  within  continually  responds 
to  them  by  the  crj',  "  Okanda!  yo!  yo!  yo!  " 
which,  as  Mr.  Reads  observes,  reminds  one 
of  the  "Evoel  "  of  the  ancient  Baccliantes. 

The  spirit  Ukuk  only  comes  to  light  on 
such  occasions.  At  other  times  he  lives 
deep  below  the  surface  of  the  earth  in  bis 
dark  cavern,  which  is  imitated  as  well  as 
may  be  by  the  sacred  hut,  that  is  thickly 
covered  with  leaves,  so  that  not  a  ray  of 
light  may  enter.  "When  he  enters  the  hut, 
he  blows  the  magic  whistle,  and  on  hearing 
the  sound  all  the  initiated  repair  to  the 
house.  As  these  spirits  are  so  much  feared, 
it  is  natural  that  the  natives  should  try  to 
drive  them  out  of  every  place  where  they 
have  taken  up  an  unwelcome  residence. 

With  some  spirits  the  favorite  spot  is  the 
body  of  a  man,  who  is  thereby  made  ill,  and 
who  will  die  if  the  spirit  be  not  driven  out 
of  him.  Now  the  Camma  believe  that  evil 
spirits  cannot  bear  noise,  especially  the  beat- 
ing of  drums,  and  so,  at  the  call  of  the  fetish 
man,  they  assemble  round  the  sick  man, 
beat  drums  and  kettles  close  to  his  head, 
sing,  dance,  and  shout  with  all  their  might. 
This  hubbub  goes  on  until  either  the  patient 
dies,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  or 
manages  to  recover  in  spite  of  the  noise. 
The  people  who  assist  in  the  operation  do 
so  with  "the  greatest  vio:or,  for,  by  some 
strange  coincidence,  it  nappens  that  the 
very  "things  which  disgust  an  evil  spirit, 
such  as  dancing,  singing,  drum-beating,  and 
noise-making  in  general,  are  just  the  things 
which  please  them  best,  and  so  their  duties 
and  inclinations  are  happily  found  to  coin- 
cide. 

Sometimes  the  demon  takes  up  his  resi- 
dence in  a  village,  and  then  there  is  a  vast 
to-do  before  he  can  be  induced  to  go  out. 
A  fetish  man  is  brought  from  a  distance  — 
the  farther  the  better  — and  immediately  set 
to  work.  His  first  business  is  to  paint  and 
adorn  himself  which  he  does  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  look  as  demoniacal  as  possible. 


EJECTING  A  DEMON. 


515 


One  of  these  men,  named  Damagondai,  seen 
by  Du  Chaillu,  had  made  himself  a  horrible 
object.  The  artist  has  pictured  the  weird- 
looking  creature  on  the  517th  page.  His 
face  was  whitened  with  chalk,  a  red  circle 
was  drawn  on  each  side  of  his  mouth,  a 
band  of  the  same  color  surrounded  each  eye, 
and  another  ran  from  the  forehead  to  the 
tip  of  the  nose.  A  white  band  was  drawn 
from  the  shoulders  to  the  wrists,  and  one 
hand  was  completely  whitened.  On  his 
head  was  a  tall  plume  of  Ijlack  feathers  ; 
strips  of  leopard  skin  and  a  variety  of 
charms  were  hung  upon  his  body  ;  and  to 
his  neck  was  suspended  a  little  box,  in 
which  he  kept  a  number  of  familiar  spirits. 
A  string  of  little  bells  encircled  his  waist. 

This  ghastly  figure  had  seated  himself  on 
a  stool  before  another  box  full  of  charms, 
and  on  the  box  stood  a  magic  mirror.  Had 
the  magician  been  brought  from  the  inland 
parts  of  the  country,  and  away  from  the 
river  along  which  ail  traffic  runs,  he  could 
not  have  possessed  such  an  article  as  a  mir- 
ror, and  would  have  used  instead  a  bowl  of 
water.  By  the  mirror  lay  the  sacred  horn 
full  of  the  fetish  powder,  accompanied  Ijy  a 
rattle  containing  snake  bones.  His  assistant 
stood  near  him,  belaboring  a  board  with  two 
sticks. 

After  the  incantations  had  been  continued 
for  some  time,  the  wizard  ordered  that  the 
names  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village 
should  be  called  out,  and  as  each  name  was 
shouted  he  looked  in  the  mirror.  However, 
he  decided  at  last  that  the  evil  spirit  did  not 
live  in  any  of  the  inhabitants,  but  had  taken 
up  his  residence  in  the  village,  which  he 
wanted  for  himself,  and  that  he  would  be 
very  angry  if  any  one  tried  to  share  it  with 
him. 

Du  Chaillu  saw  that  this  was  a  sly  attack 
on  him,  as  he  had  just  built  some  comfort- 
able houses  in  the  village.  Next  morning 
the  people  began  to  evacuate  the  place. 
They  carried  off  their  property,  and  tore 
down  the  houses,  and  by  nightfall  not  an 
inhabitant  was  left  in  the  village  except  the 
white  man  and  two  of  his  attendants,  both 
of  whom  were  in  great  terror,  and  wanted 
to  follow  the  others.  Even  the  chief  was 
obliged  to  go,  and,  with  many  apologies  to 
his  guest,  built  a  new  house  outside  tlie  de- 
serted village.  Not  wishing  to  give  up  the 
houses  that  liad  cost  so  much  time  and 
troulsle,  Du  Chaillu  tried  to  induce  the  na- 
tives to  rebuild  the  huts  ;  but  not  even  to- 
bacco could  overcome  their  fear  of  the  evil 
spirit.  However,  at  last  some  of  the  l)older 
men  tried  the  experiment,  and  by  degrees  a 
new  village  arose  in  the  place  of  that  which 
had  been  destroyed. 

The  same  magician  who  conducted  the 
above-mentioned  ceremony  was  an  nnmiti- 
gateci_  rhevit,  and  seems  to  have  succeeded 
in  cheating  himself  as  well  as  his  country- 
men.   He  was  absurdly  afraid  of  darkness, 


and  as  nightfall  came  on  he  always  began  to 
be  frightened,  wailing  and  execrating  all 
sorcerers,  witches,  and  evil  spirits,  lament- 
ing because  he  knew  that  some  one  was  try- 
ing to  bewitch  him,  and  at  last  working 
himself  up  to  such  a  pitch  of  excitement 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  had  to 
turn  out  of  their  huts,  and  begin  dancing 
and  singing. 

Perhaps  "this  self-deception  was  involun- 
tary, but  Damagondai  wilfully  cheated  the 
people  for  his  own  purposes.  In  his  douljle 
capacity  as  chief  and  fetish  roan  he  had  the 
charge  of  the  village  idols.  He  had  a  very 
potent  idol  of  his  own,  with  copper  eyes 
and  a  sword-shaped  protruding  tongue. 
AVith  the  eyes  she  saw  coming  events,  and 
with  the  tongue  she  foretold  the  future  and 
cut  to  pieces  the  enemies  of  Damagondai's 
jjeople.  M.  du  Chaillu  wanted  to  purchase 
this  idol,  but  her  owner  refused  to  sell  her. 
He  hinted,  however,  that  for  a  good  price 
the  goddess  of  the  slaves  might  be  bought. 
Accordingly,  a  bargain  was  struck,  the  idol 
in  question  was  removed  from  the  hut, 
packed  up,  and  carried  away  by  the  pur- 
chaser, while  the  slaves  were  away  at  their 
work.  Damagondai  was  rather  perplexed 
as  to  the  answer  which  he  would  have  to 
give  the  slaves  when  they  came  home  and 
found  their  idol  house  empty,  but  at  last  he 
decided  to  tell  them  that  he  had  seen  the 
goddess  leave  her  house,  and  walk  away 
into  the  woods.  The  idol  in  question  was 
an  absurd-looking  object,  something  like  a 
compromise  between  one  of  the  figures  out 
of  a  "Noah's  Ark"  and  a  Dutch  wooden 
doll. 

Various  as  are  all  these  superstitions, 
there  is  one  point  at  which  they  all  con- 
verge, namely,  the  dread  Mboundou  ordeal, 
by  which  all  who  are  accused  of  witchcraft 
are  tested.  The  mboundou  is  a  tree  belong- 
ing  to  the  same  group  as  that  from  which 
strychnine  is  made,  and  is  allied  to  the 
scarcely  less  celebrated  ''  vine  "  from  which 
the  Macoushie  Indians  prepare  the  wourali 
poison.  Erom  the  root  of  the  mboundou  a 
drink  is  jirepared,  which  has  an  intoxicat- 
ing as  well  as  a  poisonous  quality,  and  which 
is  used  for  two  purposes,  the  one  being  as 
an  ordeal,  and  the  other  as  a  means  of  div- 
ination. 

The  medicine  men  derive  most  of  their 
importance  from  their  capability  of  drink- 
ing the  mljoundou  witliout  injury  to  their 
health  ;  and  while  in  the  intoxicated  state 
they  utter  sentences  more  or  less  incohe- 
rent, which  are  taken  as  revelations  from 
the  particular  spirit  who  is  consulted.  The 
mode  of  preparing  the  poisoned  draught  is 
as  follows:  —  A  given  quantity  of  the  root 
is  scraped  and  put  into  a  bowl,  together  with 
a  pint  of  water.  In  a  minute  or  so  a  slight 
fermentation  takes  place,  and  the  water  is 
filled  with  little  bubbles,  like  those  of  cham- 
pagne or  other  sparkling  wines.    When  this 


516 


THE   CAMMA. 


has  puhsided,  the  water  becomes  of  a  pale 
reddish  tint,  and  the  preparation  is  com- 
plete.    Its  taste  is  very  bitter. 

Tlie  etl'ects  of  the  mboundou  vary  greatly 
in  ditl'ereut  individuals.  There  was  a  hard- 
ened old  sorcerer,  named  Olanga,  who  was 
greatly  respected  among  his  people  for  his 
capability  of  drinking  mboundou  in  large 
quantities,  and  without  any  permanent  ef- 
fect. It  is  very  ])robabIe  that  he  may  have 
had  some  antidote,  and  prepared  himself 
beforehand,  or  that  his  constitution  was 
exceptionally  strong,  and  that  he  could  take 
with  impunity  a  dose  which  would  kill  a 
weaker  man.  Olanga  was  constantly  drink- 
ing mboundou,  using  it  chiefly  as  a  means 
of  divination.  If,  for  example,  a  man  fell 
ill,  his  friends  went  oil'  to  Olanga,  and 
asked  him  to  drink  mboundou  and  Rnd  out 
whether  the  man  had  been  bewitched.  The 
illustration  No.  2,  on  the  next  page,  repre- 
sents such  a  scene.  As  soon  as  he  had 
drunk  the  poison,  the  men  sat  round  him. 
beating  the  ground  with  their  sticks,  and 
crying  out  the  formula — 

"  If  he  i.«  a  witch,  let  the  mboundou  kill 
him. 

"  If  he  is  not,  let  the  mboundou  go  out." 

In  about  live  minutes  symptoms  of  intox- 
ication showed  themselves.  The  old  man 
began  to  stagger,  his  speech  grew  thick, 
his  eyes  became  bloodshot,  his  limbs  shook 
convulsively,  and  he  began  to  talk  incohe- 
rently. Now  was  the  time  to  ask  him 
questions,  and  accordingly  several  queries 
were  propounded,  some  of  which  he  an- 
swered: but  he  soon  became  too  much 
intoxicated  to  understand,  much  less  to 
answer,  the  questions  that  were  ]nit  to  him. 
Sleep  then  came  on,  and  in  less  than  half  an 
hour  Olanga  began  to  recover. 

With  most  persons,  however,  it  has  a  dif- 
ferent and  a  deadly  eflect,  and  M.  du  Chaillu 
mentions  that  he  has  seen  persons  fall  dead 
within  live  minutes  of  drinking  the  mboun- 
dou, the  blood  gushing  from  the  mouth, 
eyes,  and  nose. 

It  is  very  seldom  that  any  one  but  a  pro- 
fessional medicine  man  escapes  with  life 
after  drinking  mboundou.  Mostly  there  is 
an  absence  of  the  peculiar  symptoms  which 
show  that  the  poison  is  working  itself  out  of 
the  system,  and  in  such  a  case  the  specta- 
tors hasten  the  work  of  death  by  their 
knives.  Sometimes  the  drinkers  rally  from 
the  eifects  of  the  poison,  but  with  constitu- 
tions permanently  injured;  and  in  a  few 
cases  they  escape  altogether.  Du  Chaillu 
was  a  witness  to  such  an  event.  Three 
young  men,  who  were  accused  of  witchcraft, 
were  adjudged,  as  usual,  to  drink  the  mboun- 
dou. They  drank  it,  and  boldly  stood  their 
ground,  surrounded  by  a  yelling  multitude, 
armed  with  axes,  spears,  and  knives,  ready 
to  fall  upon  the  unfortunate  victims  if  they 
showed  symptoms  that  the  draught  would 
be  fatal.    However,  they  succeeded  in  keep- 


ing their  feet  luitil  the  eflfects  of  the  poison 
had  passed  ofl',  and  were  accordingly  pro- 
nounced innocent.  According  to  custom, 
the  medicine  man  who  prepared  the  draught 
finished  the  ceremony  Ijy  taking  a  bowl  him- 
self, and  while  in  the  stage  of  intoxication 
he  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  people  by 
saying  that  the  wizards  did  not  belong  to 
their  village,  but  came  from  a  distance. 

It  is  evident  that  those  who  prepare  the 
mboundou  can  make  the  draught  stronger 
or  weaker,  according  to  their  own  caprice^ 
and  indeed  it  is  said  that,  when  any  one 
who  is  personally  disliked  has  to  drink  the 
poison,  it  always  proves  fatal.  The  accused 
persons  are  not  allowed  to  see  that  it  is  pre- 
pared iairly,  but  they  are  permitted  to  send 
two  friends  for  that  ])urpose. 

A  most  terrible  scene  was  once  witnessed 
by  Du  Chaillu.  A  chief  named  ilpomo  had 
died,  and  the  people  were  in  a  state  of  frenzy 
about  it.  They  could  not  believe  that  a 
young  and  strong  man  could  be  seized  with 
illness  and  die  unless  he  were  bewitched, 
and  accordingly  a  powerful  doctor  was 
brought  from  a  distance,  and  set  to  work. 
For  two  days  the  doctor  went  through  a 
number  of  ceremonies,  like  those  which 
have  been  described  at  page  .515,  for  the 
purjjose  of  driving  out  the  evil  spirits,  and 
at  last  he  announced  that  he  was  about  to 
name  the  wizards.  The  rest  must  be  told 
in  the  narrator's  own  words:  — 

"At  last,  on  the  third  morning,  when  the 
excitement  of  the  people  was  at  its  height 
—  when  old  and  young,  male  and  female, 
were  frantic  with  the  desire  for  revenge  on 
the  sorcerers  —  the  doctor  assembled  them 
about  hmi  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and 
began  his  final  incantation,  which  should 
disclose  the  names  of  the  miu-derous  sor- 
cerers. 

"  Every  man  and  boy  was  armed,  —  some 
with  spears,  some  with  swords,  some  with 
guns  and  axes;  and  on  every  face  was 
shown  a  determination  to  wreak  bloody 
revenge  on  those  who  should  be  pointed  out 
as  the  criminals.  The  whole  town  was 
wrapped  in  an  indescribable  fury  and  horrid 
thirst  for  human  blood.  For  the  first  time, 
I  found  my  voice  without  authority  in 
Goumbi.  I  did  not  even  get  a  hearing. 
What  I  said  was  passed  by  as  though  no 
one  had  .spoken.  As  a  last  threat,  when  I 
saw  proceedings  begun,  I  said  I  would  make 
Quengueza  punish  them  for  the  min-ders 
they  had  done  in  his  absence.  But,  alas! 
hero  they  had  outwitted  me.  On  the  day  of 
Mpomo\s  death  they  had  sent  secretly  to 
Quengueza  to  ask  "if  they  could  kill  the 
witches.  He,  poor  man  —  sick  himself,  and 
always  afraid  of  the  power  of  sorcerers,  and 
without  me  to  advise  him  —  at  once  sent 
word  back  to  kill  them  all  without  mercy. 
So  thev  almost  laughed  in  my  face. 

"Finding  all  my  endeavors  vain,  and, 
that  the  work  of  bloodshed  was  to  be  carried 


(2.)    OLANGA   DRINKING  MBOllNDOU.    (See  page  5100 
(517) 


A  TEKRIBLE   SCENE. 


5J9 


through  to  its  dreadful  end,  I  determined,  at 
least,  to  see  how  all  was  conducted.  At  a 
motion  from  the  doctor,  the  people  became 
at  once  quite  still.  This  .sudden  silence 
lasted  about  a  minute,  when  the  loud,  harsh 
voice  of  the  doctor  was  heard:  'There  is  a 
very  black  woman,  who  lives  in  a  house '  — 
describing  it  fully,  with  its  location  —  'she 
bewitched  Mpom'o.'  Scarce  had  he  ended 
when  the  crowd,  roaring  and  screaming  like 
so  many  hideous  beasts,  rushed  frantically 
for  the  place  indicated.  They  seized  upon  a 
poor  girl  named  Okandaga,  the  sister  of  my 
good  "friend  and  guide  Adouma.  Waving 
their  weapons  over  her  head,  they  bore  her 
away  toward  the  water-side.  Here  she  was 
quickly  bound  with  cords,  and  then  all 
rushed  away  to  the  doctor  again. 

"  As  poor  Okandaga  passed  in  the  hands 
of  her  murderers,  she  saw  me,  though  I 
thought  I  had  concealed  myself  from  view. 
I  turned  my  head  away,  and  prayed  she 
might  not  see  me.  I  could  not  help  her. 
But  presently  I  heard  her  cry  out, '  Chally, 
Chally,  do  not  let  me  die ! ' 

"  It  was  a  moment  of  terrible  agony  to  me. 
For  a  minute  I  was  minded  to  rush  into  the 
crowd,  and  attempt  to  rescue  the  poor  vic- 
tim. But  it  would  have  been  of  not  the 
slightest  use;  the  people  were  too  frantic 
and  crazed  to  even  notice  my  presence.  I 
should  only  have  sacrificed  my  own  life, 
without  helping  her.  So  I  turned  away  into 
a  corner  behind  a  tree,  and  —  I  may  confess, 
I  trust  —  shed  bitter  tears  at  my  utter  pow- 
erlessness. 

"Presently,  silence  again  fell  upon  the 
crowd.  Then  the  harsh  voice  of  the  devilish 
doctor  again  rang  over  the  town.  It  seemed 
to  me  like  the  hoarse  croak  of  some  death- 
foretelling  raven.  '  There  is  an  old  woman 
in  a  house' — -describing  it — 'she  also  be- 
witched Mpomo.' 

"  Again  the  crowd  rushed  off.  This  time 
they  seized  a  niece  of  King  Quengueza, 
a  noble-hearted  and  rather  majestic  old 
woman.  As  they  crowded  about  her  with 
flaming  eyes  and  threats  of  death,  she  rose 
proudly  from  the  ground,  looked  them  in  the 
face  unflinchingly,  and,  motioning  them  to 
keep  their  hands  oft',  said, 'I  will  drink  the 
mboundou;  but  woe  to  my  accusers  if  I  do 
not  die.'  Then  .she,  too,  was  escorted  to  the 
river,  but  without  being  bound.  She  sub- 
mitted to  all  without  a  tear,  or  a  murmur 
for  mercy. 

"  Again,  a  third  time,  the  dreadful  silence 
fell  upon  the  town,  and  the  doctor's  voice 
was  heard:  'There  is  a  woman  with  six 
children.  She  lives  on  a  plantation  toward 
the  rising  sun.  She  too  bewitched  Mpomo.' 
Again  there  was  a  furious  shout,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  they  brought  to  the  river  one 
of  Quengueza's  slave-women  —  a  good  and 
much-respected  woman  —  whom  also  I  knew. 

''The  doctor  now  approached  with  the 
crowd.    In  a  loud  voice  he  recited  the  crime 

26 


of  which  these  women  were  accused.  The 
first  taken,  Okandaga,  had  —  so  he  said^ 
some  weeks  before  asked  Mpomo  for  soma 
salt,  he  being  her  relative.  Salt  was  scarce, 
and  he  had  refused  her.  She  had  said  un- 
pleasant words  to  him  then,  and  had  by  sor- 
cery taken  his  life. 

"Then  Quengueza's  niece  was  accused. 
She  was  barren,  and  Mpomo  had  children. 
.She  envied  him.  Therefore  she  had  be- 
witched him. 

"  Quengueza's  slave  had  asked  Mpomo  for 
a  looking-glass.  He  had  refused  her.  There- 
fore she  had  killed  him  with  sorcery. 

"  As  each  accusation  was  recited  the  peo- 
ple broke  out  into  curses.  Even  the  rela- 
tives of  the  poor  victims  were  obliged  to 
join  in  this.  Every  one  rivalled  his  "neigh- 
bor in  cursing,  each  fearful  lest  lukewarm- 
ness  in  the  ceremouj'  should  expose  him  to 
a  like  fate. 

"  Next  the  victims  were  put  into  a  large 
canoe,  with  the  executioners,  the  doctor,  and 
a  number  of  other  people  all  armed.  Then 
the  tam-tams  were  beaten,  and  the  projier 
))ersons  prepared  the  mboundou.  Quabi, 
Mpomo's  eldest  brother,  held  the  poisoned 
cup.  At  sight  of  it  poor  Okandaga  be- 
gan again  to  cry,  and  even  Quengueza's 
niece  turned  pale  in  the  face  — for  even  the 
negro  face  has  at  such  times  a  pallor,  which 
is  quite  perceptible.  Three  other  canoes 
now  surrounded  that  in  which  the  viclims 
were.  All  were  crowded  with  armed  men. 
Then  the  mug  of  mboundou  was  handed  to 
the  old  slave-woman,  next  to  the  royal  niece, 
and  last  to  Okandaga.  As  they  drank,  the 
multitude  shouted:  'If  they  are  witches, 
let  the  mboundou  kill  them;  if  they  are  in- 
nocent, let  the  mboundou  go  out.' 

"  It  was  the  most  exciting  scene  of  my  life. 
Though  horror  almost  froze  my  blood,  my 
eyes  were  riveted  upon  the  .spectacle.  A 
dead  silence  now  occurred.  Suddenly  the 
slave  fell  down.  She  had  not  touched  the 
boat's  bottom  ere  her  head  was  hacked  off  by 
a  dozen  rude  swords. 

"Next  came  Quengueza's  niece.  In  an 
instant  her  head  was  oft",  and  the  Idood  was 
dyeing  the  waters  of  the  river.  Meantime 
poor  Okandaga  staggered,  and  struggled, 
and  cried,  vainly  resisting  the  working  of 
the  poison  in  her  system.  Last  of  all  .she 
fell  too,  and  in  an  instant  her  head  was  hewn 
ott".  Then  all  became  confused.  An  almost 
random  hacking  ensued,  and  in  an  incred- 
ibly short  space  of  time  the  bodies  were  cut 
in  small  pieces,  which  were  cast  into  the 
river. 

"  "VVIien  this  was  done,  the  crowd  dispersed 
to  their  houses,  and  for  the  rest  of  the  day 
the  town  was  very  silent.  Some  of  these 
rude  people  felt  that  their  number,  in  their 
already  almost  extinguished  tribe,  was  be- 
coming less,  and  the  dread  of  death  filled 
their  hearts.  In  the  evening;  poor  Adouma 
came  secretly  to  my  house,  to  unburden  his 


520 


THE   CAMMA. 


sorrowing  heart  to  me.  He,  too,  had  been 
conipellea  to  take  part  iu  the  dreadful  scene. 
He  dared  not  even  refrain  from  joining  iu 
the  curses  heaped  upon  liis  poor  sister.  He 
dared  not  mourn  publicly  ibr  her  who  was 
considered  so  great  a  criminal." 

The  ceremonies  which  attend  the  death  of 
members  of  the  Camma  tribe  are  really 
remarkable.  As  soon  as  the  end  of  a  man  is 
evidently  near,  his  relations  begin  to  mourn 
for  him,  and  his  head  wife,  throwing  herself 
on  the  bed,  and  encircling  the  form  of  her 
dying  husband  with  her  arms,  pours  out  her 
wailing  lamentations,  accompanied  by  the 
tears  and  cries  of  the  villagers  who  assemble 
round  the  house.  The  other  wives  take 
their  turns  in  leading  the  lamentations,  and 
after  his  death  they  bewail  him  in  the  most 
pitiful  fashion.  These  pitiful  lamentations 
are  partly  owing  to  real  sorrow,  but  there  is 
no  doubt  that  they  are  also  duo  to  the  fear 
lest  any  one  who  did  not  join  in  the  mourn- 
ing might  be  accused  of  having  bewitched 
her  husband  to  death. 

For  several  days  tliey  sit  on  the  ground, 
covered  with  ashes,  their  heads  shaved,  and 
their  clothing  torn  to  rags;  and  when  the 
body  can  no  longer  be  kept  in  the  place,  the 
relatives  take  it  to  tlie  cemetery,  which  is 
usually  at  some  distance  down  the  river. 
That,  for  example,  of  Goumbi  w^as  situated 
at  nearly  fifty  miles  from  the  place.  No 
grave  is  dug,  but  the  body  is  laid  on  tlie 
ground,  and  surrounded  with  different  valu- 
ables which  belonged  to  the  dead  man  in  his 
lifetime.  The  corpses  of  the  chiefs  or  head- 
men are  placed  in  rude  boxes,  but  those  of 
ordinary  men  are  not  defended  in  any  way 
whatever. 

For  at  least  a  year  the  mourning  con- 
tinues, and,  if  the  dead  man  has  held  high 
rank,  it  is  sometimes  continued  for  two 
years,  during  which  time  the  whole  tribe 
wear  their  worst  clothes,  and  make  a  point 
of  being  very  dirty,  while  the  widows  retain 
the  shaven  head  and  ashes,  and  remain  in 
perfect  seclusion.  At  the  end  of  the  ap- 
pointed time,  a  ceremony  called  Bola-ivoga 
is  performed,  by  which  the  mourning  is 
broken  up  and  the  people  return  to  their 
usual  dress. 

One  of  these  ceremonies  was  seen  by  Du 
Chaillu.  The  deceased  had  been  a  tolerably 
rich  man,  leaving  seven  wives,  a  house,  a 
plantation,  slaves,  and  other  property,  all 
which  was  inherited,  according  to  custom, 
by  his  elder  brother,  on  whom  devolves  the 
task  of  giving  the  feast.  Great  preparations 
were  made  for  some  days  previously,  large 
quantities  of  palm  wine  being  brought  to  the 
villaj^e,  several  canoe  loads  of  dried  fish  jire- 
pared,  all  the  best  clothes  in  the  village  made 
ready,  and  every  drum,  kettle,  and  anything 
that  could  make  a  noise  when  beaten  being 
mustered. 

On  the  j03rful  morning,  the  widows  begin 


the  ceremony  by  eating  a  magic  porridge, 
composed  by  the  medicine  man.  and  are 
then  released  formally  from  their  widow- 
hood. They  then  throw  ofl"  their  torn  and 
soiled  garments,  wash  away  the  ashes  with 
which  their  bodies  had  been  so  long  covered, 
and  robe  themselves  in  their  best  clothes, 
covering  their  wrists  and  ankles  with  iron 
and  copper  jewelry. 

While  they  are  adorning  their  persons,  the 
rest  of  the  people  arrange  themselves  in 
little  groups  in  front  of  the  houses,  and  to 
each  group  is  given  an  enormous  jar  of  palm 
wine.  At  a  given  signal  the  drinking  begins, 
and  is  continued  without  interruption  for 
some  twenty-four  hours,  during  which  time 
dancing,  singing,  and  drum-beating  are  car- 
ried on  with  furious  energy.  Next  morning 
comes  the  final  ceremony.  A  large  crowd  of 
men,  armed  with  axes,  surround  the  house 
formerly  occupied  by  the  deceased,  and,  at  a 
signal  from  the  heir,  they  rush  at  once  at  it, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  nothing  is  left  but  a 
heap  of  fragments.  These  are  heaped  up 
and  burned;  and  when  the  flames  die  away, 
the  ceremony  is  over,  and  the  heir  is  con- 
sidered as  having  entered  into  possession  of 
the  property. 

There  are  one  or  two  miscellaneous  cus- 
toms of  the  Camma  people  which  are  de- 
serving of  a  brief  notice.  They  seem  to  be 
rather  quarrelsome  among  themselves,  and 
when  they  get  into  a  fight  use  a  most  for- 
midable club.  This  weapon  is  made  of  heavy 
and  hard  wood,  and  is  nearly  seven  feet 
long.  The  thick  end  is  deeply  notched, 
and  a  blow  from  the  "  tongo,"  as  it  is 
called,  would  smash  the  skull  of  an  Euro- 
pean. The  native  African,  however,  sus- 
tains heavy  blows  withovit  being  much  the 
worse  for  it;  and,  although  every  tongo  will 
be  covered  with  blood  and  woolly  hair,  the 
combatants  do  not  seem  to  have  sustained 
much  injury. 

As  they  fight,  they  heap  on  their  adversa- 
ries every  insulting  epithet  they  can  think 
of :  "  Your  chief  has  the  leg  of  an  ele- 
phant," cries  one;  "  Ho!  his  eldest  brother 
has  the  neck  of  a  wild  ox,"  shouts  a  second; 
"Ho!  you  have  no  food  in  your  village," 
bawls  a  third;  and,  according  to  the  narra- 
tor, the  words  really  seem  to  do  more  dam- 
age than  the  blows. 

When  a  canoe  starts  on  a  long  journey,  a 
curious  ceremony  is  enacted.  Each  man 
dips  his  paddle  in  the  water,  slaps  it  on  the 
surface,  raises  in  the  air,  and  allows  one 
drop  of  the  water  to  fall  into  his  mouth. 
After  a  good  deal  of  singing,  shouting,  and 
antic -playing,  they  settle  down  to  their 
work,  and  paddle  on  steadily  for  hours. 
When  a  chief  ]iarts  from  a  guest,  he  takes 
his  friend's  hands  within  his  own,  blows 
into  them,  and  solemnly  invokes  the  spirits 
of  his  ancestors,  calling  on  them  to  take 
care  of  the  departing  guest. 


CHAPTER  L. 


THE   SHEKIAifl  AND  MPONGTVfi. 


LOCALITY  OF  THE  SHEKIANI  —  MODE  OP  GOVERNMENT  —  SKILL  IN  HUNTING  —  SHEKIANI  ABCHITECTTIEB 
—  MEDICAL  TREATJIENT — NATIVE  SORCERERS  —  FATE  OF  THE  WIZARD — A  VICTIM  TO  SUPERSTI- 
TION—  TREATMENT  OF  THE  POSSESSED  —  LOCALITY  OF  THE  MPONGW^  —  NATIVE  FASHIONS  — 
MPONGWiS  MOURNING  —  SKILL  IN  LANGUAGES — THE  SUCCESSFUL  TRADER  AND  HIS  RELATIONS  — 
DEATH  OF  THE  MONARCH  AND  ELECTION  OF  A  NEW  KING  —  A  MPONGW^  CORONATION  —  OLD 
KING  GLASS  AND  HIS  CHARACTER — HIS  SICKNESS,    DEATH,    EUKIAL,   AND  SUCCESSOR. 


Scattered  over  a  considerable  track  of 
country  between  the  Muni  and  Gaboon 
rivers,  on  the  western  coast  o£  Africa,  are 
numerous  villages  of  the  Shekiani  or  Ghe- 
kiani  tribe.  The  Shekiani  are  divided  into 
numerous  sub-tribes,  which  speak  a  com- 
mon language,  but  call  themselves  by  vari- 
ous names,  such  as  the  Mbondemo,  the 
Mbousha,  the  Mliicho,  &c.  Each  of  these 
lesser  tribes  is  again  subdivided  into  clans 
or  families,  each  of  which  has  its  own  head. 

The  mode  of  government  is  very  simple, 
and  indeed  scarcely  deserves  the  name;  for 
although  the  chiefs  of  the  different  tribes 
are  often  called  kings,  their  titles  are  but 
empty  honors,  and  their  authority  is  but 
partially  recognized  even  by  the  headmen 
of  the  clans.  The  kings,  indeed,  are  scarcely 
distinguishable  from  their  so  called  subjects, 
their  houses  being  the  same,  and  their  mode 
of  living  but  little  superior.  Still,  they  are 
respected  as  advisers;  and,  in  cases  ofdilii- 
culty,  a  few  words  from  one  of  these  kings 
will  often  settle  a  dispute  which  threatens 
to  be  dangerous. 

Owing  to  their  proximity  to  the  coast,  the 
Shekiani  are  great  traders,  and,  in  con- 
sequence of  their  contact  with  the  white 
man,  present  a  most  curious  mixture  of  sav- 
ageness  and  civilization,  the  latter  being 
modified  in  various  droll  ways.  Take,  for 
example,  the  Shekiani  mode  of  managing 
fire-arms.  When  they  go  to  hunt  the  "ele- 
phant for  the  sake  of  its  tusks,  they  always 
arm  themselves  with  trade  guns,  for  which 


they  pay  seven  shillings  and  sixpence.  The 
quality  of  these  weapons  may  be  easily  im- 
agined, and  it  is  really  wonderful  how  the 
Birmingham  manufacturer  contrives  to  fur- 
nish for  so  small  a  sum  a  gun  that  deserves 
the  name. 

Of  course  it  is  made  to  suit  native  ideas, 
and  consequently  it  is  very  large  and  very 
heavy,  a  negro  contem])tuously  rejecting  a 
small  and  light  gun  which  might  be  worth 
thirty  or  forty  pounds.  Then  the  main- 
sjiring  of  the  lock  is  of  prodigious  strength, 
and  the  hammer  and  pan  of  proportionate 
size.  Inferior,  of  course,  as  is  the  material, 
the  weapon  is  really  a  wonderful  article; 
and,  if  properly  handled,  is  capaljle  of  doing 
good  service.  But  a  negro  never  handles 
anything  carefully.  When  he  cocks  his 
musket,  he  wrenches  back  the  hammer 
with  a  jerk  that  would  break  a  delicate  lock; 
when  lie  wants  to  carry  home  the  game  that 
he  has  killed,  he  hangs  it  to  the  muzzle  of 
the  piece,  and  so  slings  it  over  his  shoulder, 
and,  as  he  ti-avels,  he  allows  it  to  bang 
against  the  trees,  without  the  least  care  for 
the  straightness  of  the  barrel. 

But  it  is  in  loading  the  weapon  that  he 
most  distinguishes  himself  First  he  pours 
down  the  barrel  a  quantity  of  powder  at 
random,  and  rams  upon  it  a  tuft  of  dry 
grass.  Upon  the  grass  come  some  bullets 
or  hits  of  iron,  and  then  more  grass.  Then 
come  more  powder,  grass,  and  iron  as  be- 
fore; and  not  until  then  does  the  negro 
flatter  himself  that  he  has  loaded  his  mus- 


(521) 


THE   SIIEKIANI. 


kot.  That  a  gun  should  burst  after  such  a  I 
method  of  loading  is  not  surprisin;;.  aad 
indeed  it  is  a  wonder  that  it  can  be  tired  at 
all  without  flying  to  pieces.  But  the  negro 
insists  on  haviug  a  big  gun,  with  plenty  of 
powder  and  shot,  and  he  cares  nothing  for 
a  weapon  unless  it  goes  otf  with  a  report 
like  a  small  cannon,  and  has  a  recoil  that 
almost  dislocates  the  shoulder. 

The  Shekiaui  are  of  moderate  size,  not 
very  dark-colored,  and  in  character  are  apt 
to  be  quarrelsome,  passionate,  revengeful, 
and  utterly  careles.s  of  inflicting  death  or 
pain.  Owing  to  their  unsettled  habits,  they 
are  but  poor  agriculturists,  leaving  all  the 
culture  of  the  ground  to  the  women.  Their 
mode  of  making  a  plantation  is  very  sim- 
ple. When  they  have  fixed  upon  a  suitable 
spot,  they  begin  to  clear  it  after  a  very  primi- 
tive fashion.  The  men  ascend  the  trees  to 
some  ten  or  twelve  feet  of  height,  just  where 
the  stem  narrows,  supporting  themselves  by 
a  flexible  vine  branch  twisted  hoop-fashion 
rouud  the  tree  and  their  waist.  Tliey  then 
chop  away  at  the  timber,  and  slip  nimbly  to 
the  ground  just  as  the  upper  part  of  the 
tree  is  falling.  The  trunks  and  branches 
are  then  gathered  together  until  the  dry 
season  is  just  over,  when  the  whole  mass  is 
lighted,  and  on  the  ground  thus  cleared  of 
trees  and  brushwood  the  women  plant  their 
manioc,  plantains,  and  maize. 

Their  villages  are  built  on  one  model. 
The  houses  are  about  twelve  or  fifteen  feet 
in  length  by  eight  or  ten  wide,  and  are  set 
end  to  end  in  a  double  row,  so  as  to  form  a 
long  street.  The  houses  have  no  windows, 
and  only  one  door,  which  opens  into  the 
street.  At  night  the  open  ends  of  the  street 
are  barricaded,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  each 
village  thus  becomes  a  fortress  almost  impreg- 
nable to  the  assaults  of  native  warriors.  In 
order  to  add  to  the  strength  of  their  posi- 
tion, they  make  their  villages  on  the  crests  of 
hills,  and  contrive,  if  possible,  to  build  them 
in  the  midst  of  thorn  Ijrakes,  so  that,  if  they 
were  attacked,  the  enemy  would  be  exposed 
to  their  missiles  while  engaged  in  forcing 
their  way  through  the  thorns.  When  sucli 
a  natural  defence  cannot  be  obtained,  they 
content  themselves  with  blocking  up  the 
ajiproaches  with  cut  thorn  branches. 

The  houses  are  made  of  the  so  called  bam- 
boo poles,  which  are  stuck  in  the  ground, 
and  lashed  to  each  other  with  vine  ropes. 
The  interior  is  divided  at  least  into  two 
apartments,  one  of  which  is  the  eating  and 
the  other  the  sleeping  chamber.  Each  Slieki- 
ani  wife  has  a  separate  ajiartment,  with  its 
own  door,  so  that  the  number  of  wives  may 
be  known  by  the  number  of  doors  opening 
out  of  the  sitting-room.  Although  their 
houses  are  made  with  some  care,  the  Sheki- 
aui are  continually  deserting  their  villages 
on  some  absurd  pretext,  usually  of  a  super- 
stitious character,  and,  during  "their  travels 
toward  another  site,  tliey  make  temporary 


encampments  in  the  woofls,  their  rude  huts 
being  composed  of  four  slicks  planted  in 
the  ground,  tied  together  at  the  top,  and 
then  covered  with  leaves. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  Shekiani 
are  careless  about  inflicting  torture.  One 
day  M.  du  Chaillu  was  staying  with  one  of 
the  so-called  Shekiani  '■  kings,"  named  Njam- 
bai;  he  heard  terrible  shrieks,  and  was  coolly 
told  that  the  king  was  only  punishing  one 
of  his  wives.  He  ran  to  the  sjiot,  and  there 
found  a  woman  tied  by  her  waist  to  a  stout 
stake,  and  her  feet  to  smaller  stakes.  Cords 
were  tied  round  her  neck,  waist,  wrists,  and 
ankles,  and  were  being  slowly  twisted  with 
sticks,  cutting  into  the  flesh.'  and  inflicting 
the  most  horrilile  torture.  The  king  was 
rather  sulky  at  being  interrupted  in  his 
amusement,  but,  when  his  guest  threatened 
instant  departure  unless  the  woman  were 
released,  he  made  a  present  of  the  victim 
to  her  intercessor.  The  cords  had  been  so 
tightly  knotted  and  twisted  that  they  could 
not  be  untied,  and,  when  they  were  cut, 
were  found  to  have  been  forced  deeply  into 
the  flesh. 

The  same  traveller  gives  an  account  of 
the  cruel  manner  in  which  the  Shekiani 
treated  an  unfortunate  man  who  had  l)een 
accused  of  witchcraft.  He  was  an  old  man 
belonging  to  the  Mbousha  sub-tribe,  and 
was  supposed  to  have  bewitched  a  man  who 
had  lately  died. 

"  I  heard  one  day,  by  accident,  that  a  man 
had  been  apprehended  on  a  chai-ge  of  caus- 
ing the  death  of  one  of  the  chief  men  of 
the  village.  I  went  to  Dayoko,  and  asked 
him  about  it.  He  said  yes,  the  man  was  to 
be  killed;  that  ho  was  a  notorious  wizard, 
and  had  done  much  harm.  So  I  begged 
to  see  this  terrible  being.  I  was  taken  to 
a  rough  hut,  within  which  sat  an  old,  old 
man, "with  wool  white  as  snow,  wrinkled 
face,  bowed  form,  and  shrunken  limbs.  His 
hands  were  tied  behind  liim,  and  his  feet 
were  placed  in  a  rude  kind  of  stocks.  This 
was  the  great  wizard.  Several  lazy  negroes 
stood  guard  over  him,  and  from  time  to 
time  insulted  him  with  opprobrious  epitliets 
and  blows,  to  which  the  poor  old  wretch 
sulimitted  in  silence.  He  was  evidently  in 
his  dotage. 

"  I  asked  him  if  he  had  no  friends,  no  re- 
lations, no  son,  or  daughter,  or  wife  to  take 
care  of  him.     He  said  sadly,  '  Ko  one.' 

"  Now  here  was  the  secret  of  his  persecu- 
tion. They  were  tired  of  taking  care  of  the 
helpless  old  man,  who  had  lived  too  long,  and 
a  charge  of  witclicraft  by  the  gree-gree  man 
was  a  convenient  pretext  for  putting  him  out 
of  the  way.  I  saw  at  once  that  it  would  be 
vain  to  strive  to  save  him.  I  went,  how- 
ever, to  Dayoko,  and  argued  the  case  with 
him.  I  tried  to  explain  the  absurdity  of 
charging  a  harmless  old  man  with  super- 
natural powers;  told  him  that  God  did  not 
permit  witches  to  exist;  and  finally  made 


FATE   OF   THE   WIZARD. 


52a 


an  offer  to  bu}'  the  old  wretch,  oflferiug  to 
give  some  pounds  of  tobacco,  one  or  two 
coats,  and  some  looking  glasses  for  him  — 
goods  which  would  have  bought  me  an 
able-bodied  slave. 

"  Dayoko  replied  that  for  his  part  he 
would  "be  glad  to  save  him,  but  that  the 
people  must  decide;  that  they  were  much 
excited  against  him;  but  that  he  would,  to 
please  me,  try  to  save  his  life.  During  all 
the  night  following  I  heard  singing  all  over 
the  town,  and  a  great  uproar.  Evidently 
they  were  preparing  themselves  for  the 
mul-der.  Even  these  savages  cannot  kill 
in  cold  blood,  but  work  themselves  into  a 
frenzy  of  excitement  first,  and  then  rush 
otf  to  do  the  bloodv  deed. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  the  people  gath- 
ered together,  with  the  fetish  man  —  the 
infernal  rascal  who  was  at  tlie  bottom  of 
the  murder  —  in  their  midst.  His  bloodshot 
eyes  glared  in  savage  excitement  as  he  went 
around  from  man  to  man,  getting  the  votes 
to  decide  whether  the  old  man  should  die. 
In  his  hands  he  held  a  bundle  of  herbs, 
with  which  he  sprinkled  three  times  those 
to  whom  he  spoke.  Meantime  a  man  was 
stationed  on  the  top  of  a  high  tree,  whence 
he  shouted  from  time  to  time  in  a  loud  voice, 
'■Jocoo!  Jocoo!''  at  the  same  time  shaking 
the  tree  violently.  ^ Jocoo '  is  devil  among 
the  Mbousha,  and  the  business  of  this  man 
was  to  drive  away  the  evil  spirit,  and  to  give 
notice  to  the  fetish  man  of  his  approach. 

''  At  last  the  sad  vote  was  taken.  It  was 
declared  that  the  old  man  was  a  most  malig- 
nant wizard;  that  he  had  already  killed  a 
number  of  people ;  that  he  was  minded  to 
kill  many  more;  and  that  he  must  die.  No 
one  would  tell  me  how  he  was  to  be  killed, 
and  they  proposed  to  defer  the  execution 
till  my  departure,  which  I  was,  to  tell  the 
truth,  rather  glad  of.  The  whole  scene  had 
considerably  agitated  me,  and  I  was  willing 
to  be  spared  the  end.  Tired,  and  sick  at 
heart,  I  lay  down  on  my  bed  about  noon  to 
rest,  and  compose  my  spirits  a  little.  After 
a  while,  I  saw  a  man  pass  my  window 
almost  like  a  tlash,  and  after  him  a  horde  of 
silent  but  infuriated  men.  They  ran  toward 
the  river.  In  a  little  while,  I  heard  a  couple 
of  sharp,  piercing  cries,  as  of  a  man  in  great 
agony,  and  then  all  was  still  as  death. 

"  I  got  up,  guessing  the  rascals  had  killed 
the  poor  old  man,  and,  turning  my  steps 
toward  the  river,  was  met  by  a  crowd 
returning,  every  man  armed  with  axe,  knife, 
cutlass,  or  spear,  and  these  weapons,  and 
their  own  hands  and  arms  and  bodies,  all 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  their  victim. 
In  their  frenzy  they  had  tied  the  poor  wiz- 
ard to  a  log  near  the  river  bank,  and  then 
deliberately  hacked  him  into  many  pieces. 
See  the  illustration  on  the  526tli  page.  They 
fitiished  by  splitting  open  his  skull,  and 
scattering  the  Ijrains  in  the  water.  Then 
they  returned;  and,  to  see  their  behavior,  it 


would  have  seemed  as  though  the  country 
had  just  been  delivered  from  a  great  curse. 
By  iiight  the  men  —  whose  faces  for  two 
days  had  filled  me  with  loathing  and  horror, 
so  bloodthirsty  and  malignant  were  they  — 
were  again  as  mild  as  lambs,  and  as  cheerful 
as  though  they  had  never  heard  of  a  witch 
tragedy." 

Once,  when  shooting  in  the  forest,  Du 
Chaillu  came  upon  a  sight  which  filled  hhn 
with  horror.  It  was  tlie  body  of  a  young 
woman,  with  good  and  pleasant  features, 
tied  to  a  tree  and  left  there.  The  whole 
body  and  limbs  were  covered  with  gashes, 
into  which  the  torturers  had  rubbed  red 
pepper,  thus  killing  the  poor  creature  with 
sheer  agony. 

Among  other  degrading  superstitions,  the 
Shekiani  believe  ttiat  men  and  women  can 
be  changed  into  certain  animals.  One  man, 
for  example,  was  said  to  have  been  suddenly 
transformed  into  a  large  gorilla  as  he  was 
walking  in  the  village.  Tlie  enchanted  ani- 
mal haunted  the  neighborhood  ever  after- 
ward, and  did  great  mischief,  killing  the 
men,  and  carrying  ofi'  the  women  into  the 
forest.  The  people  often  hunted  it,  but 
never  could  manage  to  catch  it.  This  story 
is  a  very  popular  one,  and  is  found  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  wherever  the  gorilla 
lives. 

The  Shekiani  have  another  odd  belief 
regarding  the  transformation  of  human 
beings  into  animals.  Seven  d.ays  after  a 
child  is  born,  the  girls  of  the  neighborhood 
assemble  in  the  house,  and  keep  up  singing 
and  dancing  all  night.  They  fancj^  that  on 
the  seventh  day  the  woman  who  waited  on 
the  mother  would  be  possessed  of  an  evil 
spirit,  which  would  change  her  into  an  owl, 
and  cause  her  to  suck  the  blood  of  the  child. 
Bad  spirits,  however,  cannot  endure  the 
sight  or  sound  of  human  merriment,  and  so 
the  girls  obligingly  get  up  a  dance,  and 
baffle  the  spirit  at  the  same  time  that  they 
gratify  themselves.  As  in  a  large  village  a 
good  many  children  are  born,  the  girls  con- 
trive to  insure  plenty  of  dances  in  the 
course  of  the  year. 

Sometimes  an  evil  spirit  takes  possession 
of  a  man,  and  is  so  strong  that  it  cannot  be 
driven  away  by  the  usual  singing  and  dan- 
cing, the  struggles  between  the  exorcisers 
and  the  demon  being  so  fierce  as  to  cause 
the  possessed  man  to  fall  on  the  ground,  to 
foam  at  the  mouth,  and  to  writhe  about  in 
such  powerful  convulsions  that  no  one  can 
hold  him.  In  fact,  all  the  symptoms  are 
those  which  the  more  prosaic  white  man 
attributes  to  epilepsy. 

Such  a  case  offers  a  good  opportunity  to 
the  medicine  man,  who  comes  to  the  relief 
of  the  patient,  attended  by  his  assistant.  A 
hut  is  built  in  the  middle  of  the  street,  and 
inhabited  by  the  doctor  and  patient.  For  a 
week  or  ten  days  high  festival  is  held,  and 
night  and  day  the  dance  and  song  are  kept 


524 


THE  MPONGWfi. 


up  within  tbo  hut,  not  unaccompanied  witli 
strong  driulc.  Every  one  thinks  it  a  point 
of  honor  to  aid  in  the  demolition  of  the 
witcli,  and,  accordingly,  every  one  wlio  can 
eat  gorges  liiniself  until  he  can  eat  no  more; 
every  one  who  has  a  drum  brings  it  and 
beats  it,  and  those  who  have  no  musical 


instruments  can  at  all  events  shout  and  sing 
until  they  are  hoarse.  Sometimes  the  nat- 
ural result  of  such  a  proceeding  occiu-s,  the 
unfortunate  patient  being  fairly  driven  out 
of  his  senses  by  the  ceaseless  and  deafening 
uproar,  and  darting  into  the  forest  a  con- 
tirnied  maniac. 


THE  MPONGWfi. 


Upon  the  Gaboon  Elver  is  a  well-known 
negro  tribe  called  Mpongwe. 

Perhaps  on  account  of  their  continual 
admixture  with  traders,  they  approach 
nearer  to  civilization  than  those  tribes 
which  have  been  described,  and  are  pecul- 
iarly refined  in  their  manners,  appearance, 
and  language.  They  are  very  fond  of  dress, 
and  the  women  in  particular  are  remarka- 
ble for  their  attention  to  the  toilet.  -They 
wear  but  little  clothing,  their  dark,  velvet- 
like skin  requiring  scarcely  any  covering, 
and  being  admirably  suited  for  setting  off 
the  ornaments  with  which  they  plentifully 
bedeck  themselves. 

Their  heads  are  elaborately  dressed,  the 
woollj'  hair  being  frizzed  out  over  a  kind 
of  cushion,  and  saturated  with  palm  oil  to 
make  it  hold  together.  Artificial  hair  is 
also  added  when  the  original  stock  is  defi- 
cient, and  is  neatly  applied  in  the  form  of 
rosettes  over  the  ears.  A  perfimied  bark  is 
scraped  and  applied  to  the  hair,  and  the 
whole  edifice  is  finished  ofl"  with  a  large  pin 
of  ivory,  bone,  or  ebony. 

When  their  husbands  die,  the  widows  are 
obliged  to  sacrifice  this  cherished  adornment 
and  go  about  with  shaven  heads,  a  custom 
whicii  applies  also  to  the  other  sex  in  time 
of  mourning.  In  this  country  mourning  is 
implied  by  the  addition  of  certain  articles 
to  the  ordinary  clothing,  but,  among  the 
Miiongwe,  ihe  case  is  exactly  reversed. 
When  a  woman  is  iu  mourning  .she  shaves 
her  head  and  wears  as  few  and  as  bad 
clothes  as  possible;  and  when  a  man  is  in 
mourning,  he  not  only  shaves  his  head,  but 
abandons  all  costume  until  the  customary 
period  is  over. 

The  women  wear  upon  their  ankles  huge 
brass  rings  made  of  stair  rods,  and  many  of 
them  are  so  laden  with  these  ornaments 
that  their  naturally  graceful  walk  degener- 
ates into  a  waddle;  and  if  by  chance  they 
should  fall  into  the  water,  they  are  drowned 
by  the  weight  of  their  brass  anklets. 

The  Mpongwds  are  a  clever  race,  having 
a  wonderful  aptitude  for  languages  and 
swindling.  Some  of  the  men  can  speak 
several  native  dialects,  and  are  well  versed 
in  English,  French,  Spanish,  and  Portu- 
guese, "using  their  accomplishments  for  the 
purpose  of  cheating  both  of  the  parties  for 
whom  they  interpret.  They  are  very  clever 
at  an   argument,  especially  of  that   kind 


which  is  popularly  known  as  "  special  plead- 
ing," and  will  prove  that  black  is  white,  not 
to  say  blue  or  red,  with  astonishing  cool- 
ness and  ingenuity. 

Clever,  however,  as  they  are,  the}"-  are 
liable  to  be  cheated  in  their  town  by 
their  own  people — if  indeed  those  can 
be  said  to  be  cheated  who  deliberately 
walk  into  the  trap  that  is  set  for  them. 
They  will  come  down  to  the  coast,  imjjose 
upon  some  unwary  trader  with  their  fluent 
and  plausible  tongues,  talk  him  into  ad- 
vancing goods  on  credit,  and  then  slink  oil' 
to  their  villages,  delighted  with  their  own 
ingenuity.  As  soon,  however,  as  they  reach 
their  homes,  the  plunderers  become  the 
plundered.  Indeed,  as  Mr.  W.  Eeade  well 
remarks,  "  There  are  many  excellent  busi- 
ness men  who  iu  private  life  are  weak,  vain, 
extravagant,  and  who  seem  to  leave  their 
brains  ))ehind  them.  Such  are  the  Mpong- 
wes,  a  tribe  of  commercial  travellers,  men 
who  prey  upon  ignorance  in  the  bush,  and 
are  devoured  by  flattery  in  the  town." 

As  soon  as  the  successful  trader  returns 
to  his  village,  be  is  beset  by  all  his  friends 
and  relations,  who  see  in  him  a  mine  of 
wealth,  of  which  they  all  have  a  share. 
They  sing  his  praises,  they  get  up  dances 
in  his  honor,  they  extol  his  generosity,  eat- 
ing and  drinking  all  the  while  at  his  ex- 
pensb,  and  never  leaving  him  until  the  last 
plantain  has  been  eaten  and  the  last  droj)  of 
rum  drunk.  He  has  not  strength  of  mind 
to  resist  the  flattery  which  is  heaped  upon 
him,  and  considers  himself  bound  to  reward 
his  eulogists  by  presents.  Consequently,  at 
the  end  of  a  week  or  two  he  is  as  poor  as 
when  he  started  on  his  expedition,  and  is 
obliged  to  go  ofl'  and  earn  more  money, 
of  which  he  will  be  robbed  in  a  similar 
manner  when  he  returns. 

These  feasts  are  not  very  enticing  to  the 
European  palate,  for  the  Mpongwe  have  no 
idea  of  roasting,  but  boil  all  their  food  in 
earthen  vessels.  Thev  have  little  scruple 
about  the  ditt'erent  articles  of  diet,  but  will 
eat  the  flesh  of  almost  any  animal,  bird,  or 
reptile  that  they  can  kill. 

Among  the  Mpongwe,  the  government  is 
much  the  same  as  that  of  the  other  tribes 
in  Western  Equatorial  Africa.  The  different 
sub-tribes  or  clans  of  the  Mpongwe  are  ruled 
by  their  headmen,  the  jirincipal  chief  of  a 
district  being  dignified  with  the  title  of  king. 


C2.)   CORONATION.    (See  page  527.) 
(526) 


A  MPONGWE  CORONATIOJf. 


527 


Dignity  has,  as  we  all  know,  its  drawbacks 
as  well  as  its  privileges,  and  among  the 
Mpongwe  it  has  its  pains  as  well  as  its 
pleasures.  When  once  a  man  is  fairly 
made  king,  he  may  do  much  as  he  likes, 
and  is  scarcely  ever  crossed  in  anything 
that  he  may  desire.  But  the  process  of 
coronation  was  anything  but  agreeable,  and 
utterly  unlike  the  gorgeous  ceremony  with 
which  civilized  men  are  so  familiar. 

The  new  king  is  secretly  chosen  in  solemn 
conclave,  and  no  one,  not  even  the  king 
elect,  knows  on  whom  the  lot  has  fallen. 
On  the  seventh  day  after  the  funeral  of  the 
deceased  sovereign,  the  name  of  the  new 
king  is  proclaimed,  and  all  the  people  make 
a  furious  rush  at  him.  They  shout  and  yell 
at  him;  they  load  him  with  all  the  terms  of 
abuse  in  which  their  language  is  so  prolific; 
and  they  insult  him  in  the  grossest  man- 
ner. 

One  man  will  run  up  to  him  and  shout, 
"  You  are  not  my  king  yet!  "  accompanying 
the  words  with  a  sound  box  on  the  ear. 
Another  flings  a  handful  of  mud  in  his  fiice, 
accompanied  by  the  same  words,  another 
gets  behind  him  and  administers  a  severe 
kick,  and  a  third  slaps  his  fixce.  For  some 
time  the  poor  man  is  hustled  and  beaten  by 
them  until  his  life  seems  to  be  worthless, 
while  all  around  is  a  crowd  of  disappointed 
subjects,  who  have  not  been  able  to  get  at 
their  future  monarch,  and  who  are  obliged 
to  content  themselves  by  pelting  him  witli 
sticks  and  stones  over  the  heads  of  their 
more  fortunate  comrades,  and  alnising  him, 
and  his  parents,  and  his  brothers,  sisters, 
and  all  his  relatives  for  several  generations. 
Tliis  [lart  of  the  ceremony  of  coronation  is 
illustrated  on  the  previous  page. 

Suddenly  the  tumult  ceases,  and  the  king 
elect,  bruised,  mud-bespattered ,  bleeding, 
and  exhausted,  is  led  into  the  house  of  his 
predecessor,  where  he  seats  himself.  The 
whole  demeanor  of  the  people  now  changes, 
and  silent  respect  takes  the  place  of  frantic 
violence.  The  headmen  of  the  tribe  rise 
and  say,  "  Now  we  acknowledge  you  as  our 
king;  we  listen  to  you,  and  obey  you."  The 
people  repeat  these  words  after  them,  and 
then  the  crown  and  royal  robes  are  brought. 
The  crown  is  always  an  old  silk  hat,  which, 
by  some  grotesque  chance,  has  become  the 
sign  of  royalty  in  Western  Africa.  The 
state  robes  are  composed  of  a  red  dressing- 
gown,  unless  a  beadle's  coat  can  be  procured, 
and,  arrayed  in  this  splendid  apparel,  the 
new  king  is  presented  to  his  subjects,  and 
receives  their  homage. 

A  full  week  of  congratulations  and  fes- 
tivities follows,  by  the  end  of  which  time 
the  king  is  in  sad  need  of  repose,  strangers 
from  great  distances  continually  arriving,  and 
all  insisting  on  being  presented  to  the  new 
king.  Not  until  tliese  rites  are  over  is  the 
king  allowed  to  leave  the  house. 

M.  du  Chaillu  was  a  witness  of  the  re- 


markable ceremony  which  has  just  been 
described,  and  which  took  place  on  the  coro- 
nation of  a  succes.sor  to  the  old  King  Glass, 
who,  as  is  rather  quaintly  remarked,  "  stuck 
to  life  with  a  determined  tenacity,  which  al- 
most bid  fair  to  cheat  Death.  He  was  a 
disagreeable  old  heathen,  but  in  his  last 
days  became  very  devout  —  after  his  fash- 
ion. His  idol  was  always  freshly  painted 
and  highly  decorated;  his  fetish  was  the 
best  cared-for  fetish  in  Africa,  and  every 
few  days  some  great  doctor  was  brought 
down  i'rom  the  interior,  and  paid  a  large 
fee  for  advising  the  old  king.  He  was 
afraid  of  witchcraft  ;  thought  that  every- 
body wanted  to  put  him  out  of  the  way  by 
bewitching  him;  and  in  this  country  your 
doctor  does  not  try  to  cure  your  sickness; 
his  business  is  to  keep  off  the  witches." 

The  oddest  thing  was,  that  all  the  people 
thought  that  he  was  a  powerful  wizard,  and 
were  equally  afraid  and  tired  of  him.  He 
had  been  king  too  long  for  their  ideas,  and 
they  certainly  did  \vish  him  fairly  dead. 
But  when  he  became  ill,  and  was  likely  to 
die,  the  usual  etiquette  was  observed,  every 
one  going  about  as  if  plunged  in  the  deep- 
est sorrow,  although  they  hated  him  sin- 
cerely, and  were  so  afraid  of  his  super- 
natural powers  that  scarcely  a  native  dared 
to  pass  his  hut  by  niglit,  and  no  bribe  less 
than  a  jug  of  nmi  would  induce  any  one  to 
enter  the  house.  At  last  he  died,  and  then 
every  one  went  into  mourning,  the  women 
wailing  and  pouring  out  tears  with  the 
astonishing  lachrymal  capability  which  dis- 
tinguishes the  African  women,  who  can 
shed  tears  copiously  and  laugh  at  the  same 
time. 

On  the  second  day  after  his  death  old 
King  Glass  was  buried,  but  the  exact  spot  of 
his  sepulture  no  one  knew,  except  a  few 
old  councillors  on  whom  the  duty  fell.  By 
way  of  a  monument,  a  piece  of  scarlet  cloth 
was  suspended  from  a  pole.  Everj'  one 
knew  that  it  only  marked  the  spot  where 
King  Glass  was  not  buried.  For  six  days 
the  mourning  continued,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  occurred  the  coronation,  and 
the  chief  Njogonl  became  the  new  King 
Glass. 

The  mode  of  burial  varies  according  to 
the  rank  of  the  deceased.  The  body  of  a 
chief  is  carefully  interred,  and  so  is  that  of  a 
king,  the  sepulchre  of  the  latter  being,  as 
has  just  been  mentioned,  kept  a  profound 
secret.  By  the  grave  are  placed  certain 
implements  belonging  to  the  dead  person,  a 
stool  or  a  jug  marking  the  grave  of  a  man, 
and  a  calabash  that  of  a  woman.  The  bodies 
of  slaves  are  treated  less  ceremoniously, 
being  merely  taken  to  the  burying-ground, 
thrown  down,  and  left  to  perish,  without 
the  honors  of  a  grave  or  accompanying  sym- 
bol. 

Like  other  dwellers  iqion  river  banks,  the 
Mpongwe  are  admirable  boatmen,  and  dis- 


528 


THE  MPOKGWfi. 


play  great  ingenuity  in  making  canoes.  The 
tree  from  which  they  are  made  only  grows 
inhind,  and  sometimes,  when  a  large  vessel 
is  wanted,  a  suitable  tree  can  only  be  found 
some  eight  or  ten  miles  from  the  shore. 
If  a  canoe  maker  can  find  a  tree  within  two 
or  three  miles  from  the  water,  he  counts 
himself  a  lucky  man ;  but,  as  the  trees  are 
being  continually  cut  up  lor  canoe  making, 
it  is  evident  that  the  Mpongwe  are  continu- 
ally driven  further  inland. 

When  a  Mpongwe  has  settled  upon  a  tree 
■which  lie  thinks  will  make  a  good  canoe,  he 
transplants  all  his  family  to  the  spot,  and 
builds  a  new  homestead  for  himself,  liis 
wives,  his  children,  and  his  slaves.  Some- 
times he  will  economize  liis  labor,  and  pitch 
his  encampment  near  three  or  four  canoe 
trees,  all  of  which  he  intends  to  fashion  into 


vessels  before  he  returns  to  his  village. 
When  the  trees  are  felled,  and  cut  to  the 
proper  length  —  sixty  feet  being  an  ordinary 
measurement — they  are  ingeniously  hol- 
lowed by  means  of  fire,  which  is  carefully 
watclied  and  guided  until  the  interior  is 
burnt  away.  The  outside  of  the  tree  is  then 
trimmed  into  shape  with  the  native  adze, 
and  the  canoe  is  ready.  A  clever  man,  with 
such  a  family,  will  make  several  such  canoes 
during  a  single  dry  season. 

The  next  and  most  important  business  is 
to  get  the  canoes  to  the  water.  This  is  done 
by  cutting  a  pathway  tlirough  the  wood,  and 
laboriously  pushing  the  canoe  on  rollers. 
In  some  cases,  when  the  canoe  tree  is  nearer 
the  sea  than  the  river,  the  maker  takes  it 
direct  to  the  beach,  launclies  it,  and  then 
paddles  it  round  to  the  river. 


CHAPTER  LI. 


THE   FAifS. 


LOCALITT  OF  THE  TRIBE — THEIR  COLOR  AND  GENERAL  APPEABANCB — THE  KING  OF  THE  FANS  — 
AN  UGLY  QUEEN  — A  MIXED  CHAKACTEK  —  HOSPITALITV  AND  CURIOSITY  —  FIERCE  AND  WARLIKE 
NATURE  —  THEIR  CONQITERING  PROGRESS  WESTWARD  —  WAR-KNIVES,  AXES,  AND  SPEARS  —  SKILL 
IN  IRON  WORK  —  THE  FAN  CROSS-BOW  AND  ITS  DIMINUTIVE  ARROWS  —  WAR  SHIELDS  AND  THEIR 
VALUE  —  ELEPHANT  HUNTING — THE  WIRE  NET  AND  THE  SPEAR  TRAP  —  FAN  COOKERY,  AND 
DIET  IN  GENERAL  —  MORTARS  AND  COOKING  POTS  —  EARTHEN  PIPE-BOWLS — CRAVING  FOR  MEAT 
—  FATE  OF  THE   SHEEP. 


The  remarkable  tribe  which  now  comes 
before  our  notice  inhabits  a  tract  of  land  just 
above  the  Equator,  and  on  the  easternmost 
known  limits  of  the  Gaboon  River.  Their 
name  for  themselves  is  Ba-Fanh,  i.  e.  the 
Fan-people,  and  they  are  known  along  the 
coa.st  as  the  Pasuen. 

That  they  are  truly  a  singular  people  may 
be  inferred  from  the  terse  summary  which 
has  been  given  of  them,  — ■  namely,  a  race  of 
cannibal  gentlemen.  Their  origin  is  un- 
known; but,  as  far  as  can  be  gathered  from 
various  sources,  they  have  corae  from  the 
north-east,  their  bold  and  warlike  nature 
having  overcome  the  weaker  or  more  timid 
tribes  who  originally  possessed  the  land, 
and  who,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  seem 
to  have  been  allied  to  the  curious  dwarfish 
race  which  has  been  described  on  page 
482. 

They  cannot  be  called  negroes,  as  they 
are  not  black,  but  coffee  colored;  neither  do 
they  possess  the  enormous  lips,  the  elon- 
gated skull,  nor  the  projecting  jaws,  which 
are  so  con.spicuous  in  the  true  negro.  In 
many  individuals  a  remarkable  shape  of  the 
skull  is  to  be  seen,  the  forehead  running  up 
into  a  conical  shape.  Their  figures  are  usu- 
ally slight,  and  their  upper  jaw  mostly 
protrudes  beyond  the  lower,  thus  giving  a 
strange  expression  to  the  countenance. 

The  men  are  dressed  simply  enough,  their 
chief  costume  being  a  piece  of  bark  cloth, 
or,  in  case  the  wearer  should  be  of  very  high 
rank,  the  skin  of  a  tiger-cat,  with  the  tail 

(5; 


downward.  They  have  a  way  of  adding  to 
their  natural  heads  of  hair  a  sort  of  queue, 
exactly  like  that  of  the  British  sailor  in  Nel- 
son's days,  making  the  queue  partly  out  of 
their  own  hair,  and  partly  from  tow  and 
other  fibres.  It  is  plaited  very  firmlj',  and 
is  usually  decorated  with  beads,  cowries,  and 
other  ornaments.  The  beard  is  gathered 
into  two  tufts,  which  are  twisted  like  ropes, 
and  kept  in  shape  by  abundant  grease. 

The  king  of  the  Fans,  Ndiayai  by  name, 
was  noted  for  his  taste  in  dress.  His  queue 
divided  at  the  end  into  two  points,  each  of 
which  was  terminated  by  brass  I'ings,  while 
a  number  of  white  beads  were  worn  at  the 
top  of  his  head.  His  entire  body  was 
painted  red,  and  was  also  covered  with 
Ijoldly-drawn  tattoo  marks.  Round  his  waist 
he  had  twisted  a  small  piece  of  bark  cloth, 
in  front  of  which  hung  the  tuft  of  leopard 
skin  that  designated  his  royal  authority. 
The  whole  of  the  hair  which  was  not  gath- 
ered into  the  queue  was  teased  out  into  lit- 
tle ropelets,  which  stood  well  out  from  the 
head,  and  were  terminated  by  beads  or  small 
rings.  His  ankles  were  loaded  with  lirass 
rings,  which  made  a  great  jingling  as  he 
walked,  and  his  head  was  decorated  with  the 
red  feathers  of  the  touraco.  His  teeth  were 
filed  to  poinis,  and  painted  black,  and  his 
body  was  hung  with  quantities  of  charms 
and  amulets. 

The  women  wear  even  less  costume  than 
the  men.  Unmarried  girls  wear  none  at  all, 
and,  even  when  married,  a  slight  apron  is 

i29J 


530 


THE   FANS. 


all  that  they  use.  On  their  heads  they  gen- 
eral!}' wear  some  ornament,  and  the  wife  of 
Ndiayai  —  who,  as  Du  Chaillu  remarlis,  was 
the  ugliest  woman  lie  had  ever  seen — had 
a  cap  covered  with  white  shells,  and  had 
made  tattooing,  with  which  her  whole  body 
was  covered,  take  the  place  of  clothing. 
She  certainly  wore  a  so  called  dress,  but  it 
was  only  a  little  strip  of  red  Fan  cloth, 
about  tour  inches  wide.  Two  enormous 
copper  rings  were  passed  through  the  lobes 
of  her  ears,  which  they  dragged  down  in  a 
very  unsightly  manner,  and  on  her  ankles 
were  iron  rings  of  great  weight.  These 
were  her  most  precious  ornaments,  iron 
being  to  the  Fans  even  more  valuable  than 
gold  is  among  ourselves.  Apparently  from 
constant  exposure,  her  skin  was  rough  like 
the  bark  of  a  tree. 

Most  of  the  married  women  wear  a  bark 
belt  about  four  inches  wide,  which  passes 
over  one  shoulder  and  under  the  other. 
This  is  not  meant  as  an  article  of  dress,  but 
only  a  sort  of  cradle.  The  chi'd  is  seated 
on  this  belt,  so  that  its  weight  is  principallv 
sustained  by  it,  and  it  can  be  shifted  about 
from  side  to  side  by  merely  changing  the 
belt  from  one  arm  to  the  other.  The  wom- 
en are,  as  a  rule,  smaller  in  stature  than 
the  men,  and  are  not  at  all  pretty,  what 
pretence  to  beauty  they  may  have  being 
destroyed  by  their  abominable  i)ractice  of 
painting  their  bodies  red,  and  tiling  their 
teeth   to  sharp  points. 

From  the  accounts  of  those  who  have 
mixed  with  them,  the  Fans  present  a 
strange  jumble  of  characters.  They  prac- 
tise open  and  avowed  cannibalism  —  a  cus- 
tom which  is  as  repulsive  to  civilized  feel- 
ings as  can  well  be  imagined.  They  are 
fierce,  warlike,  and  ruthless  in  battle,  fight- 
ing for  the  mere  love  of  it,  with  their  hand 
against  every  man.  Yet  in  private  life  they 
are  hospitable,  polite,  and  gentle,  rather 
afraid  of  strangers,  and  as  mildly  inquisitive 
as  cats.  Both  Du  Chaillu  and  Mr.  Kcade 
agree  in  these  points,  and  the  latter  has 
given  a  most  amusing  account  of  his  intro- 
duction to  a  Fan  village.  He  had  been  pre- 
viously challenged  on  the  Gaboon  Elver  by 
a  Fan,  who  forbade  the  boat  to  pass,  but, 
on  being  oftered  a  brass  rod  per  diem  as 
a  recompense  for  his  services  as  guide, 
"grinned  horribly  a  ghastly  smile,"  which 
showed  his  filed  teeth,  and  agreed  to  con- 
duct the  party  to  the  next  village.  He  kept 
his  word  like  a  man,  and  brought  the  boat 
to  a  village,  where  our  author  made  his  first 
aequainti.nce  with  the  tribe. 

"  I  examined  these  people  with  the  inter- 
est of  a  traveller;  they  bailed  me  with  the 
enthusiasm  of  a  mob.  The  chiefs  house,  to 
which  I  had  been  conducted,  was  surrounded 
by  a  crowd  of  cannibals,  four  deep;  and  the 
slight  modicum  of  light  which  native  archi- 
tecture permits  to  come  in  by  the  door  was 
intercepted  by  heads  and  parrots'  feathers.  | 


At  the  same  time,  every  man  talked  as  if  ho 
had  two  voices.  Oshuiui  obtained  me  a 
short  resi)ite  by  explaining  to  them  that  it 
was  the  habit  of  the  animal  to  come  out  to 
air  liimself,  and  to  walk  to  and  fro  in  the 
one  street  of  the  village.  Being  already 
inured  to  this  kind  of  thing,  I  went  out  at 
sunset  and  sat  before  the  door.  Oshupu, 
squatting  beside  me,  and  playing  on  a  musi- 
cal instrument,  gave  the  proceeding  the 
appearance  of  a  theatrical  entertainment. 

"  And  this  taught  me  how  often  an  actor 
can  return  the  open  merriment  of  the  house 
with  sly  laughter  in  his  sleeve.  One  seldom 
has  the  fortune  to  see  anj'thing  so  ludicrous 
on  the  stage  as  the  grotesque  grimaces  of  a 
laughing  audience.  But  oh,  if  Ilogai-fh 
could  have  seen  my  cannibalsl  Here  stood 
two  men  with  their  hands  upon  each  other's 
shoulders,  staring  at  me  in  mute  wonder, 
their  eyes  like  saucers,  their  mouths  like 
open  sepulchres.  There  an  old  woman,  in 
a  stooping  attitude,  with  her  hands  on  her 
knees,  like  a  cricketer  '  fielding  out; '  a  man 
was  dragging  up  his  frightened  wife  to  look 
at  me,  and  a  child  cried  bitterly  with  averted 
eyes.  After  the  Fans  had  taken  the  edge 
off  their  curiosity,  and  had  dispersed  a  little, 
I  rose  to  enjo}'  my  evening  promenade.  All 
stared  at  me  with  increasing  wonder.  Tliat 
a  man  should  \valk  backward  and  forward 
with  no  fixed  ol)ject  is  something  which 
the  slothful  negrti  cannot  understand,  and 
which  possibly  ajipears  to  him  rather  the 
action  of  a  beast  tlian  of  a  human  being. 

"  It  was  not  long  before  they  contrived  to 
conquer  their  timidity.  I  observed  two  or 
tliree  girls  whispering  together  and  looking 
at  me.  Presently  I  felt  an  inquisitive  finger 
laid  on  my  coat,  and  lieard  the  sound  of  bare 
feet  running  awaj'.  I  remained  in  the  same 
position.  Then  one  bolder  than  the  rest 
ajiproached  mo,  and  spoke  to  me  smiling.  I 
assumed  as  amiable  an  expression  as  Nature 
would  permit,  and  touched  my  ears  to  show 
that  I  did  not  understand.  At  this  they  had 
a  great  laugh,  as  if  I  had  said  something 
good,  and  tlie  two  others  began  to  draw 
near  like  cats.  One  girl  took  my  hand 
between  hers,  and  stroked  it  timidly;  the 
others,  raising  toward  me  their  beautiful 
black  eyes,  and  with  smiles  showing  teeth 
which  were  not  filed,  and  which  were  as 
white  as  snow,  demanded  permission  to 
touch  this  liand,  which  seemed  to  them  so 
strange.  And  then  they  all  felt  my  cheeks 
and  my  straight  hair,  and  looked  up(m  me 
as  a  tame  jirodigy  sent  to  them  by  the  gods; 
and  all  the  wliiTe  they  cliattered,  the  pretty 
things,  as  if  I  could  understand  them. 

"Now  ensued  a  grand  discussion;  first 
my  skin  was  touched,  and  then  my  coat, 
and  the  two  were  carefully  comjiared.  At 
length  one  of  them  hai  pined  to  pull  back 
my  "coat,  and  on  seeing  my  wrist  they  gave 
a  cry,  and  clapped  their  hands  unanimously. 
They  had  been  arguing  whether  my  coat 


WAR  WEAPOJfS. 


531 


was  of  the  same  material  as  my  skin,  and  an 
accident  had  solved  the  mystery. 

"  I  was  soon  encircled  by  women  and  chil- 
dren, who  wished  to  touch  my  hands,  and  to 
peejj  under  my  cuffs  —  a  proceeding  which  I 
endured  with  exemplary  patience.  Nor  did 
I  ever  spend  half  an  hour  in  a  Fan  village 
before  these  weaker  vessels  had  forgotten 
that  they  had  cried  with  terror  when  they 
first  saw  "me;  and  before  I  also  had  forgotten 
that  these  amicable  Yaricos  would  stew  me 
in  palm  oil  and  serve  me  up  before  their 
aged  sires,  if  so  ordered,  with  as  little  reluc- 
tance as  an  English  cook  would  crimp  her 
cod,  skin  her  eels  alive,  or  boil  her  lobsters 
into  red  agony." 

The  Fans  are  a  fierce  and  warlike  people, 
and  by  dint  of  arms  have  forced  their  way 
into  countries  far  distant  from  their  own, 
wherever  that  may  have  been.  No  tribes 
have  been  able  to  stand  against  them,  and 
even  the  large  and  powerful  Bakalai  and 
Shekiani  have  had  to  yield  up  village  after 
village  to  the  invaders,  so  that  in  some  parts 
all  these  tribes  are  curiously  intermingled; 
and  all  these  are  at  war  with  each  other. 
The  Fans,  however,  are  more  than  a  match 
for  the  other  two,  even  if  they  were  to  com- 
bine forces,  which  their  short-sighted  jeal- 
ousy will  not  permit  them  to  do;  and  by 
slow  degrees  the  Bakalai  and  Shekiani  are 
wasting  away,  and  the  Fans  taking  their 
places.  They  have  even  penetrated  into 
the  Mpongwe  country,  so  that  they  pro- 
ceed steadily  from  the  east  toward  the  sea- 
board. 

The  progress  made  by  the  Fans  has  been 
astonishingly  rapid.  Before  1847  they  were 
only  known  traditionally  to  the  sea-shore 
tribes  as  a  race  of  warlike  canniljals,  a  few 
villages  being  found  in  the  mountainous 
region  from  which  the  head  waters  of  the 
Gaboon  River  take  their  origin.  Now  they 
have  passed  westward  until  they  are  within 
a  few  miles  of  the  sea-coast  and  are  now 
and  then  seen  among  the  settlements  of  the 
traders. 

Every  Fan  becomes  a  warrior  when  he 
obtains  the  age  of  manhood,  and  goes  sys- 
tematically armed  with  a  truly  formidalsle 
array  of  weapons.  Their  principal  oft'en- 
sive  weapon  is  the  huge  war-knife,  which  is 
sometimes  three  feet  in  length,  and  seven 
inches  or  so  in  width. 

Several  forms  of  these  knives  are  shown 
in  the  illustration  on  page  558.  The  gen- 
eral shape  is  much  like  that  of  the  knives 
used  in  other  parts  of  Western  Africa. 
That  on  the  left  hand  (fig.  1)  may  almost  be 
called  a  sword,  so  large  and  heavy  is  it.  In 
using  it,  the  Fan  warrior  prefers  the  point 
to  the  edge,  and  keeps  it  sharpened  for  the 
express  purpose.  Another  form  of  knife  is 
seen  in  fig.  2.  This  has  no  point,  and  is 
used  as  a  cutting  instrument.  Many  of 
them  have  also  a  smaller  knife,  which  they 
use  for  cutting  meat,  and  other  domestic 


purposes,  reserving  the  large    knives    en- 
tirely for  battle. 

Ail  these  knives  are  kept  very  sharp,  and 
are  preserved  in  sheaths,  such  as  are  seen 
in  the  illustration.  The  sheaths  are  mostly 
made  of  two  flat  pieces  of  wood,  slightly 
hollowed  out,  so  as  to  receive  the  blade, 
and  covered  with  hide  of  some  sort.  Snake 
skin  forms  a  favorite  covering  to  the  sheaths, 
and  many  of  the  sheaths  are  covered  with 
human  skin,  torn  from  the  body  of  a  slain 
enemy.  The  two  halves  of  the  sheath  are 
bound  together  by  strips  of  raw  hide,  which 
hold  them  quite  firmly  in  their  places. 

Axes  of  difierent  kinds  are  also  employed 
by  the  Fans.  One  of  these  bears  a  singular 
resemblance  to  the  Neam-Nam  war-knife, 
as  seen  on  page  4.37,  and  is  used  in  exactly 
the  same  manner,  namely,  as  a  missile.  Its 
head  is  flat  and  pointed,  and  just  above  the 
handle  is  a  .sharp  projection,  much  like  that 
on  the  Neam-Nam  knife.  When  the  Fan 
warrior  flings  his  axe,  he  aims  it  at  the  head 
of  the  enemy,  and  has  a  kn.ack  of  hurling  it 
so  that  its  point  strikes  downward,  and  tlius 
inflicts  a  blow  strong  enough  to  crush  even 
the  hard  skull  of  a  native  African. 

Spears  are  also  used,  their  shafts  being 
about  six  or  seven  feet  in  length,  and  of 
some  thickness.  They  are  used  for  thrust- 
ing, and  not  for  throwing,  and  their  heads 
are  of  various  shapes.  There  is  a  very  good 
group  of  them  in  the  museum  of  the  An- 
thropological Society,  exhibiting  the  chief 
forms  of  the  heads.  These  spears,  as  well 
as  the  shield  which  accomjjanies  them,  were 
brought  to  England  by  M.  du  Chaillu,  to 
whom  we  are  indebted  for  most  of  our 
knowledge  concerning  this  remarkable  tribe. 
Some  of  the  spear  heads  are  quite  plaiu 
and  leaf-shaped,  while  others  are  formed 
in  rather  a  fantastical  manner.  One,  for 
example,  has  several  large  and  flat  barbs 
set  just  under  the  head,  another  has  only 
a  single  pair  of  barljs,  while  a  third  looks 
much  like  the  sword-knife  set  in  the  end 
of  a  shaft,  and  so  converted  into  a  spear. 

All  their  weapons  are  kept  in  the  best 
order,  tlieir  owners  being  ever  ready  for  a 
fray  ;  and  they  are  valued  in  proportion  to 
the  execution  which  they  have  done,  the 
warriors  having  an  almost  superstitious 
regard  for  a  knife  which  has  killed  a  man. 
Their  weajions  are  all  made  by  themselves, 
and  the  quality  of  the  steel  is  re.ally  sur- 
prising. They  obtain  their  iron  ore  ft'om 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  where  it  lies 
about  plentifully  in  some  localities.  In 
order  to  smelt  it,  they  cut  a  vast  supply  of 
wood  and  build  a  large  pile,  laying  on  it  a 
quantity  of  the  ore  broken  into  pieces. 
More  wood  ie  then  thrown  on  the  top,  and 
the  whole  is  lighted.  Fresh  supplies  of 
wood  are  continually  added,  until  the  iron 
is  fairly  melted  out  of  the  ore.  Of  course 
by  this  rough  mode  of  jirocedure,  a  con- 
siderable percentage  of  the  metal  is  lost, 


532 


THE  FANS. 


but  that  is  thought  of  very  little  conse- 
quence. 

The  next  business  is  to  make  the  cast- 
iron  malk'aljlc,  which  is  done  by  a  series  of 
beatings  and  hammerings,  the  result  being 
a  wonderfully  well-tempered  sieel.  For 
their  purposes,  such  steel  is  far  preferable 
to  that  wliich  is  made  in  England  ;  and 
when  a  Fan  wishes  to  make  a  particularly 
good  knife  or  spear  head,  he  would  rather 
smelt  and  temper  iron  for  himself  than  use 
the  best  steel  that  Sheffield  can  produce. 

The  bellows  which  they  employ  are  made 
on  exactly  the  same  principle  as  those  which 
have  several  times  been  mentioned.  They 
are  made  of  two  short  hollow  cylinders,  to 
the  upper  end  of  which  is  tied  a  loose  piece 
of  soft  hide.  A  wooden  handle  is  fixed  to 
eacli  skin.  From  the  bottoms  of  the  cylin- 
ders a  wooden  pipe  is  led,  and  the  two  pipes 
converge  in  an  iron  tube.  Tlie  end  of  this 
tube  is  placed  in  the  fire,  and  the  bellows- 
man,  by  working  the  handles  up  and  down 
alternately,  drives  a  constant  stream  of  air 
into  the  fire. 

Their  anvils  and  hammers  are  equally 
simple  ;  and  yet,  with  such  rude  materials, 
they  contrive,  by  dint  of  patient  working, 
to  turn  out  admirable  specimens  of  black- 
smith's work.  All  their  best  weapons  are 
decorated  w'itli  intricate  patterns  engraven 
on  the  blades,  and,  as  time  is  no  object  to 
them,  they  will  spend  many  months  on  tlie 
figuring  and  finishing  of  a  single  axe  blade. 
The  patterns  are  made  by  means  of  a  small 
chisel  and  a  hammer.  Some  of  their  ruder 
knives  are  not  intended  as  weapons  of  war, 
but  merely  as  instruments  by  which  they 
can  cut  down  the  trees  and  brushwood  that 
are  in  the  way  when  they  want  to  clear  a 
spot  for  agriculture.  It  will  now  be  seen 
wliy  iron  is  so  valuable  a  commodity  among 
the"  Fans,  and  why  a  couple  of  heavy  anklets 
made  of  this  precious  metal  should  be  so 
valued  by  the  women. 

There  is  one  very  singular  weapon  among 
the  Fans.  Perhaps  there  is  no  part  of  the 
world  where  we  could  less  expect  to  find 
the  crossbow  than  among  a  cannilial  tribe 
at  the  liead  of  the  Gaboon.  Yet  there  the 
crossbow  is  regularly  used  as  an  engine  of 
war,  and  a  most  formidable  weapon  it  is, 
giving  its  possessors  a  terrible  advantage 
over  their  foes.  The  ingenuity  exhibited 
in  the  manufacture  of  this  weapon  is  very 
great,  and  yet  one  cannot  but  wonder  at 
the  odd  mixture  of  cleverness  and  stupidity 
which  its  structure  shows.  The  bow  is 
very  strong,  and  when  the  warrior  wishes 
to  bend  it  he  seats  himself  on  the  ground, 
puts  his  foot  against  the  bow,  and  so  has 
laoth  hands  at  liberty,  by  which  he  can  haul 
the  cord  into  the  notch  which  holds  it  until 
it  is  released  by  the  trigger.  The  shaft  is 
about  five  feet  long,  and  is  .split  for  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  its  length.  The  little 
Etick  which  is  thrust  between  the  split  por- 


tions constitutes  the  trigger,  and  the  method 
of  using  it  is  as  follows  :  — 

Just  below  the  notch  which  holds  the 
string  is  a  round  bole  through  which  passes 
a  short  peg.  The  other  end  of  the  peg, 
which  is  made  of  very  hard  wood,  is  fixed 
into  the  lower  half  of  the  split  shaft,  and 
plays  freely  through  the  hole.  When  the 
two  halves  of  the  .shaft  are  separated  by  the 
trigger,  the  peg  is  pulled  through  the  hole, 
and  allows  the  cord  to  rest  in  the  notch. 
But  as  soon  as  the  trigger  is  removed  the 
two  halves  close  together,  and  the  peg  is 
thus  driven  up  through  the  hole,  knockins 
the  cord  out  of  the  notch.  I  have  in  my 
collection  a  Chinese  crossbow,  the  string 
of  which  is  released  on  exactly  the  same 
principle. 

Of  course,  an  accurate  aim  is  out  of  the 
question,  for  the  trigger-peg  is  held  so  tightly 
between  the  two  halves  of  the  shaft  that  it 
cannot  be  pulled  out  without  so  great  an 
effort  that  any  aim  must  be  effectually  de- 
ranged. But  in  the  use  of  this  weapon  aim 
is  of  very  little  consequence,  as  the  bow  is 
only  used  at  very  short  ranges,  fifteen  j'ards 
being  about  the  longest  distance  at  which  a 
Fan  cares  to  expend  an  arrow.  The  arrows 
themselves  are  not  calculated  for  long  ranges, 
as  they  are  merely  little  strips  of  wood  a  foot 
or  so  in  length,  and  about  the  sixth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.  They  owe  their  terrors, 
not  to  their  sharpness,  nor  to  the  velocity 
with  which  they  are  impelled,  but  to  the 
poison  with  which  their  tips  are  imbued. 
Indeed,  they  are  so  extremely  light  that  they 
cannot  be  merely  laid  on  the  groove  of  the 
shaft,  lest  they  should  be  blown  away  by 
the  wind.  They  are  therefore  fastened  in 
their  place  with  a  little  piece  of  gum,  of 
which  the  archer  always  takes  care  to  have 
a  supjily  at  hand.  Owing  to  their  diminu- 
tive size,  they  cannot  be  seen  until  their 
force  is  expended,  and  to  this  circumstance 
they  owe  much  of  their  power.  They  have 
no  feathers,  neither  does  any  particular  care 
seem  to  be  taken  about  their  tips,  which, 
although  jiointed,  are  not  nearly  as  sharp  as 
those  of  the  tiny  arrows  used  by  the  Dyaks 
of  Borneo,  or  the  Macoushies  of  the  Esse- 
quibo. 

The  poison  with  which  their  points  are 
imbued  is  procured  from  the  juice  of  some 
plant  at  present  unknown,  and  two  or  three 
coatings  are  given  before  the  weapon  is  con- 
sidered to  be  sufficiently  envenomed.  The 
Fans  appear  to  be  unacquainted  with  any 
antidote  for  the  poison,  or,  if  they  do  know 
of  any,  they  keep  it  a  profound  secret.  The 
reader  may  remember  a  parallel  instance 
among  the  Bosjesmans,  with  regard  to  the 
antidote  for  the  poison-grub. 

Besides  these  arrows,  they  use  others 
about  two  feet  in  length,  with  iron  heads, 
whenever  they  go  in  search  of  large  game; 
but  in  warfare,  the  little  arrow  is  quite 
strong  enough  to  penetrate  the  skiu  of  a 


ELEPHANT  HUNTING. 


533 


human  being,  and  is  therefore  used  in  pref- 
erence to  tlie  larger  and  more  cumbrous  dart. 

The  only  defensive  weapon  is  the  shield, 
which  is  made  from  the  h'u\e  of  the  elephant. 
It  varies  slightly  in  shape,  but  is  generally 
oblong,  and  is  about  three  feet  long  by  two 
and  a  half  wide,  so  that  it  covers  all  the  vital 
parts  of  the  body.  The  piece  of  hide  used 
for  the  shield  is  cut  from  the  shoulders  of 
the  elephant,  where,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
pachyderms  in  general,  the  skin  is  thickest 
and  .strongest.  No  spear  can  penetrate  this 
shield,  the  axe  cannot  hew  its  way  through 
it,  the  missile  knife  barely  indents  it,  and  the 
crossbow  arrows  rebound  harmlessly  from 
its  surface.  Even  a  bullet  will  glance  off 
if  it  should  strike  obliquely  on  the  shield. 
Such  a  shield  is  exceedingly  valuable,  be- 
cause the  skin  of  an  elephant  will  not  afford 
material  for  more  than  one  or  two  shields, 
aud  elephant-killing  is  a  task  that  needs 
much  time,  patience,  courage,  and  ingenuity. 
Moreover,  the  ele|ihant  must  be  an  old  one, 
and,  as  the  old  elephants  are  proverbially 
fierce  and  cunning,  the  danger  of  hunting 
them  is  very  great. 

Like  other  savages,  the  Fan  has  no  idea 
of  "  sport."  He  is  nece.ssarily  a  "  pot-hun- 
ter," and  thinks  it  the  most  foolish  thing  in 
the  world  to  give  the  game  a  tair  chance  of 
escape.  When  he  goes  to  hunt,  he  intends 
to  kill  the  animal,  and  cares  not  in  the  least 
as  to  the  means  which  he  uses.  The  man- 
ner of  elephant  hunting  is  exceedingly  in- 
genious. 

As  soon  as  they  find  an  elephant  feeding, 
the  Fans  choose  a  spot  at  a  little  distance 
where  the  monkey  vines  and  other  creepers 
dangle  most  luxuriantly  from  the  boughs. 
Quietly  detaching  them,  they  interweave 
them  among  the  tree  trunks,  so  as  to  make 
a  strong,  net-like  barrier,  which  is  elastic 
enough  to  yield  to  the  rush  of  an  elephant, 
and  strong  enough  to  detain  and  eutansle 
him.  Moreover,  the  Fans  know  well  that 
the  elepliant  dreads  anythiug  that  looks  like 
a  fence,  and,  as  has  been  well  said,  may  be 
kept  prisoner  in  an  enclosure  which  would 
not  detain  a  calf. 

When  the  barrier  is  completed,  the  Fans, 
armed  with  their  spears,  surround  the  ele- 
phant, and  by  shouts  and  cries  drive  him  in 
the  direction  of  the  barrier.  As  soon  as  he 
strikes  against  it,  he  is  tilled  with  terror,  and 
instead  of  exerting  his  gigantic  strength, 
and  breaking  through  the  obstacle,  he  strug- 
gles in  vague  terror,  while  his  enemies 
crowd  round  him,  inflicting  wound  after 
wound  with  their  broad-bladed  spears.  In 
vain  does  he  strike  at  the  twisted  vines,  or 
endeavor  to  pull  them  down  with  his  trunk, 
and  equally  in  vain  he  endeavors  to  trample 
them  under  foot.  The  elastic  ropes  yield  to 
his  efforts,  and  in  the  meanwhile  the  fatal 
missiles  are  poured  on  him  from  every  side. 
Some  of  the  hunters  crawl  through  the 
brush,  and  wound  him  from  below;  others 


climl)  u\>  trees,  and  hurl  spears  from  among 
the  boughs;  while  the  bolder  attack  him 
openly,  running  away  if  ho  makes  a  charge, 
and  returning  as  soon  as  he  pauses,  cluster- 
ing round  him  like  flies  round  a  carcass. 

This  mode  of  chase  is  not  without  its  dan- 
gers, men  being  frequently  killed  by  the  ele- 
phant, which  charges  unexpectedly,  knocks 
them  down  with  a  blow  of  the  trunk,  and 
then  tramples  them  inider  foot.  Sometinres 
an  unfortunate  hunter,  when  charged  by  the 
animal,  loses  his  presence  of  mind,  runs  to- 
ward the  vine  barrier,  and  is  caught  in  the 
very  meshes  which  he  helped  to  weave. 
Tree  climbing  is  the  usual  resource  of  a 
chased  hunter;  and,  as  the  Fans  can  run  up 
trees  almost  as  easily  as  monkeys,  thej-  find 
themselves  safer  among  the  branches  than 
they  would  be  if  they  merely  tried  to  dodge 
the  animal  round  the  tree  trunks. 

The  Fans  also  use  an  elephant  trap  which 
is  iileutieal  in  principle  with  that  which  is 
used  in  killing  the  hippopotamus,  —  namely, 
a  weighted  spear  hung  to  a  branch  under 
which  the  elephant  must  pass,  and  detached 
by  a  string  tied  to  a  trigger.  The  natives 
are  assisted  in  their  elephant-hunting  ex- 
])editions  by  the  character  of  the  animal. 
Suspicions  and  crafty  as  is  the  elephant, 
it  has  a  strong  disinclination  to  leave  a 
spot  where  it  finds  the  food  which  it  likes 
best;  aud  in  consequence  of  this  peculiarity, 
whenever  an  elephant  is  discovered,  the 
Fans  feel  sure  that  it  will  remain  in  the 
same  place  for  several  days,  and  take  their 
measures  accordingly. 

When  they  have  killed  an  elephant,  they 
utilize  nearly  the  whole  of  the  enormous 
carcass,  taking  out  the  tusks  for  sale,  using 
the  skin  of  the  back  for  shields,  and  eating 
the  whole  of  the  flesh.  To  European  pal- 
ates the  flesh  of  the  elephant  is  distasteful, 
partly  on  account  of  its  peculiar  flavor,  and 
partly  because  the  cookery  of  the  native 
African  is  not  of  the  best  character.  M.  du 
Chaillu  speaks  of  it  in  very  contemptuous 
terms.  "  The  elephant  meat,  of  which  the 
Fans  seem  to  be  very  fond,  and  which  they 
have  been  cooking  and  smoking  for  three 
days,  is  the  toughest  and  most  disagreeable 
meat  I  ever  tasted.  I  cannot  explain  its 
taste,  because  we  have  no  flesh  which  tastes 
like  it,  but  it  seems  full  of  muscular  fibre  or 
gristle;  and  when  it  has  been  boiled  for  two 
days,  twelve  hours  each  day,  it  is  still  tough. 
The  flavor  is  not  unpleasant;  but,  although 
I  h.ad  tried  at  different  times  to  accustom 
myself  to  it,  I  found  only  that  my  disgust 
grew  greater." 

Whether  elephant  meat  is  governed  by 
the  same  culinary  laws  as  o.i  meat  remains 
to  be  seen;  but,  if  such  be  the  case,  the  cook 
who  boiled  the  meat  for  twenty-four  hours 
seems  to  have  ingeniously  hit  upon  a  plan 
that  would  make  the  best  beef  tough, 
stringy,  tasteless,  and  almost  uneatable. 
Had  it  been  gently  simmered  for  six  hours, 


634 


THE   FANS. 


the  result  might  have  been  different;  but  to 
boil  meat  for  twenty-four  hours  by  way  of 
making  it  tender  is  as  absurd  as  boiling  an 
egg  for  the  same  period  by  way  of  maliing 
it  soft. 

As  to  their  diet  in  general,  the  Fans  do 
not  deserve  a  very  high  culinary  rank. 
They  have  plenty  of  material,  and  very 
slight  notions  of  using  it.  The  manioc 
atlbrds  them  a  large  portion  of  tlieir  vege- 
table food,  and  is  partieularly  valuable  on 
account  of  the  ease  with  which  it  is  culti- 
vated, a  portion  of  the  stem  carelessly 
placed  in  the  ground  producing  in  a  single 
season  two  or  three  large  roots.  The  leaves 
are  also  boiled  and  eaten.  Pumpkins  of  dif- 
ferent kinds  are  largely  cultivated,  and  even 
the  seeds  are  rendered  edible.  M.  du 
Cliaillu  says  that  during  the  pumpkin  season 
the  villages  seem  covered  with  the  seeds, 
which  are  spread  out  to  dry,  and,  when  dried, 
they  are  packed  in  leaves  and  hung  in  the 
smoke  over  the  fireplace,  in  order  to  keep  oft" 
the  attacks  of  an  insect  which  injures  them. 

When  they  are  to  be  eaten,  they  are  first 
boiled,  and  then  the  skin  is  removed.  The 
seeds  are  next  placed  in  a  mortar  together 
with  a  little  sweet  oil,  and  are  pounded  into  a 
soft,  puljiy  mass,  which  is  finally  cooked 
over  the  tire,  either  in  an  earthen  pot  or  in  a 
plantain  leaf  This  is  a  very  palatable  sort 
of  food,  and  some  persons  prefer  it  to  the 
pumpkin  itself. 

The  mortars  are  not  in  the  least  like  those 
of  Europe,  being  long,  narrow  troughs,  two 
feet  in  length,  two  or  three  inches  deep,  and 
seven  or  eight  wide.  Each  family  has  one 
or  two  of  these  small  implements,  but  there 
are  always  some  enormous  mortars  for  the 
common"  use  of  the  village,  which  are  em- 
ployed in  pounding  manioc.  When  the  seed 
is  pounded  into  a  paste,  it  is  formed  into 
cakes,  and  can  be  kept  for  some  little  time. 

The  cooking  pots  are  made  of  clay,  and 
formed  with  wonderful  accuracy,  seeing 
that  the  Fans  have  no  idea  of  the  potter's 
wheel,  even  in  its  simplest  forms.  Their 
cooking  pots  are  round  and  flat,  and  are 
shaped  something  like  milk  pans.  They 
also  make  clay  water  bottles  of  quite  a  clas- 
sical shape,  and  vessels  for  palm  wine  are 
made  from  the  same  material.  These  wine 
jars  are  shaped  much  like  the  amphoric  of 
the  ancients.  The  clay  is  moulded  liy  hand, 
dried  thoroughly  in  the  sun,  and  then  baked 
in  a  fire.  The  exterior  is  adorned  with  pat- 
terns much  like  those  on  the  knives  and  axes. 

The  Fans  also  make  the  l)owls  of  their 
pipes  of  the  same  clay,  but  always  form  the 
stems  of  wood.  The  richer  among  them 
make  their  pipes  entirely  of  iron,  and  prefer 
them,  in  spite  of  their  weight  and  apparent 
inconvenience,  to  any  others.  They  also 
make  very  ingenious  water  bottles  out 
reeds,  and,  in  order  to  render  them  water 
tight,  plaster  them  witliin  and  without  with 
a  vegetable  gum.    This  gum  is  first  soft- 


ened in  the  fire,  and  laid  on  the  vessel  like 
pitch.  It  has  a  very  unpleasant  flavor  until  it 
is  quite  seasoned,  and  is  therefore  kept  under 
water  for  several  weeks  before  it  is  used. 

Like  some  other  savage  tribes,  the  Fans 
have  a  craving  for  meat,  which  sometimes 
becomes  so  jjowerful  as  to  deserve  the  name 
of  a  disease.  The  elephant  atlbrds  enough 
meat  to  quell  this  disease  for  a  considerable 
time,  and  therefore  they  have  a  great  liking 
for  the  flesh  of  this  animal.  But  the  great 
luxury  of  a  Fan  is  the  flesh  of  a  sheep,  an 
animal  which  they  can  scarcely  ever  procure. 
Mr.  W.  Reade,  in  his  '•  Savage  Africa,"  gives 
a  most  amusing  description  of  the  sensation 
produced  among  his  Fan  boatmen:  — 

"  Before  I  left  the  village  I  engaged 
another  man,  which  gave  me  a  crew  of 
eight.  I  also  purchased  a  smooth-skinned 
sheep,  and  upon  this  poor  animal,  as  it  lay 
shackled  in  our  prow,  many  a  hungry  eye 
was  cast.  When  it  bleated  the  whole  crew 
burst  into  one  loud  carnivorous  grin.  Bush- 
men can  sometimes  enjoy  a  joint  of  stringy 
venison,  a  cut  oft'  a  smoked  elephant,  a 
boiled  monkey,  or  a  grilled  snake;  but  a 
sheep  —  a  real  domestic  sheep  !  —  an  animal 
which  had  long  been  looked  upon  as  the 
pride  of  their  village,  the  ej'esore  of  their 
poorer  neighbors  —  which  they  had  been  in 
the  habit  "of  calling  '  brother,'  and  upon 
whom  they  had  lavished  all  the  privileges  of 
a  fellow-citizen  ! 

"  That  fate  should  have  sent  the  white 
and  wealthy  oftspring  of  the  sea  to  place 
this  delicacy  within  their  reach  was  some- 
thing too  strong  and  sudden  for  their  feeble 
minds.  They  were  unsettled;  they  could 
not  paddle  properly ;  their  sonls  (which  are 
certainly  in  their  stomachs,  wherever  ours 
may  be)  were  restless  and  quivering  toward 
that  sheep,  as  (I  have  to  invent  metaphors) 
the  needle  ere  it  rests  upon  its  star. 

"  When  one  travels  in  the  company  of 
cannibals,  it  is  bad  jjolicy  to  let  them  become 
too  hungry.  At  mid-day  I  gave  orders  that 
the  sheep"  should  be  killed.  There  was  a 
yell  of  triumph,  a  broad  knife  steeped  in 
blood,  a  long  struggle;  then  three  fires 
blazed  forth, "three  day  pots  were  placed 
thereon,  and  tilled  with  the  bleeding  limbs 
of  the  deceased.  On  an  occasion  like  this, 
the  negro  is  endowed  tiir  a  few  moments 
with  tiie  energy  and  jiromptitude  of  the 
European.  Kor  would  1  complain  of  need- 
less delav  in  its  preparation  for  the  table  — 
which  was  red  clay  covered  with  grass.  The 
mutton,  having  been  slightly  warmed,  was 
rapidlv  devoured. 

"  After  this  they  wished  to  recline  among 
the  fragments  of  the  feast,  and  enjoy_  a 
sweet  digestive  repose.  But  then  the  white 
man  arose,  and  exercised  that  power  with 
which  the  lower  animals  are  quelled.  His 
look  and  his  tone  drew  them  to  their 
work,  though  they  did  not  understand  his 
words." 


CHAPTER  LII. 


THE  YANS  —  Concluded. 


CAiraiBALISM  AND  ITS  DEVEL0P5IE^'T  AMONG  THE  FANS  —  NATIVE  IDEAS  ON  TITE  STTB JECT  —  BXCHANGB 
OF  BODIES  BETWEEN  VILLAGES  —  ATTACK  ON  A  TOWN  AND  ROBBERY  OF  THE  GRAVES  —  MATRI- 
MONLVL  CUSTOMS — BARGAINING  FOR  A  WIFE — COPPER  "  NEPTHNES  " — THE  MARRIAGE  FEAST  — 
RELIGION  OF  THE  FANS  —  THE  IDOL  HOUSES  —  LOVE  OF  AMULETS  —  DANCE  DJ  HONOR  OF  THE  NEW 
MOON  —  PLAYING  THE  HANDJA — ELEPHANTS  CAUGHT  BY  THE  FETISH  —  PROBABLE  CHARACTER 
OF  THE  "fetish"  IN  QUESTION  —  THE  GORILLA  AND  ITS  HABITS  —  A  GORILLA  HUNT  BY  THE  FANS 
—  USE   OF  THE  SKULL. 


The  preceding  story  naturally  brings  us 
to  the  chief  characteristic  of  the  Fans, — 
namely,  their  cannibalism. 

Some  tribes  where  this  custom  is  prac- 
tised are  rather  ashamed  of  it,  and  can  only 
be  induced  to  acknowledge  it  by  cautious 
cross-questioning.  The  Fans,  however,  are 
not  in  the  least  ashamed  of  it,  and  will  talk 
of  it  with  perfect  freedom  —  at  least  until 
they  see  that  their  interlocutor  is  shocked 
by  their  confession.  Probably  on  this  ac- 
count missionaries  have  found  some  diffi- 
culty in  extracting  information  on  the  sub- 
ject. Their  informants  acknowledged  that 
human  flesh  was  eaten  by  their  tribe,  but 
not  in  their  village.  Then,  as  soon  as  they 
had  arrived  at  the  village  in  which  canni- 
balism was  said  to  exist,  the  inhabitants 
said  that  the  travellers  had  been  misin- 
formed. Certainly  their  tribe  did  eat  hu- 
man flesh,  but  no  one  in  their  village  did  so. 
But,  if  they  wanted  to  see  cannibalism,  they 
must  go  back  to  the  village  from  which  they 
had  just  come,  and  there  they  would  find  it 
in  full  force. 

Knowing  this  peculiarity,  Mr.  W.  Eeade 
took  care  to  ask  no  questions  on  the  subject 
until  he  had  passed  through  all  the  places 
previously  visited  by  white  men,  and  then 
questioned  an  old  and  very  polite  cannibal. 
His  answers  were  plain  enough.  Of  course 
they  a'l  ate  men.  He  ate  men  himself. 
Man'.T  flesh  was  very  good,  and  was  "  like 
monkey,  all  fat."  He  mostly  ate  prisoners 
of  war,  bat  some  of  his  friends  ate  the 
bodies  of  executed  wizards,  a  food  of  which 
he  was  rather  afraid,  thinking  that  it  might 
disagree  with  him. 

He  would  not  allow  that  he  ate  his  own  I 


relations  when  they  died,  although  such  a 
statement  is  made,  and  has  not  as  yet  been 
disproved.  Some  travellers  say  that  the 
Fans  do  not  eat  people  of  their  own  village, 
but  live  on  terms  of  barter  with  neigh- 
boring vill.ages,  amicably  exchanging  their 
dead  for  culinary  purposes.  The  Oshebas, 
another  cannibal  tribe  of  the  same  country, 
keep  up  friendly  relations  with  the  Fans, 
and  exchange  the  bodies  of  the  dead  with" 
them.  The  bodies  of  slaves  are  also  sold 
for  the  pot,  and  are  tolerably  cheap,  a  dead 
slave  costing,  on  the  average,  one  small  ele- 
phant's tusk. 

The  friendly  Fan  above  mentioned  held,  in 
common  with  many  of  his  dark  countrymen, 
the  belief  that  all  white  men  were  canni- 
bals. "  These,"  said  a  Bakalai  slave,  on  first 
beholding  a  white  man,  "  are  the  men  that 
eat  us!"  So  he  asked  Mr.  Keade  why  the 
white  men  take  the  trouble  to  send  to  Af- 
rica for  negroes,  when  they  could  eat  as 
many  white  men  as  they  liked  in  their  own 
land.  His  interlocutor  having  an  eye  to 
the  possible  future,  discreetly  answered  that 
they  were  obliged  to  do  so,  because  the  flesh 
of  ivhite  men  was  deadly  poison,  with  which 
answer  the  worthy  cannibal  was  perfectly 
satisfied. 

Just  before  M.  du  Chaillu  came  among 
the  Fans  a  strange  and  wild  incident  had 
occurred.  It  has  already  been  mentioned 
that  the  Fans  have  been  for  some  years 
pushing  their  way  westward,  forming  part 
of  the  vast  stream  of  human  life  that  con- 
tinually pours  over  the  great  mountain  wall 
which  divides  Central  Africa  from  the  coast 
tribes.  After  passing  through  various  dis- 
tricts,   and    conquering    their    inhabitants, 


(535) 


636 


THE  TANS. 


they  came  upon  a  village  of  the  Mpongw^, 
and,  according  to  their  wont,  attacked  it. 
The  Mpongwe  were  utterly  incapalile  of 
resisting  these  warlike  and  ferocious  inva- 
ders, and  soon  tied  from  tlieir  homes,  leav- 
ing them  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The 
reader  may  find  an  illustration  of  this  scene 
on  tlie  next  page. 

The  Fans  at  once  engaged  in  their  favor- 
ite pastime  of  plunder,  robbing  every  hut 
that  they  couhl  hnd,  and,  when  they  had 
cleared  all  the  houses,  invading  the  burial- 
grounds,  and  digging  up  the  bodies  of  the 
chiefs  for  the  sake  of  the  ornaments,  weap- 
ons, and  tools  which  are  buried  with  them. 

They  had  tilled  two  canoes  witli  their 
stolen  treasures  when  they  came  upon  a 
grave  containing  a  newly-buried  body.  This 
they  at  once  exhumed,  and,  taking  it  to 
a  convenient  spot  under  some  mangrove 
trees,  lighted  a  tire,  and  cooked  the  body  in 
the  very  pots  which  they  had  found  in  the 
same  grave  with  it.  The  reader  will  re- 
member that  the  Mpongwe  tribe  bury  with 
the  bodies  of  their  principal  men  the  arti- 
cles which  they  possessed  in  life,  and  that  a 
chiefs  grave  is  therefore  a  perfect  treasure 
house. 

All  bodies,  however,  are  not  devoured, 
those  of  the  kings  and  great  chiefs  being 
hurled  together  with  their  best  apparel  and 
most  valuable  ornaments. 

The  matrimonial  customs  of  the  Fans 
deserve  a  brief  notice.  The  reader  may 
remember  that,  as  a  general  rule,  the  native 
African  race  is  not  a  prolific  one  —  at  all 
events  in  its  own  land,  though,  when 
imported  to  other  countries  as  slaves,  the 
Africans  have  large  families.  Children  are 
greatly  desired  by  the  native  tribes  because 
they  add  to  the  dignity  of  the  parent,  and 
the  lack  of  children  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  polygamy  is  so  universally  practised; 
and,  as  a  rule,  a  man  has  more  wives  than 
children.  Yet  the  Fans  otfer(>d  a  remarkable 
exception  to  this  rule,  probably  on  account 
of  the  fact  that  they  do  not  marry  until 
their  wives  have  fairly  arrived  at  woman's 
estate.  They  certainly  betroth  their  female 
children  at  a  very  early  age,  often  as  soon 
as  they  are  born,  but  the  actual  marriage 
does  not  take  place  until  the  child  lias 
become  a  woman,  and  in  the  meantime  the 
betrothed  girl  remains  with  her  parents, 
and  is  not  allowed  that  unrestricted  license 
which  jirevails  among  so  many  of  the  Afri- 
can trilies. 

This  early  hetrothal  is  a  necessity,  as  the 
price  demanded  for  a  wife  is  a  very  heavy 
one,  and  a  man  has  to  work  for  a  long  time 
hefore  he  can  gather  sufficient  property  for 
the  purchase.  Now  that  the  Fans  have 
forced  themselves  into  the  trading  parts  of 
the  country,  "  trader's  goods  "  are  the  only 
articles  that  the  father  will  accept  in  return 
for  his  daughter;  and,  as  those  goods  are 
only  to  be  bought  with  ivory,  the  Fan  bride- 


groom has  to  kill  a  great  number  of  ele- 
phants before  he  can  claim  his  wife. 

Bargaining  for  a  wife  is  often  a  very 
amusing  scene  (see  illustration  on  next 
page),  especially  if  the  father  has  been  .suffi- 
ciently sure  of  his  daughter's  beauty  to  re- 
frain irom  betrothing  her  as  a  child,  and  to 
put  her  up,  as  it  were,  to  auction  when  she 
is  nearly  old  enough  to  be  married.  The 
dusky  suitor  dresses  liimself  in  his  best 
apparel,  and  waits  on  the  father,  in  order  to 
open  the  negotiation. 

His  business  is,  of  course,  to  depreciate 
the  beauty  of  the  girl,  to  represent  that, 
although  she  may  be  very  pretty  as  a  child 
of  eleven  or  twelve,  she  will  liave  fallen  off 
in  her  good  looks  when  she  is  a  mature 
woman  of  fourteen  or  fifteen.  The  father, 
on  the  contrary,  extols  the  value  of  liis 
daughter,  speaks  slightingly  of  the  suitor  as 
a  man  quite  beneath  his  notice,  and  forth- 
with sets  a  price  on  her  that  the  richest 
warrior  could  not  hope  to  pay.  Cojiper  and 
brass  pans,  technically  called  "neptunes," 
are  tlie  chief  articles  of  barter  among  the 
Fans,  who,  however,  do  not  use  them  for 
cooking,  preferring  for  this  purpose  their 
own  clay  pots,  but  merely  for  a  convenient 
mode  of  carrying  a  certain  weight  of  pre- 
cious metal.  Anklets  and  armlets  of  copper 
are  also  much  valued,  and  so  are  white 
beads,  while  of  late  years  the  abominable 
"  trade-guns  "  liave  become  indispensable. 
At  last,  after  multitudinous  arguments  on 
both  sides,  the  affair  is  settled,  and  the  price 
of  the  girl  agreed  upon.  Part  is  generally 
paid  at  the  time  by  way  of  earnest,  and  the 
bridegroom  promises  to  pay  the  remainder 
when  he  comes  for  his  wife. 

As  soon  as  the  day  of  the  wedding  is 
fixed,  the  bridegroom  and  liis  friends  begin 
to  make  preparations  for  the  grand  feast 
with  which  they  are  expected  to  entertain 
a  vast  number  of  guests.  Some  of  them 
go  off  and  busy  themselves  in  hunting  ele- 
phants, smoking  and  drying  the  flesh,  and 
preserving  the  tusks  for  sale.  Others  pre- 
pare large  quantities  of  manioc  bread  and 
plantains,  while  others  find  a  congenial 
occupation  in  brewing  great  quantities  of 
palm  wine.  Hunters  are  also  engaged  for 
the  purpose  of  keejiing  up  the  supply  of 
meat. 

When  the  day  is  fixed,  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  village  assemble,  and  the  bride  is 
handed  over  to  her  husband,  who  has 
already  paid  her  price.  Both  are,  of  course, 
dressed  in  their  very  best.  The  liride 
wears,  as  is  the  custom  among  unmarried 
females,  nothing  but  red  paint  and  as  many 
ornaments  as  she  can  manage  to  procure. 
Her  hair  is  decorated  with  great  quantities 
of  white  beads,  and  her  wrists  and  ankles 
are  hidden  under  a  profusion  of  brass  and 
copper  rings.  The  bridegroom  oils  his  body 
until  his  skin  shines  like  a  mirror,  blackens 
and  polishes  his  well-filed  teeth,  adorns  his 


(1.)    ATTACK  ON   A  MrONG\yE   VILLAGE.    (See  page  53C>.) 


(2.)    bAUUAlNINU   FOU    A    WIFE.     (See  page  530.) 


NEW   MOON  CEREMONY. 


539 


head  with  a  tuft  of  brightly  colored  feathers, 
and  ties  round  his  waist  the  handsomest 
skin  wliich  he  possesses. 

A  scene  of  unrestrained  jollity  then  com- 
mences. The  guests,  sometimes  several 
hundred  in  number,  keep  up  the  feast  for 
three  or  four  days  in  succession,  eating  ele- 
phants' flesh,  drinking  pnhn  wine,  and  dan- 
cing, until  the  powers  of  nature  are  quite 
exhausted,  and  then  sleeping  for  an  hour  or 
two  with  the  happy  facility  that  distin- 
guishes the  native  African.  Awftking  from 
their  brief  slumber,  they  begin  the  feast 
afresh,  and  after  the  first  few  hours  scarcely 
one  of  the  guests  is  sober,  or  indeed  is 
expected  to  be  so.  At  last,  however,  all 
the  wine  is  drunk,  and  then  the  guests 
return  to  an  involuntary  state  of  sobriety. 

We  now  come  to  the  religion  and  super- 
stitions of  the  Fan  tribe.  As  far  as  they 
have  any  real  worship  the^'  are  idolaters. 
Each  village  has  a  huge  idol,  specially  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  the  family  or  clan  of 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  vill.age  are 
composed,  and  at  certain  times  the  whole 
family  asseml^le  together  at  the  idol  house 
or  temple,  and  then  go  through  their  acts 
of  worshij),  which  consist  chiefly  of  dancing 
and  singing.  Around  each  of  the  temples 
are  placetl  a  number  of  skulls  of  wild  ani- 
mals, among  which  the  gorilla  takes  the 
most  conspicuous  place.  Such  spots  are 
thouglit  very  sacred,  and  no  one  would  ven- 
ture to  remove  any  of  the  skulls,  such  an 
act  of  desecration  being  thought  a  capital 
offence.  ' 

Like  many  other  savage  tribes,  they  are 
very  careless  of  human  life,  and  have  many 
capital  offences,  of  which  witchcraft  is  the 
most  common.  It  may  seem  strange  that 
jjcople  who  habitually  eat  the  bodies  of  their 
fellow-men  should  have  any  superstitious 
feelings  whatever,  but  among  the  Fans  the 
di'ead  of  sorcery  is  nearly  as  great  as  among 
some  of  the  tribes  which  have  been  already 
mentioned. 

Witchcraft,  however,  is  not  always  pun- 
ished with  death,  the  offender  being  some- 
times sold  into  slavery,  the  "  emigrant " 
ships  having  of  late  years  received  many 
Pans  on  board.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
Fans  always  utilize  their  criminals.  Those 
who  are  condemned  for  theft,  or  other  ordi- 
nary crime,  are  executed,  and  their  bodies 
eaten.  But  the  wizards  are  supposed  to 
possess  some  charms  which  would  make 
their  bodies  as  injurious  after  death  as  the 
culprits  had  been  during  life,  and  so  they 
sell  the  criminal  for  "  tradei's'  goods." 

No  Fan  ever  dreams  of  going  without  a 
whole  host  of  amulets,  each  of  which  is  sup- 
posed to  protect  him  from  some  special  dan- 
ger. The  most  valuable  is  one  which  is 
intended  to  guard  the  wearer  in  battle,  and 
this  is  to  be  fouiid  on  the  person  of  every 
Fan  warrior  who  can  afford  it.  It  is  very 
simple,  being  nothing  but  an  iron  chain 
27 


with  links  an  inch  and  a  half  long  by  an  inch 
in  width.  This  is  hung  over  the  left  shoul- 
der and  under  the  right  arm,  and  is  thought 
to  be  very  efficacious.  Perhaps  such  a  chain 
may  at  some  time  or  other  have  turned  the 
edge  of  a  weapon,  and,  in  consequence,  the 
illogical  natives  have  thought  that  the  iron 
chains  were  efi'ectual  preservatives  in  war. 

Next  in  value  comes  a  small  bag,  which  is 
hung  round  the  neck,  and  which  is  a  con- 
spicuous ornament  among  the  men.  Tliis 
is  also  a  battle  fetish,  and  is  made  of  the  skin 
of  some  rare  animal.  It  contains  bits  of 
dried  skin,  feathers  of  scarce  Ijirds,  the  dried 
tips  of  monkeys'  tails,  the  dried  intestines  of 
certain  animals,  shells,  and  bits  of  bone. 
Each  article  must  have  been  taken  from 
some  rare  animal,  and  have  been  specially 
consecrated  by  the  medicine  man.  The  war- 
riors are  often  so  covered  with  these  and 
similar  fetishes  that  they  rattle  at  every  step, 
much  to  the  gratitication  of  the  wearer,  and 
even  the  children  are  positively  laden  with 
fetish  ornaments. 

The  reader  will  rememljer  that  through- 
out the  whole  of  the  tribes  which  have  been 
described  runs  a  custom  of  celeljraling  some 
kind  of  religious  ceremony  when  tlie  new 
moon  is  fir.st  seen.  This  custom  is  to  be 
also  found  among  the  Fans.  It  has  been 
graphically  described  by  Mr.  W.  Reade,  as 
follows:  — 

"  The  new  moon  began  to  rise.  When  she 
was  high  in  the  heavens,  I  had  the  fortune 
to  witness  a  religious  dance  in  her  honor. 
There  were  two  musicians,  one  of  whom  had 
an  instrument  called  hanclja,  constructed  on 
the  principle  of  an  harmonicon;  a  piece  of 
hard  wood  being  beaten  with  sticks,  and  the 
notes  issuing  from  calabashes  of  different 
sizes  fastened  below.  This  instrument  is 
found  everywhere  in  Western  Africa.  It  is 
called  Balonda  in  Senegambia;  Marimha  in 
Angola.  It  is  also  described  by  Froebel 
as  being  used  by  the  Indians  of  Central 
America,  where,  which  is  still  more  curious, 
it  is  known  by  the  same  name  —  Marimha. 
The  other  was  a  dnmr  which  stood  upon  a 
pedestal,  its  skin  made  from  an  elephant's 
ear.  The  dull  thud  of  this  drum,  beaten 
with  the  hands,  and  the  harsh  rattle  of  the 
handja,  summoned  the  dancers. 

"  They  came  singing  in  procession  from 
the  forest.  Their  dance  was  uncouth;  their 
song  a  solemn  tuneless  chant;  they  revolved 
in  a  circle,  clasping  their  hands  as  we  do  in 
prayer,  with  their  e3-es  fixed  always  on  the 
moon,  and  sometimes  their  arms  Hung  wildly 
toward  her.  The  youth  who  jdayed  tlie 
drum  assumed  a  glorious  attitude.  As  I 
looked  upon  him  —  his  head  thrown  back, 
his  eyes  uijturned,  his  fantastic  headdress, 
his  naked,  finely  moulded  form  —  I  saw 
beauty  in  the  savage  for  the  first  time. 

"  The  measure  changed,  and  two  women, 
covered  with  green  leaves  and  the  skins  of 
wild  beasts,  danced  in  the  midst,  where  they 


540 


THE  FANS. 


executed  a  pas-dc-ileux  which  would  have 
made  a  jiJivHi/tcc  dansensc  despair.  They 
accompanied  Iheir  intricate  8tep.s  with  mirac- 
ulous contortions  of  the  bodj',  and  obtained 
small  presents  of  white  beads  Irom  the  spec- 
tators. 

"  It  has  always  appeared  to  me  a  special 
ordinance  of  Nalure  that  women,  who  are  so 
easily  fatigued  by  the  ascent  of  a  Wight  of 
stairs,  or  by  a  walk  to  church,  should  be  able 
to  dance  for  any  length  of  time;  but  never 
did  I  see  female  endurance  equal  this. 
Kever  did  I  spend  a  worse  night's  rest.  All 
night  long  those  drearj'  deafening  sounds 
drove  sleep  away,  and  the  next  morning 
these  two  infatuated  women  were  still  to  be 
seen  within  a  small  but  select  circle  of  con- 
stant admirers,'  writhing  in  their  sinuous 
(and  now  somewhat  odorous)  forms  with 
unabated  ardor." 

The  form  of  marimlia  or  handja  which  is 
used  among  the  Fans  has  mosth'  seven 
notes,  and  the  gourds  have  each  a  hole  in 
them  covered  with  a  jjiece  of  spider's  web,  as 
has  already  been  narrated  of  the  Central 
Africau  drums.  The  Fan  handja  is  fastened 
to  a  slight  fr.ame;  and  when  tlie  performer 
intends  to  play  the  instrument, he  sits  down, 
places  the  frame  on  his  knees,  .so  that  the 
handja  is  suspended  between  them,  and  then 
beats  on  the  keys  with  two  short  sticks. 
One  of  these  sticks  is  made  of  hard  wood, 
but  the  end  of  the  other  is  covered  with 
some  soft  material  so  as  to  deaden  the 
sound.  The  Fans  have  really  some  ear 
tor  music,  and  possess  some  pretty  though 
rudely  constructed  airs. 

Of  course  the  Fans  have  drums.  The 
favorite  form  seems  rather  awkward  to 
Europeans.  It  consists  of  a  wooden  and 
slightly  conical  cylinder,  some  four  feet  in 
length  and  only  ten  inches  in  diameter  at 
the  wider  end,  the  other  measuring  barely 
seven  inches.  A  skin  is  stretched  tightly 
over  the  large  end,  and  when  the  performer 
plays  on  it,  he  stands  with  bent  knees,  hold- 
ing the  drum  Ijetween  them,  and  beats  furi- 
ously on  the  head  with  two  wooden  sticks. 

To  return  to  the  Fan  belief  in  charms. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
Fans  mostly  hunt  the  elejihant  by  driving 
it  against  a  barrier  artificially  formed  of 
vines,  and  killing  it  as  it  struggles  to  escape 
from  the  tangled  and  twisted  creepers.  They 
have  also  another  and  most  ingenious  plan, 
which,  hoAvever,  scarcely  seems  to  be  their 
own  invention,  but  to  be  partly  borrowed 
from  the  tribes  through  Avhich  they  have 
passed  in  their  progress  westward.  Tliis 
plan  is  called  the  Nghal,  that  being  the 
name  of  the  enclosure  into  which  the  ani- 
mals are  enticed.  "Wliile  Mr.  Reade  was  in 
the  country  of  the  Mpongwe  tribe,  into 
which,  it  will  he  remembered,  the  Fans  had 
forced  their  way,  the  hunters  found  out  that 
three  elephants  frequented  a  certain  por- 
tion of  the  forest,    ilouorably  paying  the 


Mpongwd  for  permission  to  hunt  in  their 
grounds,  they  set  out  and  built  round  an 
open  patch  of  ground  an  enclosure,  slightly 
made,  composed  of  posts  and  railings. 
Round  the  nghal  were  the  huts  of  the  Fan 
hunters.  'VVheu  Mr.  Reade  arrived  there, 
he  was  told  that  the  three  elephants  were 
within  the  nghal,  sleeping  under  a  tree ;  and 
sure  enough  there  they  were,  one  of  them 
being  a  fine  old  male  with  a  large  pair  of 
tusks.  If  he  had  chosen  he  could  have 
walked  through  the  fence  without  taking 
the  trouble  to  alter  his  pace,  but  here  he 
was,  together  with  his  companions,  without 
the  slightest  idea  of  escaping.  So  certain 
were  the  hunters  that  their  mighty  prey 
was  safe,  that  they  did  not  even  take  the 
trouble  to  close  the  openings  through  which 
the  animals  had  entered  the  nghal.  They 
were  in  no  hurry  to  kill  the  elephants. 
They  liked  to  look  at  them  as  they  moved 
about  in  the  nghal.  apparently  unconscious 
of  the  continual  hubbub  around  them,  and 
certainly  undisturbed  by  it.  The  elephants 
were  to  remain  there  until  the  new  moon, 
which  would  rise  in  a  tbrtnight,  and  then 
they  would  be  killed  in  its  honor. 

On  inquiring,  it  was  found  that  the  enclo- 
sure was  not  built  round  the  elephants,  as 
might  h.ave  been  supposed.  No.  It  was 
liuilt  at  some  distance  from  the  spot  where 
the  elephants  were  feeding.  "  The  medi- 
cine men  made  fetish  for  them  to  cimie  in. 
They  came  in.  The  medicine  men  made 
fetish  for  them  to  remain.  And  they  re- 
mained. When  they  were  being  killed, 
fetish  would  be  made  that  they  might  not 
be  angry.  In  a  fortnight's  time  the  new 
moon  would  appear,  and  the  elephants 
would  then  be  killed.  Before  that  time  all 
the  shrubs  and  light  grass  would  be  cut 
down,  the  fence  would  be  strengthened, 
and  interlaced  with  boughs.  The  elephants 
would  be  killed  with  spears,  crossbows,  and 
guns." 

The  natives,  however,  would  not  allow 
their  white  visitor  to  enter  the  nghal,  as  he 
wished  to  do,  and  refused  all  his  bribes  of 
beads  and  other  articles  precious  to  the  .soul 
of  the  Fan.  They  feared  lest  the  presence 
of  a  white  man  nught  break  the  fetish,  and 
the  sight  of  a  white  face  might  frighten  the 
eleph.ants  so  much  as  to  make  them  disre- 
gard all  the  charms  that  had  been  laid  upon 
them,  and  rush  in  their  terror  against  the 
fragile  barrier  which  held  them  prisoners. 

As  to  the  method  by  which  the  elephants 
were  induced  to  enter  the  enclosure,  no 
other  answer  was  made  than  that  which 
had  already  been  given.  In  India  the 
enclosure  is  a  vast  and  complicated  trap, 
with  an  opening  a  mile  or  so  in  width,  into 
which  the  elephants  are  driven  gradually, 
and  which  is  closed  behind  them  as  they 
advance  into  sm.aller  and  smaller  prisons. 
In  Africa  all  that  was  done  was  to  build  an 
enclosure,  to  leave  an  opening  just  large 


ELEPHANTS  CAUGHT  BY  THE  FETISH. 


5il 


enough  to  admit  an  elephant,  to  make  fetish 
for  the  elepliants,  and  in  tliey  came. 

The  wliole  thing  is  a  mystery.  Mr.  Reade, 
■who  franlvly  confesse.s  tliat  if  he  had  not 
witli  his  own  eyes  seen  tlie  nglial  and  its 
still  open  door  he  would  have  refused  to 
believe  the  whole  story,  is  of  opinion  that 
the  "  fetish  "  in  question  is  threefold.  He 
suggests  that  the  first  fetish  was  a  prepara- 
tion of  some  plant  for  which  the  elephants 
have  the  same  mania  that  cat.s  have  for  va- 
lerian and  pigeons  for  salt,  and  thinks  that 
they  may  have  been  enticed  into  the  nghal 
by  'means  of  this  herb.  Then,  after  they 
had  been  induced  to  enter  the  enclosure, 
that  they  were  kept  from  approaching  the 
fence  by  means  of  drugs  distasteful  to  them, 
and  that  the  "  fetish "  which  prevented 
them  from  being  angry  when  killed  was 
simply  a  sort  of  opiate  thrown  to  them. 
The  well-known  fastidiousness  of  the  ele- 
pliant  may  induce  some  readers  to  think 
that  this  last  suggestion  is  rather  im- 
probable. But  it  is  also  known  that,  in 
some  parts  of  Africa,  elephants  are  usually 
drugged  by  poisoned  food,  and  that  the 
Indian  domesticated  elephant  will  do  almost 
anything  for  sweetmeats  in  which  the  in- 
toxicating hemp  forms  an  ingredient. 

That  the  elephants  are  prevented  from 
approaching  the  fence  by  means  of  a  dis- 
tasteful preparation  seems  likely  from  a 
piece  of  fetishism  that  Mr.  Reade  witnessed. 
At  a  certain  time  of  the  day  the  medicine 
man  made  his  round  of  the  fence,  singing  in 
a  melancholy  voice,  and  dauljing  the  jjosts 
and  rails  with  a  dark  brown  liquid.  This 
■was  acknowledged  to  be  the  fetish  by  which 
the  elephants  were  induced  to  remain  within 
the  enclosure,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  it 
possessed  some  odor  which  disgusted  the 
keen-scented  animals,  and  kept  them  away 
from  its  influence. 

Mr.  Reade  also  suggests  that  this  method 
of  catching  elephants  may  be  a  relic  of  the 
days  when  African  elephants  were  taken 
alive  and  trained  to  the  service  of  man,  as 
they  are  now  in  India  and  Ceylon.  That 
the  knowledge  of  elephant  training  has 
been  lost  is  no  wonder,  considering  the 
internecine  feuds  which  prevail  among  the 
tribes  of  Africa,  and  prevent  them  from 
developing  the  arts  of  peace.  But  that 
they  were  so  caught  and  trained,  even  in 
the  old  classical  days,  is  well  known;  and 
from  all  accounts  the  elephants  of  Africa 
were  not  one  whit  inferior  to  their  Indian 
relatives  in  sagacity  or  docility.  Yet  there 
is  now  no  part  of  Africa  in  which  the 
natives  seem  to  have  the  least  idea  that 
such  monstrous  animals  could  be  subjected 
to  the  sway  of  man,  and  even  in  Abyssinia 
the  sight  of  elei^hants  acting  as  beasts  of 
burden  and  traction  filled  the  natives  with 
half  incredulous  awe. 

When  the  Fans  have  succeeded  in  killing 
an  elephant,  they  proceed  to  go  through  a 


curious  ceremony,  which  has  somewhat  of  a 
religious  character  about  it.  No  meat  is 
touched  until  these  rites  have  been  com- 
pleted. The  whole  hunting  party  assem- 
bles round  the  fallen  elephant,  and  dances 
round  its  body.  The  medicine  man  then 
comes  and  cuts  ofl'a  piece  of  meat  from  one 
of  the  hind  legs  and  places  it  in  a  Ijasket, 
there  being  as  many  baskets  as  slain  ele- 
phants. The  meat  is  then  cooked  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  medicine  man 
and  the  party  who  killed  the  elephant,  and 
it  is  then  carried  off"  into  the  woods  and 
offered  to  the  idol.  Of  course  the  idol  is 
supjjosed  to  eat  it,  and  the  chances  are  that 
he  does  so  through  the  medium  of  his  rep- 
resentative, the  medicine  man.  Before  the 
baskets  are  taken  into  the  woods,  the  liunt- 
ers  dance  about  them  as  they  had  danced 
round  the  elephant,  and  beseech  the  idol 
to  be  liberal  toward  them,  and  give  them 
plenty  of  elephants  so  that  they  may  be 
al.ile  to  give  him  plenty  of  meat. 

The  spirits  being  thus  propitiated,  the 
flesh  is  stripped  off  the  bones  of  the  ele- 
phant, sliced,  and  hung  upon  branches,  and 
smoked  until  it  is  dry,  when  it  can  be  kept 
for  a  considerable  time. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  one  of 
the  principal  ornaments  of  the  idol  temple  is 
the  skull  of  the  gorilla,  and  the  same  oliject 
is  used  by  several  of  the  tribes  for  a  similar 
purpose.  The  fact  is,  all  the  natives  of 
those  districts  in  which  the  gorilla  still  sur- 
vive are  horribly  afraid  of  the  animal,  and 
feel  for  it  that  profound  respect  which,  in 
the  savage  mind,  is  the  result  of  fear,  and 
fear  only.  A  savage  never  respects  any- 
thing that  he  does  not  fear,  and  the  very 
profound  respect  which  so  many  tribes, 
even  the  fierce,  warlike,  and  well-armed 
Fans,  have  for  the  gorilla,  show  that  it  is 
really  an  animal  which  is  to  be  dreaded. 

There  has  been  so  much  controversy  aliout 
the  gorilla,  and  the  history  of  this  gigantic 
ape  is  so  inextricably  interwoven  with  this 
part  of  South  Africa,'  that  the  present  work 
would  be  imperfect  without  a  brief  notice 
of  it.  In  the  above-mentioned  controversy, 
two  opposite  views  were  taken  —  one,  that 
the  gorilla  was  the  acknowledged  king  of 
the  forest,  supplanting  all  other  wild  ani- 
mals, and  even  attacking  and  driving  aw.ay 
the  elephant  itself  Of  man  it  had  no\lread, 
lying  in  wait  for  him  and  attacking  him 
whenever  it  saw  a  chance,  and  being  a  ter- 
rible antagonist  even  in  fair  fight,  the  duel 
between  man  and  beast  being  a  combat  a 
Voutrance,  in  which  one  or  the  other  must 
perish. 

Those  who  took  the  opposite  view  de- 
nounced all  these  stories  as  "  old  ■wives' 
fables,  only  fit  to  be  relegated  to  your 
grandmother's  bookshelves,"  —  I  quote'  the 
exact  words  —  saying  that  the  gorilla,  being 
an  ape,  is  necessarily  a  timid  and  retiring 
animal,  afraid  of  man,  and  running  away 


542 


THE   FANS. 


when  it  sees  him.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
mention  that  M.  du  Chaillu  is  responsible 
for  many  of  the  statements  contained  in  the 
former  of  these  theories  —  several,  however, 
being  confessedly  gathered  from  liearsaj', 
and  that  several  others  were  prevalent 
throughont  Europe  long  before  Du  Chaillu 
published  his  well-known  work. 

The  truth  seems  to  lie  between  these 
statements,  and  it  is  tolerably  evident  that 
the  gorilla  is  a  tierce  and  savage  beast  when 
attacked,  but  that  it  will  not  go  out  of  its 
way  to  attack  a  man,  and  indeed  will  al- 
ways avoid  him  if  it  can.  That  it  is  capa- 
ble of  being  a  fierce  and  determined  enemy 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  one  of  Mr.  W. 
Reade's  guides,  the  hunter  Etia,  had  his 
left  hand  crippled  by  the  bite  of  a  gorilla; 
and  Mr.  Wilson  mentions  that  he  has  seen 
a  man  who  had  lost  nearly  the  whole  calf 
of  one  leg  in  a  similar  manner,  and  who 
said  that  he  was  in  a  fiiir  way  of  being  torn 
in  pieces  if  he  had  not  been  rescued  by  his 
companions.  Formidable  as  are  the  terrible 
jaws  and  teeth  of  the  gorilla  when  it  suc- 
ceeds in  seizing  a  man,  its  charge  is  not 
nearly  so  much  to  be  feared  as  that  of  the 
leopard,  as  it  is  made  rather  leisurelj^  and 
permits  the  agile  native  to  spring  aside  and 
avoid  it. 

On  account  of  the  structure  common  to 
all  the  monkey  tribe,  the  gorilla  habitually 
walks  on  all-fours,  and  is  utterly  incapable 
of  standing  upright  like  a  man.  It  can 
assume  a  partially  erect  attitude,  but  with 
bent  knees,  stooping  body,  and  incurved 
feet,  and  is  not  nearly  so  firmly  set  on  its 
legs  as  is  a  dancing  bear.  Even  while  it 
stands  on  its  feet,  the  heavy  body  is  so  ill 
supjiorted  on  the  feeble  legs  that  the  animal 
is  oi.iliged  to  balance  itself  by  swaying  its 
large  arms  in  the  air,  just  as  a  rope-dancer 
balances  himself  with  liis  pole. 

In  consequence  of  the  formation  of  the 
limbs,  the  tracks  which  it  leaves  are  very 
curious,  the  long  and  powerful  arms  being 
used  as  crutches,  and  the  short  feeble  hind 
legs  swung  between  them.  It  seems  that 
each  party  or  family  of  gorillas  is  gov- 
erned by  an  old  male,  who  rules  them  just 
as  the  bull  rules  its  mates  and  children. 

The  natives  say  that  the  gorilla  not  only 
walks,  but  cliarges  upon  all-fours,  though  it 
will  raise  itself  on  its  hind  legs  in  order  to 
survey  its  foes.  Etia  once  enacted  for  Mr. 
W.  Reade  the  scene  in  which  he  had  re- 
ceived the  wound  that  crijipled  his  hand. 
Directing  Mr.  Reade  to  hold  a  gun  as  if 
about  to  shoot,  he  rushed  forward  on  all- 
fours,  seized  the  left  wrist  with  one  of  his 
hands,  dragged  it  to  his  mouth,  made  be- 
lieve to  bite  it,  and  then  m.ade  off  on  all- 
fours  as  he  had  charged.  And.  from  the 
remarkable  intelligence  which  this  hideous 
but  polite  hunter  had  shown  in  imitating 
other  animals,  it  was  evident  that  his  story 
was  a  true  one. 


As  to  the  houses  which  the  gorilla  is  said 
to  build,  there  is  some  truth  in  the  story. 
Houses  they  can  scarcely  be  called,  inas- 
much as  they  have  no  sides,  and  in  their  con- 
struction the  gorilla  displays  an  architectural 
power  far  inferior  to  that  of  many  animals. 
The  lodge  of  the  beaver  is  a  palace  com- 
pared with  the  dwelling  of  the  gorilla. 
Many  of  the  deserted  residences  may  be 
found  in  the  forests  which  the  gorilla  in- 
habits, and  look  much  like  herons'  nests  on 
a  rather  large  scale.  They  consist  simjily 
of  sticks  torn  from  the  trees  and  laid  on  the 
spreading  jiart  of  a  horizontal  branch,  so  as  tc 
make  a  rude  jilatform.  This  nest,  if  we  may 
.so  call  it,  is  occupied  by  the  female,  and  in 
process  of  time  is  shared  by  her  oflspring. 
The  males  .sleep  in  a  large  tree. 

Shy  and  retiring  in  its  habits,  the  gorilla 
retreats  from  the  habitations  of  man,  and 
loves  to  lurk  in  the  gloomiest  recesses  of 
the  forest,  where  it  finds  its  favorite  food, 
and  where  it  is  free  from  the  intrusion  of 
man.  As  to  the  untamable  character  of  the 
gorilla  as  contrasted  with  the  chimpanzee, 
Mr.  Reade  mentions  that  he  has  seen  young 
specimens  of  both  animals  kept  in  a  tame 
state,  and  both  equally  gentle. 

We  now  come  to  the  statement  that, 
while  the  gorilla  is  working  himself  up  to 
an  attack,  he  beats  his  breast  until  it  re- 
sounds like  a  great  drum,  giving  out  a  loud 
booming  sound  that  can  be  heard  through 
the  forest  at  the  distance  of  three  miles. 
How  such  a  sound  can  be  produced  in  such 
a  manner  it  is  not  easy  to  comjirehend,  and 
Mr.  Eeade,  on  careful  inquiry  from  several 
gorilla  hunters,  could  not  find  that  one  of 
them  had  ever  heard  the  sound  in  question, 
or,  indeed,  had  ever  heard  of  it.  They 
said  that  the  gorilla  had  a  drum,  and,  on 
being  asked  to  show  it,  took  their  interloc- 
utor to  a  large  hollow  tree,  and  said  that 
the  gorilla  seized  two  neighboring  trees 
with  his  hands,  and  swung  himself  against 
the  hollow  trunk,  beating  it  so  "  strong- 
strong"  with  his  feet  that  the  booming 
sound  could  be  heard  at  a  great  distance. 

Etia  illustrated  the  practice  of  the  gorilla 
by  swinging  himself  against  the  tree  in  a 
similar  manner,  but  failed  in  producing  the 
sound.  However,  he  adhered  to  his  state- 
ment, and,  as  a  succession  of  heavy  blows 
against  a  hollow  trunk  woidd  jiroduce  a  sort 
of  booming  noise,  it  is  likely  that  his  state- 
ment maj'  have  been  in  the  main  a  correct 
one. 

Now  that  the  natives  have  procured  fire- 
arms, they  do  not  fear  the  gorilla  as  much 
as  they  used  to  do.  Still,  even  with  such 
potent  assistance,  gorilla  hunting  is  not 
without  its  dangers,  and,  as  we  have  seen, 
many  instance's  are  known  where  a  man  has 
been  severely  wounded  by  the  gorilla,  though 
Mr.  Reade  could  not  hear  of  a  single  case 
where  the  animal  had  killed  any  of  its 
assailants. 


GORILLA  HUNTING. 


543 


When  the  native  hunters  chase  the  go- 
rilla, and  possess  fire-arms,  they  are  obliged 
to  fire  at  very  short  range,  partly  because 
the  dense  nature  of  tliose  parts  of  the 
forest  which  the  gorilla  haunts  prevent 
them  from  seeing  the  animal  at  a  distance 
of  more  than  ten  or  twelve  yards,  and  partly 
because  it  is  necessary  to  kill  at  the  first 
shot  an  animal  which,  if  only  wounded, 
attacks  its  foes,  and  uses  fiercely  the  for- 
midable weapons  with  which  it  has  been 
gifted.  Any  one  who  has  seen  the  skull 
of  an  adult  gorilla,  and-  noticed  the  vast 
jaw-bones,  the  enormous  teeth,  and  the 
high  bony  ridges  down  the  head  wliich 
aflbrd  attachment  to  the  muscles,  can  easily 
understand  the  terrible  force  of  a  gorilla's 
bite.  The  teeth,  and  not  the  paws,  are  the 
chief,  if  not  the  only  weapons  which  the  ani- 
mal employs;  and,  although  they  are  given 
to  it  in  order  to  enable  it  to  bite  out  the  pith 
of  the  trees  on  which  it  jn-incipally  feeds, 
they  can  be  used  with  quite  as  great  eflect 
in  combat. 

So  the  negro  hunter,  who  is  never  a  good 
shot,  and  whose  gun  is  so  large  and  heavy 
that  to  take  a  correct  aim  is  quite  out  of 
the  question,  allows  the  gorilla  to  come 
^\'ithin  three  or  four  yards  before  he  delivers 
his  fire.  Sometimes  the  animal  is  too  quick 
for  him,  and  in  that  case  he  permits  it  to 
seize  the  end  of  the  barrel  in  its  hands  and 
drag  it  to  its  mouth,  and  then  fires  just  as 
the  great  jaws  enclose  the  muzzle  between 
the  teeth.  Seizing  the  object  of  attack  in 
the  hands,  and  drawing  it  to  the  mouth, 
seems  to  be  with  the  gorilla,  as  with  others 
of  the  monkey  trilse,  the  ordinary  mode  of 
fighting.  The  hunter  has  to  be  very  care- 
ful that  lie  fires  at  the  right  moment,  as  the 
gig.antic  strength  of  the  gorilla  enables  it 
to  make  very  short  work  of  a  trade  gun, 
if  it  should  happen  to  pull  tlie  weapon  out 
of  its  owner's  hands.  A  French  officer  told 
Mr.  Reade  that  he  had  seen  one  of  these 
guns  which  had  been  seized  by  a  gorilla, 
who  had  twisted  and  bent  the  barrel  "  comme 
une  papillate.^' 

The  same  traveller,  who  is  certainly  not 
at  all  disposed  to  exaggerate  the  size  or  the 
power  of  the  gorilla,  was  greatly  struck  by 
the  aspect  of  one  that  had  been  recently 
killed.  "  One  day  Mongilambu  came  and 
told  me  that  there  was  a  freshly-killed  go- 
rilla for  sale.  I  went  down  to  the  beach, 
and  saw  it  lying  in  a  small  canoe,  which  it 
almost  tilled.    It  was  a  male,  and  a  very 


large  one.  The  preserved  specimen  can 
give  you  no  idea  of  what  this  animal  reallj' 
is,  wi'th  its  skin  still  unshrivelled,  and  the 
blood  scarcely  dry  upon  its  wounds.  The 
hideousness  of  its  face,  the  grand  breadth  of 
its  breast,  its  massive  arms,  and,  aljove  all, 
its  hands,  like  those  of  a  human  being,  im- 
pressed me  with  emotions  which  I  had  not 
expected  to  feel.  But  nothing  is  perfect. 
The  huge  trunk  dwindled  into  a  pair  of 
legs,  thin,  bent,  shrivelled,  and  decrepid  as 
those  of  an  old  woman. 

Such  being  the  impression  made  on  a  civ- 
ilized being'by  the  dead  body  of  a  gorilla 
lying  in  a  canoe,  the  natives  may  well  be 
excused  for  entertaining  a  superstitious 
awe  of  it  as  it  roams  the  Ibrest  in  freedom, 
anil  for  thinking  that  its  skull  is  a  fit  adorn- 
ment lor  the  temple  of  their  chief  iilol. 

To  a  party  of  native  hunters  unprovided 
with  fire-arms,  the  chase  of  the  animal  is  a 
service  of  real  difficulty  and  danger.  They 
are  obliged  to  seek  it  in  the  recesses  of  its 
own  haunts,  and  to  come  to  close  quarters 
with  it.  (See  the  illusU'atiou  on  page  457). 
The  spear  is  necessarily  the  principal 
weapon  employed,  as  thearrow,  even  though 
poisoned,  does  not  kill  at  once,  and  the 
gorilla  is  only  incited  by  the  pain  of  a  wound 
to  attack  the,  man  who  inflicted  it.  Their 
fear  of  the  animal  is  also  increased  by  the 
superstition  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned, that  a  man  is  sometimes  transformed 
into  a  gorilla,  and  becomes  thereby  a  sort  of 
sylvan  demon,  who  cannot  be  killed  —  at  all 
events,  by  a  black  man — and  who  is  pos- 
sessed with  a  thirst  for  killing  every  human 
being  that  he  meets. 

Any  specially  lai'ge  gorilla  is  sure  to  be 
credited  with  the  reputation  of  being  a 
transformed  man;  and  as  the  adult  male 
sometimes  measures  five  feet  six  inches  or 
so  in  height,  there  is  really  some  excuse  for 
the  native  belief  that  some  supernatural 
power  lies  hidden  in  this  monstrous  ape. 

Alter  a  careful  investigation,  Mr.  Reade 
has  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  except  in 
point  of  size,  there  is  no  essential  difterence 
in  the  gorilla  and  the  chimpanzee,  both 
animals  going  usually  on  all-fours,  and  both 
building  slight  houses  or  platforms  in  the 
trees,  both  changing  their  dwelling  in  search 
of  food  and  to  avoid  the  neighliorhood  of 
man,  and  both,  without  being  gregarious, 
sometimes  assembling  together  in  consider- 
able numbers. 


CHAPTER  Lni. 


THE  KRUMEN  AND  FANTI. 


LOCALITT  OF  THE  KRUMEN  —  THEIR  FINE  DEVELOPMENT  AND  TVONDERFCI,  ENDTTRANCE  —  THEIR  SKILL 
IN    BOATING  —  COLOR    OF  THE    KRUMEN  —  THEIR  VERV  SIMPLE   DRESS  —  DOUBLE   NOMENCLATURE 

—  THEIR  USE  TO  TRAVELLERS — GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  KRUMEN  —  THEIR  LIVELY  AND  CHEERFUL 
CHARACTER  —  DOMESTIC  LIFE  OF  THE    KRUMEN  —  EARNING    WIVES  —  RELIGION  OF  THE    KKUMEN 

—  THE  DEITY  "  SUFFIN  "  —  KRUMAN  FUNERAL  —  THE  GRAIN  COAST  —  THE  FANTI  TRIBE — THEIK 
NATIVE  INDOLENCE  —  FANTI  BOATS  AND  THEIR  MANAGEMENT  —  THE  KRA-KBA  DISEASE  —  A  WILD 
LEGEND  —  DRESS  OF  THE  FANTI  —  IDEAS  OF  A  FUTURE  STATE. 


Along  the  Grain  Coast  of  Western  Africa 
tliere  is  a  race  of  men  who  come  too  prom- 
inently before  European  eyes  to  be  omitted 
from  this  work.  They  have,  in  a  degree,  lost 
the  habits  of  their  original  savage  life,  but 
they  illustrate  so  well  the  peculiar  negro 
character  that  a  small  space  must  be  devoted 
to  them. 

The  name  Kru,  or  Croo,  and  sometimes 
Care w,  or  Crew  —  so  diversified  is  the  ortho- 
graphy of  native  names  —  is  a  corruption  of 
the  Grebo  word  "  Knlo."  The  tribe  inhab- 
its a  district  about  twenty-five  or  thirty 
miles  along  the  coast,  and  extending  for  a 
considerable,  but  uncertain,  distance  inland. 
A  good  many  smaller  tribes  have  been  grad- 
ually absorbed  into  them,  and,  as  they  have 
adopted  the  language,  manners,  and  cus- 
toms, as  well  as  the  name  of  Knlo,  we  will 
treat  of  them  all  under  the  same  title. 

In  the  "  Wanderings  of  a  F.  R.  G.  S." 
there  is  a  curious  account  of  the  derivation 
of  the  word  Grebo,  one  of  the  absorbed 
ti'ibes.  According  to  their  own  tradition, 
they  originally  inhabited  the  interior,  and, 
finding  that  their  district  was  too  thickly 
populated,  a  large  number  of  them  deter- 
mined to  emigrate  westward,  and  secretly 
prepared  for  departure,  the  majority  being 
averse  to  the  scheme.  As  they  embarked  in 
a  hurry,  a  number  of  the  canoes  were  upset, 
but  the  remainder  succeeded  in  liounding 
over  the  waves.  Thi;  peojile  who  were 
capsized,  and  were  left  behind,  were  there- 
fore called  "  Waibo,"  or  the  Capsized,  while 
the  others  took  the  name  of  Grebo,  from  the 
bounding  gray  monkey,  called  Gre. 

The  Krunien  are  a  fine  race,  and  present 
a  great  contrast  to  the  usual  slim-limbed  and 


almost  effeminate  savages  of  the  interior. 
Thej'  are  extremely  powerful,  and  are  able 
to  paddle  for  some  forty  miles  at  a  stretch, 
witliout  seeming  to  be  the  least  fatigued  at 
the  end  of  their  labors.  They  are  the  rec- 
ognized seamen  of  the  coast,  and  have 
made  themselves  necessary  to  the  traders, 
and  even  to  Government  vessels,  as  they  can 
stand  a  wonderful  amount  of  work,  ami  are 
not  affected  by  the  climate  like  the  white 
sailors. 

A  Kruman  lays  himself  out  for  a  sailor  as 
soon  as  he  becomes  his  own  master,  and  is 
content  to  begin  life  as  a  "  hoj-,"  so  that  he 
may  end  it  as  a  "man"  —  i.  e.  he  hires  him- 
self out  in  order  to  oljtain  goods  which  will 
purchase  a  wife  for  him,  and  by  dint  of  sev- 
eral voyages  he  adds  to  the  number  of  his 
wives,  and  consequently  to  the  respect  in 
which  he  is  held  liy  his  countrymen. 

He  is  a  marvellous  canoe  man,  and  man- 
ages his  diminutive  boat  with  a  skill  that 
must  be  seen  to  be  apjireciated.  He  drives 
it  through  the  surf  with  fearless  speed,  and 
cares  nothing  for  the  boiling  water  around 
him.  "The  Kruman,"  writes  Mr.  Reade, 
"  squats  in  it  on  his  knees,  and  bales  the 
water  out  with  one  of  his  feet.  Sometimes 
he  paddles  with  his  hands;  sometimes, 
thrusting  a  leg  in  the  water,  he  spins  the 
canoe  round  when  at  full  speed,  like  a  skater 
on  the  '  outside-edge.'  If  it  should  capsize, 
as  the  laws  of  equililirium  sometimes  de- 
mand, he  turns  it  over,  bales  it  out  with  a 
calabash,  swimming  all  the  while,  and  glides 
in  again,  his  skin  shining  like  a  seal's." 

These  singular  little  canoes  are  pointed  at 
each  end,  and  crescent-shaped,  so  that  they 
project  fore  and  aft  out  of  the  water.    They 


(544) 


SKILL   IN   BOATING. 


545 


are  very  narrow,  and  are  made  out  of  the 
single  trunk  of  a  tree,  usually  cotton-wood. 
or  a  kind  of  poplar.  The  interior  is  lirst 
hollowed  out  with  fire,  next  trimmed  witli 
an  adze, and  the  ribs  are  prevented  from  col- 
lapsing by  four  or  five  cross-sticks.  They 
are  very  massively  constructed,  and,  as  the 
wood  is  very  light,  they  do  not  sink  even  if 
they  are  filled  with  water.  So  small  are 
they,  that  at  a  little  distance  they  cannot  be 
seen,  and  the  inmates  appear  to  be  treading 
water. 

It  is  a  curious  sight  to  watch  a  fleet  of  these 
canoes  come  off  toward  a  ship.  As  soon  as 
an  English  ship  anchors,  a  swarm  of  these 
canoes  comes  dashing  along,  their  Ijlack  in- 
mates singing  songs  at  the  top  of  their  voices, 
jiud  shouting  "  Bateo!  Bateo!  Gi'  way!  Bar- 
gri!"  and  similar  exclamations,  as  they  race 
with  each  other  toward  the  vessel.  No 
European  has  been  known  to  manage  one 
of  these  frail  canoes,  the  usual  result  of  get- 
ting into  one  being  that  the  boat  turiis  over, 
and  deposits  the  rash  adventurer  in  the  sea. 

The  appearance  of  the  men  has  been 
graphically  described  by  the  "  F.  K.  G.  S." 
"  Conceive  the  head  of  a  Socrates,  or  a  Sile- 
nus,  upon  the  body  of  the  Antinous,  or 
Apollo  Belvedere.  A  more  magnihcent  de- 
velopment of  muscle,  such  perfect  symmetry 
in  the  balance  of  grace  and  strength,  my  eyes 
had  never  yet  looked  upon.  But  the  faces! 
Except  when  lighted  up  by  smiles  and  good 
humor  —  expression  to  an  African  face  is  all 
in  all  —  nothing  could  be  more  unprepos- 
sessing. The  flat  nose,  the  high  cheek- 
bones, the  yellow  eyes,  the  chalky  white 
teeth,  pointed  like  the  shark's,  the  muzzle 
protruded  like  that  of  a  dog-monkey,  com- 
bine to  form  an  unusual  amount  of  ugli- 
ness. 

"  To  this  adds  somewhat  the  tribe  mark, 
a  blue  line  of  cuts  half  an  inch  broad,  from 
tlie  forehead  scalp  to  the  nose  tip  —  in  some 
cases  it  extends  over  both  lips  to  the  chin, 
whence  they  are  called  Bluenoses  —  whilst 
a  bi-oad  arrow  or  wedge,  pointed  to  the  face, 
and  also  blue,  occupies  each  temple,  just 
above  the  zygomata.  The  marks  are  made 
with  a  knife,  little  cuts  into  which  the 
oily  husk  of  a  gum  is  rubbed.  Their  bodies 
are  similarly  ornamented  witli  stars,  Euro- 
pean emblems,  as  anchors,  &c.,  especially 
with  broad  double  lines  down  the  breast 
and  other  parts. 

"  Their  features  are  distinctly  African, 
without  a  mixture  of  Arab;  the  conjunctiva 
is  brown,  yellow,  or  tarnished  —  a  Ilamitic 
peculiarity  —  and  some  paint  white  goggle- 
like ovals  round  the  orbits,  producing  the 
effect  of  a  loup.  This  is  sometimes  done  for 
sickness,  and  individuals  are  rulilied  over 
with  various  light  and  dark  colored  powders. 
The  skin  is  very  dark,  often  lamp-black; 
others  are  of  a  deep  rich  brown,  or  lironze 
tint,  but  a  light-complexioned  man  is  gener- 
ally called  Tom  Coffee. 


"  They  wear  the  hair,  which  is  short  and 
kinky,  in  crops,  which  look  like  a  Buddha's 
skulf-cap,  and  they  shave  when  in  mourning 
for  their  relation's.  A  favorite  '  fash '  (*.  e. 
fashion)  is  to  scrape  oft'  a  parallelogram  be- 
hind the  head,  from  the  poll  to  the  cerebel- 
lum; and  others  are  decorated  in  that  land- 
scape or  parterre  style  which  wilder  Africans 
love.  The  back  of  the  crauium  is  often 
remarkably  flat,  and  I  have  seen  many  heads 
of  the  pyramidal  shaiie,  rising  narrow  and 
pointed  high  to  the  apex.  The  beard  is  sel- 
dom thick!  and  never  long;  the  moustachio 
is  removed,  and  the  pile,  like  the  hair,  often 
grows  in  tufts.  The  tattoo  has  often  been 
described.  There  seems  to  be  somethiug 
attractive  in  this  process  —  the  English 
sailor  can  seldom  resist  the  temptation. 

"  They  also  chip,  sharpen,  and  extract  the 
teeth.  Most  men  cut  out  an  inverted  V 
between  the  two  middle  incisors  of  the  up- 
per jaw;  others  draw  one  or  two  of  the  cen- 
tral lower  incisors;  others,  especially  the  St. 
Andrews  men,  tip  or  sharpen  the  incisors, 
like  the  Wahiao  and  several  Central  African 
tribes. 

"  Odontology  has  its  mysteries.  Dentists 
seem,  or  rather  seemed,  to  hold  as  a  theory 
that  destruction  of  the  enamel  involved  the 
loss  of  the  tooth;  the  Krumen  hack  their 
masticators  with  a  knife,  or  a  rough  piece  of 
hoop  iron,  and  find  that  the  sharpening, 
instead  of  producing  caries,  acts  as  a  preserv- 
ative, by  facilitating  the  laniatory  process. 
Similarly  there  are  physiologists  who  attrib- 
ute the  preservation  of  the  negro's  teeth  to 
his  not  drinking  anything  hotter  than  blood 
heat.  This  is  mere'empiricism.  The  Arabs 
swallow  their  coffee  nearly  boiling,  and  the 
East  African  will  devour  his  agali,  or  por- 
ridge, when  the  temperature  would  scald  the 
hand.  Yet  both  these  races  have  pearls  of 
teeth,  except  when  they  chew  lime  or  to- 
bacco." 

The  native  dress  of  the  men  is  simple 
enough,  consisting  of  a  pink  and  white  or 
blue  and  white  check  cloth  round  the  waist, 
and  a  variety  of  ornaments,  made  of  skin, 
metal,  glass,  or  ivory.  The  latter  substance 
is  mostly  obtained  either  from  the  Gaboon 
or  Cameroon,  and  is  worn  in  the  shape  of 
large  arm  rings,  cut  slowly  with  a  knife,  and 
polished  by  drawing  a  wet  cord  backward 
and  forward.  Some  of  the  sailor  Krumen 
have  their  names  (i.  e.  their  nautical  names) 
engraved  on  their  armlets,  and  soine  of  them 
wear  on  the  breast  a  brass  plate  with  the 
name  engraved  upon  it.  Of  course  some  of 
their  ornaments  are  charms  or  fetishes. 

The  women  present  a  disagreeable  con- 
trast to  the  men,  their  stature  being  short, 
their  proportions  ungainly,  and  their  fea- 
tures repulsive.  Their  style  of  dress,  which 
is  merely  a  much-attenuated  petticoat,  dis- 
plays nearly  the  whole  of  the  figure,  and 
enables  the  spectator  to  forma  very  accurate 
opinion  of  their  personal  appearance.    Of 


346 


THE  KKUMEN. 


course,  the  chief  part  of  the  work  is  done  bj' 
the  women,  and  tliis  custom  lias  doutitless 
some  efl'ect  in  stunting  and  deteriorating  the 
form. 

All  the  Krumen  have  two  names,  one 
being  that  by  which  they  are  called  in  their 
own  tongue,  and  one  by  which  they  are 
known  to  their  employers.  It  really  seems 
a  pity  that  these  hue  fellows  should  be  de- 
graded by  the  ludicrous  English  names 
which  are  given  to  them.  Their  own  names 
—  c.  g.  Kofii,  Nakii,  Tiyii,  &c. — are  easy 
enough  to  speak,  and  it  would  be  far  belter 
to  use  them,  and  not  to  "  call  them  out  of 
their  names,"  according  to  the  domestic 
phrase.  Here  are  the  names  of  five  men 
who  engaged  to  take  Mr.  Reade  to  the  Ga- 
boon: Smoke  Jack,  Dry  Toast,  Cockroach, 
Pot-of-Beer,  and  —  of  all  the  names  in  the 
world  for  a  naked  black  man  —  Florence 
Nightingale. 

They  always  demand  rice,  that  being  a 
necessity  with  tliem,  and  as  long  as  they 
get  their  pint  and  a  half  per  diem  of  rice 
they  can  stand  unlimited  work.  They  cook 
the  rice  for  themselves  in  their  primitive 
but  effective  manner,  and  feed  themselves 
much  as  turkeys  are  crammed,  seizing  large 
hanth'uls  of  nee,  squeezing  tliem  into  balls, 
and  contriving,  in  some  mysterious  way,  to 
swallow  them  whole  without  being  clicked. 
When  they  enter  the  naval  service  they  con- 
sider themselves  as  made  men,  getting  not 
only  their  rice,  but  allowance  in  lieu  of 
other  rations  plenty  of  clothing,  and  liigh 
wages,  so  that  when  they  go  ashore  they  are 
ricli  men,  and  take  their  rank.  Of  course 
they  are  fleeced  by  all  their  relations,  who 
flock  round  them,  and  expect  to  be  feasted 
for  several  days,  but  still  the  sailor  Krumau 
can  buy  a  wife  or  two,  and  set  up  for  a 
"man  "at  once.  In  his  own  phrase,  he  is 
"nigger  for  ship,  king  for  country."  One 
year  is  tlie  usual  term  of  engagement,  and  it 
is  Iiardly  possible  to  induce  Krumen  to  en- 
gage for  more  tliau  three  years,  so  attached 
are  they  to  "  me  country." 

Their  government  is  simple.  They  are 
divided  into  four  classes,  or  castes,  — 
namely,  the  elders,  the  actual  warriors,  the 
probationary  warriors,  and  the  priests;  the 
latter  term  including  the  priests  proper,  the 
exorcists,  and  the  physicians.  They  are 
strictly  reiniblican,  and  no  one  is  permitted 
to  accumulate,  or,  at  all  events,  to  display, 
wealth  much  above  the  average  of  his  fel- 
lows. Should  even  one  of  the  elders  do  so, 
a  palaver  is  held,  and  his  property  is  re- 
duced to  proper  level.  This  is  described  by 
the  English-speaking  Krumen  as  the  pun- 
ishment for  "  too  much  sass."  In  fact,  prop- 
erty is  held  on  the  joint  stock  principle,  so 
that  the  word  "commonwealth"  is  very  ap- 
plicable to  their  mode  of  government. 

Capital  punishment  is  rare,  and  is  seldom 
used,  except  in  cases  of  witchcraft  or  mur- 
der, and  it  is  remarkable  that,  in  the  latter 


case,  no  distinction  is  made  between  acci- 
dental manslaughter  and  murder  with  mal- 
ice prepense.''''  The  poison  ordeal  is  common 
here,  the  draught  being  prejiared  from  the 
"sa.s.s-wood  "  of  the  gidden  tree;  and  there 
is  a  wholesome  rule  that,  if  the  accused  sur- 
vives the  ordeal,  the  accuser  must  drink  it 
in  his  turn. 

That  they  are  arrant  liars,  ttiat  they  are 
confirmed  thieves,  and  that  they  have  not 
the  slightest  notion  of  morality,  is  but  to 
say  that  they  are  savages,  and  those  who  have 
to  deal  with  them  can  manage  well  enough, 
provided  that  they  only  bear  in  mind  these 
characteristics.  It  they  hear  that  they  are 
going  to  some  place  which  they  dislike  — 
probably  on  account  of  some  private  feud, 
because  the}'  are  afraid  of  some  man  whose 
domestic  relations  they  have  disturbed  — 
they  will  come  with  doleful  faces  to  their 
master,  and  tell  him  the  most  astounding 
lies  about  it. 

Yet  they  are  a  cheerful,  lively  set  of  fel- 
lows, possessing  to  the  full  the  negro's  love 
of  singing,  drumming,  and  dancing.  Any 
kind  of  work  that  they  do  is  aided  b}'  a  song, 
and  an  experienced  traveller  who  is  paddled 
by  Krumen  always  takes  with  him  a  drum 
of  some  sort,  knowing  that  it  will  make  the 
difference  of  a  quarter  of  the  time  occupied 
in  the  journey.  Even  after  after  a  hard 
day's  work,  the}'  will  come  to  their  master, 
ask  permission  to  "  make  play,"  and  will 
keep  up  their  singing  and  dancing  until 
after  midnight.  Under  such  circumstances 
the  traveller  will  do  well  to  grant  his  per- 
mission, under  the  condition  that  they  re- 
move themselves  out  of  earshot.  Even 
their  ordinary  talk  is  so  much  like  shouting, 
that  they  must  always  be  quartered  in  out- 
houses, and  when  they  become  excited  with 
their  music  their  noise  is  unendurable. 

They  are  very  fond  of  intoxicating  liquids, 
and  are  not  in  the  least  particular  about  the 
quality,  so  that  the  intoxicating  property  be 
there. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  they 
are  arrant  thieves,  and  in  nothing  is  their 
thieving  talent  more  conspicuous  than  when 
they  exercise  it  upon  spirituous  liquors. 
They  even  surpass  the  British  sailor  in  the 
ingenuity  which  they  display  in  discovering 
and  stealing  spirits,  and  there  is  hardlj'  any 
risk  which  they  will  not  run  in  order  to 
obtain  it.  Contrary  to  the  habit  of  most 
savage  people,  they  are  very  sensitive  to 
pain,  and  a  flogging  which  would  scarcely 
be  felt  by  a  Bush  boy  will  elicit  shrieks  of 
pain  from  a  Kruman.  They  dread  the  whip 
almost  as  much  as  death,  and  yet  they  will 
brave  the  terrors  of  a  certain  flogging  in 
order  to  get  at  rum  or  brandy. 

No  precautions  seem  to  be  available 
against  their  restless  cunning,  and  the  un- 
wary traveller  is  often  surprised,  when  he 
feels  ill  and  wants  some  br.andy  as  a  medi- 
ciuo,  that  not  a  drop  is  to  be  found,  and  j'et, 


THE   GOD  '-SUFFIN." 


547 


to  all  appearance,  his  spirit-case  has  been 
under  his  own  eyes,  and  so  have  the  rascals 
who  have  contrived  to  steal  it.  Even  so 
experienced  a  traveller  as  Captain  Burton, 
a  man  who  knows  the  negro  character  better 
than  almost  any  European,  says  that  he 
never  had  the  chance  of  drinking  his  last 
bottle  of  cognac,  it  always  having  been 
emptied  by  his  Krumen. 

Provisions  of  all  kinds  vanish  in  the  same 
mysterious  way:  they  will  strangle  goats, 
and  prepare  them  so  as  to  look  as  if  they 
had  been  bitten  by  venomous  serpents;  and 
as  for  fowls,  they  vanish  as  if  they  had  vol- 
untarily flown  down  the  throats  of  the  rob- 
bers. Anything  bright  or  polished  is  sure 
to  be  stolen,  and  it  is  the  hardest  thing  in 
the  world  to  take  mathematical  instruments 
safely  through  Western  Africa,  on  account 
of  the  thievish  propensities  of  the  Kru- 
men. 

Even  when  they  steal  articles  which  they 
cannot  eat,  it  is  very  difficult  to  discover 
the  spot  where  the  missing  object  is  hidden, 
and,  as  a  party  of  Krunren  always  share 
their  plunder,  they  have  an  interest  in  keep- 
ing their  business  secret.  The  only  mode 
of  extracting  information  is  by  a  sound  flog- 
ging, and  even  then  it  often  happens  that 
the  cunning  rascals  have  sent  off  their 
plunder  by  one  of  their  own  people,  or 
have  contrived  to  smuggle  it  on  board  some 
ship. 

We  now  come  to  the  domestic  habits  of 
the  Krumen  as  summed  up  in  marriage, 
religion,  death,  and  burial. 

These  people  are,  as  has  been  seen,  a  pru- 
dent race,  and  have  the  mi- African  faculty 
of  looking  to  the  future.  It  is  this  faculty 
which  causes  them  to  work  so  hard  for  their 
wives,  the  fact  being,  that,  when  a  man  has 
no  wife,  he  must  work  entirely  for  himself; 
when  he  has  one,  she  takes  part  of  the  labor 
otF  his  hands;  and  when  ho  marries  a  dozen 
or  so,  they  can  support  him  in  idleness  for 
the  rest  of  his  days. 

So,  when  a  young  man  has  scraped  to- 
gether suflicient  property  to  buy  a  wife,  ho 
goes  to  the  girl's  father,  shows  the  goods, 
and  strikes  the  bargain.  If  accepted,  he 
marries  her  after  a  very  simple  fashion,  the 
whole  ceremony  consisting  in  the  father 
receiving  the  goods  and  handing  over  the 
girl.  He  remains  with  her  in  her  father's 
house  for  a  week  or  two,  and  then  goes  off 
on  another  trip  in  order  to  earn  enough 
money  to  buy  a  second.  In  like  manner  he 
possesses  a  third  and  a  fourth,  and  then  sets 
up  a  domicile  of  his  own,  each  wife  having 
her  own  little  hut. 

However  many  wives  a  Kruman  may  have, 
the  first  takes  the  chief  rank,  and  rules  the 
entire  household.  As  is  the  case  in  most 
lands  where  polygamy  is  practised,  the 
women  have  no  objection  to  sharing  the 
husband's  afl'ections.     On  the  contrary,  the 


head  wife  will  generally  urge  her  husband 
to  add  to  his  number,  because  every  addi- 
tional wife  is  in  fact  an  additional  servant, 
and  takes  a  considerable  amount  of  work  off 
her  shoulders.  And  an  inferior  wife  would 
always  prefer  to  be  the  twelfth  or  thirteenth 
wife  of  a  wealthy  man,  than  the  solitary  wife 
of  a  poor  man  for  whom  she  will  have  to 
work  like  a  slave. 

Although  the  women  are  completely  .sub- 
ject to  their  husbands,  they  have  a  remedy 
in  their  hands  if  they  are  very  badly  treated. 
They  run  away  to  their  own  family,  and 
theii  there  is  a  great  palaver.  Should  a  sep- 
aration occur,  the  children,  although  they 
love  their  mother  better  than  their  father, 
are  considered  his  property,  and  have  to  go 
with  him. 

Theie  religion  is  of  a  very  primitive  char- 
acter, and,  although  the  Krumen  have  for 
so  many  years  been  brought  in  contact  with 
civilization,  and  have  been  sedulously  taught 
by  missionaries,  they  have  not  exchanged" 
their  old  superstitions  for  a  new  religion. 
That  they  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  amulets 
and  charms  has  been  already  mentioned,  and 
tlierefore  it  is  evident  that  they  must  have 
some  belief  in  the  supernatural  beings  who  are 
supposed  to  be  influenced  by  these  charms. 
Yet,  as  to  worship,  very  little  is  known 
of  it,  probably  because  very  little  is  prac- 
tised. On  one  occasion,  when  a  vessel  was 
wrecked,  a  Kruman  stood  all  night  by  the 
sea-side,  with  his  face  looking  westward, 
waving  the  right  arm,  and  keeping  up  an 
incessant  howling  until  daybreak.  The 
others  looked  at  him,  but  did  not  attempt  to 
join  him. 

There  is  one  religious  ceremony  which 
takes  place  in  a  remarkable  cavern,  called 
by  the  euphonious  name  of  Grand  Devil 
Cave.  It  is  a  hollow  in  an  enormous  rock, 
having  at  the  end  a  smaller  and  interior 
cavern  in  which  the  demon  resides.  Evi- 
dently partaking  that  dislike  to  naming  the 
object  of  their  superstitions  which  caused 
the  believing  in  fairies  to  term  them  the 
"  Good  people,"  and  the  Norwegians  of 
the  present  day  to  speak  of  the  bear  as  the 
"  Disturber,"'  or  "  He  in  the  fur  coat,"  the 
Krumen  prudently  designate  this  demon  as 
"  Suffln,"  i.  e.  Something. 

When  they  go  to  worship  they  lay  beads, 
tobacco,  jirovisions,  and  rum  in  the  inner 
cavern,  which  are  at  once  removed  by  the 
mysterious  Suffln,  who  is  supposed  to  con- 
sume them  all.  In  return  for  the  liberality 
of  his  votaries,  Suffin  answers  any  questions 
in  any  language.  The  Krumen  believe  as 
firmly  in  the  existence  and  supernatural 
character  of  Suffin  as  the  Babylonians  in 
the  time  of  Daniel  believed  that  Bell  con- 
sumed daily  the  "  twelve  great  measures  of 
fine  flour,  the  forty  sheep,  and  the  six  ves- 
sels of  wine  "  that  were  offered  to  him.  And, 
as  a  convincing  proof   of   the    danger  of 


548 


THE  FANTI. 


incredulity,  they  point  with  awe  to  a  tree 
whicli  stands  near  the  mouth  of  tlie  Graiul 
Devil  Cave,  and  which  was  formerly  a  Kru- 
man  who  expressed  his  disbelief  in  Suffln, 
and  was  strai<;htway  transformed  into  the 
tree  in  question. 

Their  mode  of  swearing  is  by  dipping  the 
finger  in  salt,  pointing  to  heaven  and  earth 
with  it,  as  if  invoking  the  powers  of  both, 
and  then  putting  the  tip  of  the  finger  in  the 
mouth,  as  if  calling  upon  the  offended 
powers  to  avenge  tlie  perjury  on  the  person 
of  him  who  had  partaken  of  the  salt.  Con- 
sidering the  wolfish  voracity  of  the  Krunien, 
which  they  jiossess  in  common  with  other 
savages,  they  show  great  self-control  in 
yieUiing  to  a  popular  superstition  which  for- 
bids them  to  eat  the  hearts  of  cattle,  or  to 
drink  the  l)lood. 

The  dead  Kruman  Is  buried  with  many 
ceremonies,  and,  notably,  a  fire  is  kept  up 
before  his  house,  so  that  his  sjiirit  maj- 
"warm  itself  while  it  is  prepared  for  appre- 
ciating the  new  life  into  which  it  has  been 
born.  Food  is  also  placed  near  the  grave 
for  the  same  benevolent  purpose.  Sliould 
he  be  a  good  man,  he  may  lead  the  cattle 
■which  have  been  sacrificed  at  his  funeral, 
and  so  make  his  way  to  the  spirit  land,  in 
which  he  will  take  rank  according  to  the 
number  of  cattle  which  he  has  brought  with 
him.  Sometimes  he  maj'  enter  the  bodies 
of  children,  and  so  reappear  on  earth.  But 
should  he  be  a  bad  man,  and  especially 
should  he  be  a  wizard  —  i.  e.  one  who  prac- 
tises without  authority  the  arts  which  raise 


the  regular  practitioners  to  wealth  and 
honor — his  state  after  death  is  very  terri- 
ble, and  he  is  obliged  to  wander  forever 
through  gloomy  swamps  and  fetid  marshes. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  Krumeu  liave 
some  idea  of  a  transitional  or  purgatorial 
state.  The  paradise  of  the  Krunuii  is  called 
Kwiga  Oran,  i.  e.  the  City  of  the  Ghosts, 
and  before  any  one  can  enter  it  he  nuist 
sojourn  for  a  certain  time  in  the  intermedi- 
ate space  called  Memi  or  Menuke. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  remark  here  that  the 
Grain  Coast,  on  which  the  Krumen  clnetly 
live,  does  not  derive  its  name  from  corn, 
barley,  or  other  cereals.  The  grain  in  (jues- 
tiou  is  the  well-known  cardamom,  or  Grain 
of  Paradise,  which  is  used  as  a  medicine 
throughout  the  whole  of  "Western  Africa, 
and  is  employed  as  a  remedy  against  vari- 
ous diseases.  It  is  highly  valued  as  a  restor- 
ative after  fatigue;  and  when  a  man  has 
been  completely  'worn  out  by  a  long  day's 
march,  there  is  nothing  that  refreshes  him 
more  than  a  liandful  of  the  cardamoms  in  a 
fresh  state,  the  juicy  and  partly  acid  pulp 
contrasting  most  agreeably  with  the  aro- 
matic warmth  of  the  seeds.  The  cardamom 
is  used  either  internally  or  externally.  It 
is  eaten  as  a  stomachic,  and  is  often  made 
into  a  poultice  and  ajiplied  to  any  part  of 
tlie  body  that  sutlers  pain.  Headache,  for 
example,  is  said  to  be  cured  by  the  carda- 
mom seed,  pounded  and  mixed  with  water 
into  a  paste;  and,  even  during  the  hot  fit  of 
fever,  the  cardamom  powder  is  applied  as  a 
certain  restorative. 


THE  FANTI. 


The  district  of  Western  Africa,  which  is 
now  known  by  tlie  general  title  of  the  Gold 
Coast,  Ashantee,  or  Ashauti,  is  occupied  by 
two  tribes,  who  are  always  on  terms  of 
deadly  feud  with  each  other.  Internecine 
quarrels  are  one  of  the  many  curses  which 
retard  the  progress  of  Africa,  and,  in  this 
case,  the  quarrel  is  so  fierce  and  persistent, 
that  even  at  the  present  day,  though  the 
two  great  tribes,  the  Fauti  and  the  Ashanti, 
have  fought  over  and  over  again, .and  the 
latter  are  clearly  the  victors,  and  have 
taken  possession  of  the  land,  the  former  are 
still  a  large  and  powerful  tribe,  and,  in  spite 
of  their  so  called  extermination,  have  proved 
their  vitality  in  many  ways. 

The  Fanti  tribe  are  geographically  separa- 
ted from  their  formidable  neighbors  by  the 
Bossumpea  River,  and  if  one  among  either 
tribe  j)asses  this  boundary  it  is  declared  to 
be  an  overt  act  of  war.  Unfortunately, 
England  contrived  to  drift  into  this  war, 
and,  as  bad  luck  would  have  it,  took  the  part 
of  the  Fanti  tribe,  and  consequently  shared 
in  their  defeat. 

It  is  really  not  astonishing  that  the  Fanti 


should  have  been  so  completely  conquered, 
as  they  have  been  termed  by  Jilr.  Duncan, 
a  traveller  who  knew  them  well,  the  dirtiest 
and  laziest  of  all  the  Africans  that  he  had 
seen.  One  hundred  of  them  were  employed 
under  the  supervision  of  an  Englishman, 
and,  even  with  this  incitement,  they  did  not 
do  as  much  as  a  gang  of  fifteen  English 
laborers.  Unless  continually  goaded  to 
work  they  will  lie  down  and  bask  in  the 
sun;  and  even  if  a  native  overseer  be 
employed,  he  is  just  as  bad  as  the  rest  of 
his  countrymen. 

Even  such  work  as  they  do  they  will  only 
perform  in  their  own  stupid  manner.  For 
example,  in  fetching  stone  for  building,  they 
will  walk,  some  twenty  in  a  gang,  a  full  mile 
to  the  quarry,  and  come  back,  each  with  a 
single  stone  weighing  some  eight  or  nine 
poiinds  on  his  'head.  Every  burden  is 
carried  on  the  head.  They  were  once  sup- 
plied with  wheelbarrows,  but  they  placed 
one  stone  in  each  wheelbarrow,  and  then 
put  the  Ijarrows  on  their  heads.  The  reason 
why  they  are  so  lazy  is  plain  enough.  They 
can  live  well  for  a  penny  per  diem,  and 


THE  KRA-KEA. 


549 


their  only  object  in  worliinj;  is  to  procure 
rum,  tobacco,  and  cotton  clotlis.  So  tlie 
wife  has  to  earn  tlie  necessaries  of  hfe,  and 
tlie  husband  earns  —  and  consumes  —  tlie 
luxuries. 

The  Fanti  tribe  are  good  canoe  men,  but 
their  Ijoats  are  much  larger  and  heavier 
than  those  which  are  employed  by  the  Kru- 
men.  They  are  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  in 
lengrh,  and  are  furnished  with  weather 
boards  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  out  the 
water.  The  shape  of  the  paddle  is  usually 
like  that  of  the  ace  of  clubs  at  the  eud  of  a 
handle;  l)ut,  when  the  canoes  have  to  be 
taken  through  smooth  and  deep  water,  the 
blades  of  the  paddles  are  long  and  leaf- 
shaped,  so  as  to  take  a  good  hold  of  the 
water.  The  Fanti  l.ioatmen  are  great  adepts 
in  conveying  passengers  from  shijjs  to  the 
shore.  Waiting  by  the  ship's  side,  while 
the  heavy  seas  raise  and  lower  their  crank 
canoes  like  corks,  they  seize  the  right  mo- 
ment, snatch  the  anxious  passenger  off  the 
ladder  to  which  he  has  been  clinging,  de- 
posit him  in  the  boat,  and  set  off  to  shore], 
with  shouts  of  exultation.  On  account  of^ 
the  surf,  as  much  care  is  needed  in  landing 
the  passengers  on  shore  as  in  taking  them 
out  of  the  vessel.  They  hang  about  the 
outskirts  of  the  surf-billows  as  they  curl 
and  twist  and  dash  themselves  to  pieces  in 
white  spray,  and,  as  soon  as  one  large  wave 
has  dashed  itself  on  the  shore,  they  paddle 
along  on  the  crest  of  the  succeeding  wave, 
and  just  before  it  breaks  they  jump  out  of 
the  boat,  run  it  well  up  the  shore,  and 
then  ask  for  tobacco. 

The  men  are  rather  fine-looking  fellows, 
tall  and  well-formed,  but  are  unfortunately 
liable  to  many  skin  diseases,  among  which 
the  terrible  kra-kra  is  most  dreaded.  This 
horriljle  disease,  sometimes  spelt,  as  it  is 
pronounced,  craw-craw,  is  a  sort  of  leprosy 
that  overruns  the  entire  body,  and  makes 
the  surfiice  most  loathsome  to  the  eye.  Un- 
fortunately, it  is  very  contagious,  and  even 
white  persons  have  been  attacked  by  it 
merely  by  placing  their  hands  on  the  spot 
against  which  a  negro  afflicted  with  kra-kra 
lias  been  resting.  Sometimes  the  whole 
crew  of  a  ship  will  be  seized  with  kra-kra, 
which  even  communicates  itself  to  goats 
and  other  animals,  to  whom  it  often  proves 
fatal. 

The  natives  have  a  curious  legend  re- 
specting the  origin  of  this  horrible  disease. 
The  first  man,  named  Eaychow,  came  one 
day  with  his  son  to  a  great  hole  in  the 
ground,  from  which  fire  issues  all  night. 
They  heard  men  speaking  to  them,  but 
could  not  distinguish  their  faces.  So  Ray- 
chow  sent  his  son  down  the  pit,  and  at  the 
bottom  he  met  the  king  of  the  fire  hole, 
who  challenged  him  to  a  trial  of  spear 
throwing,  the  stake  being  his  life.  He  won 
the  contest,  and  the  fire  king  was  so  pleased 
with  his  prowess  that  he  told  the  young 


man  to  ask  for  anything  that  he  liked  before 
he  was  restored  to  the  upper  air.  The  boon 
chosen  was  a  remedy  for  every  disease  that 
he  could  name.  He  enumerated  every  mal- 
ady that  he  could  recollect,  and  received  a 
medicine  for  each.  As  he  was  going  away, 
the  fire  king  said,  "  You  have  forgotten  one 
<lisease.  It  is  the  kra-kra,  and  by  that  you 
shall  die." 

Their  color  is  rather  dark  chocolate  than 
black,  and  they  have  a  tolerably  well-formed 
nose,  and  a  facial  angle  better  than  that  of 
the  true  negro.  Their  dress  is  simply  a 
couple  of  cotton  cloths,  one  twisted  round 
the  waist,  and  the  other  hung  over  the 
shoulders.  This,  however,  is  sc^u•cely  to  be 
reckoned  as  clothing,  and  is  to  be  regarded 
much  as  an  European  regards  his  hat,  i.  e. 
as  something  to  bo  worn  out  of  doors.  Like 
the  hat,  it  is  doffed  whenever  a  Fanti  meets 
a  superior;  this  curious  salutation  being 
found  also  in  some  of  the  South  Sea  Islands. 

The  women  when  young  are  uj  ly  in  face 
and  beautiful  in  form  —  when  old  they  are 
hideous  in  both.  In  spite  of  the  Islamism 
with  which  they  are  brought  so  constantly 
in  contact,  and  which  has  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing them  the  most  civilized  of  the  West 
African  tribes,  the  women  are  so  far  from 
veiling  their  faces  that  their  costume  begins 
at  the  waist  and  ceases  at  the  knees.  Un- 
fortunately, they  spoil  the  only  beauty  they 
possess,  that  of  shape,  by  an  ugly  append- 
age called  the  "  cankey,"  i.  e.  a  toleralily 
large  oblong  bag  of  calico,  stufled  into  cush- 
ion shape,  and  then  tied  by  tapes  to  the 
wearer's  back,  so  that  the  upper  edge  and 
two  of  the  corners  project  upward  in  a  \'ery 
ludicrous  way.  It  is,  in  fact,  only  a  slight 
exaggeration  of  an  article  of  dress  which  at 
one  time  was  fashionable  throughout  Eu- 
rope, and  which,  to  artistic  eyes,  had  the 
same  demerit  of  spoiling  a  good  shape  and 
not  concealing  a  bad  one.  The  married 
women  have  some  excuse  for  wearing  it, 
as  they  say  that  it  forms  a  nice  cushion  for 
the  baby  to  sit  upon;  but  the  young  girls 
who  also  wear  it  have  no  such  excuse,  and 
can  only  plead  the  fashion  of  the  day. 

Round  the  waist  is  always  a  string  of 
beads,  glass  or  clay  if  the  wearer  be  poor, 
gold  if  she  be  rich.  This  supports  the 
'•  shim,"  a  sort  of  under-petticoat,  if  we  may 
so  term  it,  which  is  simply  a  strip  of  calico 
an  inch  or  so  in  width,  one  end  being  fas- 
tened to  the  girdle  of  beads  in  front,  and 
the  other  behind.  They  all  wear  plenty 
of  ornaments  of  the  usual  description,  i.  e. 
necklaces,  bracelets,  ai'mlets,  anklets,  and 
even  rings  for  the  toes. 

The  hair  of  the  married  women  is  dressed 
in  rather  a  peculiar  manner.  Though  crisp 
and  curly,  it  grows  fo  nine  or  ten  inches  in 
length,  and  is  frizzled  and  teased  out  with 
much  skill  and  more  patience.  A  boldly- 
defined  line  is  shaved  round  the  roots  of 
hair,  aud  the  remainder  of  the  locks,  previ- 


650 


THE  FA]SrTI. 


ously  saturated  with  grease,  aufl  combed  out 
to  their  iireatest  length,  are  trained  upward 
into  a  tall  ridge.  Should  the  hair  be  too 
sliort  or  too  seanty  to  proiluee  the  required 
etteet,  a  quantity  of  supplementary  hair  is 
twisted  into  a  pad  and  placed  under  the 
veritable  locks.  This  ridi;e  of  hair  is  sup- 
ported by  a  large  comb  stuck  iu  the  hack  of 
the  head",  and,  altliough  the  shape  of  the  hair 
tufts  (htfer  considerably,  it  is  always  pres- 
ent, and  always  made  as  large  as  possible. 

The  Fanti'have  their  peculiar  supersti- 
tions, which  have  never  yet  been  extir- 
pated. 

In  accordance  witli  tlieir  superstitious 
worship,  they  have  a  great  number  of  holy 
days  iu  the  course  of  tlie  year,  during  wliich 
the}'  make  such  a  noise  that  an  European 
can  scarcely  live  in  the  town.  Besides 
uttering  the  horrible  roars  and  yells  which 
seem  unproducible  by  other  than  negro 
throats,  they  blow  horns  and  long  wooden 
trumpets,  the  sound  of  which  is  described 
as  resembling  the  roar  of  a  Indl,  and  walk  in 
procession,  surrounding  with  their  horns 
and  trumpets  the  noisest  instrument  of  all, 

—  namely,  the  kin-kasi,  or  big  drum.  This 
is  about  four  feet  in  length  and  one  in 
widtli,  and  takes  two  men  to  jilay  it,  one 
carrying  it,  negro  fashion,  on  his  head,  and 
the  other  walking  behind,  and  belaboring 
it  without  the  least  regard  to  time,  the  only 
object  being  to  make  as  mucli  noise  as  pos- 
sible. 

Th(>ir  fetishes  are  innumerable,  and  it  is 
hardly  possilile  to  walk  anywdiere  without 
seeing  a  fetish  or  two.  Anything  does  for  a 
fetish^  but  the  favorite  article  is  a  bundle  of 
rags  tied  together  like  a  child's  rag  doll. 
This  is  placed  in  some  public  spot,  and  so 
great  is  tlie  awe  with  which  such  articles 
are  regarded,  that  it  will  sometimes  remain 
in  the  same  place  for  several  weeks.  A  little 
image  of  clay,  intended  to  represent  a  human 
being,  is  sometimes  substituted  for  the  rag 
doll.' 

The  following  succinct  account  of  the 
religious  system  is  given  in  the  "  AVander- 
ings  of  a  F.R.  G.  S. : "  —  "  The  religious  ideas 
of  the  Fanti  are,  as  usual  in  Africa,  vague 
and  indistinct.     Each  person  has  his  Samdh 

—  literally  a  .skeleton  or  goblin  —  or  private 
fetish,  an  idol,  rag,  fowd,  feathers,  bunch  of 
grass,  a  bit  of  glass,  and  so  forth ;  to  this  he 
pays  the  greatest  reverence,  because  it  is 
nearest  to  him. 

"  The  Bosorus  are  imaginary  beings,  pro- 
bably of  ghostly  origin,  called  '  spirits '  by 
the  missionaries.  Abonsam  is  a  malevolent 
being  that  lives  in  the  upper  regions.  Sasa- 
bonsam  is  the  friend  of  witch  and  wizard, 
hates  priests  and  mission.aries,  and  iidiabits 
huge  silk-cotton  trees  in  the  gloomiest  for- 
ests; he  is  a  monstrous  being,  of  human 
shape,  of  red  color,  and  with  long  hair.  The 
reader  will  not  fail  to  remark  the  similar- 
ity of  Sasabonsam  to  the  East  Indian   Rak- 


shasha,  the  malevolent  ghost  of  a,  Brahmin, 

brown  in  color,  inhabiting  the  pipul  tree. 

"  Xyanknpon,  or  Nyawe,  is  the  supreme 
deity,  but  the  word  also  means  the  visible 
firmament  or  sky,  showing  that  (here  has 
been  no  attemi)t  to  separate  the  ideal  from 
the  material.  This  being,  who  dwells  in 
Nyankuponti.  or  Nyankuponkroo,  is  loo  far 
from  earth  to  trouble  himself  about  human 
affairs,  wdiich  are  committed  to  the  Bosorus. 
This,  however,  is  the  belief  of  the  educated, 
who  doubtless  have  derived  something  li-om 
European  .systems  —  the  vulgar  confound 
him  with  sky,  rain,  and  thunder. 

"  '  Kra,'  which  the  vocabularies  translate 
'  Lord,'  is  the  Anglicised  okro,  or  ocroe, 
meaning  a  favorite  male  .slave,  destined  to  be 
sacrificed  with  his  dead  master;  and  '  sun- 
sum,'  spirit,  means  a  shadow,  the  man's 
wiihra.  The  Fantis  have  regular  days  of 
rest:  Tuesdays  for  fishermen^  Fridays  for 
bushmen,  peasants,  and  so  on." 

Tiiere  is  very  little  doubt  that  the  conjec- 
ture of  the  author  is  right,  and  that  several 
of  these  ideas  have  been  borrowed  from 
European  sources. 

The  rite  of  circumcision  is  practised 
among  the  Fantis,  but  does  not  seem  to  be 
universal,  and  a  sacred  spot  is  always  chosen 
for  the  ceremony.  At  Accra,  a  rock  rising 
out  of  the  sea  is  used  for  the  purpose. 

Burial  is  conducted  with  tlie  usual  accom- 
paniments of  professional  mourners,  and  a 
funeral  feast  is  held  in  honor  of  the  deceased. 
A  sheep  is  sacrificed  for  the  occasion,  and  the 
shoulder  bone  is  laid  on  the  grave,  wdiere  it 
is  allowed  to  remain  for  a  considerable  time. 
Sometimes  travellers  have  noticed  a  corpse 
placed  on  a  platform  and  merely  covered 
with  a  cloth.  These  are  the  bodies  of  men 
who  have  died  without  paying  their  debts, 
and,  according  to  Fanti  laws,  there  they  are 
likely  to  remain,  no  one  being  bold  enough 
to  bury  them.  By  their  laws,  the  man  who 
buries  another  succeeds  to  his  property,  but 
also  inherits  his  debts,  and  is  legally  responsi- 
ble for  them.  And  as  in  Western  Africa  the 
legal  rate  of  interest  is  far  above  the  wildest 
dreams  of  European  usurers  —  say  fifty  per 
cent,  per  annum,  or  per  mensem,  or  per 
diem,  as  the  case  may  be  —  to  bury  an  ex- 
posed corpse  involves  a  risk  that  no  one 
likes  to  run. 

One  of  their  oddest  superstitions  is  their 
belief  in  a  child  who  has  existed  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world.  It  never  eats  nor 
drinks,  and  has  remained  in  the  infantile 
state  ever  since  the  world  and  it  came  into 
existence.  Absurd  as  is  the  idea,  this  mirac- 
ulous child  is  firmly  believed  in,  even  by 
persons  who  have  had  a  good  education,  and 
who  say  that  they  have  actually  seen  it. 
Mr.  Duncan,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
the  account  of  it,  determined  to  see  it,  and 
was  so  quick  in  his  movements  that  he  quite 
disconcerted  its  nurse,  and  stopped  her  prep- 
arations for  his  visit. 


(,652) 


AN  INGENIOUS  DEVICE. 


553 


''  Being  again  delayer!,  I  lost  patience,  and 
resolved  to  enter  the  dwelling.  My  African 
friends  and  the  multitude  assembled  from  all 
parts  of  the  town,  warned  me  of  the  destruc- 
tion that  would  certainly  overtake  me  if  I 
ventured  to  go  in  without  leave.  But  I 
showed  them  my  double-barrelled  gun  as 
my  fetish,  and  forced  my  way  through  the 
crowd. 

"  On  entering  through  a  very  narrow  door 
or  gateway,  into  a  circle  of  about  twenty 
yards'  diameter,  fenced  round  by  a  close 
paling,  and  covered  outside  with  long  grass 
(so  that  nothing  within  could  be  seen),  the 
first  and  only  thing  that  I  saw  was  an  old 
woman  who,  but  for  her  size  and  sex,  I 
should  have  taken  for  the  mysterious  being 
resident  there  from  the  time  of  the  creation. 
She  certainly  was  the  most  disgusting  and 
loathsome  being  I  ever  beheld.  She  had  no 
covering  on  her  person  with  the  exception 
of  a  small  piece  of  dirty  cloth  round  her 
loins.  Her  skin  was  deeply  wrinkled  and 
extremely  dirty,  with  scarcely  any  flesh  on 
her  bones.  Her  breasts  hung  half  way  down 
her  body,  and  she  had  all  the  appearance  of 
extreme  old  age.  This  ancient  woman  was 
the  supposed  um'se  of  the  immortal  child. 
The  god's  house  and  the  principal  actor  in 
this  strange  superstition  are  represented  on 
the  previous  page. 

"  On  my  entering  the  yard,  the  old  fetish 
woman  stepped  before  me,  making  the  most 
hideous  gestures  ever  witnessed,  and  en- 
deavored to  drive  me  out,  that  I  might  be 
prevented  from  entering  into  the  god's  house, 
but,  in  spite  of  all  her  movements,  I  pushed 
her  aside,  and  forced  my  way  into  the  house. 
Its  outward  appearance  was  that  of  a  cone, 
or  extinguisher,  standing  in  the  centre  of 
the  enclosure.  It  was  formed  by  lon^  poles 
placed  triangularly,  and  thatched  with  long 
grass.  Inside  it  I  found  a  clay  bench  in  the 
form  of  a  chair.  Its  tenant  was  absent,  and 
the  old  woman  pretended  that  she  had  by 
her  magic  caused  him  to  disappear." 

Of  course,  the  plan  pursued  by  the  old 
fetish  woman  was  to  borrow  a  baljy  when- 
ever any  one  of  consequence  desired  an 
interview,  and  to  paint  it  with  colored  chalks, 
so  that  it  was  no  longer  recognizable.    She 


would  have  played  the  same  trick  with  Mr. 
Duncan,  and,  from  the  repeated  obstacles 
thrown  in  the  way  of  his  visit,  was  evidently 
trying  to  gain  time  to  borrow  a  baby  se- 
cretly. 

At  a  Eanti  funeral  the  natives  excel  them- 
selves in  noise  making,  about  the  only  exer- 
tion in  which  they  seem  to  take  the  least 
interest.  As  soon  as  a  man  of  any  note  is 
dead,  all  his  relations  and  friends  assemble 
in  front  of  his  hut,  drink,  smoke,  yell,  sing, 
and  fire  guns  continually.  A  dog  is  sacri- 
ficed before  the  hut  by  one  of  the  relations, 
though  the  object  of  the  sacrifice  does  not 
seem  to  be  very  cleai\  Rings,  bracelets, 
and  other  trinkets  are  buried  with  the  body, 
and,  as  these  ornaments  are  often  of  solid 
gold,  the  value  of  buried  jewelry  is  very  con- 
siderable. Of  course,  the  graves  are  some- 
times opened  and  robbed,  when  the  corpse 
is  that  of  a  wealthy  person. 

One  ingenious  Fanti  contrived  to  enrich 
himself  very  cleverly.  One  of  his  sisters 
had  been  buried  for  some  time  with  all  her 
jewelry,  and,  as  the  average  value  of  a  well- 
to-do  woman's  trinkets  is  somewhere  aljout 
forty  or  fifty  pounds,  the  aft'ectiouate  brother 
thought  that  those  who  buried  his  sister  had 
been  guilty  of  unjustifiable  waste.  After  a 
while  his  mother  died,  and  he  ordered  her 
to  be  buried  in  the  same  grave  with  his  sis- 
ter. The  ingenious  part  of  the  transac- 
tion was  that  the  man  declared  it  to  be  con- 
trary to  filial  duty  to  bury  the  daughter  at 
the  bottom  of  the  grave,  in  the  place  of 
honor,  and  to  lay  the  mother  above  her. 
The  daughter  was  accordingly  disinterred 
to  give  place  to  the  mother,  and  when  she 
was  again  laid  in  the  grave  all  her  trinkets 
had  somehow  or  other  vanished. 

The  dances  of  the  Fanti  tribe  are  rather 
absurd.  Two  dancers  stand  opposite  each 
other,  and  stamp  on  the  ground  with  each 
foot  alternately.  The  stamping  becomes 
faster  and  faster,  until  it  is  exchanged  for 
leaping,  and  at  every  jump  the  hands  are 
thrown  out  with  the  fingers  upward,  so  tha* 
the  four  palms  meet  with  a  sharp  blow. 
The  couple  go  on  dancing  until  they  fail 
to  strike  the  hands,  and  then  they  leave  oi^ 
and  another  pair  take  their  place. 


CHAPTER   LIV. 


THE  ASHANTI. 


OMGDf  AND  GENERAL  APPEARANCE  OF  THB  ASHANTI  —  AN  ASHANTI  CAPTAIN  AND  HIS  UNIFORM  —  THB 
GOLD  COAST — GOLD  WASHING — THE  "TILIKISSi"  WEIGHTS  —  INGENIOUS  FRAUDS  —  THE  CABOCEEKS, 
OR  NOBLES  OF  ASHANTI  —  PORTRAIT  OF  A  MOUNTED  CABOCEER  —  THE  HORSE  ACCOUTREMENTS  — 
LAW  OF  ROYAL  SUCCESSION  —  MARRIAGE  RESTRICTIONS  —  THE  YAM  AND  ADAI  CUSTOMS  —  FETISH 
DRUM  AND  TRUMPET  —  RELIGIOUS  SY'STEM  OF  ASHANTI  —  WORSHIP  OF  EARTH  AND  SKY'  —  FE- 
TISHES—  DERIVATION  OF  THE  WORD  —  THE    "kLA,"    OR  FAMILIAR  SPLKIT. 


Whence  the  Ashanti  tribe  came  is  not 
very  certain,  but  it  is  probable  that  they 
formerly  inhabited  a  more  inland  part  of  the 
continent,  and  worked  their  way  westward, 
after  the  usual  fashion  of  these  tribes. 
Their  traditions  state  that,  about  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  ago,  the  Ashanti,  \vith 
several  other  tribes,  were  gradually  ousted 
from  their  own  lands  by  the  increasing 
followers  of  Islam,  and  that  when  they 
reached  a  laud  which  was  full  of  gold  they 
took  courage,  made  a  bold  stand  for  free- 
dom, and  at  last  achieved  their  own  inde- 
pendence. 

At  this  time  the  people  were  divided  into 
a  considerable  number  of  states  —  between 
forty  and  fifty,  according  to  one  historian. 
After  having  driven  away  their  oppressors, 
they  came  to  quarrel  among  themselves, 
and  fought  as  fiercely  for  precedence  as 
they  had  formerly  done  for  liberty,  and  at 
last  the  Ashanti  tribe  conquered  the  others, 
and  so  consolidated  the  government  into  a 
kingdom. 

In  general  appearance,  the  Ashanti  much 
reseniiile  the  Fanti,  though  they  are  not 
perhaps  so  strongly  built.  They  are,  how- 
ever, quite  as  good-looking,  and,  according 
to  Mr.  Bowdich,  the  women  are  handsomer 
than  those  of  the  Fanti.  As  a  rule,  the 
higher  classes  are  remarkable  for  their 
cleanliness,  but  the  lower  are  quite  as  dirty 
as  the  generality  of   savage  Africans. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  remarkable  style  of 
costume  in  which  the  Ashanti  indulge,  a 
description  of  an  army  captain  is  here  in- 
troduced.    On   his   head   is   a   vast   double 


plume   of  eagles'  feathers,   surmounting   a 
sort  of  helmet  made  of  rams'  horns,  gilt  in 


a  spiral  pattern,  and  tied  under  his  chin  by 
a  strap  covered  with  cowries.  His  bow  is 
slung  at  his  back,  and  his  quiver  of  small 
poisoned  arrows  hangs  from  his  wrist,  while 
in  his  other  hand  is  held  an  ivory  staff, 
carved  in  a  spiral  pattern.  His  breast  is 
covered  with  a  vast  number  of  little  leath- 
ern pouches  gilt  and  painted  in  light  col- 
ors, mostly  scarlet,  and  from  his  arms  hang 
a  number  of  horse  tails.  Great  boots  of  red 
hide  cover  his  legs  to  mid  thigh,  and  are 
fastened  to  his  belt  by  iron  chains. 

This  belt  is  a  very  curious  piece  of  leather 
work.  One  of  these  articles  is  in  mj'  col- 
lection, and  is  furnished  with  the  following 
implements.  First  comes  a  small  dagger- 
knife,  with  a  blade  about  four  inches  long, 
and  next  to  it  is  a  little  circular  mirror 
about  as  large  as  a  crown  piece,  and  enclosed 
in  a  double  case  like  that  which  is  now  used 
for  prismatic  compasses.  Then  comes  a 
razor,  a  singularly  primitive-looking  speci- 
men of  cutlery,  mounted  in  a  handle  which 
is  little  more  than  a  piece  of  stick,  with  a 
slit  in  it.  Next  comes  a  leathern  pouch 
about  four  inches  square  and  one  inch  in 
depth,  having  its  interior  lined  with  coarse 
canvas,  and  its  exterior  decorated  with  little 
round  holes  punched  in  the  leather,  and 
arranged  in  a  simple  pattern.  Lastly  comes 
the  razor  strop,  a  very  ingenious  implement, 
consisting  of  a  tube  filled  with  emery  pow- 
der, and  sliding  into  a  sheath  so  as  to  allow 
the  powder  to  adhere  to  it.  All  these 
articles  are  protected  by  leathern  sheaths 
stained  of  different  colors,  and  are  suspended 
by  short  straps  from  the  belt. 

The  country  where  the  Ashanti  tribes 
now    live    is    popularly  termed    the    Gold 


(554) 


GOLD   WASHING. 


555 


Coast,  on  account  of  the  richness  with 
whieli  tlie  precious  metal  is  scattered  over 
its  surface.  It  is  found  almost  entirely  in 
the  tVirm  of  dust,  and  is  obtained  by  a  very 
rude  and  imperfect  mode  of  wasliing.  The 
women  are  the  chief  gold  washers,  and  they 
set  about  their  task  armed  with  a  hoe,  a 
basin-shaped  calabash,  and  several  quills. 
With  the  hoe  they  scrape  up  a  quantity  of 
sand  from  the  bed  of  some  stream,  and 
place  it  in  the  calabash.  A  quantity  of 
water  is  then  added,  and,  by  a  peculiar 
rotatory  movement  of  the  hand,  the  water 
and  sand  are  shaken  u]),  and  made  to  fly 
gradually  over  the  top  of  the  Ijasin. 

When  this  movement  is  adrt)itly  per- 
formed, the  water  and  lighter  sand  escape 
from  the  bowl,  while  the  gold  dust  sinks  by 
its  own  weight  to  the  bottom,  and  is  thus 
separated,  and  put  in  the  quills.  Much  skill 
is  required  in  handling  the  calabash,  and 
one  woman  will  find  a  fair  supply  of  gold 
where  another  will  work  all  day  and  scarcely 
find  a  particle  of  the  metal. 

Of  course,  by  this  rude  method  of  work 
the  quantity  of  gold  obtained  is  in  very 
small  proportion  to  the  labor  bestowed  in 
obtaining  it ;  and  if  the  natives  only  knew 
the  use  of  mercury,  they  would  gain  three 
or  four  times  as  much  gold  as  they  do  at 
present.  The  quills,  when  filled  with  gold 
dust,  are  generally  fastened  to  the  hair, 
where  they  are  supposed  to  be  as  orna- 
mental as  they  are  precious.  The  best  time 
for  gold  washing  is  after  violent  rains,  when 
the  increased  rush  of  water  has  brought 
down  a  fresh  supply  of  sand  from  the  up- 
per regions.  As  one  of  the  old  voyagers 
quaintly  remarked,  "  It  raineth  seldom,  but 
every  shower  of  rain  is  a  shower  of  gold 
unto  them,  for  with  the  violence  of  tlie 
water  falling  from  the  mountains  it  bring- 
eth  from  them  the  gold." 

A  good  gold  washer  will  procure  in  the 
course  of  a  year  a  quantity  of  the  dust 
which  will  purchase  two  slaves.  The  aver- 
age price  of  a  slave  is  ten  "  minkali,"  each 
minkali  being  worth  about  12je.  Gs.  ;  and 
being  valued  in  goods  at  one  musket, 
eighteen  gun  flints,  twenty  charges  of  pow- 
der, one  cutlass,  and  forty-eight  leaves  of 
tobacco.  The  reader  may  judge  what  must 
be  the  quality  of  the  musket  and  cutlass. 
Gold  is  weighed  by  the  little  familiar  red 
and  black  seeds,  called  in  Western  Africa 
"  tilikissi,"  and  each  purchaser  always  has 
his  own  balances  and  his  own  weights.  As 
might  be  supposed,  both  vendor  and  pur- 
chaser try  to  cheat  each  other.  The  gold 
finder  mixes  with  the  real  gold  dust  inferior 
sand,  made  by  melting  copjier  and  silver 
together,  or  by  rubbing  together  copper  fil- 
ings and  red  coral  powder.  If  larger  pieces 
of  gold  were  to  be  imitated,  the  usual  plan 
was  to  make  little  nuggets  of  copper,  and 
surround  them  with  a  mere  shell  of  gold. 
This,   of  course,  was  the  most  dangerous 


imposition  of  the  three,  because  the  gold 
coating  defied  the  test,  and  the  fraud  would 
not  be  discovered  unless  the  nugget  were 
cut  in  two  —  rather  a  tedious  process  when 
a  great  number  were  offered  for  sale. 

As  to  the  buyers,  there  was  mostly  some- 
thing wrong  about  their  balances  ;  while  as 
to  the  weights,  they  soaked  the  tilikissi 
seeds  in  melted  butter  to  make  them 
heavier,  and  sometimes  made  sham  tilikissis 
of  pebbles  neatly  ground  down  and  colored. 

In  spite  of  all  the  drawbacks,  the  quan- 
tity of  gold  annually  found  in  Ashanti-land 
is  Very  great,  and  it  is  used  by  the  richer 
natives  in  barliaric  profusion.  They  know 
or  care  little  about  art.  Their  usual  way  of 
niakuig  the  bracelets  or  armlets  is  this. 
The  smith  melts  the  gold  in  a  little  crucible 
of  red  clay,  and  then  draws  in  the  sand  a 
little  furrow  into  which  he  runs  the  gold, 
so  as  to  make  a  rude  and  irregular  liar  or 
stick  of  metal.  When  cold,  it  is  liannnered 
-along  the  sides  so  as  to  square  them,  and  is 
then  twisted  into  the  spiral  shape  which 
seems  to  have  instinctively  impressed  itself 
on  gold  workers  of  all  ages  and  in  all  coun- 
tries. 

The  collars,  earrings,  and  other  orna- 
ments are  made  in  this  simple  manner,  and 
the  wife  of  a  chief  would  scarcely ,  think 
herself  dressed  if  she  had  not  gold  orna- 
ments worth  some  eighty  pounds.  Tha 
great  nobles,  or  Caboceei"s,  wear  on  state 
occasions  bracelets  of  such  weight  that  they 
are  obliged  to  rest  their  arms  on  the  heads 
of  little  slave  boys,  who  stand  in  front  of 
them. 

The  Caboceers  are  very  important  per- 
sonages, and  in  point  of  fact  were  on  the 
eve  of  becoming  to  the  Ashanti  kingdom 
what  the  barons  were  to  the  English  king- 
dom in  the  time  of  John.  Indeed,  they 
were  gradually  becoming  so  powerful  and 
so  numerous,  that  for  many  years  the  king 
of  Ashanti  has  steadily  pursued  a  jiolicy  of 
repression,  and,  wlien  one  of  the  Caboceers 
died,  has  refused  to  acknowledge  a  suc- 
cessor. The  result  of  this  wise  policy  is, 
that  the  Caboceers  are  now  comparatively 
few  in  numljer,  and  even  if  they  were  all  to 
combine  against  the  king  ho  could  easily 
repress  them. 

An  umbrella  is  the  distinctive  mark  of 
the  Caboceers,  who,  in  the  ]n'esent  d.ay,  ex- 
hibit an  odd  mixture  of  original  savagery 
and  partially  acquired  civilization.  The 
Caboceers  have  the  great  privilege  of  sit- 
ting on  stools  when  in  the  presence  of  the 
king.  Moreover,  "  these  men,"  says  Mr. 
W.  Reade,  "  would  be  surrounded  by  their 
household  suites,  like  the  feudal  lords  of 
ancient  days;  their  garments  of  costly  for- 
eign silks  unravelled  and  woven  anew  into 
elaborate  patterns,  and  thrown  over  the 
shoulder  like  the  Roman  toga,  leaving  the 
right  arm  bare;  a  silk  fillet  encircling  the 
temples;  Moorish  charms,  enclosed  in  small 


550 


THE  ASIIANTI. 


cases  of  gold  and  silver,  suspended  on  their 
breasts,  with  neclihices  made  of  '  aggry 
beads,'  a  peculiar  stone  found  in  the  coun- 
try, and  resembling  the  'glein-ndyr'  of  the 
ancient  Britons;  lumps  of  gold  hanging 
from  their  wrists;  while  handsome  girls 
would  stand  behind  holding  silver  basins  in 
their  hands." 

An  illustration  on  page  564  represents  a 
Caboceer  at  the  head  of  his  wild  soldiery, 
and  well  indicates  the  strange  mixture  of 
barbarit}'  and  culture  which  distinguishes 
this  as  well  as  other  West  African'tribes. 
It  will  be  seen  from  his  seat  that  he  is  no 
very  great  horseman,  and,  indeed,  the  Cabo- 
ceers  are  mostly  held  on  their  horses  by  two 
men,  one  on  each  side.  When  Mr.  Dinican 
visited  Western  Africa,  and  mounted  his 
horse  to  show  the  king  how  the  English 
dragoons  rode  and  fought,  two  of  the  retain- 
ers ran  to  his  side,  and  passed  their  arms 
round  him.  It  was  not  without  some  diffi- 
culty that  he  could  make  them  understand 
that  Englishmen  rode  without  such  assist- 
ance. The  Caboceer's  dress  consists  of  an 
ornamental  turban,  a  jacket,  and  a  loin 
cloth,  mostly  of  white,  and  so  disposed  as 
to  leave  the  middle  of  the  body  bare.  On 
his  feet  he  wears  a  remarkable  .sort  of  spur, 
the  pM't  which  answers  to  the  rov.-el  being 
flat,  squared,  and  rather  decjjly  notched.  It 
is  used  by  striking  or  scoring  "the  horse  with 
tlie  sharp  angles,  and  not  by  the  slight 
pricking  movement  with  which  an  English 
jockey  uses  his  spurs.  The  rowels,  to  use 
the  analogous  term,  pass  through  a  slit  in 
an  oval  piece  of  leather,  which  aids  in  bind- 
ing the  spur  on  the  heel.  A  pair  of  these 
curious  spurs  are  now  in  my  collection,  and 
were  presented  by  Dr.  K.  Irvine,  R.  N. 

His  weapons  consist  of  the  spear,  bow, 
and  ari'ows — the  latter  being  mostly  poi- 
soned, and  furnished  with  nasty-looking 
barbs  extending  for  several  inches  below 
the  head.  The  horse  is  almost  hidden  by 
its  accoutrements,  which  are  wonderfidly 
like  those  of  the  knights  of  chivalry,  save 
that  instead  of  the  brilliant  emblazonings 
with  which  the  housings  of  the  cliargers 
were  covered,  sentences  from  the  Koran 
are  substituted,  and  are  scattered  over  the 
entire  cloth.  The  headstall  of  the  horse  is 
made  of  leather,  and,  following  the  usual 
African  fashion,  is  cut  into  a  vast  number 
of  thongs. 

One  of  these  headstalls  and  the  h.at  of  the 
rider  are  in  my  collection.  They  are  both 
made  of  leather,  most  carefully  and  elabo- 
rately worked.  The  hat  or  helmet  is  cov- 
ered with  flat,  quadrangul.ar  ornaments  also 
made  of  leather,  folded  and  beaten  until  it 
is  nearly  as  hard  as  wood,  and  from  each  of 
them  depend  six  or  seven  leather  thongs, 
so  that,  when  the  cap  is  placed  on  the  head, 
the  thongs  descend  as  far  as  the  mouth,  and 
answer  as  a  veil.  The  headstall  of  the 
horse  is  a  most  elaborate  piece  of  workman- 


ship, the  leather  being  stamped  out  in  bold 
and  lather  artistic  patterns,  and  decorated 
with  three  circular  leathern  ornaments,  in 
which  a  star-shaped  pattern  has  been  neatly 
woiked  in  red,  black,  and  white.  Five  tas- 
sels of  leathern  thongs  hang  from  it,  and 
are  jjroljably  used  as  a  means  of  keeping  off 
the  flies. 

The  common  soldiers  are,  as  may  be  seen, 
quite  destitute  of  uniform,  and  almost  of 
clothing.  They  wear  several  knives  and 
daggers  attached  to  a  necklace,  and  they 
carry  any  weapons  that  they  may  lie  able  to 
procure  —  guns  if  jjossible;  and,  in  default 
of  lire-arms,  using  bows  and  spears.  Two 
of  the  petty  officers  are  seen  blowing  their 
huge  trumpets,  which  are  simi^lj-  elejihant 
tusks  hollowed  and  polished,  and  sometimes 
carved  with  various  patterns.  They  are 
blown  from  the  side,  as  is  the  case  with 
African  wind  instruments  generally. 

In  Aslianti,  as  in  other  parts  of  Africa, 
the  royal  succession  never  lies  in  the  direct 
line,  but  passes  to  the  brother  or  nephew  of 
the  deceased  monarch,  the  nephew  in  ques- 
tion being  the  son  of  the  king's  sister, 
and  not  his  lirother.  The  reason  for  this 
arrangement  is,  that  the  people  are  sure 
that  their  iuture  king  has  some  royal  blood 
in  his  veins,  whereas,  according  to  their 
ideas,  no  one  can  be  quite  certain  that  the 
son  of  the  queen  is  also  the  son  of  the  king, 
and,  as  the  king's  wives  are  never  of  r03'al 
blood,  they  might  have  a  mere  plebeian 
claimant  to  the  throne.  Therefore  the  son 
of  the  king's  sister  is  always  chosen;  and  it 
is  a  curious  fact  that  the  sister  in  question 
need  not  be  married,  provided  that  the 
father  of  her  child  be  strong,  good-looking, 
and  of  tolerable  position  in  life. 

In  Aslianti  the  king  is  restricted  in  the 
number  of  his  wives.  But,  as  the  prohibi- 
tifin  fixes  the  magic  number  of  three  thou- 
sand three  hundred  and  thirty-three,  he  has 
not  mucli  to  complain  of  with  regard  to  the 
stringency  of  the  law.  Of  course,  with  the 
exception  of  a  chosen  few,  these  wives  are 
practically  servants,  and  do  all  the  work 
about  the  fields  and  houses. 

The  natives  have  their  legend  about  gold. 
They  say  that  when  the  Great  Spirit  first 
created  man,  he  made  one  black  man  and 
one  white  one,  and  gave  them  their  choice 
of  two  gifts.  One  contained  all  the  treas- 
ures of  the  tropics  —  the  fruitful  trees,  the 
fertile  soil,  the  warm  sun,  and  a  calatiash  of 
gold  dust.  The  other  gift  was  simply  a 
quantity  of  white  paper,  ink,  and  pens.  The 
former'  gift,  of  course,  denoted  material 
advantages,  and  the  latter  knowledge.  The 
black  man  chose  the  former  as  being  the 
most  obvious,  and  the  white  man  the  latter. 
Hence  the  superiority  of  the  white  over  the 
black. 

Conceding  to  the  white  man  all  the  advan- 
tages which  he  gains  from  his  wisdom,  they 
are  very  jealous  of  their  own  advantages, 


TVOKY  TRUMPETS.    (.S.t-  pajje  577.) 
The  right  hand  trumpet  has  a  crucified  figure  on  it. 


WAR  DRUM. 

iSee  page  572.) 


(668) 


THE  FETISH  DRUM  AXD  TRUMPET. 


P69 


and  resent  all  attempts  of  foreigners  to  work 
their  mines;  if  mines  they  can  be  called, 
where  scarcely  any  subterraneous  work  is 
needed.  They  will  rather  allow  the  precious 
metal  to  be  wasted  than  pei'init  the  white 
man  to  procure  it.  As  to  the  mulatto,  they 
have  the  most  intense  contempt  for  him, 
who  is  a  "  white-black  man,  silver  and  cop- 
per, and  not  gold." 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  more 
stress  will  be  laid  upon  Dahome  than 
Ashanti,  and  that  in  cases  where  manners 
and  customs  are  common  to  both  kingdoms, 
they  will  be  described  in  connection  with 
the  latter.  In  botli  kingdoms,  for  example, 
we  find  the  terrible  "  Customs,"  or  sacrifice 
of  human  life,  and  in  Ashanti  those  may  be 
reduced  to  two,  namely,  the  Yam  and  the 
Adai. 

The  former,  which  is  the  greater  of  the 
two,  occurs  in  the  beginning  of  September, 
when  the  yams  are  ripe.  Before  the  yams 
are  allowed  to  be  used  for  general  consump- 
tion, the  "Custom"  is  celebrated;  i.  e.  a 
number  of  human  beings  are  sacrificed  with 
sundry  rites  and  ceremonies.  There  are 
lesser  sacrifices  on  the  Adai  Custom,  which 
take  place  every  three  weeks,  and  the 
destruction  of  human  life  is  terrible.  The 
sacrifices  are  attended  with  the  horrible 
music  which  in  all  countries  where  human 
sacrifices  have  been  permitted  has  been  its 
accompaniment. 

On  page  .558,  a  Fetish  drum  and  trumpet, 
both  of  which  are  in  my  collection,  are 
illustrated,  two  of  the  instruments  which 
are  used  as  accompaniments  to  the  sacrifice 
of  human  beings.  The  drum  is  carved  with 
enormous  perseverance  out  of  a  solid  block 
of  wood,  and  in  its  general  form  presents  a 
most  singular  resemblance  to  the  bicepha- 
lous or  two-headed  gems  of  the  Gnostics. 
The  attentive  reader  will  notice  the  remark- 
able ingenuity  with  which  the  head  of  a 
man  is  combined  with  that  of  a  bird,  the 
latter  being  kept  subservient  to  the  former, 
and  yet  having  a  bold  and  distinct  individu- 
ality of  its  own. 

From  the  top  of  the  united  heads  rises 
the  drum  itself,  which  is  hollowed  out  of 
the  same  block  of  wood.  The  i)archment 
head  of  the  drum  is  secured  to  the  instru- 
ment by  a  numljer  of  wooden  pegs,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  heat  of  the  meridian 
Bun  was  quite  sufficient  to  tighten  the  head 
of  the  drum  whenever  it  became  relaxed. 
Of  course,  the  plan  of  tightening  it  by 
means  of  a  movable  head  is  not  known  in 
Western  Africa,  and,  even  if  it  were  known, 
It  would  not  be  practised.  Tlie  natives  never 
modify  a  custom.  They  exchange  it  for 
another,  or  they  abolish  it,  but  the  reform- 
ing .spirit  never  existed  in  the  negro  mind. 

On  the  side  of  the  drum  may  be  seen  the 
air-hole,  which  is  usually  found  in  African 
drums,  and  which  is  closed  with  a  piece  of 
spider  web  when  the  instrument  is  used. 

28 


Sometimes  the  drums  are  of  enormous  size, 
the  entire  trunk  of  a  tree  being  liollo\i'ed 
out  for  the  purpose.  The  skin  which  forms 
the  head  is  mostly  that  of  an  antelope,  Imt 
when  the  Ashanti  wants  a  drum  to  be  very 
powerful  against  strange  fetishes,  he  makes 
the  head  of  snake  or  crocodile  skin. 

The  former  material  holds  a  high  place  in 
the  second  instrument,  which  is  a  fetish 
trumpet.  As  is  the  case  with  all  African 
trumpets,  it  is  blown,  flute-fashion,  from  the 
side,  and  not,  like  an  European  trumpet,  from 
the  end.  It  is  made  from  the  tusk  of  au 
elephant,  carefully  hollowed  out,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  curious  apparatus,  much  like 
the  vibrator  in  a  modern  harmonium  or  ac- 
cordion. As  the  instrument  has  sustained 
rather  rough  treatment,  and  the  ivory  has 
been  cracked  here  and  there,  it  is  impossible 
to  produce  a  sound  from  it;  and  at  the  best 
the  notes  must  have  been  of  a  very  insig- 
nificant character,  deadened  as  they  must 
be  by  the  snake-skin  covering.  The  skin  in 
question  is  that  of  a  boa  or  python,  which 
is  a  very  powerful  fetish  among  all  Africans 
among  whom  the  boa  lives,  and  it  covers 
almost  the  whole  of  the  instrument. 

A  most  weird  and  uncanny  sort  of  look  is 
communicated  to  the  trumpet  by  the  horrid 
tropliy  which  is  tied  to  it.  This  is  the 
upper  jaw  of  a  human  being,  evidently  a 
negro,  by  its  peculiar  development,  the  jaw 
being  of  the  prognathous  character,  and  (he 
projecting  teeth  in  the  finest  possible  order. 
From  the  mere  existence  of  tliese  sacrifices 
it  is  evident  that  the  religious  system  of 
the  Ashanti  must  be  of  a  very  low  charac- 
ter. They  are  not  utter  atheists,  as  is  the 
case  with  some  of  the  tribes  which  have 
already  been  mentioned;  but  they  cannot 
be  said  even  to  have  risen  to  deism,  and 
barely  to  idolatry,  their  ideas  of  the  Supreme 
Deity  being  exceedingly  vague,  and  mixed 
up  with  a  host  of  superstitious  notions  about 
demons,  both  good  and  evil,  to  whom  they 
give  the  name  of  Wodsi,  and  which  cer- 
tainly absorb  the  greater  part  of  their  devo- 
tions and  the  whole  of  their  reverence,  the 
latter  quality  being  with  them  the  mere 
outliirth  of  fear. 

Tlieir  name  for  God  is  "  Nyonmo,"  evi- 
dently a  modification  of  Nyamye,  the  title 
which  is  given  to  the  Supreme  Spirit  by 
the  Cammas  and  other  tribes  of  the  Rembo. 
But  Nyonmo  also  means  the  sky,  or  the 
rain,  or  the  thunder,  proljably  because  they 
proceed  from  the  sky,  and  they  explain  thun- 
der by  the  phrase  that  Nyonmo  is  knock- 
ing. As  the  sky  is  venerated  as  one  deity, 
so  the  earth  is  considered  as  another  though 
inferior  deity,  which  is  worshipped  under 
the  name  of  "  Sikpois." 

As  to  the  Wodsi,  they  seem  to  be  divided 
into  various  ranks.  For  example,  the  earth, 
the  air,  and  the  sea  are  Wodsi  which  exer- 
cise their  influence  over  all  men;  whereas 
other  Wodsi,  which  are  visible  in  the  forms 


560 


THE  ASHANTl. 


of  trees  or  rivers,  have  a  restricted  power 
over  towns,  disti-icts,  or  iudividiials. 

Tlie  scrap  of  raj;,  leopards'  claws,  sacred 
chains,  peculiar  beads,  bits  of  bone,  bird- 
beaks,  &c.,  which  are  worn  by  the  Wontse,  or 
fetish  men,  have  a  rather  curious  use,  which  is 
well  explained  by  the  "  F.  K.  G.  S."  :— "  The 
West  Africans,  like  their  brethren  in  the  East, 
have  evil  ghosts  and  haunting  evastra,  which 
work  themselves  into  the  position  of  demons. 
Their  various  rites  are  intended  to  avert  the 
harm  which  may  be  done  to  them  by  their 
Pepos  or  Mulungos,  and  perhaps  to  shift  it 
upon  their  enemies.  When  the  critical  mo- 
ment has  arrived,  the  ghost  is  adjured  by 
the  fetisli  man  to  come  forth  from  the  pos- 
sessed, and  an  article  is  named  —  a  leopard's 
claw,  peculiar  beads,  or  a  rag  from  the 
sick  man's  body  nailed  to  what  Europeans 
call  the  'Devil's  tree' — in  which,  if  worn 
about  the  person,  the  haunter  will  reside. 
It  is  technically  called  Kehi,  or  Keti,  i.  e.  a 


chair  or  a  stool.  The  word  '  feti.sh,'  by  the 
way,  is  a  corruption  of  the  Portuguese  Fei- 
ti90,  i.  e.  witchcraft,  or  conjuring." 

Their  belief  resjjecting  the  Kra,  or  Kla, 
or  soul  of  a  man,  is  very  peculiar.  They 
believe  that  the  Kla  exists  before  the  bodj', 
and  that  it  is  transmitted  from  one  to  an- 
other. Thus,  if  a  child  dies,  the  next  is 
supposed  to  be  the  same  child  born  again 
into  the  world;  and  so  thoroughly  do  they 
believe  this,  that  when  a  woman  finds  that 
she  is  about  to  become  a  mother,  she  goes 
to  the  fetish  man,  and  requests  him  to  ask 
the  Kla  of  her  future  child  respecting  its 
ancestry  and  intended  career.  But  the  Kla 
has  another  office ;  for  it  is  supposed  to  be 
in  some  sort  distinct  from  the  man,  and, 
like  the  demon  of  Socrates,  to  give  him  ad- 
vice, and  is  a  kind  of  small  Wodsi,  capable 
of  receiving  offerings.  The  Kla  is  also  dual, 
male  and  female;  the  former  vn-ging  the 
man  to  evil,  and  the  latter  to  good. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

DAHOME. 


CHARACTERISTIC  OF  THB  WESTERN  AFRICAN  —  LOCALITY  OF  DAHOME — THE  FIVE  DISTRICTS — DAHOMAW 
ARCHITECTURE  —  "  SWISH  "  HOUSES  —  THE  VULTURE  AND  HIS  FOOD — THE  LEGBA  —  SNAKE  WOR- 
SHIP LJf  DAHOME  —  PUNISHMENT  OF  A  SNAKE  KILLER  —  ETIQUETTE  AT  COURT  —  JOURNEY  OF  A 
M.VN"  OF  BANK  TO  THE  CAPITAL — AFRICAN  HAMMOCK  —  SIGNIFICATION  OF  THE  WORD  DAHOME  — 
CEREMONIES  ON  THE  JOURNEY  —  KANA,  OB  CANANINA,  THE  "COUNTRY  CAPITAL" — BEAUTY  OF 
THE  SCENERY'  —  THE  OYOS  AND  GOZO'S  CUSTOM  —  APPROACH  TO  KANA  —  A  GHASTLY  ORNAMENT 
—  "the  bell  comes" — THE  AJIAZONS  —  THEIR  FEROCITY  AND  COURAGE — THEIR  WAR  TROPHIES 
AND  WEAPONS  —  REVIEW  OF  THE  AMAZONS — ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  FORCES. 


There  is  a  very  remarkable  point  about  the 
true  negro  of  Western  Africa,  namely,  the 
use  which  he  has  made  of  his  contact  with 
civilization.  It  might  be  imagined  that  he 
would  have  raised  himself  in  the  social  scale 
by  his  frequent  intercourse  with  men  wiser 
and  more  powerful  than  himself,  and  who,  if 
perhaps  they  may  not  have  been  much  better 
in  a  moral  point  of  view,  could  not  possibly 
have  been  worse.  But  he  has  done  nothing 
of  the  kind,  and,  instead  of  giving  up  his  old 
barbarous  customs,  has  only  increased  their 
barbarity  by  the  additional  means  which  he 
has  obtained  from  the  white  man. 

Exchanging  the  bow  and  arrows  for  the 
gun,  and  the  club  for  the  sword,  he  has 
employed  his  better  weapons  in  increasing 
his  destructive  powers,  and  has  chiefly  used 
them  in  fighting  and  selling  into  slavery  those 
whom  he  had  previously  fought,  and  who 
respected  him  as  long  as  the  arms  on  both 
sides  were  equal.  And  the  strangest  thing 
is  that,  even  considering  his  captives  as  so 
much  property,  the  only  excuse  which  could 
be  found  for  the  savage  cruelty  with  which 
he  makes  raids  on  every  town  which  he 
thinks  he  can  conquer,  he  has  not  yet  learned 
to  abolish  the  dreadful  "  custom  "  of  human 
sacrifices,  although  each  prisoner  or  criminal 
killed  is  a  dead  loss  to  him. 


We  now  come  to  one  of  the  strangest 
kingdoms  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  that  of  Da- 


home;  a  kingdom  begun  in  blood  and  cruelty, 
and  having  maintained  its  existence  of  more 
than  two  centuries  in  spite  of  the  terrible 
scenes  continually  enacted  —  scenes  which 
would  drive  almost  any  other  nation  to  re- 
volt. But  the  fearful  sacrifices  for  which  the 
name  of  Dahome  has  been  so  long  infamous 
are  not  merely  the  oftspring  of  a  despotic 
king's  fancy;  they  are  sanctioned,  and  even 
forced  upon  him,  by  his  people  —  fit  subjects 
of  such  a  king. 

It  is  situated  in  that  part  of  Afi-ica  com- 
monly known  as  the  Slave  Coast,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  Gold,  Ivory,  and  Grain 
Coasts,  and  its  shores  are  washed  by  the 
waters  of  the  Bight  of  Benin.  Dahome 
alone,  of  the  four  great  slave  kingdoms, 
Ashanti,  Yomba,  Benin,  and  Dahome,  has 
retained  its  power,  and,  to  the  eye  of  an 
experienced  observer,  even  Dahome,  which 
has  outlived  the  three,  will  speedily  follow 
them. 

On  its  coast  are  the  two  celebrated  ports, 
Lagos  and  Whydah,  which  have  for  so  long 
been  the  outlets  by  which  the  slaves  cap- 
tured in  the  interior  were  sent  on  board 
the  ships.  Lagos,  however,  has  been  al- 
ready ceded  to  England,  and,  under  a  bet- 
ter management,  will  probably  become  one 
of  the  great  ports  at  which  a  legitimate 
trade  can  be  carried  on,  and  which  will  be- 
come one  of  the  blessings  instead  of  the 
curses  of  Western  Africa. 


C561J 


562 


DAHOilE. 


Whydah,  bein,?  one  of  the  towns  throiiijli 
whifh  a  traveller  is  sure  to  pass  in  going 
into  the  interior  of  Dahoine,  is  worth  a 
passing  notice.  Captain  Bnrton,  from  whom 
the  greater  part  of  our  knowledge  of  this 
strange  land  is  derived,  states  that  the  verj' 
name  is  a  misnomer.  In  the  first  place,  we 
have  attributed  it  to  the  wrong  spot,  and  in 
the  next  we  have  given  it  a  most  corrupted 
title.  The  place  which  we  call  Whydah  is 
known  to  the  people  as  Gre-hwe  (Planta- 
tion House),  while  the  real  Hwe-dah  —  as 
the  word  ought  to  be  spelt — belongs  rightly 
to  a  little  kingdom  whose  capital  was  Savi. 

Originally  a  port  belonging  to  the  king  of 
Savi,  and  given  up  entirely  to  piracy,  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Agaja,  king  of 
Dahome,  who  easily  found  an  excuse  for 
attacking  a  place  which  was  so  valuable  as 
giving  him  a  direct  communication  from  the 
interior  to  the  sea,  without  the  intervention 
of  middle-men,  who  each  take  a  heav\'  per- 
centage from  all  goods  that  pass  through 
their  district.  From  1725,  when  it  thus 
Ijassed  into  Dahoman  hands,  it  rapidly  in- 
creased in  size  and  importance.  Now  it 
presents  an  extraordinary  mixture  of  native 
and  imported  masters,  and  we  will  endea- 
vor to  cast  a  rapid  glance  at  the  formei'. 

The  place  is  divided  into  five  districts, 
each  governed  by  its  own  Caboceer;  and  it 
is  a  notable  fact,  that  nowadays  a  Caboceer 
need  not  be  a  native.  The  post  of  Caboceer 
of  the  Soglaji,  or  English  quarter,  was  of- 
fered to  Captain  Burton,  who,  however  could 
not  be  tempted  to  accept  it  even  by  the 
umbrella  of  rank  —  equal  to  the  blue  ribbon 
of  our  own  system. 

At  the  entrance  of  every  town  there  is 
the  De-sum,  or  Custom-house,  and  close  by 
it  are  a  number  of  little  fetish  houses, 
wherein  the  trader  is  supposed  to  return 
his  thanks  to  the  propitiating  demons.  The 
streets  are  formed  by  the  walls  of  enclosures 
and  the  backs  of  houses;  and,  as  Dahoman 
architecture  is  regulated  by  law,  a  very  uni- 
form elfect  is  obtained.  The  walls  are  mud, 
popularly  called  "  swish,"  sometimes  mixed 
with  oyster-shells  to  strengthen  it,  and  built 
up  in  regular  courses,  each  about  two  feet 
and  a  half  in  thickness.  Bj'  law,  no  walls 
are  allowed  to  be  more  than  four  courses 
high. 

The  hot  sun  soon  bakes  the  mud  into  the 
consistence  of  soft  brick;  and,  were  it  not 
for  the  fierce  rains  of  the  tropics,  it  would 
be  very  lasting.  As  it  is,  the  rainy  season 
is  very  destructive  to  walls,  and  the  early 
part  of  the  dry  season  is  always  a  busy 
time  with  native  architects,  who  are  en- 
gaged in  repairing  the  damages  caused  by 
the  rains.  There  is  a  small  amount  of  salt 
in  the  mud,  which  increases  the  liability  to 
damage.  On  the  Gold  Coast  the  natives 
ingeniously  strengthen  the  swish  walls  by 
growing  cactus  plants;  but  the  negroes  of 
Dahome  neglect  this  precaution,  and  conse- 


quently give  themselves  —  as  lazy  people 
proverbially  do  —  avast  amount  of  needless 
trouble.  There  are  no  windows  to  the 
houses;  but  the  roofs,  made  of  grass  and 
leaves  fastened  on  a  light  framework,  are 
made  so  that  they  can  be  partiall}'  raised 
from  the  walls,  like  the  "fly  "  of  a  tent. 

In  spite  of  the  presence  of  localized  Chris- 
tian missions,  and  the  continual  contact  of 
Islamism,  the  system  of  fetishism  is  ram- 
pant in  AVhydah.  No  human  sacrifices  take 
place  there,  all  the  victims  being  forwarded 
to  the  capital  for  execution.  But,  according 
to  Captain  Burton,  "  even  in  the  bazaar 
many  a  hut  will  be  girt  round  with  the  Zo 
Vodun,  a  coimtry  rope  -with  dead  leaves 
dangling  from  it  at  sjiaces  of  twenty  feet 
(Zo  Vodun  signifies  fire-fetish.) 

"  After  a  conflagration,  this  fetish  fire- 
prophylactic  becomes  almost  universal.  Op- 
posite the  house  gates,  again,  we  find  the 
Vo-siva  defending  the  inmates  from  harm. 
It  is  of  many  shapes,  especially  a  stick  or  a 
pole,  with  an  empty  old  calabash  for  a  head, 
and  a  body  composed  of  grass,  thatch, 
palm  leaves,  fowls'  feathers,  achatina  shells. 
These  people  must  deem  lightly  of  an  in- 
fluence that  can  mistake,  even  in  the  dark, 
such  a  scarecrow  for  a  Inunan  being. 

"  Near  almost  every  door  stands  the  Leg- 
ba-gbau,  or  Legba-pot,  by  Europeans  com- 
monly called  the  'Devil's  dish.'  It  is  a 
common  clay  shard  article,  either  whole  or 
broken,  and  every  morning  and  evening  it 
is  filled,  generally  by  women,  with  cooked 
maize  and  palm  oil,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
turkey  buzzard.  '  Akrasu,'  the  vulture,  is, 
next  to  the  snake,  the  happiest  animal  in 
Dahome.  He  has  always  abundance  of  food, 
like  storks,  robins,  swallows,  crows,  adju- 
tant-cranes, and  otlier  holy  birds  in  difl'er- 
ent  parts  of  the  world.  Travellers  abuse 
this  '  obscene  fowl,'  forgetting  that  without 
it  the  towns  of  Yoruba  would  be  uninhabit- 
able. .  .  .  The  turkey-buzzard  perched  on 
the  topmost  stick  of  a  blaste<l  calabash  tree 
is  to  the  unromantjc  natives  of  Africa  what 
the  pea  fowl  is  to  more  engaging  Asians. 
It  always  struck  me  as  the  most  appropriate 
embleni  and  heraldic  bearing  for  decayed 
Dahome." 

The  Legba,  or  idol  to  whom  the  fowl  is 
sacred,  is  an  abominable  image,  rudely 
moulded  out  of  clay,  and  represented  in  a 
squatting  attitude.  Sometimes  Legba's  head 
is  of  wood,  w'ith  eyes  and  teeth  made  of 
cowries,  or  else  painted  white.  Legba  is 
mostly  a  male  deity,  rareljf  a  female,  and 
the  chief  object  of  the  idol  maker  seems  to 
be  that  the  worshipper  shall  have  no  doubt 
on  the  subject.  Legba  sits  in  a  little  hut 
open  at  the  sides;  and,  as  no  one  takes  care 
of  him,  and  no  one  dares  to  meddle  with 
him,  the  country  is  full  of  these  queer  little 
temples,  inside  which  the  god  is  sometimes 
seen  in  tolerable  preservation,  but  in  most 
cases  has  sunk  into  a  mere  heap  of  mud  and 


(1.)    CAliOCEER  AND  SOLDIERS.    (See  page  556.) 


(2.)    PUNISHMENT  OF  A  SNAKE   KILLER.    (See  page  565.) 
(564; 


PUNISHMENT  OF  SNAKE  KILLER. 


565 


dust.  Some  of  these  wooden  Legbas  may 
be  seen  on  the  .552ud  page,  but  they  are  pur- 
posely selected  on  account  of  the  excep- 
tional delicacy  displayed  by  the  carver. 

Snakes  are  fetish  throughout  Dahome, 
and  are  protected  by  the  severest  laws.  All 
serpents  are  highly  venerated,  but  there  is 
one  in  particul.ar,  a  harmless  snake  called 
the  '•  Danhgbwe,"  which  is  held  in  the  most 
absurd  reverence.  It  is  of  moderate  size, 
reaching  some  five  or  six  feet  in  length,  and 
IS  rather  delicately  colored  with  brown,  yel- 
low, and  white.  The  Danhglnve  is  kept 
tame  in  fetish  houses,  and,  if  one  of  them 
should  stray,  it  is  carefully  restored  by  the 
man  who  finds  it,  and  who  grovels  on  the 
ground  and  covers  himself  with  dust  before 
he  touches  it,  as  he  would  in  the  presence 
of  a  king.  Formerly  the  penalty  fin-  killing 
one  of  these  snakes  was  death,  but  it  is  now  j 
commuted  for  a  punishment  which,  although 
very  severe,  is  not  necessarily  fatal  to  the 
sufferer.  It  partakes  of  the  mixture  of  the 
horrible  and  the  grotesque  which  is  so  char- 
acteristic of  this  lanil.  Mr.  Duncan  saw  \ 
three  men  undergo  this  punishment.  Three 
small  houses  were  built  of  dry  sticks,  and 
thatched  with  dry  grass.  The  culprits  were 
then  placed  in  Iront  of  the  houses  by  the  , 
fetisli  man,  wlio  made  a  long  speech  to  the 
spectators,  and  explained  the  enormity  of 
the  otfeiice  of  which  they  had  been  guilty. 

They  then  proceeded  to  tie  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  each  culprit  a  dog,  a  kid,  and  two 
fowls.  A  quantity  of  palm  oil  w.as  poured 
over  them,  and  on  their  heads  were  bal- 
anced baskets,  containing  little  open  cala- 
bashes filled  with  the  same  material,  so  that 
at  the  least  movement  the  calabashes  were 
upset,  and  the  oil  ran  all  over  the  head  and 
body.  They  were  next  marched  round  the 
little  houses,  and.  lastly,  forced  to  crawl  into 
them,  the  dog,  kid,  and  fowls  being  taken  off 
their  shoulders  and  thrust  into  the  house 
with  them.  The  doors  being  shut,  a  large 
mob  assembles  with  sticks  and  clods,  and 
surrounds  the  house.  The  houses  are  then 
fired,  the  dry  material  blazing  up  like  gun- 
powder, and  the  wretched  inmates  burst 
their  way  through  the  tlamiug  walls  and 
roof,  and  rush  to  the  nearest  running 
stream,  followed  by  the  crowd,  who  beat 
and  pelt  them  unmercifully.  If  they  can 
reach  the  water,  they  are  safe,  and  should 
they  be  men  of  any  consequence  they  have 
little  to  fear,  as  their  friends  surround 
them,  and  keep  oft'  the  crowd  until  the 
water  is  reached. 

The  whole  of  the  proceedings  are  shown 
in  the  illustration  on  the  previous  page. 

In  the  distance  is  seen  one  of  the  culprits 
being  taken  to  his  fetish  house,  the  basket 
of  calabashes  on  his  head,  and  the  animals 
slung  round  his  neck.  Another  is  seen 
creeping  into  the  house,  near  which  the 
fetisli  man  is  standing,  holding  dead  snakes 
in  his  hands,  and   horrible   to   look   at  by 


reason  of  the  paint  with  which  he  has  cov- 
ered his  face.  In  the  foreground  is  another 
criminal  rushing  toward  the  water,  just 
about  to  plunge  into  it  and  extinguish  the 
flames  that  are  still  playing  about  his  oil- 
saturated  hair  and  have  nearly  burned  off 
all  his  scanty  clothing.  The  blazing  hut  is 
seen  behind  him,  and  around  are  the  spec- 
tators, pelting  and  striking  him,  while  his 
personal  friends  are  checking  them,  and 
keeping  the  w.ay  clear  toward  the  water. 

We  will  now  leave  Why  dab,  and  proceed 
toward  the  capital. 

When  a  person  of  rank  wishes  to  pay  his 
respects  to  the  king,  the  latter  sends  some 
of  his  officers,  bearing,  as  an  emblem  of 
their  rank,  the  shark-stick,  i.  e.  a  kind  of 
tomahawk  about  two  feet  long,  carved  at 
the  end  into  a  rude  semblance  of  the  shark, 
another  image  of  the  same  fish  being  made 
out  of  a  silver  dollar  beaten  flat  and  nailed 
to  the  end  of  the  handle.  One  of  the  offi- 
cers will  probably  have  the  lion  stick  as  his 
emblem  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him ;  but  to 
unpractised  eyes  the  lions  carved  on  the 
stick  would  answer  equally  well  for  the 
shark,  and  both  would  do  well  as  "  croco- 
dile "  sticks,  the  shapes  of  the  animals  being 
purely  conventional. 

The  mode  of  travelling  is  generally  in 
hammocks,  made  of  cotton  cloth,  but  some- 
times formed  of  silk:  these  latter  are  very 
gaudy  att'airs.  The  average  size  of  a  ham- 
mock is  nine  feet  by  five,  and  the  ends  are 
lashed  to  a  pole  some  nine  or  ten  feet  in 
length.  Upon  the  pole  is  fixed  a  slight 
framework,  which  supports  an  awning  as  a 
defence  against  the  sun.  The  pole  is  car- 
j  ried  not  on  the  shoulders  but  the  (jeads 
of  the  bearers,  and,  owing  to  their  awk- 
wardness and  rough  movements,  an  inex- 
perieuced  traveller  gets  his  head  knocked 
against  the  pole  with  considerable  violence. 
Two  men  carry  it,  but  each  hammock  re- 
quires a  set  of  seven  men,  some  to  act  aa 
relays,  and  others  to  help  in  getting  the 
vehicle  over  a  rough  part  of  the  road.  Each 
man  expects  a  glass  of  rum  morning  and 
evening,  and,  as  he  is  able  to  make  an 
unpopvilar  master  very  uncomfortable,  it  is 
better  to  yield  to  the  general  custom,  espe- 
cially as  rum  is  only  threepence  per  pint. 

Being  now  fairly  in  the  midst  of  Dahome, 
let  us  see  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  name. 
Somewhere  about  A.  D.  1020,  an  old  king 
died  and  left  three  sons.  The  oldest  took 
his  father's  kingdom,  and  the  j^oungest, 
Dako  by  name  (some  writers  call  liim  Tacu- 
dona),  went  abroad  to  seek  his  fortune,  and 
settled  at  a  place  not  far  from  Agbome.  By 
degrees  Dako  became  more  and  more  pow- 
erful, and  was  continually  encroaching  upon 
the  country  belonging  to  a  neighboring  king 
called  Danh,  i.  e.  the  Snake,  or  Rainbow. 
As  the  number  of  his  followers  increased, 
Dako  pestered  Danh  for  more  and  more 
land  for  them,  until  at  last  the   king  lost 


566 


DAHOME. 


patience,  and  said  to  the  pertinacious  men- 
dicant, '•  Soon  tliou  wilt  build  iu  my  belly." 
Dako  thought  that  this  idea  was  not  a  bad 
one,  and  wlien  he  had  collected  sutticieut 
warriors,  he  attacked  Danh,  killed  liim,  took 
possession  of  his  kingdom,  and  built  a  new 
palace  over  his  corpse,  thus  literally  and 
deliberately  fulfilling  the  prediction  made 
in  haste  aiid  anger  bj'  his  conquered  foe. 
Iu  honor  of  liis  victory,  the  conquerer  called 
the  place  Danh-ome,  or  Danh's-belly.  The 
"  n  "  in  this  word  is  a  nasal  sound  unknown 
to  English  ears,  and  the  word  is  best  pro- 
nounced Dah-ome,  as  a  dissyllable. 

The  great  neighboring  kingdom  of  Al- 
lada  was  friendly  with  Dahome  for  nearly  a 
hundred  years,  when  they  fell  out,  fought, 
and  Dahome  again  proved  victorious,  so 
that  Allada  allowed  itself  to  be  incorporated 
with  Dahome. 

It  was  a  little  bej'ond  Allada  where  Cap- 
tain Burton  tirst  saw  some  of  the  celebrated 
Amazons,  or  female  soldiers,  who  will  be 
presently  described,  and  here  began  the 
strange  series  of  ceremonies,  far  too  nu- 
merous to  be  separately  described,  which 
accompanied  the  progress  of  so  imjiortaut  a 
visitor  to  the  capital.  A  mere  slight  outline 
will  1)6  given  of  tliem. 

At  every  village  that  was  passed  a  dance 
was  performed,  which  the  travellers  were 
expected  to  witness.  All  the  dances  being 
exactly  alike,  and  consisting  of  writhings  of 
the  body  and  stamping  with  the  feet,  they 
soon  became  verj-  monotonous,  but  had  to 
be  endured.  At  a  place  called  Aquine  a 
body  of  warriors  rushed  tumultuousl}'  into 
the  cleared  space  of  the  village  under 
its  centre  tree.  They  were  about  eighty 
in  number,  and  were  formed  four  deep. 
Headed  by  a  sort  of  flag,  and  accompanied 
by  the  inevitable  drum,  they  came  on  at 
full  speed,  singing  at  the  top  of  their  voices, 
and  performing  various  agile  antics.  After 
circling  round  the  tree,  they  all  fell  flat  on 
the  ground,  beat  up  the  dust  with  their 
hands,  and  flung  it  over  their  bodies.  This 
is  the  royal  salute  of  Western  Africa,  and 
was  performed  in  honor  of  the  king's  canes 
of  oliice,  which  he  had  sent  by  their  bear- 
ers, accompanied  by  the  great  ornament  of 
his  court,  an  old  liquor  case,  covered  with 
a  white  cloth,  and  borne  on  a  boy's  head. 
From  this  case  were  produced  bottles  of 
water,  wine,  gin,  and  rum,  of  each  of  which 
the  visitors  were  expected  to  drink  three 
times,  according  to  etiquette. 

After  this  ceremony  had  been  completed, 
the  escort,  as  these  men  proved  to  be,  pre- 
ceded the  party  to  the  capital,  dancing  and 
capering  the  whole  way.  After  several  halts, 
the  party  arrived  within  sight  of  Kana,  the 
country  capital.  "  It  is  distinctly  Dahome, 
and  here  the  traveller  expects  to  look  upon 
the  scenes  of  barbaric  splendor  of  which  all 
the  world  has  read.  And  it  has  its  own 
beauty;  a  French  traveller  has  compared  it 


with  the  loveliest  villages  of  fair  Provence, 
while  to  Mr.  Duncan  it  suggested  'a  vast 
pleasure  ground,  not  unlike  some  parts  of 
the  Great  Park  at  Windsor.' 

"  After  impervious  but  somljre  forest, 
grass-barrens,  and  the  dismal  swafnps  of 
the  path,  the  eye  revels  in  these  open  pla- 
teaux ;  their  seducing  aspect  is  enhanced  by 
scattered  plantations  of  a  leek-green  stud- 
ding the  slopes,  by  a  background  of  gigantic 
forest  dwarting  the  nearer  palm  tiles,  by 
homesteads  Imried  in  cultivation,  and  by 
calabashes  and  cotton  trees  vast  as  the  view, 
tempering  the  fiery  summer  to  their  subject 
growths,  and  in  winter  collecting  the  rains, 
which  would  otherwise  bare  the  newly- 
buried  seed.  Nor  is  animal  life  wanting. 
The  turkey  buzzard,  the  kite,  and  the  kes- 
trel soar  in  the  upper  heights;  the  brightest 
fl\'-catehers  flit  through  the  lower  strata; 
the  little  gray  squirrel  nimbly  climbs  his 
lofty  home;  and  a  fine  large  spur-fowl  rises 
from  the  plantations  of  maize  and  cassava." 

As  is  usual  with  African  names,  the  word 
Kana  has  been  spelled  iu  a  ditl'erent  way  by 
almost  every  traveller  and  every  writer  on 
the  subject.  Some  call  it  Canna,  or  Cannah, 
or  Carnah,  while  others  write  the  word  ,as 
Calmina,  evidently  a  corruption  of  Kana- 
mina,  the  "mina"  being  an  addition.  All 
the  people  between  the  Little  Pojio  and 
Acua  are  called  Slina.  We  shall,  however, 
be  quite  safe,  if  throughout  our  account  of 
Western  Africa  we  accept  the  orthography 
of  Captain  Burton.  Kana  was  seized  about 
1818  by  King  Gozo,  who  liked  the  place, 
and  so  made  it  his  country  capital  —  much 
as  Brighton  was  to  England  in  the  daj'S  of 
the  Regency.  He  drove  out  the  fierce  and 
warlike  Oyos  (pronounced  Aw-yaws),  and 
in  celebration  of  so  important  a  victory 
instituted  an  annual  "  Custom,"  (.  e.  a  human 
sacrifice,  in  which  the  victims  are  dressed 
like  the  conquered  03'os. 

This  is  called  Gozo's  Custom,  and,  al- 
though the  details  are  not  precisely  known, 
its  general  tenor  may  be  ascertained  from 
the  following  facts.  One  traveller,  who  vis- 
ited Kana  in  1863,  saw  eleven  platforms  on 
poles  about  forty  feet  high.  On  each  plat- 
form was  the  dead  body  of  a  man  in  an  erect 
position,  well  dressed  in  the  peasant  style, 
and  having  in  his  hand  a  calabash  contain- 
ing oil,  grain,  or  other  product  of  the  land. 
One  of'them  was  set  up  as  if  leading  a 
sheep. 

When  Mr.  Duncan  visited  Kana,  or  Can- 
anina,  as  he  calls  it,  he  saw  relics  of  this 
"  Custom."  The  walls  of  the  place,  which 
were  of  very  great  extent,  were  covered 
with  human  skulls  placed  about  thirty  feet 
apart,  and  upon  a  pole  was  the  body  of  a 
man  in  an  upright  position,  holding  a  basket 
on  his  head  with  both  his  arms.  A  little 
further  on  were  the  bodies  of  two  other 
men,  hung  by  their  feet  from  a  sort  of  gal- 
lows, about  twenty  feet  high.     They   had 


'THE  BELL  COMES." 


567 


been  in  that  position  about  two  months, 
and  were  hardly  recognizable  as  human 
beings,  and  in  fact  must  have  presented  as 
repulsive  an  appearance  as  the  liodies  hung 
in  chains,  or  the  heads  on  Temple  Bar. 
Two  more  bodies  were  hung  in  a  similar 
manner  in  the  market-place,  and  Mr.  Dun- 
can was  informed  that  they  were  criminals 
executed  for  intrigues  with  the  king's  wives. 

At  Kana  is  seen  the  first  intimation  of 
the  presence  of  royalty.  A  small  stream 
runs  by  it,  and  supplies  Kana  with  water. 
At  daybreak  the  women  slaves  of  the  palace 
are  released  from  the  durance  In  which  they 
are  kept  during  the  night,  and  sent  oft"  to 
fetch  water  for  the  palace.  They  are  not 
fighting  women  or  Amazons,  as  they  are 
generally  called ;  but  the  slaves  of  the  Am- 
azons, each  of  these  women  having  at  least 
one  female  slave,  and  some  as  many  as  fifty. 

The  very  fact,  however,  that  they  are  ser- 
vants of  the  Amazons,  who  are  the  servants 
of  the  king,  confers  on  them  a  sort  of  dignity 
which  they  are  not  slow  to  assert.  No  man 
is  allowed  to  look  at  them,  much  less  to  ad- 
dress them,  and  in  consequence,  when  the 
women  go  to  fetch  water,  they  are  headed 
by  one  of  their  number  carrying  a  rude  bell 
Suspended  to  the  neck.  Whan  the  leader 
sees  a  man  in  the  distance,  she  shakes  the 
bell  vigorously,  and  calls  out,  "  Gan-ja,"  i.  e. 
"  the  bell  comes."  As  soon  as  the  tinkle  of 
the  bell  or  the  cry  reaches  the  ears  of  any 
men  who  happen  to  be  on  the  road,  they 
immediately  run  to  the  nearest  footpath,  of 
which  a  number  are  considerately  made, 
leading  into  the  woods,  turn  their  backs,  and 
wait  patiently  until  the  long  file  of  women 
has  passed.  This  hurrying  of  men  to  the 
right  and  left,  hiding  their  faces  in  the 
bushes  and  brakes,  is  admirably  represented 
on  the  .569th  page. 

They  had  need  to  escape  as  fast  as  they 
can,  for  if  even  one  of  the  water-pots  should 
happen  to  be  broken,  the  nearest  man  would 
inevitably  be  accused  of  having  frightened 
the  woman  who  carried  it,  and  would  almost 
certainly  be  sold  into  slavery,  together  with 
his  wife  and  family. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  attendants  at 
the  palace  are  very  proud  of  this  privilege, 
and  the  uglier,  the  older,  and  the  lower  they 
are,  the  more  perseveringly  do  they  ring  the 
bell  and  utter  the  dreaded  shout,  "  Gan-ja." 
The  oddest  thing  is  that  even  the  lowest  of 
the  male  slaves  employed  in  the  palace 
assume  the  same  privilege,  and  insist  on 
occupying  the  road  and  driving  all  other 
travellers  into  the  by-paths.  "This,"  says 
Captain  Burton.  "  is  one  of  the  greatest 
nuisances  in  Dahome.  It  continues  through 
the  day.  In  some  parts,  as  around  the 
palace,  half  a  mile  an  hour  would  be  full 
speed,  and  to  make  way  for  these  animals 
of  burthen,  bought  perhaps  for  a  few  pence, 
is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  by  no  means  deco- 
rous." 


The  town  of  Kana  has  in  itself  few  ele- 
ments of  beauty,  however  picturesque  may 
be  the  surrounding  scenery.  It  occupies 
about  three  miles  of  ground,  and  is  com- 
posed primarily  of  the  palace,  and  secondly 
of  a  number  of  houses  scattered  round  it,  set 
closelj'near  the  king's  residence,  and  becom- 
ing more  and  more  scattered  in  projiortion 
to  their  distance  from  it.  Captain  Burton 
estimates  the  population  at  4,000.  The 
houses  are  built   of  a  red  sandy  clay. 

The  palace  walls,  which  are  of  great  ex- 
tent, are  surrounded  by  a  cheerful  adorn- 
ment in  the  shape  of  human  skulls,  which 
are  placed  on  the  top  at  intervals  of  thirty 
feet  or  so,  and  striking,  as  it  were,  the  key 
note  to  the  Dahoman  character.  In  no  place 
in  the  world  is  human  life  sacrificed  with 
such  prodigality  and  with  such  ostentation. 

lu  most  countries,  after  a  criminal  is  exe- 
cuted, the  body  is  allowed  to  be  buried,  or, 
at  the  most,  is  thrown  to  the  beasts  and  the 
birds.  In  Dahome  the  skull  of  the  victim  is 
cleansed,  and  used  as  an  ornament  of  some 
Ijuilding,  or  as  an  appendage  to  the  court 
and  its  precincts.  Consequently,  the  one 
object  which  strikes  the  eye  of  a  traveller 
is  the  human  skull.  The  walls  are  edged 
with  skulls,  skulls  are  heaped  in  dishes  be- 
fore the  king,  skulls  are  stuck  on  the  tops  of 
poles,  skulls  are  used  as  the  heads  of  l^anner 
staves,  skulls  are  tied  to  dancers,  and  all  the 
temples,  or  Ju-ju  houses,  are  almost  entirely 
built  of  human  skulls.  How  they  come  to  be 
in  such  profusiou  we  shall  see  presently. 

Horrible  and  repulsive  as  this  system  is, 
we  ought  to  remember  that  even  in  Eng- 
land, in  an  age  when  art  and  literature  were 
held  in  the  highest  estimation,  the  quartered 
bodies  of  persons  executed  for  high  treason 
were  exposed  on  the  gates  of  the  principal 
cities,  and  that  in  the  very  heart  of  the  capi- 
tal their  heads  were  exhibited  up  to  a  com- 
paratively recent  date.  This  practice,  though 
not  of  so  wholesale  a  character  as  the  "  Cus- 
tom "  of  Dahome,  was  yet  identical  with  it 
in  spirit. 

As  the  Amazons,  or  female  soldiers,  have 
been  mentioned,  they  will  be  here  briefly 
described.  This  celebrated  force  consists 
wholly  of  women,  officers  as  well  as  pri- 
vates. They  hold  a  high  position  at  court, 
and,  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  are  of 
such  importance  that  each  Amazon  pos- 
sesses at  least  one  slave.  In  their  own 
country  they  are  called  by  two  names, 
Akho-si,  i.  e.  the  King's  wives,  and  Mi-no, 
i.  e.  our  mothers;  the  first  name  being  given 
to  them  on  the  lucus  a  non  lucendo  principle, 
because  they  are  not  allowed  to  be  the 
wives  of  any  man,  and  the  second  being  used 
as  the  conventional  title  of  respect.  The 
real  wives  of  the  king  do  not  liear  arms,  and 
though  he  sometimes  does  take  a  fancy  to 
one  of  his  women  soldiers,  she  may  not  as- 
sume the  position  of  a  regular  wif». 


DAHOME. 


About  one-third  of  the  Amazons  have 
been  married,  but  the  rest  are  unmarried 
maidens.  Of  course  it  is  needful  that  such  a 
body  should  observe  strict  celibacy,  if  their 
efficiency  is  to  be  maintained,  and  especial 
pains  are  taken  to  insure  this  object.  In  the 
tii-st  place,  the  strictest  possible  watch  is 
kept  over  them,  and,  in  the  second,  the 
power  of  superstition  is  invoked.  At  one  of 
the  palace  gates,  called  signiticantly  Agbo- 
dewe,  i.  e.  the  Discovery  Gate,  is  placed  a 
potent  fetish,  who  watches  over  the  conduct 
of  the  Amazons,  and  invariably  discovers 
the  soldier  who  breaks  the  most  important 
of  the  military  laws.  The  Amazons  are  so 
afraid  of  this  fetish,  that  when  one  of  them 
has  transgressed  she  has  been  known  to  con- 
fess her  fault,  and  to  give  up  the  name  of 
her  partner  in  crime,  even  with  the  knowl- 
edge that  he  will  die  a  cruel  death,  and  that 
she  will  be  severely  punished,  and  probably 
be  executed  by  her  fellow-soldiers.  Besides, 
there  is  a  powerful  esprit  de  corps  reigning 
among  the  Amazons,  who  are  fond  of  l5oast- 
ing  that  they  are  not  women,  but  men. 

They  certainly  look  as  if  they  were,  being, 
as  a  rule,  more  masculine  in  appearance  than 
the  male  soldiers,  tall,  muscular,  and  pos- 
sessed of  luirtinching  courage  and  ruthless 
cruelty.  To  help  the  reader  to  a  clearer  idea 
of  this  stalwart  and  formidable  soldiery, 
two  full-length  jjortraits  are  given  on  the 
next  page.  151oodthirsty  and  savage  as  are 
the  Dahomans  naturally,  the  Amazons  take 
the  lead  in  both  qualities,  seeming  to  avenge 
themselves,  as  it  were,  for  the  privations  to 
which  they  are  doomed.  The  spinster  sol- 
diers are  women  who  have  been  selected  by 
the  king  from  the  families  of  his  subjects,  he 
having  the  choice  of  them  when  they  arrive 
at  marriageable  age ;  and  the  once  married 
soldiers  are  •^omen  who  have  been  detected 
in  infidelity,  and  are  enlisted  instead  of  exe- 
cuted, or  wives  who  are  too  vixenish  toward 
their  husbands,  and  so  are  appropriately 
drafted  into  the  army,  where  their  combat- 
ive dispositions  may  find  a  more  legitimate 
object. 

In  order  to  increase  their  bloodthirsty 
spirit,  and  inspire  a  feeling  of  emulation, 
those  who  have  killed  an  enemy  are  allowed 
to  exhibit  a  symbol  of  their  prowess.  They 
remove  the  scalp,  and  preserve  it  for  exhilii- 
tion  on  all  reviews  and  grand  occasions. 
They  have  also  another  decoration,  equi- 
valent to  the  Victoria  Cross  of  England, 
namely,  a  cowrie  shell  fastened  to  the  butt 
of  the  musket.  After  the  battle  is  over,  the 
victorious  Amazon  smears  ]iart  of  the  rifle 
butt  with  the  blood  of  the  fallen  enemy,  and 
just  before  it  dries  spreads  another  layer. 
This  is  done  until  a  thick,  soft  paste  is 
formed,  into  which  the  cowrie  is  pressed. 
The  musket  is  then  laid  in  the  sun,  and 
when  properly  dry  the  shell  is  lirmly  glued 
to  the  weajion. 
The  possession  of  this  trophy  is  eagerly 


coveted  by  the  Amazons,  and,  after  a  battle, . 
those  who  have  not  slain  an  enemy  with 
their  own  hand  are  half-maddened  with 
envious  jealousy  when  they  see  their  more 
successful  sisters  assuming  the  coveted 
decoration.  One  cowrie  is  allowed  for 
each  dead  man,  and  some  of  the  boldest 
and  fiercest  of  the  Amazons  have  their 
musket  butts  completely  covered  with  cow- 
ries arranged  in  circles,  stars,  and  similai 
patterns. 

The  dress  of  the  Amazons  varies  slightly 
according  to  the  position  which  they  occupy. 
The  ordinary  uniform  is  a  blue  and  white 
tunic  of  native  cloth,  but  made  without 
sleeves,  so  as  to  allow  full  freedom  to  the 
arms.  Under  this  is  a  sort  of  shirt  or  kilt, 
reaching  below  the  knees,  and  below  the 
shirt  the  soldier  wears  a  pair  of  short  linen 
trousers.  Eound  the  waist  is  girded  the 
ammunition-belt,  which  is  made  exactly  on 
the  .same  principle  as  the  bandolier  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  It  consists  of  some  thirty 
hollow  wooden  cylinders  sticking  into  a 
leathern  belt,  each  cylinder  containing  one 
charge  of  powder.  When  they  load  their 
guns,  the  Amazons  merely  pour  the  powder 
down  the  barrel,  and  ram  the  bullet  after 
it,  without  taking  the  trouble  to  introduce 
wadding  of  any  de.scription,  so  that  the  force 
of  the  powder  is  much  wasted,  and  the 
direction  of  the  bullet  very  uncertain. 
Partly  owing  to  the  great  windage  caused 
by  the  careless  loading  and  badly  fitting 
balls,  and  partly  on  account  of  the  inferior- 
ity of  the  powder,  the  charges  are  twice  as 
large  as  would  be  required  by  a  European 
soldier. 

Captain  Burton  rightly  stigmatizes  the 
existence  of  such  an  army  as  an  unmixed 
evil,  and  states  that  it  is  one  of  the  causes 
which  will  one  day  cause  the  kingdom  of 
Dahome  to  be  olifitcratcd  from  the  earth. 
"  The  object  of  Dahonum  wars  and  inva- 
sions has  always  been  to  lay  waste  and  to 
destroy,  not  to  aggrandize. 

"  As  the  history  puts  it,  the  rulers  have 
ever  followed  the  example  of  Agaja,  the 
second  founder  of  the  kingdom;  aiming  at 
conquest  and  at  striking  terror,  rather  than 
at  accretion  and  consolidation.  Hence  there 
has  been  a  decrease  of  population  with  an 
increase  of  territory,  which  is  to  nations 
the  surest  road  to  ruin.  In  the  present  day 
the  wars  have  dwindled  to  mere  slave  hunts 
—  a  fact  it  is  well  to  remember. 

"  The  warrior  troops,  assumed  to  number 
2,500,  should  represent  7,500  children;  the 
waste  of  reproduction  and  the  necessary 
casualties  of  '  service  '  in  a  region  so  depop- 
ulated are  as  detrimental  to  the  body  ]5olitic 
as  a  proportionate  loss  of  lilood  would  be  to 
the  Iwdy  personal.  Thus  the  land  is  desert, 
and  the  raw  material  of  all  industry,  man, 
is  everywhere  wanting." 

Fierce,  cruel,  relentless,  deprived  by  se- 
vere  laws  of   all    social   ties,  the   women 


i-'.)     IIAIIOMAN    AllA/.UNS.     (fS.-u  page  568.J 

(569) 


AMAZON  EEVIEW. 


571 


soldiers  of  Dahomc  are  the  only  real  fight- 
ers, the  meu  soldiers  being  comparatively 
feeble  and  useless.  They  are  badly  and 
miscellaneously  armed,  some  having  trade 
guns,  but  the  greater  number  being  only 
furnished  with  bow  and  arrow,  swords, 
or  clubs.  All,  however,  whether  male  or 
female,  are  provided  with  ropes  wherewith 
to  bind  their  prisoners,  slave  hunts  being  in 
truth  the  real  olyect  of  Dahoman  warlixre. 
From  his  profound  knowledge  of  negro 
character,  Captain  Burton  long  ago  prophe- 
sied that  the  kingdom  of  Dalionio  was  on 
the  wane,  and  tliat  "  weakened  by  tradi- 
tional policy,  by  a  continual  scene  of  blood, 
and  by  the  arbitrary  measures  of  her  king, 
and  demoralized  by  an  export  slave-trade, 
by  close  connection  with  Europeans,  and  by 
frequent  fixilure,  this  band  of  black  Spartans 
is  rapidly  falling  into  decay." 

He  also  foretold  that  the  king's  constant 
state  of  warfare  with  Abeokuta  was  a  politi- 
cal mistake,  and  that  the  Egbas  would  event- 
ually prove  to  be  the  conquerors.  How  true 
these  remarks  were  has  been  proved  by  the 
events  of  the  last  few  years.  The  king 
Gelele  made  his  threatened  attack  on  Abeo- 
kuta., and  was  hopelessly  beaten.  In  spite 
of  the  reckless  courage  of  the  Amazons, 
who  fought  like  so  many  mad  dogs,  and 
were  assisted  by  three  brass  six-pounder 
field  guns,  his  attack  failed,  and  his  troops 
were  driven  off  with  the  loss  of  a  vast  num- 
ber of  prisoners,  while  the  killed  were  cal- 
culated at  a  thousand. 

How  recklessly  these  Amazons  can  fight 
is  evident  from  their  performances  at  a 
review.  In  this  part  of  the  country  the 
simple  fortifications  are  made  of  the  acacia 
bushes,  wliieh  are  furnished  with  thorns  of 
great  length  and  sharpness,  and  are  indeed 
formidable  obstacles.  At  a  review  witnessed 
by  Mr.  Duncan,  and  finely  illustrated  for 
the  reader  on  the  571  th  page;,  model  forts 
were  constructed  of  these  thorns,  which 
were  heaped  up  into  walls  of  some  sixty  or 
seventy  feet  in  thickness  and  eight  in 
height.  It  may  well  be  imagined  that  to 
cross  such  ramparts  as  these  would  be  no 
easy  task,  even  to  European  soldiers,  whose 
feet  are  defended  by  thick-soled  boots,  and 
that  to  a  barefooted  soldiery  they  must  be 
simply  impregnable.  Within  the  forts  were 
built  strong  pens  seven  feet  in  height,  inside 
of  whicli  were  cooped  up  a  vast  number  of 
male  and  female  slaves  belonging  to  the 
king. 

The  review  began  by  the  Amazons  form- 
ing with  shouldered  arms  about  two  hun- 
dred feet  in  front  of  the  strong  fort,  and 
waiting  for  the  word  of  command.  As 
soon  as  it  was  given,  they  rushed  forward, 
charged  the  solid  fence  as  though  thorns 
were  powerless  against  their  bare  feet, 
dashed  over  it,  tore  dov.'n  the  fence,  and 
returned  to  the  king  in  triumph,  leading  with 
them  the  captured  slaves,  and  exhibiting 


also  the  scalps  of  warriors  who  had  fallen 
in  previous  battles,  but  who  were  conven- 
tionally supposed  to  have  perished  on  the 
present  occasion.  So  rapid  and  fierce  was 
the  attack,  that  scarcely  a  minute  had 
elapsed  after  the  word  of  conmiand  was 
given  and  when  the  women  were  seen  re- 
turning with  their  captives. 

The  organization  of  the  Amazonian  army 
is  as  peculiar  as  its  existence.  The  regi- 
ment is  divided  into  three  battalions,  namely, 
the  centre  and  two  wings.  The  centre,  or 
Fanti  battalion,  is  somewhat  analogous  to 
our  Guards,  and  its  members  distinguished 
by  wearing  on  the  head  a  narrow  white  fillet, 
on  wliich  are  sewed  blue  crocodiles.  This 
ornament  was  granted  to  them  by  the  king, 
because  one  of  their  number  once  killed  a 
crocodile.  As  a  mark  of  courtesy,  the  king 
generally  confers  on  his  distinguished  vis- 
itors the  honorary  rank  of  commander  of 
the  Fanti  battalion,  but  this  rank  does  not 
entitle  him  even  to  order  the  corps  out  for  a 
review. 

The  Grenadiers  are  represented  by  the 
Blunderbuss  Company,  who  are  selected 
for  their  size  and  strength,  and  are  each 
followed  by  a  slave  carrj'ing  amnuuiition. 
Equal  in  rank  to  them  are  the  sharpshoot- 
ers, or  "  Sure-to-kill "  Company,  the  Car- 
bineers, and  the  Bayonet  Company. 

The  women  of  most  acknowledged  cour- 
age are  gathered  into  the  Elephant  Com- 
pany, their  special  business  being  to  hunt 
the  elephant  for  the  sake  of  its  tusks,  a  task 
which  they  perform  with  great  courage  and 
success,  often  bringing  down  an  elephant 
with  a  single  volley  from  their  imperfect 
weapons. 

The  youngest,  best-looking,  most  active 
and  neatly  dressed,  are  the  archers.  They 
are  furnished  with  very  poor  weapons,  usu- 
ally bow  and  small  arrows,  and  a  small 
knife.  Indeed,  they  are  more  for  show  than 
for  use,  and  wear  by  way  of  uniform  a  dress 
more  scant}'  than  that  of  the  regular  army, 
and  are  distinguished  also  by  an  ivory  lirace- 
let  on  the  left  arm,  and  a  tattoo  extending 
to  the  knee.  They  are  specially  trained  in 
dancing,  and,  when  in  the  field,  they  are 
enrployed  as  messengers  and  in  carrying  off 
the  dead  and  wounded.  Their  official  title 
is  Go-hen-to,  i.  e.  the  bearers  of  quivers. 

The  greater  number  of  the  Amazons  are 
of  course  line-soldiers,  and  if  they  only  had 
a  little  knowledge  of  military  mameuvres, 
and  could  be  taught  to  load  properly,  as 
well  as  to  aim  correctly,  would  treble  their 
actual  power.  Their  manoeuvres,  however, 
are  compared  by  Captain  Burton  to  those 
of  a  flock  of  sheep,  and  they  have  such 
little  knowledge  of  concerted  action  that 
they  would  be  scattered  before  a  charge  of 
the  very  worst  troops  in  Eurojie. 

Lastly  come  the  razor  women.  This  curi- 
ous body  is  intended  for  striking  terror  into 
the  enemy,  the  soldiers  being  armed  with  a 


572 


DAHOME. 


large  razor,  that  looks  exactly  as  if  it  had 
beeu  made  for  the  clown  iu  a  pantomime. 
The  blade  is  about  two  feet  in  length,  and 
the  handle  of  course  somewhat  larger,  and, 
when  ojjened,  the  blade  is  kept  from  shut- 
ting by  a  spring  at  the  back.  It  is  employed 
for  decapitating  criminals,  but  by  way  of  a 
weapon  it  is  almost  worse  than  useless,  and 


quite  as  likely  to  wound  the  person  who 
holds  it  as  it  is  him  against  whom  it  is 
directed.  The  razor  was  invented  by  a 
brother  of  the  late  King  Gezo.  On  the  558th 
page  is  an  illustration  of  one  of  the  war- 
drums  of  the  Amazons.  It  was  taken  from 
the  slain  warriors  in  the  attack  upon  Abeo- 
kuta. 


CHAPTER   LVI. 


DAHOME  —  Continued. 


THE  DUPLICATE  KCNO — THE  CUSTOMS  OF  DAHOME  —  APPEARANCE  OF  KING  GELELE  —  ETIQUETTE  AT 
COURT  —  THE  KING  DRISTiS  —  THE  CALABASHES  OF  STATE — THE  KING'S  PROGRESS  —  THE  ROYAL 
PROCESSION  —  THE  FIRST  DAY  OF  THE  CUSTOMS  —  THE  'VICTIM-SHED  AND  ITS  INMATES — THE 
KOYAL  PAVILION  —  PRELIHINAHy  CEREMONIALS  —  THE  SECOND  DAY  OP  THE  CUSTOMS  —  THE 
"  ABLE -TO-DO- ANYTHING  "  CLOTH — THE  THIRD  DAY  —  SCRAMBLING  FOR  COWRIES,  AND  PROCES- 
SION OF  HUNCHBACKS — FETISHES  —  CONVERSATION  WITH  THE  VICTIJIS — THE  FOURTH  DAY'  AND 
ITS  EVIL  NIGHT  —  ESTIMATED  NUMBER  OF  THE  VICTIMS,  AND  MODE  OF  THEIK  EXECUTION  — 
OBJECT  AND  MEANING  OF  THE  CUSTOMS  —  LETTER  TO  THE  DEAD,  AND  THE  POSTSCRIPT  —  EXECU- 
TION AT  AOBOME — THE  BLOOD  DRINIvER. 


Before  proceeding  to  the  dread  "  customs  " 
of  Dahome,  we  must  give  a  brief  notice  of 
a  remari^al.)le  point  in  tlie  Dahoman  state- 
craft. Like  Japan,  Daliome  has  two  Icings, 
but,  instead  of  being  temporal  and  spiritual 
as  in  Japan,  they  are  City  king  and  Bush 
king,  each  having  his  throne,  his  state,  his 
court,  his  army,  his  officers,  and  his  caistoms. 
When  Captain  Burton  visited  Dahome,  the 
City  king  was  Gelele,  son  of  Gezo,  and  the 
Bush  king  was  Addo-kpore. 

The  Bush  king  is  set  over  all  the  farmers, 
and  regulates  tillage  and  commerce ;  while 
the  City  king  rules  the  cities,  makes  war, 
and  manages  the  slave  trade.  Consequently, 
the  latter  is  so  much  brought  into  contact 
with  the  traders  that  the  former  is  scarcely 
ever  seen  except  by  those  who  visit  the 
country  for  the  express  purpose.  He  has  a 
palace  at  a  place  about  six  miles  from  the 
capital,  but  the  building  was  only  made  of 
poles  and  matting  when  Captain  Burton 
visited  it,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  made  of 
stronger  materials,  as  it  was  not  to  be 
built  of  ''  swish "  until  Abeokuta  was 
taken. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  describe,  as  briefly 
as  is  consistent  with  truth,  the  customs  of 
both  kings,  our  authorities  lieing  restricted 
to  two,  Mr.  Duncan  and  Captain  Burton, 
the  latter  having  made  many  important  cor- 
rections in  the  statements  of  the  former 
and  of  other  travellers.  The  present  tense 
will  therefore  be  used  throughout  the  de- 
scription. 


Gelele  is  a  fine-looking  man,  with  a  right 
royal  aspect.  He  is  more  than  six  feet  in 
height,  thin,  broad-shouldered,  active,  and 
powerful.  His  hair  is  nearly  all  shaven 
except  two  cockade-like  tufts,  which  are 
used  as  attachments  for  beads  and  other 
trinkets  of  brass  and  silver.  Contrary  to 
the  usual  form,  he  has  a  firm  and  well-pro- 
nounced chin,  and  a  tolerably  good  fore- 
head, and,  in  spite  of  his  cruel  and  blood- 
thirsty nature,  has  a  very  agreeable  smile. 
He  wears  his  nails  very  long,  and  is  said, 
though  the  statement  is  very  doubtful, 
that  ho  keeps  under  his  talon-like  nails  a 
jiowerful  poison,  which  he  slily  infiises  in 
the  drink  of  any  of  his  Caboceers  who 
happen  to  offend  him.  His  face  is  much 
pitted  with  the  small-pox,  and  he  wears  the 
mark  of  his  race,  namely,  three  ijerpendicu- 
lar  scars  on  the  forehead  just  above  the 
nose.  This  is  the  last  remnant  of  a  very 
painful  mode  of  tatooing,  whereby  the  cheeks 
were  literally  carved,  and  the  flaps  of  flesh 
turned  up  and  forced  to  heal  in  that  posi- 
tion. 

He  is  not  nearly  so  black  as  his  father, 
his  skin  apjiroaching  the  copper  color,  and 
it  is  likely  that  his  mother  was  either  a 
slave  girl  from  the  northern  Makhi,  or  a 
mulatto  girl  from  Whydah. 

On  ordinary  occasions  he  dresses  very 
simply,  his  body  cloth  being  of  white  stuff 
edged  with  green,  and  his  short  drawers  of 
purple  silk  He  wears  but  few  ornaments, 
the  five  or  six  iron  bracelets  which  encircle 


(573J 


5T4 


DAHOME. 


his  arms  being  used  more  as  ilefensive  armor 
than  as  jcwi'lry. 

Still.  thouj;li' dressed  in  a  far  simpler  style 
than  any  of  his  Caboceers,  he  is  very  punc- 
tilious with  regard  to  etiquette,  and  pre- 
serves the  smallest  traditions  with  a  minute 
rigidity  worthy  of  the  court  of  Louis  XIV. 
Although  he  may  be  sitting  on  a  mere 
earthen  liench,  and  smoking  a  clumsy  and 
very  plain  pipe,  all  his  court  wait  upon  him 
with  a  reverence  that  seems  to  regard  him 
as  a  demi-god  rather  than  a  man.  Should 
the  heat,  from  which  he  is  sheltered  as 
much  as  possible  by  the  royal  umbrella, 
produce  a  few  drops  on  his  brow,  they  are 
delicately  w'iped  oft"  by  one  of  his  wives 
■with  a  "fine  cloth ;  if  the  tobacco  prove 
rather  too  potent,  a  brass  or  even  a  gold 
spittoon  is  placed  before  the  royal  lips.  If 
he  sneezes,  the  whole  assembled  company 
burst  into  a  shout  of  benedictions.  The 
chief  ceremony  takes  place  when  he  drinks. 
As  soon  as  he  raises  a  cup  to  his  lips,  two 
of  his  wives  spread  a  white  cloth  in  front 
of  him,  while  others  hold  a  number  of 
gaudy  umbrellas  so  as  to  shield  him  from 
view.'  Every  one  who  has  a  gun  tires  it, 
those  who  have  bells  beat  them,  rattles  are 
shaken,  and  all  the  courtiers  bend  to  the 
ground,  clap]iing  their  hands.  As  to  the 
commoners,  they  turn  their  backs  if  sitting, 
if  standing  they  dance  like  bears,  paddling 
with  their  hands  as  if  they  were  paws,  bawl- 
ing "  Poo-oo-oo  "  at  the  top  of  their  voices. 

If  a  message  is  sent  from  him,  it  is  done 
in  a  most  circuitous  manner.  He  first  de- 
livers the  message  to  the  Dakro,  a  woman 
attached  to  the  coui-t.  She  takes  it  to  the 
Men,  and  the  Men  passes  it  on  to  the  Min- 
gan,  and  the  Mingan  delivers  it  to  the  in- 
tended recipient.  When  the  message  is  sent 
to  the  king,  the  order  is  reversed,  and,  as 
each  officer  has  to  speak  to  a  superior,  a 
salutation  is  used  neatly  graduated  accord- 
ing to  rank.  When  the  message  at  last 
reaches  the  Dakro,  she  goes  down  on -all- 
fours,  and  whispers  the  message  into  the 
roj'al  ears.  So  tenacious  of  trifles  is  the 
native  memory,  that  the  message  will  travel 
through  this  circuitous  route  without  the 
loss  or  transposition  of  a  word. 

When  any  one.  no  matter  what  may  be 
his  rank,  presents  himself  before  the  king, 
he  goes  through  a  ceremony  called  "  Itte 
d'ai,"  or  lying  on  the  ground.  He  pros- 
trates himself  flat  on  his  foce,  and  with  his 
hands  shovels  the  dust  all  over  his  person. 
He  also  kisses  the  groun<l,  and  takes  care 
when  he  rises  to  have  as  much  dust  as  pos- 
sible on  his  huge  lips.  Face,  hands,  limbs, 
and  clothes  are  equally  covered  with  dust, 
the  amount  of  reverence  being  measured  by 
the  amount  of  dust.  No  one  approaches 
the  king  erect:  he  must  crawl  on  all-fours, 
shuffle  on  his  knees,  or  wriggle  along  like 
a  snake. 

AVherever  Gelele  holds  his  court,  there 


are  placed  before  him  three  large  cala- 
bashes, each  containing  the  skull  cf  a  jiow- 
erful  chief  whom  he  had  slain.  The  exhibi- 
tion of  these  skulls  is  considered  as  a  mark  of 
honor  to  their  late  owners,  and  not,  as  has 
been  sujiposed,  a  sign  of  mockery  or  dis- 
grace. One  is  bleached  and  jiolished  like 
ivory,  and  is  mounted  on  a  small  ship  made 
of  In-ass.  The  reason  for  this  curious  ar- 
rangement is,  that  when  Gezo  died,  the 
chief  sent  a  mocking  message  to  Gelele, 
saying  that  the  sea  had  dried  up,  and  men 
had  seen  the  end  of  Dahome.  Gelele  re- 
taliated by  invading  his  territory,  killing 
him,  and  mounting  his  skull  on  a  shiii,  as 
a  token  that  there  was  plenty  of  water  left 
to  float  the  vessel. 

The  second  skull  is  mounted  with  brass 
so  as  to  form  a  drinking  cuj}.  This  was 
done  because  the  owner  had  behaved  treach- 
erously to  Gelele  instead  of  assisting  him. 
In  token,  therefore,  that  he  ought  to  have 
''  given  water  to  a  friend  in  affliction  "  — 
the  metaphorical  mode  of  expressing  sym- 
pathy—  Gelele  and  his  courtiers  now  drink 
water  out  of  his  skull.  The  third  was  the 
skull  of  a  chief  who  had  partaken  of  this 
treachery,  and  his  skull  was  accordingly 
mounted  with  brass  fittings  which  repre- 
sented the  common  country  trap,  in  order 
to  show  that  he  had  set  a  trap,  and  fallen 
into  it  himself.  All  these  skulls  were  with- 
out the  lower  jaw,  that  being  the  most 
coveted  ornament  for  umbrellas  and  sword- 
handles.  Sad  to  say,  with  the  usual  negro 
disregard  of  inflicting  pain,  the  captor  tears 
the  jaw  away  while  the  victim  is  still  alive, 
cutting  through  both  cheeks  with  one  hand 
and  tearing  away  the  jaw  with  the  other. 

The  same  minute  and  grotesque  etiquette 
accompanies  the  king  as  he  proceeds  to  Ag- 
bome,  the  real  capital,  to  celebrate  the  So- 
Sin  Custom,  and  it  is  impossible  to  read  the 
accounts  of  the  whole  proceeding  without 
being  struck  with  the  ingenuity  by  which 
the  negro  has  pressed  into  the  service  of 
barbartsm  everything  European  that  he  can 
lay  his  hands  upon,  while  he  has  invariably 
managed  thereby  to  make  the  rites  ludicrous 
instead  of  imposing. 

First  came  a  long  line  of  chiefs,  distin- 
guished by  their  flags  and  umbrellas,  and, 
after  marcliing  once  round  the  large  space 
or  square,  they  crossed  over  and  formed 
a  line  of  umbrellas  opposite  the  gateway. 
Then  came  the  royal  procession  itself, 
headed  by  skirmishers  and  led  by  a  man 
carrying  "one  of  the  skull-topped  banners. 
After  these  came  some  five  hundred  nnis- 
keteers,  and  behind  them  marched  two 
men  carrying  large  leathern  .shields  painted 
white,  and  decorated  with  a  pattern  in  black. 
These  are  highly  valued,  as  remnants  of  the 
old  times  when  shields  were  used  in  war- 
fare, and  were  accompanied  by  a  guard  of 
tall  negroes,  wearing  brass  helmets  and 
black  horse-tails. 


(^0  THfc  KINU'S  DANCE.    (See  page  577.J 
(576j 


THE  "CUSTOMS." 


577 


Next  came  the  Kafo,  or  emblem  of  roy- 
alty, namely,  au  iron  fetish-stick  enclosed 
in  a  white  linen  case,  topped  with  a  white 
plume;  and  after  the  Kafo  came  the  king, 
riding  under  the  shade  of  four  white  um- 
brellas, and  further  sheltered  from  the  sun 
by  three  parasols,  yellow,  purple,  and  bluish 
red.  These  were  waved  over  him  so  as  to 
act  as  fans. 

After  the  king  was  borne  the  great  fetish 
axe,  followed  by  the  "  band,"  a  noisy  assem- 
blage of  performers  on  drums,  rattles,  trum- 
pets, cymbals,  and  similar  instruments.  Two 
specimens  of  ivory  trumpets,  with  various 
strange  devices  elaborately  carved,  are  rep- 
resented in  an  engraving  on  the  558th  page. 
The  right-hand  trumpet  has  a  crucified 
figure  on  it.  Lastly  came  a  crowd  of  slaves 
laden  with  chairs,  baskets  of  cowries,  bot- 
tles, and  similar  articles,  the  rear  being 
brought  up  by  a  pair  of  white  and  blue 
umbrellas  and  a  tattered  flag. 

Six  times  the  king  was  carried  round  the 
space,  during  two  of  the  circuits  being 
drawn  in  a  nondescript  wheeled  vehicle, 
and  on  the  third  circuit  being  carried,  car- 
riage and  all,  on  the  shoulders  of  his  attend- 
ants. The  fourth  and  fifth  cii'cuits  were 
made  in  n  Bath  chair,  and  the  sixth  in  the 
same  vehicle  carried  as  before.  The  king 
then  withdrew  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
space,  and  the  Amazons  made  their  appear- 
ance, dashing  into  the  space  in  three  com- 
panies, followed  by  the  Fanti  companies 
already  described.  These  young  women 
showed  their  agility  in  dancing,  and  were 
followed  by  a  calabash  adorned  with  skulls 
and  a  number  of  flags,  escorted  by  twelve 
Razor  women. 

By  this  time  the  king  had  transferred  him- 
self to  a  hammock  of  yellow  silk,  suspended 
from  a  black  pole  ornamented  with  silver 
sharks — this  fish  being  a  royal  emblem  — 
and  tipped  with  brass  at  each  end.  Twelve 
women  carried  the  hammock,  and  others 
shaded  and  fanned  him  as  before.  These 
preliminaries  being  completed,  all  retired  to 
rest  until  the  following  day,  which  was  to  be 
the  first  of  the  So-Sin  or  Horse-tie  Customs. 

The  first  object  that  strikes  the  eye  of  the 
observer  is  a  large  shed  about  one  hundred 
feet  long,  forty  wide,  and  sixty  high,  hav- 
ing at  one  end  a  double-storied  turret,  and 
the  whole  being  covered  with  a  red  cloth. 
At  the  time  of  which  we  are  treating  there 
sat  in  the  shed  twenty  of  the  victims  to  be 
sacrificed.  They  were  all  seated  on  stools, 
and  bound  tightly  to  the  posts  by  numerous 
cords.  No  unnecessary  pain  was  inflicted  : 
they  were  fed  four  times  in  the  day,  were 
loosened  at  night  for  sleeping,  and  were 
furnished  with  attendants  who  kept  oft'  the 
files.  They  were  dressed  in  a  sort  of  San 
Benito  costume,  namely,  a  white  calico 
shirt,  bound  with  red  ribbon,  and  having  a 
crimson  patch  on  the  left  breast.  On  the 
head  was  a  tall  pointed  white  cap,  with  blue 


ribbon  wound  spirally  round  it.  In  spite  of 
their  impending  fate,  the  victims  did  not 
seem  to  be  unliappy,  and  looked  upon  the 
scene  with  manifest  curiosity. 

Next  came  the  rite  from  which  the  cere- 
mony takes  its  name.  The  chief  of  the 
horse  came  up  with  a  number  of  followers, 
and  took  away  all  horses  from  their  owners, 
and  tied  tliem  to  the  shed,  whence  they  could 
only  be  released  by  the  payment  of  cowries. 

Another  shed  was  built  especially  for  the 
king,  and  contained  about  the  same  number 
of  victims.  Presently  Gelele  came,  and 
proceeded  to  his  own  shed,  where  he  took 
his  seat,  close  to  the  spot  on  which  was 
pitched  a  little  tent  containing  the  relics  of 
the  old  king,  and  supposed  to  be  tempora- 
rily iidiabited  by  his  ghost.  After  some 
unimportant  ceremonies,  Gelele  made  an 
address,  stating  that  his  ancestors  had  only 
built  rough  and  rude  So-Sin  sheds,  but  that 
Gezo  had  improved  upon  them  when  "  mak- 
ing customs  "  for  his  predecessor.  But  he, 
Gelele,  meant  to  follow  his  father's  example, 
and  to  do  for  his  father  what  he  hoped  his 
son  would  do  for  him.  This  discourse  was 
accompanied  by  himself  on  the  drum,  and 
after  it  was  over,  he  displayed  his  activity 
in  dancing,  assisted  by  his  favorite  wives 
and  a  professional  jester.  (See  engraving 
on  the  previous  page.)  Leaning  on  a  staff 
decorated  with  a  human  skull,  he  then 
turned  toward  the  little  tent,  and  adored  in 
impressive  silence  his  father's  ghost. 

The  next  business  was  to  distribute  deco- 
rations and  confer  rank,  the  most  promi- 
nent example  being  a  man  who  was  raised 
from  a  simple  captain  to  be  a  Caboceer, 
the  newly-created  noble  floundering  on  the 
ground,  and  covering  himself  and  all  his 
new  clothes  with  dust  as  a  mark  of  grati- 
tude. More  dancing  and  drumming  then 
went  on  until  the  night  closed  in,  and  the 
first  day  was  ended. 

The  second  day  exhibited  nothing  very 
worthy  of  notice  except  the  rite  which 
gives  it  the  name  of  Cloth-changing  Day. 
The  king  has  a  piece  of  patchwork,  about 
six  hundred  yards  long  by  ten  wide,  which 
is  called  the  "  Nun-ce-pace-to,"  i.  e.  the 
Able-to-do-anything  cloth.  This  is  to  bo 
worn  by  the  king  as  a  robe  as  soon  as  he 
has  taken  Abeokuta,  and,  to  all  appear- 
ances, he  will  have  to  wait  a  very  long  time 
before  he  wears  it.  It  is  unrolled,  and 
held  up  before  the  king,  who  walked  along 
its  whole  length  on  both  sides,  amid  the 
acclamations  of  his  people,  and  then  passed 
to  his  shed,  where  he  was  to  go  through 
the  cloth-changing.  This  rite  consisted  in 
changing  his  dVess  several  times  before  the 
people,  and  dancing  in  each  new  dress, 
finishing  with  a  fetish  war-dress,  i.  c.  a 
short  under  robe,  and  a  dark  blue  cloth 
studded  with  charms  and  amulets,  stained 
with  blood,  and  edged  with  cowries. 

The  third  day  of  the  Customs  exhibited 


578 


DAHO]^IE. 


but  little  of  interest,  being  merely  the  usual 
processioQs  and  speeches,  repeated  over 
and  over  again  to  a  wearisome  length. 
The  most  notable  feature  is  the  cowrie- 
scrambling.  The  king  throws  strings  of 
cowries  among  the  people,  who  tight  for 
them  on  perfectly  equal  terms,  the  lowest 
peasant  and  the  highest  noble  thinking 
themselves  equally  bound  to  join  in  the 
scramble.  Weapons  are  not  used,  but  it  is 
considered  quite  legitimate  to  gouge  out 
eyes  or  bite  out  pieces  of  limbs,  and  there 
is  scarcely  a  scramble  that  does  not  end  in 
maiming  for  life,  while  on  some  occasions 
one  or  two  luckless  individuals  are  left  dead 
on  the  ground.  No  notice  is  taken  of  them, 
as  they  are,  by  a  pleasant  fiction  of  law, 
supposed  to  have  died  an  honorable  death 
in  defence  of  their  king. 

Lastly  there  came  a  procession  of  hunch- 
backs, who,  as  Captain  Burton  tells  us,  are 
common  in  Western  Africa,  and  are  assem- 
bled in  troops  of  both  sexes  at  the  palace. 
The  chief  of  them  wielded  a  formidable 
whip,  and,  having  arms  of  great  length  and 
muscular  power,  easily  cut  a  way  "for  his 
followers  through  the  dense  crowd.  Seven 
potent  fetishes  were  carried  on  the  heads  of 
the  principal  hunchbacks.  They  were  very 
sti-oug  fetishes  indeed,  being  in  the  habit  of 
walking  about  after  nightfall. 

They  are  described  as  follows  :  — "  The 
first  was  a  blue  dwarf,  in  a  gray  paque, 
with  hat  on  head.  The  second,  a.  blue 
woman  with  protuberant  breast.  The  third, 
a  red  dwarf  with  white  eyes,  clad  cap-a-pie 
in  red  and  brown.  The  fourth  was  a  small 
black  mother  and  child  in  a  blue  loin-cloth, 
with  a  basket  or  calabash  on  the  former's 
head.  The  fifth,  ditto,  but  lesser.  The 
sixth  was  a  pigmy  baboon-like  thing,  with 
a  red  face  under  a  black  skull-cap,  "a  war- 
club  in  the  right  hand  and  a  gun  in  the 
left  ;  and  the  seventh  much  resembled  the 
latter,  but  was  lamp-black,  with  a  white 
apron  behind.  They  were  carved  much  as 
the  face  cut  on  the  top  of  a  stick  by  the 
country  bumpkins  in  England." 

The  king  next  paid  a  visit  to  the  victims, 
and  entered  into  conversation  with  some 
of  them,  and  presented  twenty  "  heads  "  of 
cowries  to  them.  At  Captain"  Burton's  re- 
quest that  he  would  show  mercy,  he  had 
nearly  half  of  them  untied,  placed  on  their 
hands  and  knees  in  front  of  him,  and  then 
dismissed  them. 

The  fourth  day  of  the  Customs  is  tradi- 
tionally called  the  Horse-losing  Day,  from 
a  ceremony  which  has  now  bee'n  abolished, 
although  the  name  is  retained.  More 
dances,  more  processions,  and  more  boast- 
ings that  Abeokuta  should  be  destroyed, 
and  that  the  grave  of  Gelele's  fother  should 
be  well  furnished  with  Egba  skulls.  The 
same  Uttle  fetishes  already" mentioned  were 
again  produced,  and  were  followed  by  a 
cm-ions  pas-de-seul  performed  by  a  "So." 


The  So  is  an  imitation  demon,  "a  bull-faced 
mask  of  natural  size,  painted  black,  with 
glaring  eyes  and  peep-holes.  Tlie  horns 
were  hung  with  red  and  white  rag-strips, 
and  beneath  was  a  dress  of  bamlioo  fibre 
covering  the  feet,  and  fringed  at  the  ends. 
It  danced  with  head  on  one  side,  and 
swayed  itseU"  about  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  people." 

The  whole  of  the  proceedings  were  termi- 
nated by  a  long  procession  of  slaves,  bear- 
ing in  their  hands  baskets  of  cowries.  "  It 
was  the  usual  African  inconsequence  — 
100,000  to  carry  20?." 

The  evening  of  the  fourth  day  is  the 
dreaded  Evil  Kight,  on  which  the  king 
walks  in  solemn  procession  to  the  market- 
place, where  the  chief  executioner  with  his 
own  hand  puts  to  death  those  victims  who 
have  been  reserved.  The  precise  nature  of 
the  procedings  is  not  known,  as  none  are 
allowed  to  leave  their  houses  except  the 
king  and  his  retinue;  and  any  one  who  is 
foolish  enough  to  break  this  law  is  carried 
oft"  at  once  to  swell  the  list  of  victims.  It  is 
said  that  the  king  speaks  to  the  men.  charg- 
ing them  with  messages  to  his  dead  father, 
telling  him  that  his  memory  is  revered,  and 
that  a  number  of  new  attendants  have  been 
sent  to  him,  and  with  his  own  hand  striking 
the  first  blow,  the  others  being  slain  by  the 
regular  executioner. 

The  bodies  of  the  executed  were  now  set 
upon  a  pole,  or  hung  up  by  their  heels,  and 
exhibited  to  the  populace,  much  as  used  to 
be  done  in  England,  when  a  thief  was  first 
executed,  and  then  hung  in  chains. 

The  number  of  these  victims  has  been 
much  exaggerated.  In  the  annual  Customs, 
the  number  appears  to  be  between  sixty 
and  eighty.  Some  thirty  of  these  victims 
are  men,  and  sufler  by  the  hand  of  the  chief 
executioner  or  his  assistants;  but  it  is  well 
known  that  many  women  are  also  put  to 
death  within  the  palace  walls,  the  blood- 
thirsty Amazons  being  the  executioners. 
The  mode  of  execution  is  rather  remark- 
able. After  the  king  has  spoken  to  the 
victims,  and  dictated  his  messages,  the  exe- 
cutioners fall  upon  them  and  beat  them  to 
death  with  their  oflicial  maces.  These  in- 
struments are  merely  wooden  clubs,  armed 
on  one  side  of  the  head  with  iron  knobs. 
Some,  however,  say  that  the  victims  ai-e 
beheaded;  and  it  is  very  likely  that  both 
modes  are  employed. 

As  to  the  stories  that  have  been  so  fre- 
quently told  of  the  many  thousand  human 
victims  that  are  annuall}'  slain,  and  of  the 
canoe  which  is  paddled  by  the  king  in  a 
trench  filled  with  human  "blood,  the}-  are 
nothing  more  than  exaggerations  invented 
by  traders  for  the  purpose  of  frightening 
Englishmen  out  of  the  country.  Even  in 
the  Grand  Customs  which  follow  the  de- 
cease of  a  king  the  number  of  victims  is 
barely  five  hundred. 


MEANING  OF  THE  "CUSTOMS." 


57& 


We  may  naturally  ask  ourselves  -what  is 
the  meaning  of  the  Customs,  or  So-Sin. 
This  ceremony  is  the  accepted  mode  of 
doing  honor  to  the  late  king,  by  sending 
to  him  a  number  of  attendants  befitting 
his  rank.  Immediately  after  his  burial,  at 
the  Grand  Customs,  some  five  hundred 
attendants,  both  male  and  female,  are  de- 
spatched to  the  dead  king,  and  ever  after- 
ward his  train  is  swelled  by  those  who  are 
slain  at  the  regular  annual  Customs. 

Besides  the  Customs  there  is  scarcely  a 
day  when  executions  of  a  similar  character 
do  not  take  place.  Whatever  the  king  does 
must  be  reported  to  his  lather  by  a  man, 
who  is  first  charged  with  the  message  and 
then  killed.  No  matter  how  trivial  the 
occasion  may  be  —  if  a  white  man  visits 
him,  if  he  has  a  new  drum  made,  or  even  if 
he  moves  from  one  house  to  another  —  a 
messenger  is  sent  to  tell  his  father.  And  if 
After  the  execution  the  king  should  find 
that  he  has  forgotten  something,  away  goes 
another  messenger,  like  the  postscript  of  a 
letter. 

All  this  terrible  destruction  of  human  life, 
which  is  estimated  by  Burton  as  averaging 
five  hundred  per  annum  in  ordinary  years, 
and  a  thousand  in  the  Grand  Customs  year, 
is  bad  enough,  but  not  so  bad  as  it  has  been 
painted.  The  victims  are  not  simple  sub- 
jects of  the  king  selected  for  the  sacrifice  of 
bloodthirsty  caprice,  as  has  been  generally 
supposed.  They  are  either  criminals  or 
prisoners  of  war,  and,  instead  of  being  exe- 
cuted on  the  spot,  are  reserved  for  the  cus- 
toms, and  are  treated  as  well  as  is  consistent 
with  their  safe  custody. 

Indeed,  considering  the  object  for  which 
they  are  reserved,  it  would  be  bad  policy  for 
the  Dahoman  king  to  behave  cruelly  toward 
his  victims.  They  are  intended  as  messen- 
gers to  his  father,  about  whom  they  are  ever 
afterward  supposed  to  wait,  and  it  would  be 
extremely  impolitic  in  the  present  king  to 
send  to  his  father  a  messenger  who  was  ill- 
disposed  toward  himself,  and  who  might, 
therefore,  garljle  his  message,  or  deliver  an 
evil  report  to  the  dead  sovereign. 

As  a  rule,  the  victims  in  question  are 
quite  cheerful  and  contented,  and  about  as 
unlike  our  ideas  of  doomed  men  as  can  well 
be  imagined.  In  the  first  place,  they  are 
constitutionally  indifferent  to  human  life, 
their  own  lives  with  those  of  others  being 
equally  undervalued;  and,  as  they  know 
that  their  lives  are  forfeit,  they  accept  the 
position  without  useless  murmurs.  Nor  is 
the  mode  of  death  so  painful  as  seems  at 
first  sight  to  be  the  case,  for  the  king,  actu- 
ated by  that  feeling  of  pity  which  caused 
the  Romans  to  stupefy  with  a  soporific 
draught  the  senses  of  those  who  were  con- 
demned to  the  cross,  mostly  administers  to 
the  victims  a  bottle  or  so  of  rum  about  an 
hour  before  the  execution,  so  that  they  are 
for  the  most  part  insensible  when  killed. 


This  humane  alleviation  of  their  suffer- 
ino's  is,  however,  restricted  to  those  who 
die  at  the  customs,  and  is  not  extended  to 
those  who  perish  by  the  hands  of  tlie  execu- 
tioner as  messengers  to  the  deceased  king. 
How  these  executions  are  conducted  may 
be  seen  Ijy  the  following  account  of  a  scene 
at  Dahome  by  Mr.  Duncan:  — 

"  The  ceremonies  of  this  day  were  nearly 
a  repetition  of  those  of  yesterday,  till 
the  time  arrived  (an  hour  betbre  sunset) 
when  the  four  traitors  were  brought  into 
the  square  for  execution.  They  marched 
through  the  mob  assembled  round  appar- 
ently "as  little  concerned  as  the  spectators, 
who  seemed  more  cheerful  than  before  the 
prisoners  made  their  appearance,  as  if 
they  were  pleased  with  the  prospect  of 
a  change  of  performance.  The  prisoners 
were  marched  close  past  me  in  slow  time; 
consequently  I  had  a  good  opportunity  of 
minutely  observing  them,  particularly  as 
every  person  remained  on  his  knees,  with 
the  exception  of  myself  and  the  guard  who 
accompanied  the  jirisoners. 

"  They  were  all  young  men,  of  the  middle 
size,  and  appearedto  be  of  one  family,  or  at 
least  of  the  same  tribe  of  Makees,  who  are 
much  better-looking  than  the  people  of  the 
coast.  Each  man  was  gagged  with  a  short 
piece  of  wood,  with  a  small  strip  of  white 
cotton  tied  round  each  end  of  the  stick,  and 
passed  round  the  pole.  This  was  to  prevent 
them  from  speaking.  They  were  arranged 
in  line,  kneeling  before  the  king. 

"  The  head  gang-gang  man  then  gave  four 
beats  on  the  gong,  as  one  —  two,  and  one  — 
two;  the  upper  part  of  the  gang-gang  being 
smaller  than  the  lower,  and  thus  rendering 
the  sounds  different,  similar  to  the  public 
clocks  in  England  when  striking  the  quar- 
ters. After  the  four  beats  the  gang-gang  man 
addressed  the  culprits  upon  the  enormity  of 
their  crime  and  the  justice  of  their  sentence. 
During  this  lengthened  harangue  the  gang- 
gang  was  struck  at  short  intervals,  which 
gave  a  sort  of  a'svful  solemnity  to  the  scene. 
After  this,  the  men  were  suddenly  marched 
some  distance  back  from  his  majesty,  who 
on  this  occasion  refused  to  witness  the  exe- 
cution. The  men  were  then  ordered  tc* 
kneel  in  line  about  nine  feet  apart,  their 
hands  being  tied  in  front  of  the  body,  and 
the  elbows  held  behind  by  two  men,  the 
body  of  the  culprit  bending  forward. 

"Poor  old  Mayho,  who  is  an  excellent 
man,  was  the  projier  executioner.  He  held 
the  knife  or  bill-hook  to  me,  but  I  again 
declined  the  honor;  when  the  old  man,  at 
one  blow  on  the  back  of  the  neck,  divided 
the  head  fi-om  the  body  of  the  first  culprit, 
with  tlie  exception  of  a  small  portion  of  the 
skin,  which  was  separated  by  passing  the 
knife  underneath.  Unfortunately  the  second 
man  was  dreadfully  mangled,  for  the  poor 
fellow  at  the  moment  the  blow  was  struck 
having  raised  his  head,  the  knife  struck  in  a 


680 


DAHOME. 


slanting  direction,  and  only  made  a  large 
wound;  the  next  blow  causht  him  on  the 
back  of  the  head,  when  the  brain  protruded. 
The  poor  fellow  struggled  violently.  The 
third  stroke  caught  him  across  the  shoul- 
ders, inflicting  a  dreadful  gash.  The  next 
caught  him  on  the  neck,  which  was  twice 
repeated.  The  otticer  steadying  the  crimi- 
nal now  lost  his  hold  on  account  of  the 
blood  which  rushed  from  the  blood-vessels 
on  all  who  were  near.  Poor  old  Mayho, 
now  quite  pal.sied,  took  hold  of  the  head, 
and  after  twisting  it  several  times  round, 
separated  it  from  the  still  convulsed  and 
struggling  trvuik.  During  the  latter  part  of 
this  disgusting  execution  the  head  presented 
an  awful  spectacle,  the  distortion  of  the 
features,  and  the  eyeballs  completely  up- 
turned, giving  it  a  horrid  appearance. 

"  The  next  man,  poor  fellow,  with  his 
eyes  partially  shut  and  head  drooping  for- 
ward near  to  the  ground,  remained  all  this 
time  in  suspense;  casting  a  partial  glance 
on  the  head  which  was  now  close  to  him, 
and  the  trunk  dragged  close  past  him,  the 
blood  still  rushing  from  it  like  a  fountain. 
Mayho  refused  to  make  another  attempt, 
and  another  man  acted  in  his  stead,  and 
with  one  blow  separated  the  spinal  bones, 
but  did  not  entirely  separate  the  head  from 
the  body.  This  was  finished  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  first.    However,  the  fourth 


culprit  was  not  so  fortunate,  his  head  not 
being  separated  till  after  three  strokes.  The 
body  afterward  rolled  over  several  times, 
when  the  blood  spurted  over  my  face  and 
clothes. 

"  The  most  disgusting  part  of  this  abom- 
inable and  disgusting  execution  was  that  of 
an  ill-looking  wretch,  who,  like  the  numer- 
ous vultures,  stood  with  a  small  calabash  in 
his  hand,  ready  to  catch  the  blood  from  each 
individual  which  he  greedily  devoured  be- 
fore it  had  escaped  one  minute  from  the 
veins.  The  old  wretch  had  the  impudence 
to  put  some  rinn  in  the  blood  and  ask  me 
to  drink:  at  that  moment  I  could  with 
good  heart  have  sent  a  bullet  through  his 
head. 

'■  Before  execution  the  victim  is  furnished 
with  a  clean  white  cloth  to  tie  round  the 
loins.  After  decapitation  the  body  is  im- 
mediately dragged  off  by  the  heels  to  a 
large  pit  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
town,  and  thrown  therein,  and  is  imme- 
diately devoin-ed  b}'  wolves  and  vultiu-es, 
which  are  here  so  ravenous  that  they  will 
almost  take  your  victuals  from  you." 

Captain  Burton  says  that  he  never  saw 
this  repulsive  part  of  the  sacrificial  cere- 
mony, and  slates  that  there  is  only  one 
approach  to  cannibalism  in  Dahome.  This 
is  in  connection  with  the  worship  of  the 
thunder  god,  and  is  described  on  page  586. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 


DAHOME  —  Concluded. 


THE  OR  AND  CUSTOMS  OP  DAHOME — CELEBRATED  ONCE  IN  A  LrFETIME— "WE  ARE  HIINGET"— THB 
BASKET  SACRIFICE — GELELE'S  TOWEE  —  THE  FIEE  TELEGRAPH  AND  ITS  DETAILS  —  LAST  DAY  OP 
THE  CUSTOMS  —  THE  TIRED  ORATOES  —  A  GENERAL  SMASH — CONCLUSION  OP  THE  CEEEMONT  — 
DAHOMAN  MARRIAGES  —  THE  RELIGION  OP  DAHOME — POLYTHEISM,  AND  DLFFEEENT  RANKS  OF 
THE  DEITIES  —  WORSHIP  OF  THE  THUNDER  GOD  —  CEREMONY'  OP  HEAD  WORSHIP  —  THE  PRIESTS 
OR  FETISHERS — THE  FEMALE  FETISHERS  —  IDEAS  OP  THE  SPIRITUAL  WORLD  —  INQUEST  AFTER 
DEATH  —  BURIAL  —  THE  DEATH  OP  A  KING  —  THE  WATER  SPELNKLINQ  CUSTOM  —  CAPTAIN  BUB- 
TON'S  SUMMARY  OF  THE  DAHOMAN  CHAEACTEE. 


We  now  pass  to  the  Grand  Customs  of  Da- 
home,  which  only  take  place  once  in  a  mon- 
arch's lifetime.  This  fearful  ceremony,  or 
rather  series  of  ceremonies,  is  performed  in 
honor  of  a  deceased  king,  and  the  duty  of 
carrying  it  out  devolves  upon  his  successor. 
Each  king  tries  to  outvie  his  predecessor  by 
sacrificing  a  greater  number  of  victims,  or 
by  inventing  some  new  mode  of  performing 
the  sacrifice.  In  consequence  of  this  habit 
the  mode  of  conducting  the  Grand  Custom 
is  so  exceedingly  variable  that  a  full  de- 
scription would  entail  a  narration  of  the 
Custom  as  performed  by  each  successive 
king. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  vic- 
tims are  carefully  saved  for  the  purpose, 
Custom  Day  being  the  only  general  execu- 
tion time  in  the  year;  and  in  consequence, 
if  a  new  king  finds  that  he  has  not  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  victims  to  do  honor  to  his 
father's  memory,  and  at  least  to  equal  those 
whom  his  father  sacrificed  when  he  came  to 
the  throne,  he  must  wait  until  the  required 
number  can  be  made  up. 

The  usual  method  of  doing  so  is  to  go  to 
war  with  some  tribe  with  whom  there  is  a 
feud;  and  for  this  reason,  among  others, 
both  Gezo  and  Gelele  made  a  series  of  at- 
tacks, Abeokuta  winning  at  first,  but  being 
afterward  beaten  back,  as  has  been  narrated. 
It  is  chiefly  for  this  reason  that  the  Amazons 
are  taught  to  rush  so  fiercely  over  the  for- 
midable thorn  walls  by  which  the  towns  are 


fortified,  and  the  prisoners  whom  they  take 
are  mostly  handed  over  to  the  king  to  be 
kept  in  readiness  for  the  next  custom. 

On  the  great  day  of  the  Grand  Custom 
the  king  appears  on  a  platform,  decorated, 
according  to  Dahoman  ideas,  in  a  most 
gorgeous  manner,  with  cloths  on  which  are 
rudely  i)aiuted  the  figures  of  various  ani- 
mals. Around  him  are  his  favorite  wives 
and  his  principal  officers,  each  of  the  latter 
being  distinguished  by  his  great  umbrella. 
Below  is  a  vast  and  surging  crowd  of  ne- 
groes of  both  sexes,  wild  with  excitement 
and  rum,  and  rending  the  air  with  their 
yells  of  welcome  to  their  sovereign.  In  rec- 
ognition of  their  loyalty,  he  flings  among 
them  "  heads  "  of  cowries,  strings  of  beads, 
rolls  of  cloth,  and  similar  valuables,  for 
which  they  fight  and  scramble  and  tear  each 
other  like  so  many  wild  beasts  —  and  indeed, 
for  the  time,  they  are  as  fierce  and  as  ruth- 
less as  the  most  savage  beasts  that  the  earth 
holds. 

After  these  specimens  of  the  royal  favor 
are  distributed,  the  cries  and  yells  begin  to 
take  shape,  and  gradually  resolve  themselves 
into  praises  of  the  king  and  appeals  to  his 
bounty.  "We  are  hungry,  O  King,"  they 
cry.  "Feed  us,  O  King,  for  we  are  hungry !  " 
and  this  ominous  demand  is  repeated  with 
increasing  fury,  until  the  vast  crowd  have 
lashed  tliemselves  to  a  pitch  of  savage  fury, 
which  nothing  but  blood  can  appease.  And 
blood  they  have  in  plenty.    The  victims  are 


29 


(581) 


582 


DAHOME. 


now  brought  forward,  each  being  gagged  in 
order  to  prevent  him  from  crying  out  to  the 
king  for  mercy,  in  wliicli  case  he  must  be 
immediately  released,  and  they  are  firmly 
secured  by  being  lashed  inside  baskets,  so 
that  they  can  move  neither  head,  hand,  nor 
foot.  At  the  sight  of  the  victims  the  yells 
of  the  crowd  below  redouble,  and  the  air  is 
rent  with  the  cry,  "  We  are  hungry!  Feed 
us,  O  King." 

Presently  the  deafening  yells  are  hushed 
into  a  death-like  silence,  as  the  king  rises, 
and  with  his  own  hand  or  foot  pushes  one  of 
the  victims  otl'  the  platform  into  the  midst  of 
the  crowd  below.  The  helpless  wretch  falls 
into  the  outstretched  arms  of  the  eager 
crowd,  the  basket  is  rent  to  atoms  by  a  hun- 
dred hands;  and  in  a  shorter  time  than  it  has 
taken  to  write  this  sentence  the  man  has 
been  torn  limb  from  limb,  while  around  each 
portion  of  the  still  quivering  body  a  mass  of 
infuriated  negroes  are  fighting  like  so  many 
starved  dogs  over  a  bone. 

Gelele,  following  the  habits  of  his  ances- 
tors, introduced  an  improvement  on  this 
practice,  and,  instead  of  merely  pusliing  the 
victims  oft'  the  platform,  built  a  circular 
tower  some  thirty  feet  in  height,  decorated 
after  the  same  grotesque  manner  as  tlie 
platform,  and  ordered  that  the  victims  should 
be  flung  from  the  top  of  this  tower.  Should 
the  kiiigdom  of  Dahome  last  long  enough 
for  Gelele  to  have  a  successor,  some  new 
variation  will  probably  be  introduced  into 
the  Grand  Customs. 

After  Gelele  had  finished  his  gift  throw- 
ing, a  .strange  procession  wound  its  way  to 
the  tower— the  procession  of  blood.  First 
came  a  numlier  of  men,  each  carrying  a  pole, 
to  the  end  of  which  was  tied  a  living  cock; 
and  after  them  marched  another  string  of 
men,  each  bearing  on  his  head  a  living  goat 
tied  up  in  a  flexible  basket,  so  that  the  poor 
animals  could  not  move  a  limb.  Next  came 
a  bull,  borne  by  a  number  of  negroes;  and 
lastly  came  the  human  victims,  each  tied  in 
a  basket,  and  carried,  like  the  goats,  horizon- 
tally on  a  man's  head. 

Three  men  now  mounted  to  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  received  the  victims  in  .succes- 
sion, as  they  were  handed  up  to  them.  Just 
below  the  tower  an  open  space  was  left,  in 
which  was  a  block  of  wood,  on  the  edge  of  a 
hole,  attended  by  the  executioners.  The 
fowls  were  first  flung  from  the  top  of  the 
tower,  still  attached  to  the  poles;  and  it 
seemed  to  be  requisite  that  every  creature 
which  was  then  sacrificed  should  be  tied  in 
some  extraordinary  manner.  As  soon  as 
they  touched  the  ground,  they  were  seized, 
dragged  to  the  block,  and  their  heads 
chopped  oft',  so  that  the  blood  might  be 
poured  into  the  hole.  The  goats  were 
thrown  down  after  the  fowls,  the  bull  after 
the  goats,  and,  lastly,  the  unfortunate  men 
shared  the  same  fate.  The  mingled  blood  of 
these  victims  was  allowed  to  remain  in  the 


hole,  which  was  left  uncovered  all  night,  the 
blood-stained  block  standing  beside  it. 

The  illustration  on  the  following  page 
depicts  the  last  feature  of  this  terrible  scene. 
On  the  right  hand  is  the  king,  seated  under 
his  royal  umbrella,  surmounted  with  a  leop- 
ard, the  emblem  of  roj'alty,  and  around 
him  are  his  wives  and  great  men.  In  the 
centre  rises  the  cloth-covered  tower,  from 
which  a  human  victim  has  just  been  hurled, 
while  another  is  being  carried  to  his  fate. 
Below  is  one  of  the  executioners  standing 
by  the  block,  and  clustering  in  front  of  the 
tower  is  the  mob  of  infuriated  savages. 

Just  below  the  king  is  seen  the  band,  the 
most  prominent  instrument  of  which  is  the 
great  drum  carried  on  a  man's  head,  and 
beaten  by  the  drummer  who  stands  behind 
him,  and  one  of  the  king's  banners  is  dis- 
played behind  the  band,  and  ";uarded  by  a 
body  of  armed  Amazons.  In  front  are  sev- 
eral of  the  fetishmen,  their  heads  adorned 
with  the  conical  cap,  their  bodies  fantasti- 
cally painted,  and  the  inevitable  skull  in 
their  hands.  The  house  which  is  supposed 
to  contain  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  king  is 
seen  on  the  left. 

The  last  day  of  the  Customs  is  celebrated 
after  a  rather  peculiar  manner. 

A  line  of  soldiers  armed  with  guns  is  sta- 
tioned all  the  way  from  Agbome  to  Whydah. 
The.se  soldiers  are  placed  at  some  little  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  and  their  duty  is  to 
transmit  a  rolling  fire  all  the  way  from  the 
capital  to  the  port  and  back  again.  This  is 
a  later  invention,  the  former  jilan  being  to 
transmit  a  small  present  from  hand  to  hand, 
starting  from  Whydah  and  having  its  des- 
tination in  the  palace.  Another  line  of 
musketeers  extended  from  the  Komasi  house 
to  a  suburb  about  a  mile  distant. 

The  method  of  arranging  them  is  very 
curious.  At  intervals  of  three  hundred 
yards  or  so  are  built  little  huts  of  grass, 
each  being  the  lodging-place  of  two  soldiers. 
Though  slightly  built,  there  is  some  attempt 
at  ornament  about  them,  as  each  hut  has 
a  pent  roof,  a  veranda  supported  by  light 
poles,  and  the  side  walls  decorated  with  a 
diamond  pattern  of  bamboo  and  a  fetish 
shrub,  which  is  sujiposed  to  repel  lightning. 
A  tuft  of  grass  ornaments  each  end  of  the 
gables,  and  those  huts  that  are  situated 
nearest  the  palace  are  always  the  most  dec- 
orated. 

In  front  of  each  hut  the  muskets  belong- 
ing to  the  soldiers  are  fixed  horizcnitally  on 
forked  sticks.  They  are  ready  loaded,  and 
the  two  are  employed  lest  one  of  them 
should  miss  fire.  There  are  nearly  nine 
hundred  of  these  huts  upon  the  line  to  Why- 
dah, and  it  is  calculated  that  the  time  occu- 
pied in  the  fire  ought  to  be  about  half  an 
hour. 

When  Captain  Burton  attended  this  cere- 
mony in  186.3,  Gelele  had  not  been  con- 
firmed at  Allada,  and  in  conseciueuce  was 


THE  BASKET  SACRIFICE. 

(See  page  582.) 


(583; 


A  EOYAL  PALACE. 


585 


not,  by  royal  etiquette,  allowed  to  live  in  a 
house  built  of  anj'thing  better  than  stakes 
and  matting.  Consequently,  his  officers 
were  obliged  to  follow  his  example,  as  it 
would  have  been  equivalent  to  treason  had 
a  subject  presumed  to  live  in  a  "swish" 
house  when  his  monarch  only  dwelt  in 
matting. 

However,  on  this  occasion  at  all  events 
the  king  tried  to  atone  by  barliarous  finery 
for  the  wretched  material  of  his  "  palace." 
The  Agwajai  gate  led  into  an  ol^long  court 
of  matting,  sprinkled  with  thick-leaved  lit- 
tle fig  trees  of  vivid  green,  and  divided  into 
two  by  the  usual  line  of  baml)oos.  At  the 
bottom  of  the  southern  half  was  the  royal 
pavilion,  somewhat  like  a  Shakmiyaua  in 
Bengal,  with  an  open  wing  on  each  side. 

■'  The  sloping  roof  of  the  central  part, 
intended  for  the  king,  was  of  gold  and  lake 
damask,  under  two  broad  strips  of  red  and 
green  satin;  the  wings,  all  silk  and  velvet, 
were  horizontally  banded  with  red,  white- 
edged  green,  purple  and  yellow,  red  and 
green  in  succession,  from  the  top,  and, 
whore  the  tongue-shaped  lappets  started, 
with  chrome  yellow.  The  hangings,  plav- 
ing  loosely  in  the  wind,  were  remarkable 
chiefly  for  grotesque  figures  of  men  and 
beasts  cut  out  of  colored  cloth  and  sewed  to 
the  lining." 

Several  little  tables  were  placed  near  the 
inner  entrances,  each  being  sheltered  by  a 
huge  umbrella,  three  decorated  with  figures 
and  four  white.  These  were  for  the  women, 
who  were  dressed  in  their  gayest  apparel, 
magnificent  in  mantles  of  red,  pink,  and 
flowered  silks  and  satins.  Opposite  to  the 
king  were  five  ragged  white  umlirellas,  shel- 
tering eleven  small  tables,  and  behind  the 
tables  was  a  small  crowd  of  officials  and 
captains,  dressed  in  costumes  somewhat 
similar  to  those  of  the  women. 

On  the  riglit  of  the  throne  was  the  court 
fool,  a  very  important  man  indeed,  his  eyes 
surrounded  with  rings  of  white  chalk,  and 
his  shoulders  covered  with  an  old  red  velvet 
mantle.  Although  not  of  sufficient  rank  to 
be  permitted  the  use  of  an  umbrella,  he  was 
sheltered  from  the  sun  by  a  piece  of  matting 
raised  on  poles.  A  model  of  a  canoe  was 
placed  near  hini. 

Just  at  the  entrances  eight  muskets  were 
tied  horizontally,  each  supported  on  two 
forked  sticks,  as  has  already  been  described, 
and  behind  each  musket  stood  the  Amazon 
to  whom  it  belonged. 

After  making  his  guests  wait  for  at  least 
two  hours,  —  such  a  delay  being  agreeable 
to  royal  etiquette,  —  the  king  condescended 
to  appear.  This  time  he  had  arrayed  him- 
self after  a  very  gorgeous  and  rather  hete- 
rogeneous fashion.  He  wore  a  yellow  silk 
tunic,  covered  with  little  scarlet  flowers,  a 
great  black  felt  Spanish  hat,  or  sombrero, 
richly  embroidered  with  gold  V)raid,  and  a 
broad  belt    of   gold   and    pearls   (probably 


imitation)  passed  over  his  left  shoulder  to 
his  right  side.  Suspended  to  his  neck  was 
a  large  crucifix,  and  in  his  left  hand  he  car- 
ried an  hour-glass.  An  old  rickety  table 
with  metal  legs,  and  covered  with  red  vel- 
vet, was  placed  before  him,  and  ujjon  it 
were  laid  a  silver  mug,  a  rosary,  sundry 
pieces  of  plate,  and  some  silver  armlets. 
On  taking  his  seat,  he  put  the  silver  mug  to 
its  pro]ier  use,  by  drinking  with  all  his 
guests,  his  own  face  being,  according  to  cus- 
tom, hidden  by  a  linen  cloth  while  he  drank. 

After  the  usual  complimentary  addresses 
had  been  made,  a  woman  rose  at  1  p.m.  and 
gave  the  word  of  command  —  "  A-de-o." 
This  is  a  corruption  of  Adios,  or  farewell. 
At  this  word  two  of  the  muskets  in  front  of 
the  king  were  discharged,  and  the  firing 
was  taken  up  by  the  Jegbo  line.  In  three 
minutes  the  firing  ran  round  Jegbe  and 
returned  to  the  palace.  At  2  p.m.  another 
"  A-de-o  "  started  the  line  of  firing  to  Why- 
dab,  the  time  of  its  return  having  been  calcu- 
lated and  marked  by  a  rude  de\ice  of  laying 
cowries  on  the  ground,  and  weaving  a  cloth 
in  a  loom,  the  number  of  threads  that  are 
laid  being  supposed  to  indicate  a  certain 
duration  of  time. 

As  soon  as  the  firing  began,  two  officials 
marched  up  to  the  king  and  began  an  ora- 
tion, which  they  were  bound  to  maintain 
until  the  firing  had  returned.  Amid  the 
liorrible  noise  of  five  heralds  proclaiming 
the  royal  titles  and  a  jester  springing  his 
rattle,  they  began  their  speech,  but  were 
sadly  discomfited  by  a  wrong  calculation  or 
a  mismanagement  of  the  firing.  Instead  of 
occupying  only  half  an  hour,  it  was  not  fin- 
ished for  an  hour  and  a  lialf,  and  the  poor 
orators  were  so  overcome  with  heat  and  the 
fine  dust  which  liovered  about,  that  toward 
the  end  of  the  time  they  were  nearly  choked, 
and  could  hardly  get  out  short  sentences,  at 
long  intervals,  from  their  parched  throats. 
'■  There  will  be  stick  for  this,"  remarks  Cap- 
tain Burton. 

Stick,  indeed,  is  administered  very  freely, 
and  the  highest  with  the  lowest  are  equally 
liable  to  it.  On  one  occasion  some  of  the 
chief  officers  of  the  court  did  not  make  their 
appearance  exactly  at  the  proper  time.  The 
king  considered  that  this  conduct  was  an 
usurpation  of  the  royal  prerogative  of  mak- 
ing every  one  else  wait,  whereas  they  had 
absolutely  made  him  wait  for  them.  So,  as 
soon  as  they  appeared,  he  ordered  the  Ama- 
zons to  take  their  bamboos  and  beat  them 
out  of  the  court,  a  connuand  which  they 
executed  with  desjiatch  and  vigor.  The 
beaten  ministers  did  not,  however,  seem  to 
resent  their  treatment,  but  sat  cowering  at 
the  gate  in  abject  submission. 

After  occupying  several  days  in  this  feast- 
ing and  speech-making  and  boa.sting.  the 
king  proceeded  to  the  last  act  of  the  Cus- 
toms. Having  resumed  his  place  at  the 
velvet-covered  table,  he  filled  his  glass  with 


656 


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rum,  and  drank  \;-ith  his  visitors  to  the 
hualth  of  his  lather's  ghost,  who.  bj-  the  way, 
had  been  seen  bathing  in  the  sea,  and  luid 
received  two  slaves,  sacrificed  in  order  to 
tell  liim  that  liis  son  was  pleased  at  his  visit. 
After  a  few  uninijiortant  ceremonies,  he 
])Oured  a  little  rum  on  the  ground,  and, 
dashing  his  glass  to  pieces  on  the  table,  rose 
and  left  the  tent.  His  attendants  followed 
liis  example,  and  smashed  everything  to 
pieces,  even  including  the  tables;  this  act 
probably  accounting  for  the  very  mean  and 
rickety  conilition  of  the  royal  furniture. 
With  this  general  smash  the  Customs  termi- 
nated, much  to  the  relief  of  the  visitors. 

Marriages  among  the  Dahomans  are  an 
odd  compound  of  simplicity  and  complexity. 
The  bridegroom  commences  his  suit  % 
sending  a  couple  of  friends  to  the  father  of 
the  intended  bride,  and  furnishes  them  with 
a  doubly  potent  argument  in  the  shape  of 
two  bottles  of  rum.  Should  the  father  ap- 
prove of  the  proposition,  he  graciously 
drinks  the  rum,  and  sends  back  the  emjity 
bottles  —  a  token  that  he  accepts  the  pro- 
posal, and  as  a  delicate  hint  that  he  would 
like  some  more  rum.  The  ha]ipy  man  takes 
the  hint,  tills  the  bottles,  sends  them  to  the 
father,  together  with  a  present  for  the  young 
lady;  and  then  nothing  more  is  required 
except  to  name  the  amount  of  payment 
which  is  demanded  for  the  girl.  Cloth  is 
the  chief  article  of  barter,  and  a  man  is 
sometimes  occupied  for  two  or  three  years 
in  procuring  a  sufficient  quantitj-. 

At  last  the  day  —  always  a  Sunday  —  is 
settled,  and  more  bottles  of  rum  are  sent 
by  the  bridegroom's  messengers,  who  bring 
the  liride  in  triumph  to  her  future  home, 
followed  by  all  her  familj'  and  friends. 
Then  comes  a  general  feast,  at  which  it  is 
a  point  of  honor  to  consume  as  much  as 
possible,  and  it  is  not  until  after  midnight 
that  the  bride  is  definitely  handed  over  to 
her  husband.  The  feast  being  over,  the 
bridegroom  retires  into  his  house  and  seats 
himself.  Se\'eral  fetish  women  lead  in  the 
bride  liy  her  wrists,  and  present  her  in  sol- 
emu  form,  telling  them  both  to  behave  well 
to  each  other,  but  recommending  him  to 
flog  her  well  if  she  displeases  him.  'Another 
two  or  three  hours  of  drinking  then  follows, 
and  about  3  or  4  a.m.  the  "fetish  women 
retire,  and  the  actual  marriage  is  supposed 
to  be  completed. 

Next  morning  the  husband  sends  more 
rum  and  some  heads  of  cowries  to  the  girl's 
parents  as  a  token  that  he  is  satisfied, 
and  after  a  week  the  bride  returns  to  her 
lather's  house,  where  she  remains  for  a  day 
or  two,  cooking,  however,  her  husljand's 
food  and  sending  it  to  Iiim.  On  the  day 
when  she  returns  home  another  feast  is 
held,  and  then  she  subsides  into  the  semi- 
servile  state  which  is  the  normal  condition 
of  a  wife  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
savage  Africa. 


"We  now  come  to  the  religion  of  Daliome, 
which,  as  may  be  imagined  from  tlu-  pre- 
vious narrative,  is  of  a  very  low  character, 
and  has  been  curtl}'  summarized  by  Captain 
Burton  in  the  following  sentence:  — "  Afri- 
cans, as  a  rule,  worship  everything  exci'pt 
the  Creator."  As  the  contact  of  the  Daho- 
mans with  the  white  men  and  with  the 
Moslems  has  jjrobably  engrafted  foreign 
ideas  in  the  native  mind,  it  is  not  very  ea.sy 
to  find  out  the  exact  nature  of  their  religion, 
but  the  following  account  is  a  .short  alistract 
of  the  result  of  Captain  Burton's  investiga- 
tion. 

He  states  that  the  reason  why  the  natives 
do  not  worship  the  Creator  is  tluit.  ahhough 
they  acknowledge  the  fact  of  a  siqireme 
Deity,  they  think  that  lie  is  too  great  and 
high  to  trouble  Himself  about  the  atfairs  of 
mankind,  and  in  consequence  they  do  not 
trouble  themselves  by  paying  a  worslrip 
which  they  think  would  l)e  "fruitless.  Their 
devotion,  such  as  it  is,  expends  itself  there- 
fore upon  a  host  of  minor  deities,  all  con- 
nected with  some  material  object. 

First  we  have  the  principal  deities,  who 
are  ranked  in  distinct  classes.  The  most 
important  is  the  Snake  god,  who  has  a 
thousand  snake  wives,  and  is  represented 
by  the  Danhglnve,  wdiich  has  already  l)(!eu 
mentioned.  Next  in  order  come  the  Tree 
gods,  of  which  the  silk-cotton  (Bomhri.r)  is 
the  most  powerful,  and  has  the  same  num- 
ber of  wives  as  the  Danhgbwe.  It  has, 
however,  a  rival  in  the  Ordeal,  or  jioison 
tree. 

The  last  of  these  groups  is  the  sea.  This 
deity  is  represented  at  Whydah  by  a  very 
great  priest,  who  ranks  as  a  king,  and  has 
five  hundred  wives  in  virtue  of  his  repre- 
sentative office.  At  stated  times  he  visits 
the  shore  to  pay  his  respects,  and  to  throw 
into  the  waves  his  oft'erings  of  beads,  cowi-ies, 
cloth,  and  other  valuables.  Now  and  then 
the  king  sends  a  human  sacrifice  from  the 
capital.  He  creates  the  victim  a  Cal)oeeer, 
gives  him  the  state  uniform  and  umbrella  of 
Ills  short-lived  rank,  ]iuls  him  in  a  gorgeous 
hammock,  and  sends  him  in  great  pomp  and 
state  to  Whydah.  As  soon  as  he  arrives 
there,  the  priest  takes  him  out  of  his  liam- 
mock  and  transfers  him  to  a  canoe,  takes 
him  out  to  sea,  and  fiings  him  into  the  water, 
where  he  is  instantly  clevoured  by  the  ex- 
pectant sharks. 

Lately  a  fourth  group  of  superior  deities 
has  been  added,  under  the  name  of  the 
Thunder  gods.  In  connection  with  the 
woi-ship  of  this  deity  is  found  the  only  ap- 
proach to  cannibalism  which  is  known  to 
exist  in  Dahome.  When  a  man  has  been 
killed  by  lightning,  burial  is  not  lawful,  and 
the  body  is  therefore  laid  on  a  platform  and 
cut  up  by  the  women,  Avho  hold  the  pieces  of 
flesh  in  their  mouths,  and  pretend  to  eat 
them,  calling  out  to  the  passengers,  "  We 
sell  you  meat,  fine  meat;  come  and  buy  I" 


THE  FETISHERS. 


687 


After  these  groups  of  superior  deities 
come  a  host  of  inferior  gods,  too  nuiiierous 
to  mention.  One,  liowever,  is  too  cm-ioiis  to 
be  omitted.  It  is  a  man's  own  head,  wliicli 
is  considered  a  very  powerfnl  fetish  in 
Dahome.  An  engraving  on  the  595th  page 
illnstrates  this  strange  worship,  which  is  as 
follows :  — 

"  The  head  worshipper,  after  providing  a 
fowl,  kola  nuts,  rum,  and  water,  bathes, 
dresses  in  pure  white  baft,  and  seats  him- 
self on  a  clean  mat.  An  old  woman,  with 
her  medius  finger  dipped  in  water,  touches 
successively  his  forehead,  poll,  nape,  and 
mid-breast,  sometimes  all  his  joints.  She 
then  breaks  a  kola  into  its  natural  divisions, 
throws  them  down  like  dice,  chooses  a  lucky 
piece,  which  she  causes  a  bystander  to  chew, 
and  with  his  saliva  retouches  the  parts  be- 
fore alluded  to. 

"  The  fowl  is  then  killed  by  pulling  its 
body,  the  neck  being  held  between  the  big 
and  first  toe;  the  same  attouchemeiits  are 
performed  with  its  head,  and  finally  with 
the  boiled  and  shredded  flesh  before  it  is 
eaten.  Meanwhile  rum  and  water  are 
drunk  by  those  present." 

The  fetishers,  or  priests,  are  chosen  by 
reason  of  a  sort  of  ecstatic  fit  which  comes 
U])on  them,  and  which  causes  them  at  last  to 
fall  to  the  ground  insensible.  One  of  the 
older  priests  awaits  the  return  of  the  senses, 
and  then  tells  the  neophyte  what  particular 
fetish  has  come  to  him.  He  is  then  taken 
away  to  the  college,  or  fetish  part  of  the  town 
where  he  learns  the  mysteries  of  his  calling, 
and  is  instructed  for  several  years  in  the 
esoteric  language  of  the  priests,  a  language 
which  none  butthemselves  can  understand. 
If  at  the  end  of  the  novitiate  he  should  re 
turn  to  his  former  home,  he  speaks  nothing 
but  this  sacred  language,  and  makes  it  a 
point  of  honor  never  to  utter  a  sentence  that 
any  member  of  the  household  can  under- 
stand. 

When  a  man  is  once  admitted  into  the 
ranks  of  the  fetishes,  his  subsistence  is  pro- 
vided for,  whether  he  be  one  of  the  "  regu- 
lars," who  have  no  other  calling,  and  who 
live  entirely  upon  the  presents  which  they 
obtain  from  those  who  consult  them,  or 
whether  he  retains  some  secular  trade,  and 
only  acts  the  fetisher  when  the  fit  hapjiens 
to  come  on  him.  They  distinguish  them- 
selves by  various  modes  of  dress,  such  as 
shaving  half  the  beard,  carrying  a  cow-tail 
flapper,  or  wearing  the  favorite  mark  of  a 
fetisher,  namely,  a  belt  of  cowries  strung 
back  to  back,  each  pair  being  separated  by  a 
single  black  seed. 

The  fetish  women  greatly  outnumber  the 
men,  nearly  one-fourth  belonging  to  this 
order.  They  are  often  destined  to  this  ca- 
reer before  their  birth,  and  are  married  to 
the  fetish  before  they  see  the  light  of  day. 
They  also  take  human  spouses,  but,  from  all 
accounts,  the  life  of  the  husband  is  not  the 


most  agreeable  in  the  world.  The  women 
spend  their  mornings  in  going  about  beg- 
ging for  cowries.  In  the  afternoon  she  goes 
with  her  sisters  into  the  fetish  house,  and 
puts  on  her  otticial  dress.  The  whole  party 
then  sally  out  to  the  squares,  where  they 
drum  and  sing  and  dance  and  lash  them- 
selves into  fits  of  raving  ecstasy.  This  lasts 
for  a  few  hours,  when  the  women  assume 
their  ordinary  costumes  and  go  home. 

It  is  illegal  for  any  fetisher  to  Ije  assaulted 
while  the  fetish  is  on  them,  and  so  the 
women  always  manage  to  shield  themselves 
from  their  husband's  wrath  by  a  fetish  fit 
whenever  he  becomes  angry,  and  threatens 
the  stick. 

As  to  the  position  of  the  human  soul  in 
the  next  world,  they  believe  that  a  man 
takes  among  the  sjnrits  the  same  rank  which 
he  lield  among  men;  so  that  a  man  who  dies 
as  a  king  is  a  king  to  all  eternity,  while  he 
who  is  a  slave  when  he  dies  can  never  be  a 
free  man,  but  must  be  the  property  of  some 
wealthy  ghost  or  other. 

Visiting  the  world  of  spirits  is  one  of  the 
chief  employments  of  the  fetish  men,  who 
are  always  ready  to  make  the  journey  when 
paid  for  their  trouble.  They  are  often  called 
upon  to  do  so,  for  a  Dahoman  who  feels  un- 
well or  out  of  spirits  always  fancies  that  his 
deceased  relatives  are  calling  for  him  tojoin 
them,  a  request  which  he  feels  most  unwill- 
ing to  grant.  So  he  goes  to  his  favorite 
fetisher,  and  gives  him  a  dollar  to  descend 
into  the  spirit  world  and  present  his  excuses 
to  his  friends.  The  fetisher  covers  himself 
with  his  cloth,  lies  down,  and  falls  into 
a  trance,  and,  when  he  recovers,  he  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  the  conversation  which 
has  taken  place  between  himself  and  the 
friends  of  his  client.  Sometimes  he  brings 
back  a  rare  bead  or  some  otlier  object,  as 
]iroof  that  he  has  really  delivered  the  mes- 
sage and  received  the  answer.  The  whole 
proceeding  is  strangely  like  the  ceremonies 
performed  by  the  medicine  men  or  Auge- 
koks  among  the  Esquimaux. 

It  is  a  strange  thing  that,  in  a  country 
where  human  life  is  sacrificed  so  freely,  a 
sort  of  inquest  takes  place  after  every  death. 
The  reason  for  this  custom  is  rather  curious. 
The  king  reserves  to  himself  the  right  of 
life  and  death  over  his  sulijects,  and  any  one 
who  kills  another  is  supposed  to  have  usurped 
the  royal  privilege. 

As  "soon  as  death  takes  place,  notice  is 
sent  to  the  proper  officers,  called  Gevi,  who 
come  and  inspect  the  body,  receiving  as  a 
fee  a  head  and  a  half  of  cowries.  When 
they  have  certified  that  the  death  was  nat- 
ural, the  relatives  begin  their  mourning, 
during  which  they  may  not  eat  nor  wash, 
but  may  sing  as  much  as  they  please,  ami 
drink  as  much  rum  as  they  can  get.  A  cof- 
fin is  prepared,  its  size  varying  according  to 
the  rank  of  the  deceased  person;  the  corpse 
is  clothed  in  its  ^as*  attire,  decorated  wi<.h 


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DAHOME. 


oruanionts,  and  a  change  of  raiment  is  laid 
in  tlie  cotlin,  to  be  worn  when  tlie  deceased 
fairly  reaches  the  land  of  spirits.  The  very 
poor  are  unable  to  obtain  a  coffin,  and  a 
wrapper  of  matting  is  deemed  sufficient  in 
such  cases. 

The  grave  is  dug  in  rather  a  peculiar 
manner,  a  cavern  being  excavated  on  one 
side,  the  coffin  being  first  lowered  and  then 
pushed  sideways  into  the  cave,  so  that  the 
earth  immediately  above  is  undisturbed. 
After  the  grave  is  tilled  in,  the  earth  is 
smoothed  with  water.  Over  the  grave  of  a 
man  in  good  circumstances  is  placed  a  ves- 
sel-shaped iron,  into  which  is  poured  water 
or  blood  by  wav  of  drink  for  the  deceased. 
Formerly  a  rich  man  used  to  have  slaves 
buried  with  him,  but  of  late  years  only  the 
two  chiefs  of  the  king  are  allowed  to  sacri- 
fice one  slave  at  death,  they  being  supposed 
not  to  need  as  many  attendants  in  the  next 
world  as  if  they  had  been  kings  of  Daliome 
in  this. 

As  soon  as  the  king  dies,  his  wives  and  all 
the  women  of  the  palace  begin  to  smash 
everything  that  comes  in  their  way,  exactly 
as  has  been  related  of  the  concluding  scene 
of  the  Customs;  and,  when  they  have  broken 
all  the  furniture  of  the  palace," they  begin  to 
turn  their  destructive  fury  upon  each  other, 
so  that  at  the  death  of  Agagoro  it  was  calcu- 
lated that  several  hundred  women  lost  their 
lives  within  the  palace  walls  merely  in  this 
fight,  those  sacrificed  at  the  succeeding  Cus- 
toms being  additional  victims.  This  blood- 
thirsty rage  soon  extends  beyond  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  palace,  and  Captain  Burton, 
who  has  done  so  much  in  contradicting  the 
exaggerated  tales  of  Dahoraan  bloodshed 
that  have  been  so  widely  circulated,  ac- 
knowledges that,  however  well  a  white 
stranger  may  be  received  at  Agbome,  his 
life  would  be  in  very  great  danger  were  he 
to  remain  in  the  capital  when  the  king  died. 

Even  with  the  termination  of  the  Customs 
the  scenes  of  blood  do  not  end.  Next 
comes  the  ''  water-sprinkling,"  i.  e.  the 
graves  of  the  kings  must  be  sprinkled  with 
•'  water,"  the  Dahoman  euphemism  for 
blood.  Of  late  years  the  number  of  hu- 
man victims  sacrificed  at  each  grave  has 
been  reduced  to  two,  the  requisite  amount  of 
"  water  "  being  supplied  by  various  animals. 

Before  each  tomb  the  king  kneels  on  all 
fours,  accompanied  by  his  chiefs  and  cap- 
tains, while  a  female  priest,  who  must  be  of 
royal  descent,  makes  a  long  oration  to  the 
spirit  of  the  deceased  ruler,  asking  him  to 
aid  his  descendant  and  to  give  success  and 
prosperity  to  his  kingdom.  Libations  of  rum 
and  pure  water  are  then  poured  upon  each 
grave,  followed  by  the  sacrificial  "  water," 
which  flows  from  the  throats  of  the  men, 
oxen,  goats,  pigeons,  and  other  victims. 
Kola  nuts  and  other  kinds  of  food  are  also 
brought  as  offerings. 

The  flesh  of  tlie  animals  is  then  cooked, 


together  with  the  vegetables,  and  a  feast  is 
held,  the  stool  of  the  deceased  ruler  being 
placed  on  the  table  as  an  emblem  of  his 
presence.  All  the  Dahoman  kings  are 
buried  within  the  walls  of  the  palace,  a 
house  being  erected  over  each  grave.  Dur- 
ing the  water  sprinkling,  or  "  Sin-quain," 
custom,  the  king  goes  to  each  house  sei)a- 
rately,  and  sleeps  in  it  for  five  or  six  nights, 
so  as  to  put  himself  in  conununiou  with  the 
spirits  of  his  predecessors. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  the  kings 
who  formerly  ruled  Dahome  are  still  sup- 
posed to  hold  royal  rank  in  the  spirit  world, 
and  the  prevalence  of  the  custom  shows 
that  this  belief  in  the  dead  is  strong  enough 
to  exercise  a  powerful  influence  over  the  liv- 
ing. 

We  have  now  very  briefly  glanced  at  the 
Dahoman  in  peace,  in  war,  in  religion,  in 
death,  and  in  burial.  He  is  not  a  pleasant 
subject,  and,  though  the  space  which  hasbeen 
given  to  him  is  much  too  small  to  aflbrd 
more  than  outline  of  his  history,  it  would 
have  been  more  restricted  but  for  the  fact 
that  the  Dahoman  is  an  excellent  type  of  the 
true  negro  of  Western  Africa,  and  that  a 
.somewhat  detailed  description  of  him  will 
enable  us  to  dismiss  many  other  negro  tribes 
with  but  a  passing  notice. 

Moreover,  as  the  kingdom  of  Dahome  is 
fast  failing,  and  all  the  strange  manners  and 
customs  Avhich  have  been  mentioned  will 
soon  be  only  matters  of  history,  it  was 
necessary  to  allot  rather  more  space  to  them 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case. 
The  general  character  of  the  Dahoman  has 
been  so  tersely  summed  up  by  Captain  Bur- 
ton, that  oiu-  history  of  Dahome  cannot  have 
a  better  termination  than  the  words  of  so 
competent  an  authority. 

'•  The  modern  Dahomans  are  a  mongrel 
breed  and  a  bad.  They  are  Cretan  liars, 
cretins  at  learning,  cowardly,  and  therefore 
cruel  and  bloodthirsty;  gamblers,  and  con- 
sequently cheaters;  brutal,  noisy,  boister- 
ous, unvenerative,  and  disobedient;  '  dipsas- 
bitten '  things,  who  deem  it  duty  to  the 
gods  to  be  drunk;  a  flatulent,  self-conceited 
herd  of  barbarians,  who  endeavor  to  hu- 
miliate all  those  with  whom  they  deal;  in 
fact,  a  slave-race,  —  vermin  with  a  soul 
apiece. 

"  They  pride  themselves  in  not  being,  like 
the  Po]ios,  addicted  to  the  '  dark  and  dirty 
crime  of  poison,'  the  fact  being  that  they  have 
been  enabled  hitherto  to  carry  everything 
with  a  high  and  violent  hand.  They  are 
dark  in  skin,  the  browns  being  of  xanthous 
temperament,  middle-sized,  slight,  and  very 
lightly  made.  My  Krumen  looked  like  Eng- 
lishmen among  them.  In  all  wrestling  bouts 
my  Krumen  tlirew  the  hammock  bearers  on 
their  heads,  and  on  one  occasion,  during  a 
kind  of  party  flght,  six  of  them,  with  fists 
and  sticks,  lield  their  own  against  twenty 
Dahomans. 


SUMMARY  OF  DAHOMAN  CHAEACTER. 


589 


"  They  are  agile,  good  walkers,  and  hard 
dancers,  but  carry  little  weight.  Their  dress 
is  a  godo,  or  T  bandage,  a  nun-pwe  (under- 
cloth)  or  a  Tfon  chokoto  (pair  of  short 
drawers),  and  an  owu-cliyon,  or  body-cloth, 
twelve  feet  long  by  four  to  six  broad,  worn 
like  the  Roman  toga,  from  which  it  may  pos- 
sibly be  derived. 

"The  women  are  of  the  Hastini,  or  ele- 
phant order,  dark,  plain,  masculine,  and 
comparatively  .S)ieaking  of  large,  strong,  and 
square  build.  They  are  the  reapers  as  well 
as  the  sowers  of  the  field,  and  can  claim  I 


the  merit  of  laboriousness,  if  of  no  other 
quality. 

"  They  tattoo  the  skin,  especially  the 
stomach,  with  alto-relievo  patterns;  their 
dress  is  a  zone  of  beads,  supporting  a  baud- 
age  beneath  the  do-oo,  or  scanty  loin  cloth, 
which  sufltices  for  the  poor  and  young  girls. 
The  upper  classes  add  an  aga-oo,  or  over- 
cloth,  two  fathoms  long,  passed  under  the 
arms,  and  covering  all  from  the  bosom  to  the 
ancles.  Neither  sex  wear  either  shirt,  shoes, 
or  stockings." 


CHAPTER  LVm 


THE  EGBAS. 


THE  EGBA  TRIBE  —  A  BLACK    BISHOP  —  GEKERAL    APPEAKANCE    OF  THE    EGBAS  —  THEIR  TRIBAI.  MARK 

—  TATTOO  OP  THE  BREECHEE  OR  GENTLEMEN  —  SIGfTIFICATION  OF  ORNAMENTS  —  MODE  OF  SAL- 
UTATION—  EGBA  ARCHITECTURE  —  SUBDIVISION  OF    LABOR  —  AEEOKUTA  AND  ITS  FORTIFICATIONS 

—  FEUD  BETWEEN  THE  EGBAS  AND  DAHOMANS  —  VARIOUS  SKIRJnSHES  AND  BATTLES,  AND  THEIR 
RESULTS — THE  GRAND  ATTACK  ON  ABEOKUTA  —  REPULSE  OF  THE  DAHOMAN  ARMY  —  RELIGION 
OF  THE  EGBAS  —  THE  SYSTEM  OF  OOEONI  —  MISCELLANEOUS  SITPERSTITIONS  AND  SUPPLEMENT  ART 
DEITIES — EGUGUN  AND  HIS  SOCIAL  DUTIES  —  THE  ALAK^,  OR  KING  OP  THE  EGBAS  —  A  RECEP- 
TION AT  COURT — APPEARANCE  OF  THE  ATTENDANTS. 


We  are  naturally  led  from  Daliome  to  its 
powerful  aud  now  victorious  enemy,  the 
JEgba  tribe,  which  has  perhaps  earned  the 
right  to  be  considered  as  a  nation,  and 
which  certainly  has  as  much  right  to  that 
title  as  Dahonie. 

The  Egbas  have  a  peculiar  claim  on  our 
notice.  Some  years  ago  an  Egba  boy 
named  Ajai  (i.  e.  "  struggling  for  life ") 
embraced  Christianity,  and,  after  many 
years   of   trial,   was    ordained   deacon    and 

Eriest  in  the  Church  of  England.  Owing  to 
is  constitution  he  was  enabled  to  work 
where  a  white  man  would  have  been  pros- 
trated by  disease  ;  and,  owing  to  his  origin, 
he  was  enabled  to  understand  the  peculiar 
temperament  of  his  fellow  negroes  better 
than  any  white  man  could  hope  to  do.  His 
influence  gradually  extended,  and  he  was 
held  in  the  highest  esteem  throughout  the 
whole  of  Western  Africa.  His  widely  felt 
influence  was  at  last  so  thoroughly  recog- 
nized, tliat  he  was  consecrated  to  the  epis- 
copal office,  and  now  the  negro  boy  Ajai  is 
known  as  the  Right  Rev.  Samuel  Crow- 
ther,  D.  D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  the  Niger. 

As  far  as  their  persons  go,  the  Egljas  are 
a  fine  race  of  men,  varying  much  in  color 
according  to  the  particular  locality  which 
they  inhabit.  The  skin,  for  example,  of  the 
Egba-do,  or  lower  Egba,  is  of  a  coppery 
black,  and  that  of  the  chiefs  is,  as  a  rule, 
fairer  than  that  of  the  common  people. 
Even  the  hair  of  the  chiefs  is  lighter  than 
that  of  the  common  folk,  and  sometimes 
assumes  a  decidedly  sandy  hue. 


The  men,  while  in  the  prime  of  life,  are 
remarkable  for  the  extreme  beauty  of  their 
forms  aud  'the  extreme  ugliness  of  their 
features  ;  and,  as  is  mostly  the  case  in  un- 
civilized Africa,  the  woman  is  in  .symme- 
try of  form  far  inferior  to  the  man,  and 
where  one  well-developed  female  is  seen, 
twenty  can  be  found  of  the  opposite  sex. 

Whatever  may  be  the  exact  color  of  tho 
Egba's  skin,  it  exhales  that  peculiar  and 
indescribable  odor  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  the  negro  races  ;  and,  althougli  the 
slight  clothing,  the  open-air  life,  and  the 
use  of  a  rude  palm-oil  soap  prevent  that 
odor  from  attaining  its  full  power,  it  is  still 
perceptible.  The  lips  are  of  course  large 
and  sausage-shaped,  the  lower  part  of  the 
face  protrudes,  and  the  chin  recedes  to  an 
almost  incredible  extent,  so  as  nearly  to 
deprive  the  countenance  of  its  human  char- 
acter. The  hair  is  short,  crisp,  and  often 
grows  in  the  little  peppercorn  tufts  that 
have  been  already  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  Bosjesman  race  of  Southern  Africa. 
The  men  dress  this  scanty  crop  of  hair  in  a 
thousand  different  ways,  shaving  it  into  pat- 
terns, and  thus  producing  an  eftect  which,  to 
the  eye  of  an  European,  is  irresistibly  ludi- 
crous. The  women  contrive  to  tease  it  out 
to  its  full  length,  and  to  divide  it  into  ridgea 
running  over  the  crown  from  the  forehead 
to  the  nape  of  the  neck,  preserving  a  clean 
parting  between  each  ridge,  and  so  making 
the  head  look  as  if  it  were  covered  with 
the  half  of  a  black  melon.  The  skin  of  the 
common    people  is  haid  and  coarse,  —  so 


(590) 


THE  TRIBAL   MAEK. 


591 


coarse  indeed  that  Captain  Bui'ton  com- 
pares it  to  shagreen,  and  says  tliat  the  hand 
of  a  slave  looks  very  like  the  foot  of  a 
fowl. 

As  to  the  dress  of  the  Egbas,  when  un- 
contaminated  by  pseudo-civilization,  it  is  as 
easily  described  as  procured.  A  poor  man 
has  nothing  but  a  piece  of  cloth  round  his 
■waist,  while  a  man  in  rather  better  circum- 
stances adds  a  pair  of  short  liucu  drawers  or 
trousers,  called  "  shogo,"  and  a  wealthy  man 
wears  both  the  loin  cloth  and  the  drawers, 
and  adds  to  them  a  large  cloth  wrapped 
gracefidly  round  the  waist,  and  another 
draped  over  the  shoulders  like  a  Scotch 
plaid.  The  cloths  are  dyed  by  the  makers, 
blue  being  the  usual  color,  and  the  patterns 
being  mostly  stripes  of  lesser  or  greater 
width. 

Women  have  generally  a  short  and  scanty 
petticoat,  above  which  is  a  large  cloth  that 
extends  from  the  waist  downward,  and  a 
third  which  is  wrapped  shawl-wise  over  the 
shoulders.  The  men  and  women  who  care 
much  about  dress  dye  their  hands  and  feet 
with  red  wood.  Formerl}',  this  warlike  race 
used  to  arm  themselves  with  Ijows  and 
arrows,  which  have  now  been  almost  wholly 
superseded  by  the  ''  trade  gun."  Even  now 
every  man  carries  in  his  hand  the  universal 
club  or  knob-kerrie,  which,  among  the  Eg- 
bas, has  been  modified  into  a  simple  hooked 
stick  bound  with  iron  wire  in  order  to 
increase  the  strength  and  weight,  and 
studded  with  heavy  nails  along  tlie  con- 
vex side.  Weapons  of  a  similar  nature  are 
used  at  Dahome  for  clubbing  criminals  to 
death. 

According  to  savage  ideas  of  beauty,  these 
people  tattoo  themselves  profusely,  covering 
their  bodies  with  marks  which  must  at  some 
time  have  been  produced  by  very  painful 
operations,  and  which,  from  their  diversity, 
serve  to  perplex  observers  who  have  not 
had  time  to  examine  them  minutely,  and  to 
classify  their  wearer. 

According  to  Captain  Burton,  "  the  skin- 
patterns  were  of  every  variety,  from  the 
diminutive  prick  to  the  great  gash  and  the 
large  boil-like  lumps.  They  affected  various 
figures  —  tortoises,  alligators,  and  the  favor- 
ite lizard;  stars,  concentric  circles,  lozenges, 
right  lines,  welts,  gouts  of  gore,  marble  or 
button-like  knobs  of  flesh,  and  elevated  scars, 
resembling  scalds,  which  are  opened  for  the 
introduction  of  fetish  medicines,  and  to  ex- 
pel evil  influences. 

"In  this  country  every  tribe,  sub-tribe, 
and  even  family,  has  its  blazon,  whose  infi- 
nite diversifications  m.ay  be  compared  with 
the  lines  and  ordinaries  of  European  her- 
aldry. A  volume  would  not  suffice  to  ex- 
plain all  the  marks  in  detail.  Oguliouna's 
family,  for  instance,  have  three  small  squares 
of  blue  tattoo  on  each  cheek,  combined  with 
the  three  Egba  cuts. 

"  The  chief  are  as  follows :  —  The  distin- 


guishing mark  of  the  Egbas  is  a  gridiron  of 
three  cuts,  or  a  multiplication  of  three,  on 
each  cheek.  Free-born  women  have  one, 
two,  or  three  raised  lines,  thread-like  scars, 
from  the  wrist  up  the  back  of  the  arm,  and 
down  the  dorsal  region,  like  long  neck- 
laces. They  call  these  '  Entice  my  hus- 
band.' 

"  The  Yorubas  draw  perpendicular  marks 
from  the  temples  to  the  level  of  the  chin, 
with  slight  lateral  incisions,  hardly  percep- 
tible, because  allowed  soon  to  heal.  The 
Efons  of  Kakanda  wear  a  lilue  patch,  some- 
times highly  developed,  from  the  cheek- 
bones to  the  ear.  The  Takpas  of  Nupfe 
make  one  long  cut  from  the  ujiper  part  of 
the  nostril,  sweeping  toward  the  ear.  At 
Ijasha,  a  country  lying  east  of  Yoruba 
proper,  the  tattoo  is  a  long  parallelogram 
of  seven  perpendicular  and  five  transverse 
lines." 

The  most  curious  tattoo  is  that  of  the 
Breechee  (i.  e.  gentleman),  or  eldest  son  and 
heir.  He  is  not  allowed  to  perform  any 
menial  office,  and  inherits  at  his  father's 
death  all  the  slaves,  wives,  and  children. 
Before  the  Breechee  attains  full  age,  a  slit 
is  made  across  his  forehead,  and  the  skin  is 
drawn  down  and  laid  across  the  brow,  so  as 
to  form  a  ridge  of  hard,  knotty  flesh  from 
one  temple  to  the  other.  The  severity  of  the 
operation  is  so  great  that  even  the  negro 
often  dies  from  its  effects;  but  when  he  sur. 
vives  he  is  greatly  admired,  the  unsightly 
ridge  being  looked  upon  as  a  proof  of  his 
future  wealth  and  his  actual  strength  of  con-, 
stitution. 

So  minutely  does  the  African  mind  descend 
to  detail,  that  even  the  ornaments  which 
are  worn  have  some  signification  well  un-. 
derstood  by  those  who  use  them.  Rings  o( 
metal  are  worn  on  the  legs,  ankles,  arms, 
wrists,  fingers,  and  toes;  and  round  the 
neck  and  on  the  body  are  hung  strings 
of  beads  and  other  ornaments.  Each  of 
these  ornaments  signifies  the  particular 
deity  whom  the  wearer  thinks  fit  to  wor- 
ship; and  although  the  number  of  these 
deities  is  very  great,  the  invention  of  the 
negro  has  been  found  equal  to  representing 
them  by  the  various  ornaments  which  he 
wears. 

The  same  minuteness  is  found  in  the  or- 
dinary affairs  of  life;  and,  even  in  the  regu- 
lar mode  of  uttering  a  salutation,  the  na- 
tives have  invented  avast  number  of  minutise. 
For  examjile,  it  would  be  the  depth  of  bad 
manners  to  salute  a  man  when  sitting  as  if 
he  were  standing,  or  the  latter  as  if  he  were 
walking,  or  a  third  as  if  he  were  returning 
from  walking.  Should  he  be  at  work,  an- 
other form  of  address  is  needed,  and  another 
if  he  should  be  fired.  No  less  than  fifteen 
forms  of  personal  salutation  are  mentioned 
by  Captain  Burton,  so  that  the  reader  may 
easily  imagine  how  troublesome  the  lan« 
guage  is  to  a  stranger. 


692 


THE  EGBAS. 


Then  the  forms  of  salutation  differ  as 
much  as  the  words.  If  an  inferior  meet  a 
superior,  a  son  meet  his  motiier,  a  younger 
brotlier  meet  his  elder,  and  so  on,  an  elabo- 
rate ceremony  is  performed.  Any  burden 
that  may  be  carried  is  placed  on  the  ground, 
and  the  bearer  proceeds  first  to  kneel  on  all 
fours,  then  to  prostrate  hnnself  flat  in  the 
dust,  rubbing  the  earth  with  the  forehead 
and  each  cheek  alternately.  The  next  pro- 
cess is  to  kiss  the  ground,  and  this  ceremony 
is  followed  by  passing  each  hand  down  the 
opposite  arm.  The  dust  is  again  kissed, 
and  not  until  then  does  the  saluter  resume 
his  feet. 

This  salutation  is  only  performed  once 
daily  to  the  same  person;  but  as  almost 
every  one  knows  every  one  whom  he  meets, 
and  as  one  of  them  must  of  necessity  be  in- 
ferior to  the  other,  a  vast  amount  of  saluta- 
tion has  to  be  got  through  in  the  course  of 
a  day.  Putting  together  the  time  occupied 
in  the  various  salutations,  it  is  calculated 
that  at  least  an  hour  is  consumed  by  every 
Eglia  in  rendering  or  receiving  homage. 
Sometimes  two  men  meet  who  are  nearly 
equal,  and  in  such  a  case  both  squat  on  the 
ground,  and  snap  their  fingers  according  to 
the  etiquette  of  Western  Africa. 

The  architecture  of  the  Egba  tribe  is 
mostly  confined  to  "  swish "  walls  and 
thatched  roofs.  A  vast  number  of  workers, 
■ —  or  rather  idlers  —  are  engaged  on  a  single 
liouse,  and  the  subdivision  of  labor  is  car- 
ried out  to  an  extreme  extent.  Indeed,  as 
Captain  Burton  quaintly  remarks,  the  Egbas 
divide  the  labor  so  much  that  the  remainder 
is  imperceptible. 

Some  of  them  dig  the  clay,  forming  thereby 
deep  pits,  which  they  never  trouble  them- 
selves to  fill  up  again,  and  whicli  become 
the  receptacles  of  all  sorts  of  filth  and  oflal. 
"Water,  in  this  wet  country,  soon  pours  into 
them,  and  sometimes  the  corpse  of  a  slave 
or  child  is  flung  into  the  nearest  pit,  to  save 
the  trouble  of  burial.  It  may  easily  be 
imagined  that  such  pits  contribute  their 
part  to  the  fever-breeding  atmosphere  of 
the  country. 

Another  gang  is  employed  in  kneading 
clay  and  rolling  it  into  balls;  and  a  third 
carries  it,  one  ball  at  a  time,  to  the  builders. 
Another  gang  puts  the  clay  balls  into  the 
squared  shape  needful  for  architectural  pur- 
poses; and  a  fifth  hands  the  shaped  clay  to 
the  sixth,  who  are  the  actual  architects. 
Yet  a  seventh  gnng  occupies  itself  in  pre- 
paring palm  leaves  and  thatch;  and  those 
who  fasten  them  on  the  roof  form  an  eighth 
gang.  Besides  these,  there  is  the  chieif  ar- 
chitect, who  by  his  plumb-line  and  level 
rectifies  and  smooths  the  walls  with  a  broad 
wooden  shovel,  and  sees  that  they  are  per- 
fectly upright. 

Three  successive  layers  of  clav  or  "  swish  " 
are  needed,  each  layer  being  allowed  to  dry 
for  a  few  days  before  the  next  is  added.     The 


builders  always  manage,  if  possible,  to  com- 
plete their  walls  by  November,  so  that 
the  dry  harmattan  of  December  may  con- 
solidate the  soft  clay,  and  render  it  as  hard 
as  concrete.  This,  indeed,  is  the  only  rea- 
son why  the  Egbas  approve  of  the  harmat- 
tan, its  cold,  dusty  breath  being  exceedingly 
injurious  to  native  constitutions. 

One  might  have  thought  that  this  elabo- 
rate subdivision  of  labor  would  have  the 
eft'ect  of  multiplying  the  working  power, 
as  is  the  case  in  Europe.  So  it  would,  if  the 
negro  worked  like  the  European,  but  that 
he  never  did,  and  never  will  do,  unless  ab- 
solutely compelled  by  a  master  of  European 
extraction.  He  only  subdivides  labor  in 
order  to  spare  himself,  and  not  with  the 
least  idea  of  increasing  the  amount  of  work 
that  he  can  do  in  a  given  time. 

The  capital  of  the  Egbas  and  their  kin- 
dred sub-tribes  is  called  Abeokuta,  a  name 
that  has  already  become  somewhat  familiar 
to  English  ears  on  account  of  the  attempts 
which  have  been  made  to  introduce  Chris- 
tianity, civilization,  and  manufactures  among 
a  pagan,  savage,  and  idle  race  of  negroes. 
The  name  of  Abeokuta  may  be  literally 
translated  as  Understone,  and  the  title  has 
been  given  to  the  place  in  allusion  to  the 
rock  or  stone  around  which  it  is  Iniilt.  The 
best  description  that  has  yet  been  given  of 
Abeokuta  is  by  Cajitain  Burton,  from  whose 
writings  the  following  i)articulars  are  gath- 
ered. 

The  city  itself  is  surrounded  with  con- 
centric lines  of  fortification,  the  outermost 
being  some  twenty  miles  in  circumference. 
These  walls  are  made  of  hardened  mud,  are 
about  five  or  six  feet  in  height,  and  have  no 
embrasures  for  guns,  an  omission  of  very 
little  importance,  seeing  that  there  are 
scarcely  any  guns  to  place  in  them,  and 
that,  if  they  were  fired,  the  defenders  would 
be  in  much  greater  danger  than  the  attack- 
ing force. 

Utterly  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of 
fortification,  the  Egbas  have  not  troubled 
themselves  to  throw  out  bastions,  or  to  take 
any  means  of  securing  a  flanking  fire,  and 
they  have  made  so  liberal  a  use  of  matting, 
poles,  and  dry  leaves  within  the  fortifica- 
tion, that  a  carcass  or  a  rocket  would  set 
the  whole  place  in  a  blaze;  and,  if  the  at- 
tacking force  were  to  take  advantage  of  the 
direction  of  the  wind,  they  might  easily  drive 
out  the  defenders  merely  by  the  smoke  and 
flames  of  their  own  burning  houses.  More- 
over the  wall  is  of  such  frail  material,  and  so 
thinly  built,  that  a  single  bag  of  powder  hung 
against  it,  and  fired,  would  make  a  breach 
that  would  admit  a  column  of  soldiers  to- 
gether with  their  field-guns.  Around  the 
inner  and  principal  wall  runs  a  moat  some 
five  feet  in  breadth,  ])artly  wet  and  partly 
dry,  and  of  so  insignificant  a  depth  that  it 
could  be  filled  up  with  a  few  fascines,  or 
even  with  a  dozen  or  so  of  dead  bodies. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  ABEOKUTA. 


593 


These  defences,  ludicrously  inefficient  as 
they  would  be  if  attacked  by  European  sol- 
diers, are  very  formidable  obstacles  to  the 
Dahoman  and  Ibadan,  against  whose  in- 
roads they  are  chiefly  built.  As  a  rule,  the 
negro  has  a  great  horror  of  attacking  a  wall, 
and,  as  has  been  proved  by  actual  conflict, 
the  Dahomans  could  make  no  im|)ression 
whatever  upon  these  rude  fortifications. 

The  real  strength  of  the  city,  however, 
lies  in  the  interior,  and  belongs  to  the  rock 
or  "  stone  "  which  gives  the  name  to  Abeo- 
kuta.  Within  the  walls,  the  place  is  broken 
up  into  granite  eminences,  caverns,  and 
forest  clumps,  which  form  natural  fortifica- 
tions, infinitely  superior  to  those  formed  by 
the  unskilful  hands  of  the  native  engineer. 
Indeed,  the  selection  of  the  spot  seems  to 
have  been  the  only  point  in  which  the 
Egbas  have  exhibited  the  least  appreciation 
of  the  art  of  warfare.  The  mode  of  fight- 
ing will  presently  be  described. 

The  city  itself  measures  some  four  miles 
in  length  by  two  in  breadth,  and  is  entered 
by  five  largo  gates,  at  each  of  wliieh  is 
placed  a  warder,  who  watches  those  who 
pass  his  gate,  and  exacts  a  toll  from  each 
passenger.  The  streets  of  Abeokuta  are 
narrow,  winding,  and  intricate,  a  mode  of 
building  which  would  aid  materially  in 
checking  the  advance  of  an  enemy  who  had 
managed  to  pass  the  outer  walls.  There 
are  several  small  market-places  here  and 
there,  and  one  of  them  is  larger  than  the 
rest,  and  called  "  Shek-pon,"  i.  e.  "  Do  the 
bachelors  good,"  because  on  every  fifth  day, 
when  the  markets  are  held,  there  is  a  great 
concourse  of  people,  and  the  single  men  can 
find  plenty  of  persons  who  will  fill  their 
pipes,  bring  them  drink,  and  cook  their 
food. 

"  These,  then,  are  my  first  impressions  of 
Abeokuta.  The  streets  are  as  narrow  and 
irregular  as  those  of  Lagos,  intersecting 
each  other  at  every  parallel  angle,  and, 
when  broad  and  shady,  we  may  be  sure  tliat 
tliey  have  been,  or  that  they  will  be  markets, 
which  are  found  even  under  the  eaves  of  the 
'  palace.'  The  sun,  the  vulture,  and  the  pig 
are  the  only  scavengers. 

"  Tlie  houses  are  of  tempered  mud  —  the 
sun-dried  brick  of  Tuta  and  Nuiio,  is  here 
unknown  —  covered  with  little  flying  roofs 
of  tliatch,  wliich  burn  with  exemjilary  speed. 
At  each  angle  there  is  a  '  Kobbi '  —  a  high, 
pharp  gable  of  an  elevation  —  to  throw  off 
the  heavy  rain.  The  form  of  the  Ijuilding 
is  the  gloomy  hollow  square,  totally  unlike 
the  circular  huts  of  the  Krumen  and  the 
Kaffirs.  It  resembles  tlie  Utum  of  the 
Arabs,  which  extending  to  Usaraga,  and 
Unyavyembe  in  Central  Intertropical  Af- 
rica, produces  the  '  Tembe,'  and  which, 
tlirough  the  '  Patio '  of  Spain,  found  its  way 
•  into  remote  Galway. 

"  There  are  courts  within  courts  for  the 
Various  subdivisions  of  the  polygamous  fam- 


ily, and  here  also  sheep  and  goats  are  staked 
down.  The  sexes  eat  alone;  every  wife  is 
a  'free-dealer,'  consequently  there  is  little 
more  unity  than  in  a  nunnery.  In  each 
patio  there  is  usually  some  central  erection 
intended  as  a  storehouse.  Into  these  cen- 
tral courts  the  various  doors,  about  four  feet 
wide,  open  through  a  veranda  or  piazza, 
where,  chimneys  being  unknown,  the  fire  is 
built,  and  where  tlie  inmates  sleep  on  mats 
spread  under  the  piazza,  or  in  the  rooms,  as 
the  fancy  takes  them.  Cooking  also  is  per- 
formed in  the  open  air,  as  tlie  coarse  earthen 
pots  scattered  over  the  surface  prove. 

"  The  rooms,  which  number  from  ten  to 
twenty  in  a  house,  are  windowless,  and  pur- 
posely kept  dark,  to  keep  out  the  sun's 
glare;  they  vary  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in 
length,  and  from  seven  to  eight  in  breadth. 
Tlie  furniture  is  simple  —  rude  cots  and 
settles,  earthen  pots  and  coarse  plates,  grass 
bags  for  cloth  and  cowries,  and  almost  inva- 
riably weapons,  especially  an  old  musket 
and  its  leathern  case  for  ammunition.  The 
number  of  inhabitants  may  vary  from  tea 
to  five  hundred,  and  often  more  in  the 
largest.  There  is  generally  but  one  single 
large  outer  door,  with  charms  suispended 
over  it." 

The  military  strength  of  Abeokuta  has 
been  tested  by  actual  warfare,  and  has  been 
found  to  be  quite  adequate  to  repel  native 
troops.  Generally,  an  African  fight  consists 
of  a  vast  amount  of  noise  attended  by  a 
very  small  amount  of  slaughter,  but  in  the 
various  attacks  of  Dahonie  on  Abeokuta  the 
feelings  of  both  parties  appear  to  have  been 
so  completely  excited  that  the  slaughter  on 
both  sides  was  really  considerable. 

The  fact  was,  that  each  party  had  a  long- 
standing grudge  against  the  other,  and 
meant  to  gratify  it.  Gezo,  the  father  of 
King  Gelele,  had  been  defeated  ignomini- 
ously  near  Abeokuta,  and  had  even  lost  his 
stool,  the  emblem  of  sovereignty.  Burning 
to  avenge  themselves,  the  Dahomans  made 
friends  with  the  inhabitants  of  Ishogga,  a 
small  town  some  fifteen  miles  to  the  south- 
west of  Abeokuta,  who  advised  their  guests 
as  to  the  particular  gate  which  it  was  best 
to  attack,  the  time  of  day  when  an  assault 
would  be  most  likely  to  succeed,  and  a  ford 
by  which  they  could  pass  the  river. 

Trusting  to  these  counsellors,  they  crossed 
the  river  at  the  ford,  which  proved  to  be  so 
bad  that  they  wetted  all  their  ammunition. 
They  made  the  attack  at  mid-day,  when 
they  were  told  that  every  one  would  be 
asleep  or  at  work  in  the  gardens,  which  are 
situated  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
city.  And  when  they  came  to  the  walls  of 
the  city  they  found  the  defenders  all  on  the 
alert,  and  ready  to  give  them  a  warm  recep- 
tion. Lastly,  they  attacked  a  gate  which 
had  been  lately  fortified,  whereas  another, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  town,  was  very 
weak,  and  might  have  been  taken  easily. 


594 


THE  EGBAS. 


Consequently,  fhey  had  to  return  to  their 
own  country,  vowing  vengeance  against 
their  treacherous  allies. 

After  Gezo's  death,  Gelele  took  up  the 
feud,  and,  after  allaying  suspicion  by  con- 
tinually proclaiming  war  against  the  Egbas, 
and  as'  invariably  staying  at  liome,  in  the 
tenth  year  he  followed  up  his  threat  with  a 
rajjid  attack  upon  Ishogga,  carried  oif  a  great 
number  of  prisoners,  and  killed  those  whom 
he  could  not  conveniently  take  away. 

Flushed  by  success,  he  determined  to 
assemble  a  large  force  and  attack  the  capi- 
tal itself.  In  March,  1851,  some  fifteen  or 
sixteen  thousand  Dahoraan  soldiers  marched 
against  Abeokuta,  and  a  fierce  fight  ensued, 
the  result  being  that  the  Dahonians  had  to 
retreat,  leaving  behind  them  some  two  thou- 
sand killed,  and  woimded,  and  prisoners. 
As  might  be  supposed,  the  Amazons,  being 
the  fiercest  fighters,  suffered  most,  while  the 
loss  on  the  Egban  side  was  comparatively 
trifling.  Ten  years  afterward,  another  ex- 
pedition marched  against  Abeokuta,  but 
never  reached  it,  small-pox  having  broken 
out  in  the  ranks,  and  frightened  the  soldiers 
homo  again. 

The  last  attack  was  fatal  to  Dahoman 
ambition.  The  Egbas,  expecting  their  foe, 
had  arranged  for  their  reception,  and  had 
driven  tunnels  through  their  walls,  so  that 
they  could  make  unexpected  sallies  on  the 
euemy.  When  the  l)ahoman  army  ap- 
peared, all  the  Egban  soldiers  were  at  their 
posts,  the  women  being  told  off  to  carry 
food  and  drink  to  the  soldiers,  while  some 
of  them  seized  swords,  and  insisted  on 
doing  duty  at  the  walls.  A  sketch  of  this 
last  fight  is  given  on  the  next  page. 

As  soon  as  the  invaders  approached,  a 
strong  sallj'  was  made,  but,  as  the  Daho- 
mans  marched  on  without  returning  the 
fire,  the  Egbas  dashed  back  again  and  joined 
their  comrades  on  the  walls.  Presently,  a 
Dahoman  cannon  was  fired,  dismounting 
itself  by  the  force  of  its  recoil,  so  as  to  be 
of  no  further  use,  and  its  report  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  impetuous  rush  at  the  walls. 
Had  the  Dahomans  only  thought  of  making 
a  breach,  or  even  of  filling  up  the  tiny  moat, 
they  might  have  had  a  chance  of  success, 
but  as  it  was  they  had  none.  The  soldiers, 
especially  the  Amazons,  struggled  gallantly 
for  some  time;  and,  if  individual  valor  could 
have  taken  the  town,  they  would  have  done 
so.  But  they  were  badly  comn.anded,  the 
officers  lost "  heart,  and  even  though  the 
soldiers  were  scaling  the  walls,  creeping 
through  the  tunnels,  and  fighting  bravely  at 
the  very  muzzles  of  the  enemy's  guns,  they 
gave  the  order  for  retreat. 

Just  at  that  time,  a  large  body  of  Egbas, 
which  had  made  xmseen  a  wide  circuit,  fell 
upon  them  in  the  rear,  and  completed  the 
rout.  All  fled  without  order,  except  the 
division  which  Gelele  himself  was  com- 
manding,   and    which    retired    with    some 


show  of  discipline,  turning  and  firing  oa 
their  adversaries,  when  pressed  too  closely, 
and  indeed  showing  what  they  could  have 
done  if  their  officers  had  known  their  busi- 
ness. 

The  Dahomans  lost  everything  that  they 
had  taken  with  them,  their  brass  guns,  a 
great  number  of  new  muskets,  and  other 
weapons  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Besides  these,  the  king  himself 
was  obliged  to  abandon  a  number  of  his 
wives  and  daughters,  his  horse,  his  precious 
sandals  with  their  golden  crosses,  his  ward- 
robe, his  carriages  of  ivhich  he  was  so 
proud,  his  provisions,  and  his  treasures  of 
coral  and  velvet.  It  was  calculated  that 
some  four  or  five  thousand  Dahomans  were 
killed  in  this  disastrous  battle,  while  some 
fifteen  hundred  prisoners  were  captured; 
the  Egbas  only  losing  forty  killed,  and  about 
one  hundred  wounded.  True  to  their  savage 
nature,  the  Egbas  cut  the  corpses  of  the 
dead  to  pieces,  and  even  the  women  who 
passed  by  the  body  of  a  Dahoman  soldier 
slashed  it  with  a  knife,  or  pelted  it  with 
stones. 

It  has  been  thought  that  the  Abeokutas 
are  comparatively  guiltless  in  blood-shed- 
ding, but  it  is  now  known  that  in  this 
respect  there  is  really  very  little  difti'rence 
between  the  three  great  nations  of  Western 
Africa,  except  that  the  destruction  of  human 
life  is  less  at  Abeokuta  than  at  Agbome,  and 
perhaps  that  the  Egbas  are  more  reticent  on 
the  subject  than  the  Ashantis  or  Dahomans. 
Even  in  Abeokuta  itself,  which  has  been 
supposed  to  be  under  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity, an  annual  human  sacrifice  takes 
place,  and  the  same  ceremony  is  performed  in 
other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  As  in  Agbome, 
when  a  human  sacrifice  is  oflored,  it  is  with 
the  intention  of  oflering  to  the  dead  that 
which  is  most  valuable  to  the  living.  The 
victim  is  enriched  with  cowries,  and  plied 
with  rum  until  he  is  quite  intoxicated,  and 
then,  after  being  charged  with  all  sorts  of 
messages  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  he  is 
solemnly  decapitated.  Victims  are  sacri- 
ficed when  great  men  die,  and  are  supposed 
to  be  sent  to  the  dead  man  as  his  attendants 
in  the  spirit  world. 

As  to  the  religion  and  .superstitions  of  the 
Egbas,  they  are  so  exactly  like  those  of  other 
Western  Africans  that  there  is  little  need  to 
mention  them.  It  only  remains  to  describe 
the  remarkable  system  called  "Ogboni." 
The  Ogboni  are  a  society  of  enormous 
power,  which  has  been  compared,  but  erro- 
neously, to  freemasonry.  Any  one  who  is 
acquainted  with  the  leading  principles  of 
freemasonry,  and  has  studied  the  mental 
condition  of  the  Egbas,  or  indeed  any  o'her 
West  African  tribe,  must  see  that  such  a 
parallel  is  ludicrously  wrong.  In  freema- 
sonry there  are  two  leading  principles,  the. 
one  being  the  unity  of  the  Creator,  and  tha 
second  the  fellowship  of  man.    Now,  as  the 


(1.)   HEAD   WUKSHIP. 
(See  page  587.) 


(2.)   THE  ATTACK  ON    AhEUKUTA. 
(See  page  594.) 


(595^ 


THE   OGBONl. 


597 


Egbas  believe  in  numberless  gods,  and  have 
the  strongest  interest  iu  slavery,  it  is  evident 
that  they  cannot  have  invented  a  system 
which  is  diametrically  opposed  to  both  these 
tenets. 

The  system  of  Ogboni  is  partly  political 
and  partly  religious.  It  may  be  entered 
by  a  naked  boy  of  ten  years  old,  pro- 
vided that  he  be  a  free-born  Egba  and  of 
good  reiHite.  The  fraternity  extends  itself 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  country  occu- 
pied by  the  Egl)as,  and  in  every  village 
there  is  a  hut  or  lodge  devoted  expressly  to 
the  use  of  the  society.  The  form  of  "this 
lodge  varies  slightly,  but  the  general  fea- 
tures are  the  same  in  all.  "  It  is  a  long  low 
building,  only  to  be  distinguished  by  the 
absence  of  loungers,  fronted  by  a  deep  and 
shady  veranda,  with  stumpy  polygonal-  clay 
pillars,  and  a  single  door,  carefully  closed. 
The  panels  are  adorned  with  iron  alto-re- 
lievos of  ultra-Egyptian  form;  snakes,  hawk- 
headed  figures,  and  armed  horsemen  in  full 
front,  riding  what  are  intended  to  be  horses 
in  profile ;  the  whole  colored  red,  black,  and 
yellow.  The  temples  of  Obatala  are  simi- 
larly decorated. 

"  The  doors  have  distinct  panels,  upon 
■which  are  seen  a  leopard,  a  fish,  a  serpent, 
and  a  land  tortoise.  Mr.  Beaveu  remarks 
that  one  of  the  carvings  was  a  female  figure, 
with  one  hand  and  one  foot,  probably  a  half 
Obatala,  or  the  female  principle  of  iSTature, 
and  the  monster  was  remarkable  for  having 
a  queue  of  very  long  hair,  with  a  ball  or 
globe  at   the  end. 

"  A  gentleman  who  had  an  opportunity  of 
ovei'looking  the  Ogboni  lodge  from  the  Ake 
church  steeple  described  it  as  a  hollow  build- 
ing with  three  courts,  of  which  the  inner- 
most, provided  with  a  single  door,  was  that 
reserved  for  the  elders,  the  holy  of  holies, 
like  the  Kadasta  Kadastan  of  the  Abyssini- 
ans.  He  considers  that  the  courts  are  in- 
tended for  the  different  degrees. 

"  The  stranger  must,  however,  be  careful 
what  he  believes  concerning  these  nnysteries. 
The  Rev.  W.  Beaven  asserts  that  the  initi- 
ated are  compelled  to  kneel  down  and  drink 
a  mixture  of  blood  and  water  from  a  hole  in 
the  earth.  The  Egbas  deny  this.  More- 
over they  charge  Mr.  Beaven  with  endeavor- 
ing to  worm  out  their  secrets  for  the  pur- 
pose of  publication.  As  all  are  pledged  to 
the  deepest  reticence,  and  as  it  would  be 
fatal  to  reveal  any  mystery,  if  any  there  be, 
we  are  hardly  likely  to  be  troubled  with 
over-information." 

The  miscellaneous  superstitions  of  the 
Egbas  ar^  very  miscellaneous  indeed.  Like 
the  Dahomans,  they  divide  their  deities  into 
different  classes,  like  the  mn,)or  and  minor 
gods  of  the  ancients,  and,  like  them,  they 
occasionally  deify  a  dead  ruler,  and  class  him 
with  the  minor  gods.  The  native  word  for 
the  greater  god  is  Ovisha,  a  title  which  is  pre- 
fixed to  the  special  names  of  those  deities. 


Thus,  Ovisha  Kla,  or  the  Great  Ovisha,  is  the 
chief  of  them.  His  sacred  emblem  or  sym- 
l)ol  is  a  ship,  and  it  was  he  who  created  the 
first  man. 

The  next  in  order  is  Shango,  who  is  evi- 
dently an  example  of  an  apotheosis,  as  he 
has  the  attributes  of  Vulcan,  Hercules, 
Tubal  Cain,  and  Jupiter  Tonans,  and  is 
said  to  have  a  palace  of  brass,  and  ten  thou- 
sand horses.  He  presides  over  lightning 
and  fire,  and,  if  tliunder  strikes  a  house,  his 
priest  rushes  into  the  hut  to  find  the  weapon 
that  Shango  has  cast,  and  is  followed  by  a 
tumultuous  mob,  who  plunder  the  dwelling 
eftectually.  Captain  Burton  saw  one  of  the 
so  called  Shango  stones,  which  was  nothing 
but  a  lump  of  while  quartz,  of  course  placed 
in  the  hut  by  the  priest. 

His  symbol  is  a  small  wooden  bat,  and  his 
worshippers  carry  a  leathern  bag,  because 
Shango  was  fond  of  predatory  wars.  If 
war  impends,  his  priest  takes  sixteen  cow- 
ries, and  fiings  them  iu  the  air,  and  those 
which  fall  with  the  opening  downward  are 
thought  to  portend  war,  while  those  which 
have  the  opening  upward  signify  peace. 
The  last  of  the  great  three  is  Ipa.  ajiparently 
an  abstractive  rather  than  an  objective  deity. 
He  is  worshipped  by  a  select  society  called 
the  "  Fathers  of  Secrets,"  into  which  none 
but  males  can  be  initiated.  His  chief  priest 
lives  on  a  mountain  at  several  daj's'  dis- 
tance from  Abeokuta,  and  close  by  his 
dwelling  is  the  sacred  palm  tree  with  six- 
teen boughs  produced  by  the  nuts  planted 
by  the  sixteen  founders  of  the  empire.  A 
second  priest  at  Abeokuta  is  called  the  King 
of  the  Groove. 

The  emblem  of  Ipa  is  a  palm  nut  with 
four  holes,  and  these  nuts  are  used  in  divi- 
nation, the  principle  being  something  like 
the  mode  of  casting  lots  witli  cowries.  Cap- 
tain Burton's  account  of  the  proceeding  is 
interesting.  "  He  counted  sixteen  nuts, 
freed  them  from  dust,  and  placed  them  in  a 
bowl  on  the  ground,  full  of  yams  half-boiled, 
crusheil,  and  covered  with  some  acid  vegeta- 
ble infusion. 

"  His  acolyte,  a  small  boy,  was  then  called, 
and  made  to  squat  near  the  bowl,  resting 
his  body  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  feet,  whicli 
were  turned  inward,  and  to  take  from  the 
fetish  man  two  or  three  bones,  seeds,  and 
shells,  some  of  which  are  of  good,  others  of 
bad  omen.  Elevating  them,  he  rested  his 
hands  on  his  knees.  The  adept  cast  the 
nuts  from  one  hand  to  the  other,  retaining 
some  in  the  left,  and,  while  manipulating, 
dropped  others  into  the  bowl.  He  then 
stooped  down,  drew  with  the  index  and 
medius  fingers  on  the  yams,  inspected  the 
nuts,  and  occasionally  referred  to  the  arti- 
cles in  the  boy's  hand." 

The  priests  of  Ipa  are  known  by  necklaces 
made  of  strings  of  beads  twisted  together, 
and  having  ten  large  white  and  green  beads 
at  some  distance  apart. 


598 


THE  EGBAS. 


Then  there  is  the  Ovislia  of  children,  one 
of  whicli  is  carried  aliout  l>y  women  who 
have  borne  twins  when  one  of  them  dies  or 
is  killed.  It  is  a  wooden  little  image,  about 
seven  or  eight  inches  in  height,  carved  into 
the  rude  semblance  of  humanity.  The 
images  are  nearly  all  made  by  some  men  at 
Lagos,  who  charge  about  three  shillings  for 
each.  Beside  all  these  deities,  which  may 
be  ranked  among  the  beneticent  class,  there 
are  evil  deities,  who  are  worshipped  by  wa}' 
of  projiitiatiou. 

iNext  come  some  semi-human  deities,  who 
serve  as  the  correctors  of  public  morals. 
The  two  chief  of  these  deities  are  Egugun 
and  Oro.  The  former  is  supposed  to  be  a 
sort  of  a  vampire,  being  a  dead  body  risen 
temporarily  from  the  grave,  and  acts  the 
same  role  as  Mumbo  Jumbo  in  another  part 
of  Western  Africa.  Egugun  makes  his 
appearance  in  the  villages,  and  very  much 
frightens  the  women,  who  either  actually 
believe  him  to  be  a  veritable  resuscitated 
corpse,  or  who  assert  that  they  believe  it,  in 
fear  of  public  opinion.  The  adult  males, 
and  oven  the  free-born  boys,  know  all  about 
Egugun,  as  is  likely,  when  the  deity  in  ques- 
tion is  personated  by  any  one  who  can  bor- 
row the  requisite  dress  from  the  fetish  man. 
Captain  Burton  once  met  Egugun  in  the 
street.  The  demon's  face  was  hidden  b}'  a 
plaited  network,  worn  like  a  maijk,  and  on 
nis  head  was  a  hood,  covered  with  streamers 
of  crimson  and  dirty  white,  which  hung 
down  to  his  waist  and  mingled  with  similar 
streamers  attached  to  his  dress.  He  wore 
on  his  breast  a  vei'y  powerful  fetish,  i.  e.  a 
penny  mirror;  and  his  feet  were  covered 
with  great  shoes,  because  Egugun  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  footless  deity. 

The  other  deity,  Oro,  has  a  wider  range 
of  duties,  his  business  being  to  attend  to 
public  morality.  He  mostly  remains  in  the 
woods,  and  but  seldom  makes  his  appear- 
ance in  public.  Oro  has  a  very  strong  voice, 
arising,  in  point  of  fact,  from  a  thin  slip  of 
wood,  about  a  foot  in  length,  which  is  tied 
firmly  to  a  stick,  and  which  produces  a  kind 
of  roaring  sound  when  properly  handled. 

He  is  supposed  to  be  unknown  to  the 
women,  who  are  not  allowed  to  be  out  of 
their  houses  whenever  the  voice  of  Oro  is 
heard.  Consequently,  about  seven  or  eight 
in  the  evening,  when  the  well-known  boom- 
ing cry  of  Oro  is  heard,  the  women  scuffle 
olf  to  their  houses,  and  the  adult  males  go 
out  into  the  streets,  and  there  is  at  once  a 
scene  of  much  excitement.  Dances  and 
tumbling,  processions  and  speech-making, 
go  on  with  vast  vigor,  while  the  Ogboni 
lodges  are  filled  with  devotees,  all  anxious 
to  be  talking  at  once,  and  every  one  giving 
his  own  opinion,  no  matter  how  absurd  it 
may  be. 

Those  who  have  been  guilty  of  moral 
offences  are  then  proclaimed  and  puui-shed; 
and  on  some  occasions  there  is  so  much 


business  to  be  done  that  the  town  is  given 
up  to  Oro  for  an  entire  day.  On  these  occa- 
sions the  women  pass  a  very  unpleasant 
time,  their  hours  of  imprisonnu-ul  being 
usually  spent  in  quarrelling  with  each  other. 
In  order  to  make  the  voice  of  Oro  more 
awful,  the  jiart  of  the  demon  is  i)layetl  by 
several  of  the  initiated,  who  go  into  the 
woods  in  various  directions,  and  by  sound- 
ing their  wooden  calls  at  the  same  time 
carry  the  idea  that  Oro  is  omnijiresent. 

Oro  does  really  act  as  a  censor  of  iniblic 
morals,  and  it  is  very  clear  that  he  is  at- 
tended by  armed  followers,  who  carry  out  a 
sort  of  rude  and  extemporized  juslice,  like 
that  which  was  exercised  by  the  "  Eegula- 
tors"  of  America,  some  fifty  or  sixty  years 
ago.  The  bodies  of  delinquents  have  been 
found  in  the  bush,  their  throats  cut  and 
their  legs  broken  by  the  spirit  in  question. 

Tile  chief,  or  king,  of  the  Egbas,  is  known 
by  the  name  of  Alake,  which  is  a  transmissi- 
ble title,  like  Pharaoh  or  Ciesar,  and  the 
whole  system  of  government  is  a  kind  of 
feudal  monarch}',  not  unlike  that  of  Eng- 
land in  the  days  of  John.  The  Alake  does 
not  reign  supreme,  like  the  King  of  Dahome 
or  Ashanti,  before  whom  the  highest  in  the 
realm  prostrate  themselves  and  roll  Iiumbly 
in  the  dust.  He  is  tranniielled  with  a  num- 
ber of  councillors  and  officers,  and  with  a 
sort  of  parliament  called  the  Bale,  which  is 
composed  of  the  headmen  or  chiefs  of  the 
\'arious  towns.  The  reader  may  remember 
that  the  King  of  Ashanti  found  that  lie  was 
in  danger  of  suffering  from  a  similar  com- 
bination, and  he  took  the  prudent  measure 
of  limiting  their  number  while  he  had  the 
power.  Tlie  Alake  has  never  done  so,  and 
in  consequence  those  who  are  nominally 
and  individually  his  servants  are  practically 
and  collectively  his  masters. 

The  Ogboni  lodges  have  also  to  be  con- 
sulted in  any  important  ]wint,  so  that  the 
private  life  of  the  Alake  of  the  Egbas  is  far 
from  being  so  agreeable  as  that  of  the  King 
of  D.ahome. 

Okekunu,  the  Alake  at  the  time  when 
Captain  J5urton  lived  in  Abeokuta,  was  an 
ill-tixvored,  petulant,  and  cunning  old  ruler. 
In  his  way,  he  was  fond  of  state,  and  de- 
lighted to  exhibit  his  so  called  power  in  a 
manner  truly  African,  displaying  an  equal 
amount  of  pageantry  and  trasliiness. 

If  he  goes  "to  pay  a  visit,  he  must  needs 
do  so  under  a  huge  pink  silk  umbrella,  at 
the  end  of  a  motley  procession.  At  the 
head  is  carried  the  sacred  emblem  of  roy- 
alty, a  wooden  stool  covered  with  coarse  red 
serge,  which  is  surrounded  by  a  jiiunber  of 
chiefs,  who  pay  the  greatest  attention  to  it. 
A  long  train  of  ragged  swordsmen  followed; 
and  last  came  the  Alake,  clothed  in  a 
"Guinea  fowl"  shirt  —  a  spotted  article  of 
some  value  —  and  a  great  red  velvet  robe 
under  which  he  tottered  along  with  much 
difficulty.    He  wears  trousers  of  good  pur- 


PEESONAL  APPEARANCE. 


599 


pie  velvet  with  a  stripe  of  gold  tinsel,  and 
ou  his  feet  are  huge  slippers,  edged  with 
monkey  skin.  On  his  head  he  wears  a  sort 
of  fez  cap  of  crimson  velvet,  the  effect  of 
whicii  is  ruined  by  a  nuniljer  of  blue  beads 
hung  fringe-wise  round  the  top.  The  string 
of  red  coral  beads  hangs  round  the  neck, 
and  a  double  bracelet  of  the  same  material 
is  wound  upon  each  wrist.  A  view  of  him 
and  his  court  may  be  found  on  the  605th 
page. 

When  he  receives  a  visitor,  he  displays 
his  grandeur  by  making  iiis  visitors  wait  for 
a  time  proijortionate  to  their  rank,  but,  in 
case  they  should  be  of  great  consequence, 
he  alleviates  the  tediousness  of  the  time  by 
sending  them  rum  and  gin,  both  of  the  very 
worst  quality;  and,  if  they  be  of  exception- 
ally high  rank,  he  will  send  a  bottle  of  liq- 
uors, i.  e.  spirits  of  wine  and  water,  well 
sweetened,  and  flavored  with  a  few  drops  of 
essential  oil. 

To  a  stranger,  the  place  presents  a  mean 
and  ugly  appearance,  and  as,  Captain  Bur- 
ton remarks,  is  as  unworthy  of  Abeokuta 
as  St.  James's  is  of  London.  It  is  a  tumble- 
down "  swish  "  house,  long  and  rambling, 
and  has  several  courts.  Along  one  side  of 
the  inner  court  runs  a  veranda,  tlie  edge 
of  which  comes  within  some  four  feet  of  the 
ground,  and  is  supported  by  huge  clay  pil- 
lars. Five  luexagonal  columns  divide  the 
veranda  into  compartments,  the  centre  of 
which  is  the  Alake's  private  room,  and  is 
kept  veiled  by  a  curtain.  The  veranda,  or 
ante-chamber,  is  filled  with  the  great  men 
of  Abeokuta,  and,  according  to  Burton's 
account,  the}'  are  the  most  villanous-looking 
set  of  men  that  can  well  be  conceived;  and 
although  he  has  seen  as  great  a  variety  of 
faces  as  any  one,  he  says  that  he  never  saw 
such  hideous  heads  and  faces  elsewhere. 

"Their  skulls  were  depressed  in  front, 


and  projecting  cocoa-nut-like  behind;  the 
absence  of  beards,  the  hideous  lines  and 
wrinkles  that  seared  and  furrowed  the 
external  parchment,  and  the  cold,  unrelent- 
ing cruelty  of  their  physiognomy  in  repose, 
suggested  the  idea  of  the  eunuch  torturers 
erst  so  common  in  Asia.  One  was  sure 
that  for  pity  or  mercy  it  would  be  as  well  to 
address  a  wounded  mandril.  The  atrocities 
which  these  ancients  have  witnessed,  and 
the  passion  which  they  have  acquired  for 
horrors,  must  have  set  the  mark  of  the 
beast  upon  their  l)rows." 

Though  the  assemblage  consisted  of  the 
richest  men  of  the  Egbas,  not  a  vestige  of 
splendor  or  wealth  appeared  about  any  of 
them,  the  entire  clothing  of  the  most  power- 
ful among  them  being  under  sixpence  in 
value.  In  fact,  they  dare  not  exhibit  wealth, 
knowing  that,  if  they  should  do  so,  it  would 
be  confiscated. 

As  for  the  Alakd  himself,  his  appearance 
was  not  much  more  prepossessing  than 
that  of  his  sulijects.  Okekunu  was  a  large, 
brawny,  and  clumsy-looking  man,  nearly 
seventy  years  of  age,  and  his  partially- 
shaven  head  did  not  add  to  his  beauty. 
Besides,  he  had  lost  all  his  upper  teeth  ex- 
cept the  canines,  so  that  his  upper  lip  sank 
into  an  unpleasant  depression.  His  lower 
teeth  were  rapidly  decaying  from  his  habit 
of  taking  snuif  negro  fashion,  by  placing  it 
between  the  lower  lip  and  the  teeth,  and,  in 
consequence  of  the  gap,  the  tip  of  his  tongue 
protruded  in  a  ver'y  disagreeable  manner. 
He  had  lost  one  eye  by  a  blow  from  a  stone, 
and,  as  he  assumed  a  semi-comatose  expres- 
sion, was  not  a  pleasant  person  to  look  at, 
and  certainly  not  very  regal  in  aspect." 

The  king  must  be  selected  from  one  of 
four  tribes,  and  both  the  present  king  and 
his  predecessor  belonged  to  the  Ake  tribe. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 


BONNY. 


THE  PKINCIPAL  TRADE  OF  EOKI^T  —  KIKd  PEPPEL  AND  HIS  HISTORY  —  THE  DEFRATTDED  EMIGRANTS — 
BIR.  READE's  INTERVIEW  WITH  PEPPEL  —  ARCHITECTURE  OF  BONNY  —  THE  JU-JU  HOUSES,  PRI- 
VATE AND  PUBLIC  —  CANNIBALISM  AT  BONNY  —  THE  JU-JU  EXECUTION  —  WHY  THE  EXECUTIONER 
DID  NOT  EAT  THE  HEAD  —  DAILY  LITE  OF  A  BONNY  GENTLEMAN — DRESS  OF  MEN  AND  WOMEN  — 
SUPERSTITIONS  —  MUMBO-JUMEO  AND  HIS  OFFICE  —  LAST  RESOURCE  OF  A  HEN-PECKED  HUSBAND 
—  A  TERRIBLE  GREGREE  AND  ITS  RESULT — THE  GREGREB  MEN  OR  MAGICIANS  —  INGENIOUS 
MODE  OF  WEAVING  THEEB  SPELLS  —  ESCAPE  OF  AN  IMPOSTOK. 


Passing  a  little  southward  along  the  west 
coast,  we  come  to  the  well-known  Bonny 
River,  formerly  the  great  slave  depot  of 
Western  Africa,  and  now  the  centre  of  the 
palm-oil  trade.  Unfortunately  there  is  as 
much  cheating  in  the  palm-oil  trade  as  in 
gold  and  ivory ;  the  two  latter  being  plugged, 
and  the  former  mixed  with  sand,  so  that  it 
has  to  be  boiled  down  before  it  can  be  sent 
from  the  coast. 

Bonny  is  familiar  to  English  ears  on  ac- 
count of  the  yellow-black  chief  who  was 
pleased  to  call  himself  king,  and  who  was 
well  known  in  England  as  Pepper,  King 
of  Bonny.  His  name  is  varied  as  Pepper, 
Pimento,  or  Peppel.  He  is  descended  from 
Obullo,  an  Ibo  (or  Eboe)  chief,  who  settled 
with  his  slaves  on  the  Bonny  Kivcr,  and 
who  was  succeeded  by  his  son  and  grand- 
son, each  of  whom  took  the  name  of  Pep- 
per. 

Being  of  a  quarrelsome  disposition,  the 
present  king  shot  a  wife  because  she  dis- 
pleased him,  murdered  a  chief  called  Ma- 
nilla Peppel  because  he  was  jealous,  and  was 
ruining  the  trade  of  the  river  by  his  per- 
petual wars  with  the  Calabars.  So,  at  the 
request  of  all  the  native  chiefs  and  traders, 
he  was  deposed,  and  his  nephew  Daphe 
placed  in  his  stead.  Daphe,  however,  died 
soon  afterward,  —  ])oisoned,  it  is  believed,  at 
Peppel's  instigation;  and  then  the  govern- 
ment was  handed  over  to  four  regents, 
while  Pimento  was  transported  to  Ascen- 
sion, a  place  which  he  was  afterward  fond 
of  calling  his  St.  Helena.  However,  he 
proved  himself  to  be  a  clever  savage,  and, 
by  dint  of  importunity,  contrived  to  be 
taken  to  England,  where  he  arrived  in  1857. 


Possessing  to  the  full  the  imitative  capac- 
ity of  the  negro,  he  adopted  English  cus- 
toms with  wonderful  facility,  abandoning, 
according  to  Captain  Burton,  his  favorite 
dish  of  a  boy's  palms,  and  drinking  cham- 
pagne and  sherry  instead  of  trade  rum. 
>Soon  he  became  religious,  was  baptized, 
and  turned  teetotaler,  gaining  thereby  the 
good-will  of  a  large  class  of  people.  He 
asked  for  twenty  thousand  pounds  to  estab- 
lish a  missionary  station,  and  actually  in- 
duced a  number  of  English  who  knew  noth- 
ing of  Africa,  or  the  natural  mendacity  of 
the  African  savage,  to  accompany  him  as 
his  suite,  promising  them  splendid  salaries 
and  high  rank  at  "court. 

No  one  who  knows  the  negro  character 
will  be  surprised  to  hear  that  when  the 
king  and  his  suite  arrived  at  Bonny  the 
latter  found  themselves  cheated  and  ruined. 
They  discovered  that  the  "  palace  "  was  a 
collection  of  hovels  inside  a  mud  wall;  that 
Bonny  itself  was  nothing  more  than  a  quan- 
tity of  huts  iu  a  mud  flat;  and  that  the 
best  street  was  infinitely  more  filthy  than 
the  worst  street  in  the  worst  part  of  Lon- 
don. As  to  the  private  life  of  the  king,  the 
less  said  about  it  the  better. 

Their  health  rapidly  failed  under  the  pri- 
vations which  they  suffered,  and  the  horri- 
ble odors  of  the  Bonny  Elver,  which  are  so 
sickening  that  even  tlie  hardened  traveller 
Captain  Burton  had  to  stop  his  experienced 
nostrils  with  camphorated  cotton,  as  he  was 
rowed  up  the  river  at  low  water.  As  to  the 
royal  salaries  and  apartments  in  the  palace, 
they  were  found  to  be  as  imaginary  as  the 
palace  itself  and  the  rank  at  court,  the  king 
presenting  each  of  the  officials  with  a  couple 


(600) 


JU-JU  HOUSES. 


601 


of  yams  as  an  equivalent  for  pay  and  lodg- 
ing. 

How  genuine  was  the  civilization  and 
Christianity  and  teetotalism  of  Peppel  may 
be  imagined  from  an  interview  which  Mr. 
"W.  Eeade  had  with  him  after  his  return :  — 
"I  went  ashore  with  the  doctor  on  a  visit  to 
Peppel,  the  famous  king  of  Bonny.  ...  In 
one  of  the  hovels  was  seated  the  monarch, 
and  the  scene  was  well  adapted  to  the  muse 
of  his  poet  laureate.  The  Africans  have  a 
taste  for  crockery  ware,  much  resembling 
that  of  the  last  generation  for  old  china,  and 
a  predilection  for  dog  flesh,  which  is  bred 
expressly  for  the  table,  and  exposed  for  sale 
in  the  public  market. 

"  And  there  sat  Peppel,  who  had  lived  so 
long  in  England;  behind  him  a  pile  of  wil- 
low-pattern crockery,  before  him  a  calalsash 
of  dog  stew  and  palaver  sauce.  It  is  always 
thus  with  these  savages.  The  instincts 
inherited  from  their  forefathers  will  ever 
triumph  over  a  sprinkling  of  foreign  reason. 
Their  intellects  have  a  rete  mucosiim  as  well 
as  their  skins.  As  soon  as  they  return  to 
their  own  country,  take  they  oft'  all  their  civ- 
ilization and  their  clothes,  and  let  body  and 
mind  go  naked.  Like  most  negroes  of  rank, 
Peppel  has  a  yellow  complexion,  as  light  as 
that  of  a  mulatto.  His  features  express 
intelligence,  but  of  a  low  and  cunnuig  kind. 
In  every  word  and  look  he  exhibits  that 
habit  of  suspicion  which  one  finds  in  half- 
civilized  natures." 

Peppel,  although  restored  to  Bonny,  has 
scarcely  any  real  power,  even  in  his  own 
limited  dominions,  from  which  he  dares  not 
stir.  Yet,  with  the  cool  impudence  of  a 
thorough  savage,  he  actually  proposed  to 
establish  a  consul  in  London  at  a  salary  of 
600Z.,  stating  as  his  reason  that  he  had 
always  allowed  the  English  consuls  to  visit 
his  dominions  in  the  Bight  of  Benin. 

The  architecture  of  the  Bonny  country  is 
not  very  elaborate,  being  composed  of  swish 
and  wattle,  supported  by  posts.  The  floors 
and  walls  are  of  mud,  which  can  be  obtained 
in  any  amount,  and  the  general  look  of  the 
houses  has  been  well  compared  to  African- 
ized Swiss,  the  roofs  being  very  high,  and 
the  gables  very  sharp.  Ordinary  houses 
have  three  rooms,  a  kitchen,  a  living  room, 
and  a  Ju-ju  room  or  chapel;  but  those  of 
the  wealthy  men  have  abundance  of  cham- 
bers and  passages.  There  are  no  chimneys, 
and  as  the  door  must  therefore  be  kept  open 
if  a  Are  is  lighted,  the  threshold  is  at  least 
eighteen  inches  high,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  intrusion  of  strange  beasts.  It  is  not 
thought  to  be  etiquette  to  step  over  the 
threshold  when  the  master  of  the  house  is 
sitting  within,  or  he  will  be  afflicted  with 
sickness,  thinking  himself  bewitched. 

The  Ju-ju  room  or  chapel  is  a  necessary 
adjunct  to  every  Bonny  house,  and  within 
it  is  the  fetish,  or  -Ju-ju,  which  is  the  guar- 
dian of  the  house,  and  corresponds  with  the 

80 


Lares  and  Penates  of  the  ancients.  The 
negro  contrives  to  utilize  the  ju-ju  room, 
making  it  a  storehouse  for  his  most  valued 
property,  such  as  cowries,  or  rum,  knowing 
that  no  one  will  touch  it  in  so  sacred  a 
place.  As  to  the  Ju-ju  itself,  anything 
answers  the  purpose,  and  an  Englishman  ia 
sometimes  troubled  to  preserve  his  gravity 
when  he  sees  a  page  of  Punch,  a  cribbage 
peg,  a  pill  box,  or  a  pair  of  braces,  doing 
duty  as  the  household  god  of  the  establish- 
ment. 

The  great  Ju-ju  house  of  the  place  is  a 
most  ghastly-looking  edifice,  and  is  well 
described  by  Captain  Burton.  It  is  built  of 
swish,  and  is  an  oblong  roofless  house,  of 
forty  or  fifty  feet  in  length.  A  sort  of  altar 
is  placed  at  the  end,  sheltered  from  the  rain 
by  a  small  roof  of  its  own.  Under  the  roof 
are  nailed  rows  of  human  skulls  mostly 
painted  in  different  colors,  and  one  of  them 
is  conspicuous  by  a  large  black  beard,  which 
is  doubtless  a  rude  copy  of  the  beard  worn 
))y  the  man  to  whom  it  originally  belonged. 
Between  them  are  rows  of  goat  skulls 
streaked  with  red  and  white,  while  other 
skulls  are  strewn  about  the  floor,  and  others 
again  are  impaled  on  the  tops  of  sticks. 
Under  the  altar  is  a  round  hole  with  a 
raised  clay  rim,  in  which  is  received  the 
blood  of  the  victims  together  with  the 
sacred  liljations.  Within  this  Ju-ju  house 
are  buried  the  bodies  of  the  kings. 

This  house  well  illustrates  the  character 
of  the  people  —  a  race  which  take  a  positive 
pleasure  in  the  sight  of  blood,  and  in  inflict- 
ing and  witnessing  pain.  All  over  the  coun- 
try the  traveller  comes  upon  scenes  of  blood, 
pain,  and  suffering.  There  is  hardly  a  vil- 
lage where  he  does  not  come  upon  animals 
tied  in  some  agonizing  position  and  left  to 
die  there.  Goats  and  fowls  are  mostly 
fastened  to  posts  with  their  heads  down- 
ward, and  blood  is  the  favorite  color  for 
painting  the  faces  of  men.  Even  the  chil- 
dren of  prisoners  taken  in  war  —  the  war 
in  question  being  mostly  an  unsuspected 
attack  on  an  unprepared  village  —  are  hung 
by  the  middle  from  the  masts  of  the  canoes, 
while  the  parents  are  reserved  to  be  sacri- 
ficed and  eaten. 

About  this  last  statement  there  has  been 
much  incredulity,  and  of  course,  when  ques- 
tioned, the  Bonny  negroes  fiatly  deny  the 
accusation.  There  is,  however,  no  doubt  of 
the  fact,  inasmuch  as  Europeans  have  wit- 
nessed the  act  of  cannibalism.  For  exam- 
ple, old  King  Peppel,  the  father  of  the 
Pimento  whose  life  has  been  briefly  sketched, 
gave  a  great  banquet  in  honor  of  a  victory 
which  he  had  gained  over  Calabar,  and  in 
which  Amakree,  the  king  of  that  district, 
was  taken  prisoner.  The  European  trader.s 
were  invited  to  the  banquet,  and  were  most 
hospitably  entertained.  They  were,  how- 
ever, horrifled  to  see  the  principal  dish 
which  was  placed  before  Peppel.    It  was 


602 


BONNY. 


the  bleeding  heart  of  Amakree,  warm  and 
mlpitating  as  it  was  torn  from  the  body. 
Pejipel  devoured  the  heart  with  the  greatest 
eagerness,  exclaiming  at  the  same  time, 
"This  is  the  way  I  serve  my  enemies." 

More  recently.  Dr.  Hutchinson  witnessed 
a  scene  of  cannibalism.  He  had  heard  that 
something  of  the  kind  was  contemplated, 
although  it  was  kept  very  quiet.  On 
the  appointed  morning  he  had  himself 
rowed  to  the  shore  at  some  distance  from 
the  Ju-ju  house,  near  which  he  concealed 
himself,  and  waited  for  the  result.  The 
rest  of  the  adventure  must  be  told  in  his 
own  words. 

"  I  know  not  of  what  kind  are  the  sensa- 
tions felt  bj'  those  artmnd  Newgate,  waiting 
for  an  execution  in  the  very  heart  of  Lon- 
don's great  city;  but  I  know  that  on  the 
banks  of  an  African  ri\-er,  in  the  gray  dawn 
of  morning,  when  the  stillness  was  of  that 
oppressive  nature  which  is  calculated  to 
produce  the  most  gloomy  impressions,  with 
dense  vapors  and  foul  smells  arising  from 
decomposing  mangroves  and  other  causes 
of  malaria  floating  about,  with  a  heaviness 
of  atmosphere  that  depressed  the  spirits, 
amidst  a  community  of  cannibals,  I  do 
know  that,  although  under  the  protection  of 
a  man-of-war,  I  felt  on  this  occasion  a  com- 
bined sensation  of  suspense,  anxiety,  horror, 
and  indefinable  dread  of  I  cannot  tell  what, 
that  I  pray  God  it  may  never  be  my  fate  to 
endure  again. 

'•  Day  broke,  and,  nearly  simultaneous 
with  its  breaking,  the  sun  shone  out.  As  I 
loolced  through  the  slit  in  the  wall  on  tlio 
space  between  my  place  of  concealment 
and  the  Ju-ju  house,  I  observed  no  change 
from  its  appearance  the  evening  before. 
No  gibbet,  nor  axe,  nor  gallows,  nor  rope  — 
no  kind  of  preparation,  nothing  significant 
of  death,  save  the  skulls  on  the  pillars  of 
the  Ju-ju  house,  that  seemed  leering  at  me 
with  an  expression  at  once  strange  and 
vacant.  It  would  have  been  a  relief  in  the 
awful  stillness  of  the  place  to  have  heard 
something  of  what  I  had  read  of  the  prepa- 
rations for  an  execution  in  Liverpool  or 
London — of  the  hammering  suggestive  of 
driving  nails  into  scaffold,  drop,  or  coffin,  of 
a  crowd  gathering  round  the  place  before 
early  dawn,  and  of  the  solemn  tolling  of  the 
bell  that  chimed  another  soul  into  eternity. 
Everything  seemed  as  if  nothing  beyond 
the  routine  of  daily  life  were  to  take  place. 

"  Could  it  be  that  I  had  been  misinformed; 
that  the  ceremony  was  adjourned  to  another 
time,  or  was  to  be  carried  out  elsewhere? 
No,  a  distant  murmur  of  gabbling  voices 
was  heard  approaching  nearer  and  nearer, 
till,  passing  the  corner  house  on  my  left,  I 
saw  a  group  of  negroes  —  an  indiscriminate 
crowd  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  —  so  hud- 
dled together  that  no  person  whom  I  could 
particularl}'  distinguish  as  either  an  execu- 
tioner or  a  culprit  was  visible  among  tliera. 


But  above  their  clattering  talk  came  the 
sound  of  a  clanking  chain  that  made  one 
shudder. 

'■  They  stopped  in  the  middle  of  the  square 
opposite  the  Ju-ju  house,  and  ceased  talking. 
One  commanding  voice  uttered  a  single 
word,  and  down  they  sat  upon  the  grass, 
forming  a  circle  round  two  figures,  standing 
upright  in  the  centre  — the  executioner  and 
the  man  about  to  be  killed.  The  former 
was  remarkable  only  by  the  lilack  skull-cap 
which  he  had  on  him,  and  by  a  common  cut- 
lass which  he  held  in  his  hand.  The  latter 
had  chains  round  his  neck,  his  wrists,  and  his 
ankles.  There  was  no  sign  of  fear  or  cow- 
ardice about  him  —  no  seeming  conscious- 
ness of  the  dreadful  fate  before  him  —  no 
evidence  even  upon  his  face  of  that  dogged 
stubbornness  which  is  said  to  be  exhibited 
by  some  persons  about  to  undergo  an  igno- 
minious death.  Save  that  he  stood  upright 
one  would  scarcely  have  known  that  he  was 
alive.  Amongst  the  spectators,  too,  there  was 
a  silent  impassiveness  which  was  appalling. 
Not  a  word,  nor  gesture,  nor  glance  of  sym- 
pathjf,  that  could  make  me  believe  I  looked 
at  beings  who  had  a  vestige  of  humanity 
among  them.     (See  illustration  on  p.  619.) 

"  As  the  Ju-ju  butcher  stepped  back  and 
measured  his  distance  to  make  an  effectual 
swoop  at  his  victim's  neck,  the  man  moved 
not  a  muscle,  but  stood  as  if  he  were  uncon- 
scious —  till  

"Chop!  The  first  blow  felled  him  to  the 
ground.  The  noise  of  a  chopper  falling  on 
meat  is  familiar  to  most  people.  No  other 
sound  was  here  —  none  from  the  man;  not  a 
whisper  nor  a  murmur  from  those \\ho  were 
seated  about!  I  was  nearly  crying  out  in 
mental  agony,  and  the  sound  of  that  first 
stroke  will  haunt  my  ears  to  my  dying  day. 
How  I  wished  some  one  to  talk  or  scream, 
to  destroy  the  impression  of  that  fearful 
hough,  and  the  still  more  awful  silence  that 
followed  it ! 

"  Again  the  weapon  was  raised  to  continue 
the  decapitation  —  another  blow  as  the  man 
lay  prostrate,  and  then  a  sound  broke  the 
silence!  But,  O  Father  of  mercy!  of  what  a 
kind  was  that  noise  —  a  gurgle  and  a  gasp, 
accompanying  the  dying  spasm  of  the  struck- 
down  man  ! 

"  Once  more  the  weapon  was  lifted  —  I 
saw  the  blood  flow  in  gory  horror  down  the 
blade  to  the  butcher's  hand,  and  there  it  was 
visible,  in  God's  bright  .sini,shine,  to  the 
whole  host  of  heaven.  Not  a  word  had  yet 
been  uttered  by  the  crowd.  More  chopjiing 
and  cleaving,  "and  the  head,  severed  from 
the  body,  was  put  by  the  Ju-ju  executioner 
into  a  calabash,  which  was  carried  off  by 
one  of  his  women  to  be  cooked.  He  then 
repeated  another  cabalistic  word,  or  per- 
hnjis  the  same  as  at  first,  and  directly  all 
who  were  seated  rose  up,  whilst  he  walked 
away. 

"  A  yell,  such  as  reminded  me  of  a  com- 


MUMBO  JUMBO  AXD   HIS  OFFICE. 


603 


pan}' of  tigers,  arose  from  tlie  multitude  — 
cutlasses  were  flourished  as  they  crowded 
round  the  body  of  the  dead  man  —  sounds  of 
cutting  and  chopping  arose  amidst  the 
clamor  of  the  voices,  and  I  began  to  question 
mvself  whether,  if  I  were  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river  Styx,  I  should  see  what  I  was 
looking  at  here  through  the  little  slit  in  the 
wall  oi'  my  liiding-place :  a  crowd  of  human 
vultures  gloating  over  the  headless  corpse 
of  a  murdered  brother  negro  —  boys  and 
girls  walking  away  from  the  crowd,  holding 
pieces  of  bleeding  flesh  in  their  hands,  while 
tlie  dripping  life-fluid  marked  their  road  as 
they  went  along;  and  one  woman  snapping 
from  the  hands  of  another  —  both  of  them 
raising  their  voices  in  clamor  —  a  part  of  the 
body  of  that  poor  man,  in  whom  the  breath  of 
life  was  vigorous  not  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago. 

"The  whole  of  the  Iwdy  was  at  length 
divided,  and  nothing  left  "behind  but  the 
blood.  The  intestines  were  taken  away  to 
be  given  to  an  iguana — the  Bonny-man's 
tutelary  guardian.  But  the  blood  was  still 
there,  in  glistening  pools,  though  no  more 
notice  was  taken  of  it  by  the  gradually  dis- 
persing crowd  than  if  it  were  a  thing  as  com- 
mon in  that  town  as  heaven's  bright  dew  is 
elsewhere.  A  few  dogs  were  on  the  spot,  who 
devoured  the  fragments.  Two  men  arrived 
to  spread  sand  over  the  place,  and  there  was 
no  interruption  to  the  familiar  sound  of 
coopers'  hammering  just  beginning  in  the 
cask-houses,  or  to  the  daily  work  of  hoisting 
palniToil  puncheons  on  board  the  ships." 

On  passing  the  Ju-ju  house  afterward.  Dr. 
Hutcliinson  saw  the  relics  of  this  sacrifice. 
They  consisted  of  the  larger  bones  of  the 
body  and  limbs,  which  had  evidently  been 
cooked,  and  every  particle  of  flesh  eaten 
from  them.  The  head  is  the  perquisite  of 
the  executioner,  as  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. Some  months  afterwjrd.  Dr.  Hutch- 
inson met  the  same  executioner,  who  was 
said  to  have  exercised  his  office  again  a  few 
days  previousl}',  and  to  have  eaten  the  head 
of  his  victim.  Being  upbraided  with  hav- 
ing committed  so  horrible  an  act,  he  replied 
that  he  had  not  eaten  the  head  —  his  cook 
having  spoiled  it  by  not  having  put  enough 
pepper  to  it. 

The  whole  life  of  the  Bonny-man,  and 
indeed  of  all  the  many  trilies  that  inhabit 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Niger  and  live 
along  it,  is  in  accordance  with  the  traits 
which  have  been  mentioned.  Of  course,  the 
women  do  all  the  real  work,  the  man's  work- 
ing day  being  usually  employed  in  coming  on 
board  some  trading  ship  early  in  tlie  morn- 
ing, chaffering  ^vith  the  agent,  and  making 
bargains  as  well  as  ho  can.  He  asks  for 
everything  he  sees,  on  the  principle  that, 
even  if  it  be  refused,  he  is  no  worse  after 
than  before:  contrives  to  breakfast  as  many 
times  as  possible  at  the  ship's  expense,  and 
about  mid-day  goes  home  to  repose  after  the 
fatigues  of  the  day. 


As  to  his  dress,  it  consists  of  a  cloth,  in  the 
choice  of  which  he  is  v&ry  fastidious.  A 
handkerchief  is  folded  diagonally  and  passed 
through  the  loop  of  his  knife  belt,  so  as  to 
attach  it  to  his  right  side,  and  this,  with  a 
few  strings  of  beads  and  rings,  completes 
his  costume.  His  woolly  hair  is  combed  out 
with  the  coarsest  imaginable  comb,  made 
of  a  few  wooden  skewers  lashed  side  by 
side,  and  diverging  from  each  other  toward 
the  points,  and  his  skin  is  polished  up  with 
palm  oil. 

The  women's  working  day  is  a  real  fact, 
being  begun  by  washing  clothes  in  the 
creek,  and  consisting  of  making  nets,  hats, 
lines,  and  mats,  and  going  to  market. 
These  are  the  favorites,  and  their  life  is  a 
comparatively  easy  one;  while  the  others, 
on  whom  their  despotic  master  does  not 
deign  to  cast  an  eye  of  attection,  are  simply 
his  slaves,  and  are  sulijected  to  water  draw- 
ing, wood  cutting,  catching  and  curing  fish. 

The  dress  of  the  women  is  not  unlike  that 
of  the  opposite  sex,  the  chief  distinction 
being  that  their  fashionable  paint  is  blue 
instead  of  red.  The  coloring  is  put  on  by  a 
friend,  usually  one  who  regularly  practises 
the  art  of  painting  the  human  body  in  pat- 
terns. Checkers,  like  those  that  were  once  so 
common  on  the  door  posts  of  public  houses, 
are  very  much  in  favor,  and  so  are  wavy 
stripes,  beginning  with  lines  scarcely  thicker 
than  hairs,  and  swelling  out  to  half  an  inch 
or  more  in  breadth.  Arabesque  patterns, 
curves,  and  scrolls  are  also  largely  used. 

Throughout  a  considerable  portion  of  that 
part  of  Western  Africa  which  is  inhabited 
by  the  negroes  there  is  found  a  semi-human 
demon,  who  is  universally  respected,  at  least 
by  the  feminine  half  of  the  community. 
His  name  is  Mujibo  Jujibo,  and  his  sway 
is  upheld  by  the  men,  while  the  women 
have  no  alternative  Ijut  to  submit  to  it. 

On  the  branch  of  a  ti-ee  near  the  entrance 
of  each  town  hangs  a  dress,  made  of  slips  of 
Isark  sewed  rudely  together.  It  is  the  sim- 
lilest  possilsle  dress,  being  little  more  than  a 
liark  sack,  with  a  hole  at  the  top  for  the  head 
and  another  at  each  side  for  the  hands. 
Close  by  it  hangs  an  equally  simide  mask, 
made  of  ah  empty  gourd,  with  two  round 
holes  for  the  eyes  of  the  wearer,  and  deco- 
rated with  a  tiift  of  feathers.  In  oi'der  to 
make  it  more  fantastically  hideous,  the  mask 
is  painted  with  scarlet,  so  that  it  looks  very 
much  like  the  face  of  a  clown  in  a  pantomime. 

At  night  the  people  assemble  as  usual  to 
sing  and  dance,  when  suddenly  faint  distant 
bowlings  are  heard  in  the  woods.  This  is 
the  cry  of  Mumbo  .Juinl)o,  and  all  the 
women  feel  horribly  frightened,  though 
they  are  obliged  to  pretend  to  be  delighted. 
The  cries  are  heard  nearer  and  nearer,  and 
at  last  Mumbo  Jumbo  himself,  followed  by 
a  number  of  attendants  armed  with  sticks, 
and  clothed  in  the  dress  which  is  kept  for 
his  use,  appears  in  the  noisy  circle,  carrying 


C04 


BONNY. 


a  rod  in  his  hand.  He  is  loudly  welcomed, 
and  the  song  and  dance  go  on  around  him 
with  delight.  Suildenly,  Mumbo  Jumbo 
walks  up  to  one  of  the  women  and  touches 
her  with  his  rod.  His  attendants  instantly 
seize  on  the  unfortunate  woman,  tear  oft"  all 
her  clothes,  drag  her  to  a  post  which  is 
always  kept  for  such  occasions,  tie  her  to  it, 
and  inflict  a  terriflc  l)eating  on  her.  No 
one  dares  to  pity  her.  The  men  are  not 
likely  to  do  so,  and  the  women  all  laugh 
and  jeer  at  their  sulfering  companion,  point- 
ing at  her  and  mocking  her  cries:  partly 
because  they  fear  that  should  they  not  do 
so  they  might  be  selected  for  the  next  vic- 
tims, and  partly  because  —  like  tlie  savages 
that  they  are  at  heart  —  they  feel  an  exulta- 
tion at  seeing  some  one  suffering  a  penalty 
which  they  liave  escaped.    (See  engraving.) 

The  ofience  for  which  the  woman  has  suf- 
fered is  perfectly  well  known  by  all  the 
spectators,  and  by  none  better  than  by  tlie 
sufferer  herself.  The  fact  is,  she  has  been 
bad-tempered  at  home,  quarrelling,  in  all 
probability,  with  her  fellow  wives,  and  has  not 
yielded  to  the  admonitions  of  her  husband. 
Consequently,  at  the  next  favorable  oppor- 
tunity, either  the  husband  himself,  or  a  man 
whom  he  has  instructed,  indues  the  dress  of 
Mumbo  Jumbo,  and  inflicts  a  punishment 
which  serves  equally  as  a  corrective  to  the 
disobedient  wife  and  a  warning  to  others 
that  they  had  better  not  follow  her  example. 

Mumbo  Jumbo  does  not  always  make  his 
appearance  on  these  nocturnal  festivities,  as 
the  men  know  that  he  inspires  more  awe  if 
he  is  reserved  for  those  instances  in  which 
the  husband  has  tried  all  the  means  in  his 
power  to  keep  the  peace  at  home,  but  finds 
that  his  unsupported  authority  is  no  more 
respected.  The  reader  will  remember  that 
a  demon  of  a  similar  character  is  to  be 
fo\md  in  Dahome. 

It  is  to  be  wished  that  all  the  supersti- 
tions of  the  land  were  as  harmless  as  that 
of  Mumbo  Jumbo,  which  nobody  believes, 
though  every  one  pretends  to  do  so,  and 
which,  at  all  events,  has  some  influence  OU' 
the  domestic  peace.  Some  of  them,  how- 
ever, are  very  terrible,  and  involve  an 
amount  of  human  suflering  which  would 
deter  any  but  a  savage  from  performing 
them.  It  is  very  difficult  to  learn  the  na- 
ture of  these  superstitions,  as  the  negroes 
always  try  to  conceal  them  from  Europeans, 
especially  when  they  involve  the  shedding 
of  blood.  One  astounding  instance  has, 
however,  been  related.  A  town  was  in 
danger  of  attack  from  a  powerful  tribe  that 
inhabited  the  neighborhood,  and  the  king 
was  so  much  alarmed  that  he  sent  for  the 
magicians,  and  consulted  with  them  as  to 
the  best  method  of  repelling  the  enemy. 

Accordingly,  the  people  were  summoned 
together  in  front  of  the  principal  gate,  when 
two  holes  were  dug  in  the  ground  close  to 
each  other.    Songs    and  dances  began  as 


usual,  until  suddenly  the  chief  magician 
pointed  to  a  girl  who  was  standing  among 
the  spectators.  She  was  instantly  seized, 
and  a  leg  thrust  into  each  hole,  whidi  was 
then  filled  up  with  earth  so  that  she  could 
not  move.  i5y  command  of  the  magicians, 
a  number  of  men  brought  lumps  of  wet 
clay,  which  they  luiilt  around  her  body  in  a 
pillar-like  form,  kneading  them  closely  as 
they  proceeded,  and  gradually  covering  her 
with  clay.  At  last  even  her  head  was  cov- 
ered with  the  clay,  and  the  poor  victim  of 
superstition  soon  ceased  to  breatlie.  This 
clay  pillar  with  the  liody  of  the  girl  within 
it  stood  for  years  in  front  of  the  gate,  and  so 
terrified  were  the  hostile  tribes  at  so  pow- 
erful a  fetish,  or  gregree,  that  the}-  dared 
not  carry  out  their  plan  of  attack. 

The  natives  erect  these  gregrees  on  every 
imaginable  occasion,  and  so  ward  oft'  every 
possible  calamity;  and,  as  thej'  will  pay 
freely  for  such  safeguards,  the  fetish  men 
are  naturally  unwilling  to  refuse  a  request, 
and  so  to  break  up  a  jirofitable  trade.  They 
are,  of  course,  aware  that  their  clients  will 
in  many  cases  sufter  from  the  very  calamity 
which  they  sought  to  avoid,  and  that  they 
will  come  "to  make  bitter  complaints.  They 
therefore  take  care  to  impose  on  the  recip- 
ient some  condition  by  way  of  a  loop-hole, 
through  \\hich  the}'  may  escape.  On  one 
such  instance  the  man  bought  a  fetish  against 
fever,  which,  however,  seized  him  and  nearly 
killed  him.  The  condition  which  had  been 
imposed  on  him  was  abstinence  from  goat's 
flesh,  and  this  condition  he  knew  that  he 
had  fulfilled.  But  the  fetish  man  was  not  to 
be  baflled  bj'  such  a  complaint,  and  utterly 
discomfited  his  angry  client  by  asserting 
that,  when  his  patient  was  dining  at  another 
town,  a  personal  enemy,  who  knew  the  con- 
ditions on  which  the  gregree  was  given, 
dropped  a  little  goat's-tlesh  broth  into  his 
bowl,  and  so  broke  the  spell. 

Alisolute  faith  in  the  gregree  is  another 
invariable  condition.  On  one  stormy  day  a 
party  of  natives  had  to  cross  the  river,  and 
applied  for  a  gregree  against  accidents. 
They  crossed  safely  enough,  but  on  recross- 
ing  the  boat  was  upset,  and  some  of  the 
party  were  drowned.  The  survivors  went  in 
a  body  to  the  gregree  maker,  and  upbraided 
him  with  the  accident.  He  heard  them  very 
patiently,  and  then  informed  tlie  complain- 
ants tiiat  the  misfortune  was  entirely  caused 
by  the  incredulity  of  the  steersman,  who 
tried  to  sound  the  river  with  his  paddle 
in  order  to  discover  whether  they  were  in 
shallow  water.  This  action  indicated  mis- 
trust, and  so  the  power  of  the  spell  was 
broken.  The  cunning  fellow  had  seen  the 
accident,  and,  having  ascertained  that  the 
steersman  had  been  drowned,  made  the  as- 
sertion boldly,  knowing  that  the  men  had 
been  too  frightened  to  observe  closely,  and 
that  the  accused  could  not  contradict  the 
statement. 


.M  I  MBO  JUMBO.     ^.S^■^•  iKi-e  6W.) 
(G05) 


CHAPTER  LX. 


THE  MANDINGOES. 


LASGITAGE  AOT>  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  MANDDfOOES  —  THEIR  RELIGION  —  BELIEF  IN  AMULETS  —  A  MAN- 
DINGO  SONG  —  MARRIAGE  AND  CONDITION  OF  THE  WOMEN  — NATm;  COOKERY  —  A  MANDINGO  KLNG 
—  INFLtJENCE   OF  MAHOMETANISM. 


Before  proceeding  across  the  continent 
toward  Abyssinia,  we  must  briefly  notice  tlie 
Mandinso  nation,  wlio  inhabit  a  very  large 
tract  of  the  country  tlirougli  whicli  the  Sene- 
gal and  Gambia  flow.  They  are  deserving 
of  notice,  if  it  were  only  on  the  ground  that 
their  language  is  more  widely  spread  than 
any  that  is  spoken  in  that  part  of  Africa,  and 
that  any  traveller  who  desires  to  dispense  as 
far  as  possible  with  the  native  interpreters, 
who  cannot  translate  literally  if  they  would, 
and  would  not  if  they  could,  is  forced  to 
acquire  the  language  before  pi'oceeding 
through  the  country.  Fortunately  it  is  a 
peculiarly  melodious  language,  almost  as 
soft  as  the  Italian,  nearly  all  the  words  end- 
ing in  a  vowel. 

In  appearance  the  Mandingoes  are  tall 
and  well  made,  and  have  the  woolly  hair, 
though  not  the  jetty  skin  and  enormous  lips, 
of  the  true  negro.  "  The  structure  of  the 
language,"  says  Mr.  M'Brair,  who  has  made 
it  his  special  study,  "  is  thoroughly  Eastern. 
In  some  of  its  grammatical  forms  it  re- 
semljles  the  Hebrew  and  Syriac;  its  most 
peculiar  sound  is  of  the  Malay  family;  its 
method  of  interrogation  is  similar  to  that  of 
the  Chinese,  and  in  the  composition  of  some 
verbs  it  is  like  the  Persian.  A  few  religious 
terms  have  been  borrowed  from  the  Arabic, 
and  some  articles  of  foreign  manufacture 
are   called  after  their  European  names." 

As  a  rule,  the  religioir  of  the  Mandingoes 
is  Mahometanism,  modified  to  suit  the  ]ieo- 
ple,  but  they  still  retain  enough  of  the  origi- 
nal negro  character  to  have  an  intense  faith 
in  gregrees,  which  are  made  for  them  by 
the  marabouts,  or  holy  men,  and  almost  in- 
variably consist  of  sentences  of  the  Koran, 


sewed  up  in  little  leathern  cases  beautifully 
tanned  and  stamped  in  patterns.  Mahome- 
tanism has  put  an  end  to  the  noisy  songs 
and  dances  which  make  night  hideous;  but 
the  Mandingoes  contrive,  nevertheless,  to 
indulge  their  taste  for  religious  noise  at 
night.  Instead  of  singing  profane  songs 
they  sing  or  intone  the  Koran,  bawling  tlie 
sacred  sentences  at  the  full  stretch  of  their 
voices,  and  murdering  sleep  as  eflectually  as 
if  they  had  been  still  benighted  idolaters 
singing  praises  in  honor  of  the  moon.  Some 
ceremonies  in  honor  of  the  moon  still  re- 
main, but  are  quite  harmless.  When  it 
appears,  they  salute  it  by  spitting  in  their 
hands  and  waving  them  round  their  heads. 
For  eclipses  they  account  by  saying  that 
there  is  a  large  cat  living  somewhere  in  the 
sky,  who  puts  her  paw  between  the  moon 
and  the  earth. 

They  are  very  strict  Mahometans  indeed, 
the  marabouts  always  calling  them  to 
prayers  one  hour  before  sunrise;  that,  ac- 
cording to  theological  astronomy,  being  the 
time  at  which  the  sun  rises  at  Mecca.  Ma- 
hometanism has  done  much  for  the  Mandin- 
goes. It  has  substituted  monotheism  for 
idolatry,  and  totally  abolished  human  sac- 
rifices. It  has  not  extirpated  the  innate 
negro  character  of  the  Mandingoes;  but  it 
has  raised  them  greatly  in  the  scale  of  hu- 
manity. It  has  not  cured  them  of  lying  and 
stealing  —  neither  of  which  vices,  by  the 
way,  are  confined  to  idolaters;  but  it  has 
brought  them  to  abhor  the  system  of  child 
selling,  which  is  so  ingrained  in  the  ordinary 
negro,  and  a  Mandingo  Mahometan  will  not 
even  sell  a  slave  unless  there  is  .just  cause  of 
complaint  against  him. 


(607) 


008 


THE   MANDINGOES. 


The  Ehamadan,  or  Mahometan  fast,  is 
rigidly  observed  by  the  Maiidingoes,  and  it 
is  no  smaJl  proof  of  the  power  of  their  relig- 
ious system  that  it  has  made  a  negro  abstain 
from  anything  which  he  likes. 

Tlie  principal  rite  of  Mahometanism  is  of 
course  practised  by  the  Mandiugoes,  who 
have  contrived  to  engraft  upon  it  one  of 
their  own  superstitions,  namely,  that  if  a  lad 
remains  uncircumcised,  he  is  swallowed  by 
a  peripatetic  demon,  who  carries  him  for 
nine  days  in  his  belly.  This  legend  is  relig- 
iously believed,  anil  no  one  has  yet  been 
daring  enough  to  put  it  to  the  test. 

Fourteen  years  is  tlie  usual  age  for  per- 
forming this  ceremony,  whole  companies  of 
lads  partalving  of  it  at  the  same  time,  and 
proceeding  to  the  appointed  spot,  accom- 
panied by  their  friends  and  relatives,  who 
dance  and  sing  songs  by  tlie  way,  neither  of 
them  being  peculiarly  delicate.  Here  the 
old  negro  nature  shows  itself  again,  proving 
the  truth  of  the  axiom  that  nature  expelled 
with  a  pitchfork  always  comes  back  again. 
After  tlie  ceremony  they  pass  a  month  in  an 
intermediate  state  of  existence.  They  have 
taken  leave  of  their  boyhood,  and  are  not 
yet  men.  So  until  the  expiration  of  the 
month  they  are  allowed  unlimited  license, 
but  after  that  time  they  become  men,  and 
are  ranked  with  their  fathers.  Even  tlie 
girls  undergo  a  ceremony  of  a  somewhat 
similar  character,  the  officiants  being  the 
wives  of  the  marabouts. 

As  a  natural  consequence  of  this  religion, 
which  is  a  mixture  of  Mahometanism  en- 
grafted upon  fetishism,  the  marabouts  hold 
much  the  same  exalted  position  as  the  fetish 
men  of  the  idolaters,  and  are  the  most  im- 
portant men  of  the  community.  They  do 
not  dress  difierently  from  the  laity,  but  are 
distinguished  by  the  colors  of  their  caps, 
which  are  of  some  brilliant  hue,  such  as  red, 
blue,  or  yellow.  Tiie  whole  of  education  is 
in  their  hands,  some  being  itinerant  teach- 
ers, and  others  establishing  regular  schools. 
Others,  again,  mingle  the  characters  of 
musicians  and  merchants,  and  all  make  the 
principal  part  of  their  living  by  the  sale  of 
amulets,  which  are  nothing  more  than 
Mahometanized  gregrees.  So  great  is  the 
demand  for  these  amulets,  that  a  wealthy 
man  is  sometimes  absolutely  enclosed  in  a 
leathern  cuirass  composed  of  nothing  but 
amulets  sewed  up  in  their  neat  leathern 
cases. 

One  of  the  Mandingo  songs,  translated  by 
Mr.  W.  Keade,  shows  clearly  the  opinion  in 
which  these  men  are  held.  "If  you  know 
how  to  write  Marabout  (i.  e.  Arabic,  and  not 
Mandingo),  you  will  become  one  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  God.  If  you  know  Marabout,  you 
are  the  greatest  of  3'our  familj' .  You  main- 
tain them.  If  they  commit  a  fault,  it  is  you 
who  will  protect  them." 

Another  of  these  proverbial  sayings  ex- 
presses the  uselessness  of  gregrees.    "  The 


Tubabs  went  against  Galam.  The  King  of 
Maiel  said  to  a  woman,  '  Take  your  child, 
put  it  iu  a  mortar,  and  pound  it  to  dust. 
From  its  dust  I  will  make  a  man  rise  who 
will  save  our  town.'  The  woman  pounded 
her  child  to  dust.  From  the  dust  came  a 
man;  but  the  Tubabs  took  MaicV^  The 
"  Tubabs  "  are  the  French,  and  the  saying 
evidently  refei's  to  the  manufacture  of  a  gre- 
gree  similar  in  cliaracter  to  that  which  has 
been  mentioned  on  page  C04. 

Still,  their  innate  belief  in  the  power  of 
gregrees  is  too  strong  to  be  entirely  eradi- 
cated; and  if  one  of  their  chief  men  dies,  they 
keep  his  death  secret,  and  bur\'  his  body 
in  a  jirivate  spot,  thinking  that  if  an  enemy 
could  get  possession  of  his  blade-bone  he 
would  make  a  gregree  with  it,  b}^  means  of 
which  he  could  usurp  the  kingdom  for  him- 
self 

Marriages  are  solemnized  by  the  mara- 
bout, in  the  mosque,  with  an  odd  mixture  of 
native  and  borrowed  ceremonies.  Next  to 
the  mai-about  the  bridegroom's  sister  jilaya 
the  most  important  part  at  the  ceremony 
and  in  the  future  household;  gives  the  arti- 
cle of  clothing  which  takes  the  place  of  our 
wedding  ring,  and  which  in  this  country 
would  be  thought  rather  ominous,  —  namely, 
a  pair  of  trousers, —  and,  if  a  child  be  born  of 
the  mariiage,  has  the  privilege  of  naming  it. 
Polygamy  is,  of  course,  the  rule,  and  each 
woman  has  her  own  house.  So,  when  a  girl 
is  married,  she  stays  with  her  parents  until 
her  own  house  is  built,  when  she  is  con- 
ducted to  it  in  great  state  by  her  young 
friends,  who  sing  a  mournful  song  deploring 
the  loss  of  their  companion. 

The  women  have  every  reason  to  be  con^ 
tented  with  their  lot.  They  are  not  degra- 
ded slaves,  like  the  married  women  in  so 
many  parts  of  Africa,  and,  if  anything,  have 
the  upper  hand  of  their  husbands.  "  They 
arc  the  most  tyrannical  wives  iu  Africa," 
writes  Mr.  Tteade.  "They  know  how  to 
make  their  husbands  kneel  before  their 
charms,  and  how  to  place  their  little  feet 
upon  them.  When  they  are  threatened 
with  divorce,  they  shed  tears,  and,  if  a  man 
repudiates  his  wife,  they  attack  him  en 
masse  —  they  hate,  but  protect,  each  other. 

"  They  go  to  this  unfortunate  husband, 
who  has  never  felt  or  enjoyed  a  quiet  mo- 
ment in  his  own  house,  and  say, '  Why  do 
you  ill  treat  your  wife?  A  woman  is  help- 
less; a  man  has  all  things.  Go,  recall  her, 
and,  to  appease  her  just  anger,  make  her  a 
kind  present.'  The  "husband  prays  for  for- 
giveness, and,  when  his  entreaties  take  the 
form  of  a  bullock  or  a  slave,  she  consents  to 
return." 

The  food  of  the  Mandingoes  is  chiefly 
rice  and  milk,  but  when  they  are  wealthy 
they  indulge  in  many  luxuries.  The  same 
author  who  has  just  been  quoted  gives  the 
details  of  an  entertainment  cooked  by  half- 
bred  Mandingoes.    First  they  had  oysters 


INFLUEXCE   OF   MAHOMETANISM. 


609 


plucked  from  the  branches  of  trees,  to 
which  they  attached  themselves  at  high 
water,  and  were  left  suspended  when  the 
floods  recede.  Then  there  were  soles,  carp, 
and  mullet,  all  very  bad,  but  very  well 
cooked.  "  Then  followed  gazelle  cutlets  a 
la pap'dlote;  two  small  monkeys  served 
cross-legged  and  with  liver  sauce,  on  toast; 
stewed  iguana,  whidi  was  much  admired;  a 
dish  of  roasted  crocodiles'  eggs;  some  slices 
of  smoked  elephant  (from  the  interior), 
which  none  of  us  could  touch;  a  few  agree- 
able plates  of  fried  locusts,  land-crabs  (pre- 
viously fattened),  and  other  crustaceiie;  the 
breasts  of  a  mermaid,  or  manatee,  the  grand 
bonne-bouche  of  the  repast;  some  boiled  alli- 
gator, which  had  a  taste  between  pork  and 
cod,  with  the  addition  of  a  musky  flavor; 
and  some  hippopotamus'  steaks  —  aux  poin- 
mes  de  terre. 

"  We  might  have  obtained  a  better  dessert 
at  Covent  G.arden,  where  we  can  see  the 
bright  side  of  the  tropics  without  the  trouble 
or  expense  of  travelling.  But  we  had  pine- 
apples, oranges,  roasted  pl.antains,  silver 
bananas,  papaus  (which,  when  made  into  a 
tart  with  cloves,  might  be  taken  for  apples), 
and  a  variety  of  fruits  which  had  long  na- 
tive names,  curious  shapes,  and  all  of  them 
very  nasty  tastes.  The  celebrated  '  cab- 
bage.' or  topmost  bud  of  the  palm  tree,  also 
formed  part  of  the  repast,  and  it  is  said  to 
be  the  finest  vegetable  in  the  world.  When 
stewed  en  sauce  blanche,  it  is  not  to  be  com- 
pared with  any  vegetable  of  mortal  growth. 
It  must  have  been  the  ambrosia  of  the 
gods." 

The  Mandingoes  who  have  not  embraced 
Mahometauism  are  much  inferior  to  their 
compatriots  who  have  renounced  their  le- 
tishism.  Mr.  Keade  tells  a  ludicrous  story 
of  a  native  "  king,"  who  was  even  dirtier 
than  any  of  his  subjects,  and  if  possible  was 
uglier,  his  face  being  devoid  of  intelligence 
and  utterly  brutish;  he  made  long  speeches 
in  Mandingo,  which,  as  usual  with  such 
speeches,  were  simply  demands  for  every- 
thing he  saw,  and  acted  in  a  manner  so  eon- 
sonant  with  his  appearance,  that  he  excited 
universal  disgust,  and  remai'ks  were  made 
very  freely  on  the  disadvantages  of  being 
entirely  in  a  savage  state,  and  never  having 
mixed  with  superior  beings. 

At  last  the  tedious  interpreting  business 
was  at  an  end,  and  nothing  remained  except 
the  number  of  kola  nuts  to  be  given  as  the 


present  of  friendship  —  a  customary  cere- 
mony in  tliis  country.  Six  had  been  given, 
and  the  king  made  a  long  speech,  which 
turned  out  to  be  a  request  for  more.  "  Well, 
we  can't  very  well  refuse  the  dirty  ruffian," 
said  the  visitor;  "give  him  four  more,  that 
will  make  ten." 

"  3£ake  it  twenty,"  cried  the  king  eagerly, 
forgetting  that  his  role  was  to  appear  igno- 
rant of  English.  He  had  lived  for  some 
years  at  Sierra  Leone,  and  could  speak 
English  as  well  as  any  one  when  he  chose, 
and  had  heard  all  the  remarks  upon  his 
peculiar  appearance  without  giving  the  least 
indication  that  he  understood  a  word  that 
was  said. 

One  of  the  old  superstitions  which  still 
holds  its  own  against  the  advance  of  Ma- 
hometauism is  one  which  belongs  to  an 
island  on  the  Upper  Kiver.  On  this  island 
there  is  a  mountain,  and  on  the  mountain 
lives  a  spirit  who  has  the  unpleasant  power 
of  afflicting  human  beings  so  severely  that 
they  can  never  sit  down  for  the  rest  of  their 
lives.  Therefore,  on  passing  the  hill,  it  is 
necessary  to  unclothe  the  body,  from  the 
waist  downward,  to  turn  the  back  to  the 
mountain,  and  pray  the  spirit  to  have  com- 
passion on  his  votaries,  and  continue  to 
them  the  privilege  of  sitting.  Every  one  is 
forced  to  undergo  this  ceremony,  but  fortu- 
nately the  spirit  is  content  if  it  be  per- 
formed by  deputy,  and  all  travellers  there- 
fore, whether  men  or  women,  pay  natives  of 
their  own  sex  to  perform  this  interesting 
rite  for  them.  However,  like  the  well- 
kno'"n  etiquette  of  crossing  the  line,  this 
ceremony  need  only  lie  performed  on  the 
first  time  of  passing  the  hill,  the  spirit  being 
satisfied  with  the  tribute  to  his  power. 

The  universal  superstition  respecting  the 
power  of  human  beings  to  change  them- 
selves into  bestial  shapes  still  reigns  among 
the  Mandingoes,  and  it  is  rather  doulitfui 
whether  even  the  followers  of  Mohammed 
have  shaken  themselves  quite  free  from  the 
old  belief.  The  crocodile  is  the  animal 
whose  form  is  most  usually  taken  among 
the  Mandingoes,  and  on  one  occasion  a  man 
who  had  been  bitten  by  a  crocodile,  and 
narrowly  escaped  with  his  life,  not  only  said 
that  the  reptile  was  a  metamorphosed  man, 
but  even  named  the  individual  whom  he 
knew  himself  to  have  offended  a  few  days 
before  the  accident. 


CHAPTER   LXI. 


THE  BUBfiS  AND  CONGOESE. 


ItEAL  NAME  OF  THE  BUB^S  —  THEIR  LIMITED  RANGE  —  APPEARANCE  AND  MANNERS  OF  THE  MEN  — 
TOLA  PASTE  —  REASONS  FOR  NUDITY  —  BUB^  ARCHITECTURE  —  GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
BUB^S  —  A  WEDDING  AT  FERNANDO  PO  —  CONGO  —  ITS  GEOGRAPHICAL  POSITION — CURIOUS  TAXA- 
TION—  RELIGION  OF  CONGO  —  THE  CHITOME  AND  HIS  POWERS  —  HIS  DEATH,  AND  LAW  OF  SUC- 
CESSION —  THE  NGHOMBO  AND  HIS  MODE  OF  WALKING  —  THE  ORDEAL  —  CEREMONY  OF  CRO WNINQ 
A  KING  —  THE  ROYAL  ROBES  —  THE  WOMEN  OF  CONGO  —  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  COUNTRY  — 
THE  FEMALE  MONARCH — THE  FATE  OF  TEMBANDUMBA. 


The  Bube  ti-ibe  (which  unfortunately  is 
pronounced  Booby,  is  a  really  interesting 
one,  and,  but  for  the  rapidly  decreasing 
space,  would  be  described  in  detail.  The 
real  name  of  the  tribe  is  Adizah,  Ijut,  as 
they  are  in  the  habit  of  addressing  others  as 
Bube,  i.  e.  Man,  the  term  has  clung  to 
them. 

The  Bubes  inhabit  Fernando  Po,  and,  al- 
though some  of  them  believe  themselves  to 
be  aborigines  of  the  island,  have  evidently 
come  from  the  mainland.  They  have,  how- 
ever, no  particular  pride  in  their  autoc- 
thonic  origin,  and,  if  questioned,  are  per- 
fectly content  to  say  that  they  came  from 
theii-  parents. 

The  Bubes  inhabit  only  one  zone  in  Fer- 
nando Po.  The  sea  air  is  too  soft  and  warm 
for  them,  and,  besides,  there  is  danger  of 
being  carried  off  by  the  slavers.  More  than 
three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  they  cannot 
exist,  not  because  the  climate  is  too  cold,  but 
because  the  palms  and  plantains  on  which 
they  live  will  not  flourish  there.  With  the 
exception  of  those  individuals  who  have 
come  under  the  sway  of  the  missionaries, 
the  Bubes  wear  no  clothes  except  closely  fit- 
ting coats  of  palm  oil,  or,  on  crand  occa- 
sions, of  tola  paste,  i.  e.  palm  oil  bruised  and 
mixed  with  the  leaves  of  the  tola  herb. 
This  paste  has  a  powerful  and  very  peculiar 
odor,  and  the  first  intimation  of  the  vicinity 
of  a  Bube  village  is  usually  the  scent  of  the 
tola  p.aste  borne  on  the  breeze. 

The  men  wear  large  flat  hats  made  of 
■wicker-work  coTcred  with  monkey  skin,  and 


used  chiefly  to  guard  themselves  from  the 
tree  snake.  The  women  are  dressed  in  ex- 
actly the  same  fashion,  but  without  the  hat, 
their  husbands  perhaps  thinking  that  wom- 
en cannot  be  hurt  by  snakes.  The  hat  is 
fastened  to  the  head  by  skewers  made  of  the 
bone  of  the  monkey's  leg,  and  the  hair  itself 
is  plentifully  greased  and  adorned  with  yel- 
low ochre,  and  manipulated  so  that  it  looks 
as  if  it  were  covered  with  little  gilded  peas. 
Bound  the  upper  arm  is  tied  a  piece  of  string, 
which  holds  a  knife  for  the  man  and  a  pii)e 
for  the  woman.  Clothing  is  to  them  a  posi- 
tive infliction,  and  Captain  Burton  remarks 
that,  even  at  an  elevation  of  ten  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  he  otl'ered  the  Bubes  blankets, 
but  they  would  not  have  them,  though  they 
found  the  warmth  of  the  fire  acceptable  to 
them. 

They  have  a  legend  which  explains  their 
nudity.  Many  years  ago  a  M'pongwe  ma- 
gician made  fetish  upon  his  great  war  spear, 
and  killed  numbers  of  them,  so  that  they  fled. 
They  then  made  a  law  that  the  Bube  should 
wear  no  clothing  until  they  had  conquered 
the  M'pongwe,  and  that  law  they  have  kept 
to  the  present  day. 

Taken  as  a  savage,  the  Bube  is  a  wonder- 
fully good  specimen.  He  is  very  industrious, 
laying  out  yam  fields  and  farms  at  some  dis- 
tance froni  his  house,  in  order  to  prevent 
his  domestic  animals  from  straying  into  it, 
and  he  is  the  best  palm-wine  maker  in 
Western  Africa.  He  neither  will  be  a  slave 
himself  nor  keep  slaves,  preferring  to  work 
for  himself;  and,  after  working  bard  at  his 


tOlO) 


•-     5P 


m 


ca 


(612) 


A  BUBfi  MAERIAGE. 


613 


farm,  he  will  start  off  into  ttie  woods  to  shoot 
monkeys  or  squirrels.  He  is  a  good  athlete, 
and  handles  his  great  staff  witli  such  ad- 
dress that  he  is  a  verj^  formidable  antagonist. 
He  is  an  admirable  linguist,  picking  up  lan- 
guages with  astonishing  readiness,  and  he 
is  absolutely  honest.  "  You  may  safely 
deposit  rum  and  tobacco  in  his  street,  and  he 
will  pay  his  debt  as  surely  as  the  Bank  of  Eng- 
land." "  This  testimony  is  given  by  Captain 
Burton,  who  certainly  cannot  be  accused  of 
painting  the  native  African  in  too  bright  col- 
ors. 

Yet  he  never  trusts  any  one.  He  will  deal 
with  you  most  honorably,  but  he  will  never 
tell  you  his  name.  If  you  present  gifts  to 
him,  he  takes  them,  but  with  suspicion  : 
"  Timet  Danaos  et  dona  ferentcs."  If  you 
enter  his  village  unexpectedly,  he  turns  out 
armed,  and,  "  if  you  are  fond  of  collecting 
vocabularies,  may  the  god  of  speech  direct 
jou."  The  fact  is,  he  has  been  so  cheated 
aud  plundered  that  he  now  suspects  all  men 
alike,  and  will  not  trust  even  his  fellow- 
countrymen  of  the  next  village. 

He  treats  his  wife  pretty  well,  but  has 
an  odd  ascending  series  of  punishments. 
Should  he  detect  her  in  an  infidelity,  he 
boils  a  pot  of  oil,  cuts  off  the  offender'.s  left 
hand,  and  plunges  the  stump  into  the  oil  to 
heal  the  bleeding.  For  the  second  offence 
she  loses  the  right  hand,  and  for  the  third 
the  head,  on  which  occasion  the  boiling  oil  is 
not  required.  Partly  on  account  of  this  law, 
and  partly  on  account  of  their  ugliness,  which 
is  said  to  be  portentous,  the  women  display 
better  morals  than  the  generality  of  their 
African  sisters. 

Dr.  Hutchinson,  who  resided  in  Fernando 
Po  for  some  time,  has  not  a  very  favorable 
opinion  of  the  Bubes,  thinking  that  the 
twenty  or  thirty  thousand  of  their  tribe 
form  the  greatest  obstacle  to  civilization.  He 
states,  moreover,  that  although  the  Baptist 
missionaries  have  been  hard  at  work  among 
them  for  seventeen  years,  they  had  not  suc- 
ceeded in  Christianizing  or  civilizing,  or 
even  humanizing,  a  single  Bube. 

They  are  not  an  intellectual  race,  and  do 
not  appear  to  know  or  care  much  aliout  the 
division  of  time,  the  new  moon  and  the 
beginning  of  the  dry  season  marking  their 
monthly  and  annual  epochs.  The  latter 
begins  in  November,  and  for  two  months 
the  Bubes  hold  a  festival  called  Lobo,  in 
which  marriages  are  generally  celebrated. 
Dr.  Hutchinson  was  able  to  witness  a  Bube' 
marriage,  and  has  given  a  very  amusing 
account  of  it.  The  reader  may  find  it  ilhis- 
ti-ated  on  the  preceding  page.  The  bride 
was  a  daughter  of  the  king.  "  On  getting 
inside  of  the  town  our  first  object  of  attrac- 
tion was  the  cooking  going  on  in  his  Maj- 
esty's kitchen.  Here  a  number  of  dead  '  i]ia ' 
(porcupines)  and  '  litcha'  (gazelles)  were  in 
readiness  to  be  mingled  up  with  palm  oil, 
and    several   grubs  writhing  on    skewers, 


probably  to  add  piquancy  to  the  dishes. 
These  are  called  '  inchaee,'  being  obtained 
from  palm  trees,  and  look  at  first  sight  like 
Brobdignagiau  maggots.  Instead  of  wait- 
ing to  see  the  art  of  the  Fernandian  Soyer 
on  these  components,  I  congratulated  myself 
on  my  ham  sandwiches  and  brandy-and- 
water  bottle  safely  stowed  in  my  portman- 
teau, which  one  of  the  Krumeu  carried  on  his 
back,  and  sat  on  my  camp-stool  beUL-atli 
the  grateful  shade  of  a  palm  tree  to  rest  a 
while. 

"  Outside  a  small  hut  belonging  to  the 
mother  of  the  bride  expectant,  I  soon  rec- 
ognized the  happy  bridegroom,  undergoing 
his  toilet  from  the  hands  of  his  future  wife's 
sister.  A  profusion  of  tshibbu  strings  (i.  e. 
small  pieces  of  Achatectona  shell,  which 
reijresent  the  currency  in  Fernando  Po) 
being  fastened  round  his  body,  as  well  as  his 
legs  and  arms,  the  anointing  lady  (having  a 
short  black  pipe  in  her  mouth)  proceeded 
to  putty  him  over  with  tola  paste.  He 
seemed"  not  altogether  joyous  at  the  antici- 
pation of  his  approaching  happiness,  but 
turned  a  sulky  gaze  now  anil  then  to  a 
kidney-shaped  piece  of  brown-painted  j'am, 
which  he  held  in  his  hand,  and  which  had 
a  parrot's  red  feather  fixed  on  its  convex 
side.  This  I  was  informed  was  called 
'  ntsheba,'  and  is  regarded  as  a  protection 
against  evil  influence  during  the  important 
day. 

"  Two  skewer-looking  hair-pins,  with 
heads  of  red  and  white  glass  beads,  fastened 
his  hat  (which  was  nothing  more  than  a  disk 
of  bamboo  plaiting)  to  the  hair  of  his  head; 
and  his  toilet  being  complete,  he  and  one 
of  the  bridesmen,  as  elaborately  dressed  as 
himself,  attacked  a  mess  of  stewed  flesh  and 
palm  oil  placed  before  them,  as  eagerly  as 
if  they  had  not  tasted  food  for  a  fortnight. 
In  dis"cussing  this  meal  they  followed  the 
primitive  usage  of  '  fingers  before  foi-ks,' 
only  resting  now  and  then  to  take  a  gulp  of 
palm  wine  out  of  a  calabash  which  was  hard 
by,  or  to  wipe  their  hands  on  napkins  of 
cocoa-leaf,  a  process  which,  to  say  the  least 
of  it,  added  nothing  to  their  washerwomen's 
bill  at  the  end  of  the  week. 

"But  the  bride!  Here  she  comes!  Led 
forth  by  her  own  and  her  husband-expect- 
ant's mother,  each  holding  her  by  a  hand, 
followed  by  two  '  nepees  '  (professional  sing- 
ers) and  half-a-dozen  bridesmaids.  Noth- 
ing short  of  a  correct  photograph  could 
convey  an  idea  of  her  ajipearance.  Borne 
down  by  tlie  weight  of  rings,  wreaths,  and 
girdles  of '  tshibbu,' the  tola  pomatum  gave 
her  the  appearance  of  an  exhumed  mununy, 
save  her  face,  which  was  all  white  —  not 
from  excess  of  modesty  (and  here  I  may 
add,  tlie  negro  race  are  expected  always  to 
blush  blue),  but  from  being  smeared  over 
with  a  white  paste,  symbolical  of  imrity. 

•'As  soon  as  she  was  outside  the  paling, 
her  bridal  attire  was  proceeded  with,  and 


614 


COXGO. 


the  wliole  body  was  plastered  over  with 
white  stutr.  A  veil  of  strings  of  tshibbu 
shells,  completely  covering  her  face,  and 
extending  from  the  crown  of  her  head  to 
the  chin,  as  well  as  on  each  side  from  ear  to 
ear,  was  then  thrown  over  her;  over  this 
was  placed  an  enormous  helmet  made  of 
cowhide;  and  an}'  one  with  a  spark  of  com- 
passion in  him  could  not  help  pitying  that 
poor  creature,  standing  for  more  than  an 
hour  under  the  broiling  sun,  with  such  a 
load  on  her,  whilst  the  nepees  were  celebrat- 
ing her  praises  in  an  extempore  epithala- 
mium,  and  the  bridegroom  was  completing 
his  finery  elsewhere. 

"Next  came  a  long  chant — musical  peo- 
ple would  call  it  a  howl  —  by  the  chief 
nepee.  It  was  about  as  long' as  'Chevy 
Chase,'  and  celebrated  the  beauties  and 
many  virtues  of  the  bride,  among  which 
was  rather  oddly  mentioned  the  delicious 
smell  which  proceeded  from  her.  At  every 
pause  in  the  chant  the  audience  struck  in 
with  a  chorus  of  'Hee!  hee!  jee!  eh!'  and 
when  it  was  over  the  ceremony  proceeded. 

"■The  candidates  for  marriage  having 
taken  their  positions  side  by  side  in  the 
open  air,  fronting  the  little  house  from 
which  the  bride  elect  had  been  led  out  by 
the  two  mothers,  and  where  I  was  informed 
she  had  been  closely  immured  for  fifteen 
months  previous,  the  ceremony  commenced. 
The  mothers  were  the  officiating  priests  — 
an  institution  of  natural  simplicity,  whose 
homely  origin  no  one  will  dare  to  impugn. 
On  these  occasions  the  mother-bishops  are 
prophetically  entitled  '  laoowanas,'  the  Fer- 
nandian  for  grandmother. 

"  Five  bridesmaids  marshalled  themselves 
alongside  the  bride  postulant,  each,  in  rota- 
tion, some  indies  lower  than  the  other,  the 
outside  one  being  a  mere  infant  in  stature, 
and  all  having  Inmclics  of  jiarrots'  feathers 
on  their  heads,  as  well  as  holding  a  wand 
in  their  right  hands.  The  mother  stood 
behind  the  '  happy  pair,'  and  folded  an  arm 
of  each  round  the  body  of  the  other  — 
nepees  chanting  all  the  while,  so  that  it  was 
barely  possible  for  my  interpreter  to  catch 
the  words  by  which  they  were  formally  sol- 
dered.    A  string  of  tshibbu  was  fastened 


round  both  arms  by  the  bridegroom's 
mother;  she,  at  the  same  time,  whi.spering 
to  him  advice  to  take  care  of  this  tender 
lamb,  even  though  he  had  half-a-dozen 
wives  before.  The  string  was  then  unloosed. 
It  was  again  fastened  on  by  the  bride's 
mother,  who  whispered  into  her  daughter's 
ear  her  duty  to  attend  to  her  husband's 
farm,  tilling  his  yams  and  cassava,  and  the 
necessity  of  her  being  faithful  to  him.  The 
ratification  of  their  promise  to  fulfil  these 
conditions  was  efiected  by  passing  a  goblet 
of  palm  wine  from  mother  to  son  (the  bride- 
groom), from  him  to  his  bride,  from  her  to 
her  mother,  each  taking  a  sip  as  it  went 
round. 

"  Then  an  indiscriminate  dance  and  chant 
commenced:  and  the  whole  scene  —  the  tola 
paste  laid  on  some  faces  so  thickly  that  one 
might  imagine  it  was  intended  to  affix  some- 
thing to  them  by  means  of  it  —  the  dangling 
musk-cat  and  monkey  tails  —  the  disk'hats 
and  parrots'  feathers  —  the  branches  of  wild 
fern  and  strings  of  tshibbu  shells,  fastened 
perhaps  as  nosegays  to  the  ladies'  persons 
—  the  white  and  red  and  j-ellow  s]iots 
painted  under  the  eyes,  and  on  the  shoul- 
ders, and  in  anj-  place  where  they  could 
form  objects  of  attraction  —  the  Imit  cn- 
scinble,  contrasted  with  the  lofty  Bmnhax, 
beautiful  {)alm,  cocoa-nut,  and  other  mag- 
nificent tropical  trees  around,  presented  a 
picture  rarely  witnessed  by  an  European,  and 
one  calculated  to  excite  varied  retlections." 

Lastly,  the  whole  party  —  the  tola  paste 
now  cracking  from  their  bodies  —  proceeded 
to  the  house  of  the  bridegroom,  the  old 
wives  walking  before  the  bride  until  they 
reached  the  door,  and  then  allowing  her  to 
precede  them.  The  newh'-married  pair 
then  stood  at  their  door  facing  the  specta- 
tors, embracing  each  other  as  before.  One 
of  his  children  then  presented  the  bride 
with  a  huge  yam  painted  brown,  others 
fixed  tshibbu  epaulets  on  her  shoulders,  the 
husband  placed  four  rings  on  her  fingers, 
and  the  ceremony  was  concluded  by  a  sec- 
ond lecture  from  the  bridegroom's  mother, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  Dr.  Hutchinson, 
as  he  rather  quaintly  says,  "  left  the  happy 
pair  to  the  enjoyment  of  their  tola-moon." 


CONGO. 


Passing  southward  down  the  "West  Coast, 
we  come  to  the  celebrated  kingdom  of 
Congo. 

In  these  days  it  has  been  so  traversed  by 
merchants  of  different  countries  and  mis- 
sionaries of  dilferent  sects,  that  it  no  longer 
presents  the  uniform  aspect  of  its  earlier 
monarchical  days,  of  which  we  will  take  a 
brief  survey.  The  reader  must  understand 
that  the  sources  from  which  the  intbrmation 
is  taken  are  not  wholly  reliable,  but,  as  we 


have  none  other,  we  must  make  the  best  of 
our  intbrmation,  and  use  our  own  discretion 
as  to  those  parts  whicli  are  best  worthy  of 
belief.  The  following  account  is  mostly 
taken  from  Mr.  Reade's  condensation. 

The  ancient  constitution  of  the  Congo 
kingdom  much  resembled  that  of  Ashanti 
or  Dahome;  namely,  a  despotic  monarchy 
controlled  by  councillors,  the  king  and  the 
council  being  mutually  jealous,  and  each 
trying  to  overreach  the  other.     "When  the 


THE   CHITOME, 


615 


kingdom  of  Congo  was  first  established, 
tlie  royal  revenues  were  much  in  the  same 
condition  as  the  civil  list  of  a  late  Emperor 
of  Russia  —  all  belonged  to  the  king,  and 
he  took  as  much  as  he  wanted.  In  later 
days,  liowever,  tlie  revenues  were  controlled 
by  the  council,  who  aided,  not  only  in  their 
disposal,  but  in  the  mode  of  their  collection. 
The  greater  part  of  the  income  depended 
on  the  annual  tributes  of  the  inferior  chiefs, 
but,  as  in  times  of  pressure,  especially  dur- 
ing a  protracted  war,  this  tribute  is  inade- 
quate to  meet  the  expenses,  the  king  and 
council  devise  various  objects  of  taxation. 

The  most  productive  is  perhaps  the  tax 
on  beds,  which  are  assessed  according  to 
their  width,  every  span  costing  an  annual 
payment  of  a  slave.  Now,  as  an  ordinary 
man  cannot  sleep  comfortably  on  a  bed  less 
than  four  spans  in  width,  it  is  very  evident 
that  the  tax  must  be  a  very  productive  one, 
if  indeed  it  were  not  so  oppressive  as  to 
cause  a  rebellion.  The  natives  seem,  how- 
ever, to  have  quietly  acquiesced  in  it,  and  a 
wealthy  negro  therefore  takes  a  pride  in 
having  a  very  broad  bed  as  a  tangible 
proof  of  his  importance. 

As  in  more  civilized  nations,  war  is  the 
great  parent  of  taxation,  the  king  being 
obliged  to  maintain  a  large  standing  army, 
and  to  keep  it  in  good  humor  by  constant 
largesses,  for  a  large  standing  army  is  nauch 
like  fire,  —  a  useful  servant,  but  a  terrible 
master.  The  army  is  divided  into  regi- 
ments, each  acting  under  the  immediate 
command  of  the  chief  in  whose  district 
they  live,  and  they  are  armed,  in  a  most 
miscellaneous  fashion,  with  any  weapons 
they  can  procure.  In  these  times  the  trade 
guns  are  the  most  valued  weapons,  but  the 
native  swords,  bows  and  arrows,  spears,  and 
knives,  still  form  the  staple  of  their  equip- 
ment. As  to  uniform,  they  have  no  idea 
of  it,  and  do  not  even  distinguish  the  men  of 
the  different  regiments,  as  do  the  Kaffirs  of 
Southern  Africa. 

The  ancient  religion  of  the  Congo  negro 
is  simply  polytheism,  which  they  have  suf- 
fered to  degenerate  into  fetishism.  There  is 
one  monotheistic  sect,  but  they  have  gained 
very  little  by  their  religion,  which  is  in  fact 
merely  a  negation  of  many  deities,  without 
the  least  understanding  of  the  one  whom 
they  profess  to  worship  —  a  deity  to  whom 
they  attribute  the  worst  vices  that  can  de- 
grade human  nature. 

The  fetish  men  or  priests  are  as  impor- 
tant here  as  the  marabouts  among  the 
Mandingoes,  and  the  chief  of  themi,  who 
goes  by  the  name  of  Chitome,  is  scarcely 
less  honored  than  the  king,  who  finds  him- 
self obliged  to  seek  the  favor  of  this  spirit- 
ual potentate,  while  the  common  people 
look  on  him  as  scarcely  less  than  a  god. 
He  is  maintained  by  a  sort  of  tithe,  consist- 
ing of  the  first-fruits  of  the  harvest,  which 
are  brought  to  him  with  great  ceremony, 


and  are  offered  with  solemn  chants.  The 
Congo  men  fully  believe  that  if  they  were 
to  omit  the  first-fruits  of  one  year's  harvest, 
the  next  year  would  be  an  unproductive 
one. 

A  sacred  fire  burns  continually  in  his 
house,  and  the  embers,  which  are  supposed 
to  be  possessed  of  great  medicinal  virtues, 
are  sold  by  him  at  a  high  price,  so  that 
even  his  fire  is  a  constant  source  of  income 
to  him.  He  has  the  entire  regulation  of 
the  minor  priests,  and  every  now  and  then 
makes  a  progress  among  them  to  settle  the 
disputes  which  continually  sjiring  up.  As 
soon  as  he  leaves  his  house,  the  husbands 
and  wives  throughout  the  kingdom  are 
obliged  to  separate  under  pain  of  death. 
In  case  of  disobedience,  the  man  only  is 
punished,  and  cases  have  been  known  where 
wives  who  disliked  their  husbands  have  ac- 
cused them  of  breaking  this  strange  law, 
and  have  thereby  gained  a  double  advan- 
tage, freed  themselves  from  a  man  whom 
they  did  not  like,  and  established  a  religious 
reputation  on  easy  terms. 

In  fact,  the  Chitome  has  things  entirely 
his  own  way,  with  one  exception.  He  is 
so  holy  that  he  cannot  die  a  natural  death, 
for  if  he  did  so  the  universe  would  imme- 
diately be  dissolved.  Consequently,  as  soon 
as  he  is  seized  with  a  dangerous  illness, 
the  Chitome  elect  calls  at  his  house,  and 
saves  the  universe  by  knocking  out  his 
brains  with  a  club,  or  strangling  him  with 
a  cord  if  he  should  prefer  it.  That  his  own 
death  must  be  of  a  similar  character  has 
no  effect  upon  the  new  Chitome,  who,  true 
to  the  negro  character,  thinks  only  of  the 
present  time,  and,  so  far  as  being  anxious 
about  the  evils  that  will  happen  at  some 
future  time,  does  not  trouble  himself  even 
about  the  next  day. 

Next  to  the  Chitome  comes  the  Nghombo, 
a  priest  who  is  distinguishea  by  his  peculiar 
gait.  His  dignity  would  be  impaired  by 
walking  like  ordinary  mortals,  or  even  like 
the  inferior  priests,  and  so  he  always  walks 
on  his  hands  with  his  feet  in  the  air,  thereby 
striking  awe  into  the  laity.  Some  of  the 
priests  are  rain-makers,  who  perform  the  du- 
ties of  their  office  by  building  little  mounds 
of  earth  and  making  fetish  over  them.  From 
the  centre  of  each  charmed  mound  rises 
a  strange  inser'*",  which  mounts  into  the 
.sky,  and  brings  as  much  rain  as  the  people 
have  paifl  for.  These  priests  are  regularly 
instituted,  but  there  are  some  who  are  bora 
to  the  office,  such  as  dwarfs,  hunchbacks, 
and  albinos,  all  of  whom  are  highly  hon- 
ored as  specially  favored  individuals,  con- 
secrated to  the  priesthood  by  Nature  her- 
self 

The  priests  have,  as  usual,  a  system  of 
ordeal,  the  commonest  mode  being  the 
drinking  of  the  poison  cup,  and  the  rarest 
the  test  of  the  red-hot  iron,  which  is  ap- 
plied to  the  skin  of  the  accused,  and  bums 


616 


CONGO. 


him  if  he  be  guilty.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  magicians  are  acquainted  with  some 
preparation  which  renders  the  skin  proof 
against  a  brief  application  of  hot  iron,  and 
that  they  previously  apply  it  to  an  accused 
person  who  will  pay  for  it. 

The  Chitome  has  the  privilege  of  con- 
ducting the  coronation  of  a  king.  The  new 
ruler  proceeds  to  the  house  of  the  Chitome, 
attended  by  a  host  of  his  future  subjects, 
who  utter  piercing  yells  as  he  goes.  Hav- 
ing reached  the  sacred  house,  he  kneels  be- 
fore the  door,  and  asks  the  Chitome  to  be 
gracious  to  him.  The  Chitome  growls  out 
a  tlat  refusal  from  within.  The  king  renews 
his  supplications,  in  spite  of  repeated  re- 
buffs, enumerating  all  the  presents  which 
he  has  brought  to  the  Chitome  —  which 
presents,  by  the  waj',  are  easily  made,  as 
he  will  extort  an  equal  amount  from  his 
subjects  as  soon  as  he  is  fairly  installed. 

At  last,  the  door  of  the  hut  opens,  and  out 
comes  the  Chitome  in  his  white  robe  of 
office,  his  head  covered  with  feathers,  and  a 
shining  mirror  on  his  breast.  The  king  lies 
prostrate  before  the  house,  while  theChi- 
tome  pours  water  on  liim,  scatters  dust  over 
him,  and  sets  his  feet  on  him.  He  then  lies 
flat  on  the  prostrate  monarch,  and  in  that 
position  receives  from  him  a  promise  to 
respect  his  authority  ever  afterward.  The 
king  is  then  proclaimed,  and  retires  to  wash 
and  change  his  clothes. 

Presently  he  comes  out  of  the  palace, 
attended  bj-  his  priests  and  nobles,  and  gor- 
geous in  all  the  bravery  of  his  new  rank, 
his  whole  person  covered  with  glittering 
ornaments  of  metal,  glass,  and  stone,  so 
that  the  ej'e  can  scarcely  bear  the  rays  that 
flash  on  every  side  as  he  moves  in  the  sun- 
beams. He  then  seats  himself,  and  makes 
a  speech  to  the  people.  "When  it  is  finished, 
he  rises,  while  all  the  people  crouch  to  the 
ground,  stretches  his  hands  over  them,  and 
makes  certain  prescribed  gestures,  which  are 
considered  as  the  royal  benediction.  (See 
the  engraving  No.  2,  on  the  next  page.)  A 
long  series  of  banquets  and  revelry  ends  the 
proceedings. 

At  the  present  day,  the  Congo  king  and 
great  men  disfigure  themselves  with  Euro- 
pean clothing,  such  as  silk  jackets,  velvet 
shoes,  damask  coats,  and  broad -brimmed 
hats.  But,  in  the  former  times,  they  dressed 
becomingly  in  native  attire.  A  simple  tunic 
made  of  very  fine  grass  cloth,  and  leaving 
the  right  arm  bare,  covered  the  upper  part 
of  the  body,  while  a  sort  of  petticoat,  made 
of  similar  material,  but  dyed  black,  was  tied 
round  the  waist,  and  an  apron,  or  "  sporran," 
of  leopard  skin,  was  fastened  to  the  girdle 
and  hung  in  front.  On  their  heads  they 
wore  a  sort  of  hood,  and  sometimes  pre- 
ferred a  square  red  and  yellow  cap.  San- 
dals made  of  the  palm  tree  were  the  pecul- 
iar privilege  of  the  king  and  nobles,  the  com- 
mon people  being  obliged  to  go  bare-footed. 


The  wives  in  Congo  are  tolerably  well  oflf, 
except  that  they  are  severely  beaten  with  the 
heavy  hippopotamus-hide  whip.  The  women 
do  not  resent  this  treatment,  and  indeed, 
unless  a  woman  is  soundly  'logged  occasion- 
ally, she  thinks  that  her  husband  is  neglect- 
ing her,  and  feels  offended  accordingly. 
The  king  has  the  power  of  taking  auy 
woman  for  his  wife,  whether  married  or  not, 
and,  when  she  goes  to  the  royal  harem,  her 
husband  is  judiciously  executed. 

The  people  of  Congo  are  —  probably  on 
account-  of  the  enervating  climate  —  a  very 
indolent  and  lethargic  race,  the  women 
being  made  to  do  all  the  work,  while  the 
men  lie  in  the  shade  and  smoke  their  jiipes 
and  drink  their  palm  wine,  which  they  make 
remarkably  well,  though  not  so  well  as  the 
Bube  tribe  of  Fernando  Po.  Their  houses 
are  merely  huts  of  the  simplest  description; 
a  few  posts  with  a  roof  over  them,  and  twigs 
woven  between  them  in  wicker-work  fash- 
ion by  waj'  of  walls,  are  all  that  a  Congo 
man  cares  for  in  a  house.  His  clothing  is 
as  simple  as  his  lodging,  a  piece  of  native 
cloth,  tied  round  his  middle  being  all  that 
he  cares  for;  so  that  the  ample  clothes  and 
handsome  furs  worn  by  the  king  must  have 
had  a  very  strong  effect  on  the  almost  naked 
populace. 

According  to  traditional  history,  Congo 
was  in  old  times  one  of  the  great  African 
kingdoms.  Twice  it  rose  to  this  eminence, 
and  both  times  by  the  energy  of  a  woman, 
who,  in  spite  of  the  low  opinion  in  which 
women  are  held,  contrived  to  ascend  the 
throne. 

Somewhere  about  1520  —  it  is  impossible 
in  such  history  to  obtain  precision  of  dates 
—  a  great  chief,  named  Zimbo,  swept  over  a 
verj'  large  part  of  Africa,  taking  every  coun- 
trj'  to  which  he  came,  and  establishing  his 
own  dominion  in  it.  Among  other  king- 
doms, Congo  was  taken  bj'  him,  and  ren- 
dered tributary,  and  so  powerful  did  he  at 
last  become,  that  his  army  outgrew  his  ter- 
ritory, and  he  had  the  audacity  to  send  a 
division  to  ravage  Abyssinia  and  Mozam- 
bique. The  division  reached  the  eastern  sea 
in  safety,  but  the  army  then  met  the  Portu- 
guese, who  routed  them  with  great  loss. 
Slessengers  conveyed  the  tidings  to  Zimbo, 
who  put  himself  at  the  head  of  his  remain- 
ing troops,  went  against  the  Portuguese, 
beat  them,  killed  their  general,  and  carried 
off'  a  great  number  of  prisoners,  with  whose 
skulls  he  paved  the  ground  in  front  of  liis 
house. 

In  process  of  time  he  died,  and  the  king- 
dom separated,  after  African  fashion,  into 
a  number  of  independent  provinces,  each 
governed  by  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  now 
useless  army.  One  of  these  leaders  had  a 
daughter  named  Tembandumba,  who,  to- 
gether with  her  mother,  ruled  the  province 
when  her  father  died.  These  women  al- 
ways accompanied  the  troops  in  war,  and  so 


(1.)   WASHING   DAY. 
(See  page  648.) 


(2.)    A   CONGO  COKONATION. 
(See  page  616.) 

(617) 


FATE   OF  TEMBANDUMBA. 


619 


fierce  and  bloodthirstj'  was  Teinljandumba, 
even  as  a  girl,  that  her  mother  gave  her  the 
commaud  of  half  the  troops,  the  natural 
COD  sequence  of  wliich  was  that  she  took  the 
command  of  the  whole,  deposed  her  mother, 
and  marie  herself  queen. 

Her  great  ambition  was  to  found  a  nation 
of  Amazons.  Licentiousness  she  permitted 
to  the  fullest  extent,  but  marriage  was 
utterly  prohibited;  and,  as  soon  as  the 
women  found  themselves  tired  of  their  male 
companions,  the  latter  were  killed  and  eaten, 
their  places  being  supplied  by  prisoners  of 
wai\  All  male  children  were  killed,  and 
she  had  nearly  succeeded  in  the  object  of 


her  ambition,  when  she  was  poisoned  by  a 
young  man  with  whom  she  fell  violently  in 
love,  "and  from  whom  she  imprudently  ac- 
cepted a  bowl  of  wine  at  a  banquet. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that,  about  a  hun- 
dred years  after  the  death  of  Temband- 
umba,  another  female  warrior  took  the 
kingdom.  Her  name  was  Shinga,  and  she 
obtained  a  power  scarcely  less  than  that  of 
her  predecessor.  She,  however,  was  wise 
in  her  generation,  and,  after  she  had  fought 
the  Portuguese,  and  been  beaten  by  them, 
she  concluded  .an  humble  peace,  and  re' 
tained  her  kingdom  in  safety. 


TH£  JU-JU  EXECUTioJf.    (See  paije  602.> 


CHAPTER  LXII. 


BOENU. 


POSITION  OP  THE  KINGDOM  OF  EORNU  —  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  PEOPLE — MODE  OP  DRESSING  THE  HAIB 
—  A  RECEPTION  BY  THE  SULTAN  —  COURT  DRESS — THE  SHEIKH  OF  BORNtJ  —  HIS  PALACE  AND 
ATTENDANTS — HIS  NOBLE  AND  ENERGETIC  CHARACTER  —  RECEPTION  BY  THE  GUARDS  —  THEIB 
WEAPONS  AND  DISCIPLINE  —  THE  KANEMBOO  INFANTRY — JUSTICE  OF  THE  SHEIKH — HIS  POLICY 
AND  TACT— REPUTED  POWER  OF  CHARM  WRITING  —  HIS  ZEAL  VaR  RELIGION  —  A  TERRIBLE  PUN- 
ISHMENT—  BORNU  ARCHITECTURE  —  CURIOUS  MODES  OF  FISHING  AND  HUNTING  —  HABITS  AND 
CUSTOMS  OF  THE  KANEMBOOS. 


On  the  western  side  of  Lake  Tchad,  between 
10°  and  15°  N.  and  12°  and  18°  E.,  is  situated 
the  large  Icingdom  of  Bornu,  wliich  embraces 
a  considerable  number  of  tribes,  and  is  of 
sufficient  importance  to  demand  a  notice. 
There  are  about  twelve  or  thirteen  great 
cities  in  Bornu,  and  at  least  ten  diflerent 
dialects  are  spoken  in  the  coimtry,  some 
having  been  due  to  the  presence  of  the 
Shooas,  who  themselves  speak  nearly  pure 
Arabic. 

The  pure  Bornu  people,  or  Kanowry,  as 
they  call  themselves,  are  not  handsome,  hav- 
ing large,  flat,  and  rather  unmeaning  faces, 
with  rtattish  noses,  and  large  mouths.  The 
lips,  however,  are  not  those  of  the  negro, 
and  the  forehead  is  high,  betokening  a 
greater  amount  of  intellect  than  falls  to  the 
lot  of  the  real  negro. 

As  a  rule,  the  Bornuese  are  not  a  wealthy 
people,  and  they  are  but  indifferently  clad, 
wearing  a  kind  of  shirt  stained  of  an  indigo 
blue  by  themselves,  and,  if  they  are  toleralily 
well  off,  wearing  two  or  even  three  such 
garments,  according  to  their  means.  The 
head  is  kept  closely  shaven,  and  the  better 
class  wear  a  cap  of  dark  blue,  the  scarlet 
v;aps  being  aiipropriated  to  the  sultan  and 
his  court.  When  they  walk  they  always 
carry  a  heavy  stick  \vith  an  enormous  knob 
at  the  top,  like  a  drum-maior's  b:"iton,  and 
march  mm  h  after  the  manner  of  that  impor- 
tant functionary. 

The  women  are  remarkable  for  the  mode 
in  which  they  dress  their  hair.     It  is  divided 


into  three  longitudinal  rolls,  thick  in  the 
middle  and  diminishing  toward  the  ends. 
One  of  these  rolls  passes  over  the  top  of  the 
head,  and  the  ofh.ers  lie  over  the  ears,  the 
three  points  uniting  on  the  forehead,  and 
being  held  firmly  in  their  places  by  a  thick 
plastering  of  beeswax  and  indigo.  The 
other  ends  of  the  rolls  are  plaited  very 
fineljf,  and  then  turned  up  like  the  curled 
feathers  of  a  drake's  tail. 

Sometimes  a  slight  variation  is  made  in 
the  hair,  five  rolls  being  used  instead  of 
three.  The  women  are  so  fond  of  indigo 
that  they  dye  their  e3'ebrows,  hands,  arms, 
feet,  and  legs  with  it,  using  the  ruddy  henna 
for  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  the  nails  of 
the  toes  and  fingers,  and  lilack  antimony  for 
the  eyelashes.  Beads,  bracelets,  and  other 
ornaments  are  profusely  worn,  mostly  of 
horn  or  brass.  Silver  and  ivory  mark  the 
woman  of  rank.  The  dress  is  primarily 
composed  of  a  sort  of  blue,  white,  or  striped 
sheet  called  toorkculee,  which  is  wrajiped 
round  the  body  under  the  arms,  and  falls  as 
low  as  the  knees.  This  is  the  usual  costume, 
but  if  a  woman  be  well  off,  she  adds  a  second 
toorkadee,  which  she  wears  like  a  mantilla, 
over  her  head  and  shoulders. 

Like  other  African  tribes,  though  they 
belong  to  the  Mahometan  religion,  they  use 
the  tattoo  profusely.  Twenty  cuts  are  made 
on  each  side  of  the  face,  converging  in  the 
corners  of  the  mouth,  from  the  angle  of  the 
lower  jaw  and  the  cheek-bones,  while  a  sin- 
gle cut  runs  down  the  centre  of  the  fore- 


(620) 


A  EECEPTION  BY  THE   SULTAN. 


621 


head.  Six  cuts  are  made  on  each  arm,  six 
more  on  the  thighs,  and  the  same  number 
on  the  legs,  while  four  are  on  each  breast, 
and  nine  on  each  side  just  above  the  hip- 
bone. These  are  made  while  they  are 
infants,  and  the  poor  little  things  undergo 
frightful  torments,  not  only  from  the  pain  of 
the  wounds,  but  from  the  countless  flies 
which  settle  on  the  hundred  and  three  cuts 
with  which  their  bodies  are  marked. 

The  Bornuese  are  governed,  at  least  nom- 
inally, by  a  head  chief  or  sultan,  who  holds 
his  court  with  most  quaint  ceremony.  When 
the  travellers  Denham  and  Clapperton  went 
to  pay  their  respects  to  him,  they  were  vis- 
ited on  the  previous  evening  by  one  of  the 
royal  chamberlains,  who  displayed  the  enor- 
mous staff,  like  a  drum-major's  baton,  wore 
eight  or  ten  shirts  in  order  to  exhibit  his 
wealth,  and  had  on  his  head  a  turban  of 
huge  dimensions.  By  bis  orders  a  tent  was 
pitched  for  the  white  visitors,  and  around  it 
was  drawn  a  linen  screen,  which  had  the 
double  effect  of  keeping  out  the  sun  and  the 
people,  and  of  admitting  the  air.  A  royal 
banquet,  consisting  of  seventy  or  eighty 
dishes,  was  sent  for  their  refection,  each  dish 
large  enough  to  suflice  for  six  persons,  and, 
lest  the  white  men  should  not  like  the  native 
cookery,  the  sultan,  with  much  thoughtful- 
ness,  sent  also  a  number  of  live  fowls,  which 
they  might  cook  for  themselves. 

Next  "morning,  soon  after  daylight,  they 
were  summoned  to  attend  the  sultan,  who 
was  sitting  in  a  sort  of  cage,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  wild  beast.  No'  one  was  allowed  to 
come  within  a  considerable  distance,  and 
the  etiquette  of  the  court  was,  that  each  per- 
son rode  on  horseback  past  the  cage,  and 
then  dismounted  and  prostrated  himself  be- 
fore the  sultan.  The  oddest  part  of  the 
ceremony  is,  that  as  soon  as  the  courtier  has 
made  his  obeisance,  he  seats  himself  on  the 
ground  with  his  back  toward  his  monarch. 
Nearly  three  hundred  of  the  courtiers  thus 
take  their  places,  and  nothing  could  be  more 
ludicrous  than  the  appearance  which  they 
presented,  their  bodies  being  puffed  out  by 
successive  robes,  their  heads  swathed  in  tur- 
bans of  the  most  preposterous  size,  and  their 
thin  legs,  appearing  under  the  voluminous 
garments,  showing  that  the  size  of  the  head 
and  body  was  merely  artificial. 

In  fact,  the  whole  business  is  a  sham,  the 
sultan  being  the  chief  sham,  and  the  others 
matching  their  sovereign.  The  sultan  has 
no  real  authority,  the  true  power  being 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  sheikh,  who  com- 
mands the  army.  Those  who  serve  the 
court  of  Bornu  are,  by  ancient  etiquette, 
obliged  to  have  very  large  heads  and  stom- 
achs, and,  as  such  gifts  of  nature  are  not 
very  common,  an  artificial  enlargement  of 
both  regions  is  held  to  be  a  sufficient  com- 
pliance with  custom.  Consequently,  the 
courtiers  pad  themselves  with  wadding  to 
such  an  extent  that  as  they  sit  on  horseback 


their  abdomens  seem  to  protrude  over  the 
pommel  of  the  saddle,  while  the  eight  or  ten 
shirts  which  they  wear,  one  over  the  other, 
aid  in  exaggerating  the  outline,  and  reduc- 
ing the  human  body  to  a  shapeless  lump. 

Their  heads  are  treated  in  a  similar  fashion, 
being  enveloped  in  great  folds  of  linen  or 
muslin  of  difterent  colors,  white,  however, 
predominating;  and  those  who  are  most 
careful  in  their  dress  fold  their  huge  turbans 
so  as  to  make  their  heads  appear  to  be  one- 
sided, and  as  unlike  their  original  shape  as 
possible.  Besides  all  these  robes  and  shirts 
and  padding,  they  wear  a  vast  number  of 
charms,  made  up  in  red  leather  parcels,  and 
hung  all  over  the  body.  The  sultan  is 
always  accompanied  by  his  trumpeters,  who 
blow  hideous  blasts  on  long  wooden  trum- 
pets called  frum-frums,  and  also  by  his 
dwarfs,  and  other  grotesque  favorites. 

In  war,  as  in  peace,  the  sultan  is  nomi- 
nally the  commander,  and  in  reality  a  mere 
nonentity.  He  accompanies  the  sheikh,  but 
never  gives  orders,  nor  even  carries  arms, 
active  fighting  being  supposed  to  be  below 
his  dignity.  One  of  the  sultans  lost  his  life 
in  consequence  of  this  rule.  According  to 
custom  he  had  accompanied  the  sheikh  in  a 
war  against  the  great  enemy  of  Bornu,  the 
Sultan  of  Begharmi,  and,  contrary  to  the 
usual  result  of  these  battles,  the  engagement 
had  gone  aganist  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
take  refuge  in  flight.  Unfortunately  for  him, 
though  he  was  qualified  by  nature  for  royalty, 
being  large-bodied  and  of  enormous  weight, 
yet  his  horse  could  not  carry  him  fast  enough, 
lie  fled  to  Angala,  one  of  his  chief  towns, 
and  if  he  could  have  entered  it  would  have 
been  safe.  But  his  enormous  weight  had 
distressed  his  horse  so  much  that  the  animal 
suddenly  stopped  close  to  the  gate,  and 
could  not  be  induced  to  stir. 

The  sultan,  true  to  the  principle  of  no- 
blesse oblige,  accepted  the  position  at  once. 
He  dismounted  from  his  horse,  wrapped  his 
face  in  the  shawl  which  covered  his  head, 
seated  himself  under  a  tree,  and  died  as 
became  his  rank.  Twelve  of  his  attendants 
refused  to  leave  their  master,  and  nobly 
shared   his   death. 

Around  the  sultan  are  his  inevitable 
musicians,  continually  blowing  their  frum- 
frums  or  trumpets,  "which  are  sometimes 
ten  or  twelve  feet  in  length,  and  in  front 
goes  his  ensign,  bearing  his  standard,  which 
is  a  long  pole  hung  round  at  the  top  with 
strips  of  colored  leather  and  silk.  At  either 
side  are  two  officers,  carrying  enormous 
spears,  with  which  they  are  supposed  to 
defend  their  monarch.  This,  however,  is  as 
much  a  sham  as  the  rest  of  the  proceedings; 
for,  in  the  first  place,  the  spearmen  are  so 
fat  and  their  weapons  so  unwieldy  that  they 
could  not  do  the  least  execution,  ami,  as  if 
to  render  the  spears  still  more  harndess, 
they  are  covered  with  charms  from  the  head 
to  the  butt. 


622 


BORNTJ. 


It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  real  power 
of  Bornu  rests,  not  with  the  sultan,  but  with 
the  sheiljh.  This  potentate  was  found  to  be 
of  simple  personal  habits,  yet  surrounded 
with  slate  equal  to  that  of  the  sultan,  though 
diftering  in  degree.  Dressed  in  a  plain  blue 
robe  and  a  shawl  turban,  he  preferred  to  sit 
quietly  in  a  small  and  dark  room,  attended 
by  two  of  his  favorite  negroes  armed  wilh 
pistols,  and  having  a  brace  of  pistols  lying 
on  a  carpet  in  front  of  him. 

But  the  approaches  to  this  chamber  were 
rigorously  guarded.  Sentinels  stood  at  the 
gate,  and  intercepted  those  who  wished  to 
enter,  and  would  not  allow  them  to  mount 
the  staircase  which  led  to  the  sheikh's  apart- 
ment until  they  were  satisfied.  At  the  top 
of  the  staircase  were  negro  guards  armed 
■with  spears,  which  they  crossed  in  front  of 
the  visitor,  and  again  questioned  him.  Then 
the  passages  leading  to  the  sheikh's  chamber 
were  lined  with  rows  of  squatting  attend- 
ants, who  snatched  off  the  slippers  of  the 
visitors,  and  continually  impeded  their  pro- 
gress by  seizing  their  ankles,  lest  thej' 
should  infringe  etiquette  by  walking  too 
fast.  Indeed,  had  not  the  passages  been 
densely  crowded,  the  guests  would  have 
been  several  times  flung  on  their  faces  by 
the  zeal  of  these  courtiers. 

At  last  they  gained  admission,  and  found 
this  dread  potentate  a  singularly  quiet  and 
unassuming  man,  well-disposed  toward  the 
travellers,  and  very  grateful  to  them  for  the 
double-barrelled  gun  and  pistols  which  they 
presented  to  him.  In  return,  he  fed  them 
liberally,  sending  them  fish  by  the  camel 
load,  and  other  provisions  in  like  quantity. 

According  to  his  warlike  disposition,  his 
conversation  chiefly  turned  on  military 
affairs,  and  especially  on  the  best  mode  of 
attacking  walled  towns.  The  account  of 
breaching  batteries  had  a  great  effect  upon 
him,  and  the  exhibition  of  a  couple  of  rock- 
ets confirmed  him  in  his  respect  for  the 
wisdom  of  the  English.  Being  a  thought- 
ful man,  he  asked  to  see  some  rockeis  fired, 
because  there  were  in  the  town  a  number 
of  the  hostile  Shooas.  The  rockets  were 
fired  accordingly,  and  had  the  desired  effect, 
frightening  not  "only  the  Shooas,  but  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town,  out  of  their  senses, 
and  even  the  steady  nerves  of  the  sheikh 
himself  were  much  shaken. 

The  sheikh  was  a  great  disciplinarian, 
and  managed  his  wild  cavalry  with  singular 
skill,  as  is  shown  by  the  account  of  Major 
Denham.  "  Our  accounts  had  been  so  con- 
tradictory of  the  state  of  the  country  that 
no  opinion  could  be  formed  as  to  the  real 
condition  and  the  number  of  its  inhabitants. 
We  had  been  told  that  the  sheikh's  soldiers 
were  a  few  ragged  negroes  armed  with 
spears,  who  lived  upon  the  plunder  of  the 
black  Kaffir  countries  by  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded, and  which  he  was  able  to  subdue 
by  the  assistance  of  a  few  Arabs  who  were 


in  his  service;  and,  again,  we  had  been 
assured  that  his  forces  were  not  only  numer- 
ous, but  to  a  degree  regularly  trained.  The 
degree  of  credit  which  might  be  attached  to 
these  reports  was  nearly  balanced  in  the 
scales  of  probability,  and  we  advanced 
toward  the  town  of  Kouka  in  a  most  inter- 
esting state  of  uncertainty  whether  we 
should  find  its  chief  at  the  head  of  thou- 
sands, or  be  received  by  him  under  a  tree, 
surrounded  by  a  few  naked  slaves. 

"  These  doubts,  however,  were  quickly 
removed.  I  had  ridden  on  a  short  distance 
in  front  of  Boo-Khaloom,  with  his  train  of 
Arabs  all  mounted  and  dressed  out  in  their 
best  apparel,  and,  from  the  thickness  of 
the  trees,  now  lost  sight  of  them.  Fancy- 
ing that  the  road  could  not  be  mistaken  I 
rode  still  onward,  and,  approaching  a  spot 
less  thickly  planted,  was  surjirised  to  see  in 
front  of  me  a  body  of  several  thousand  cav- 
alry drawn  up  in  line,  and  extending  right 
and  left  as  far  as  I  could  see.  Checking 
my  horse  I  awaited  the  arrival  of  my  party 
under  the  shade  of  a  wide-spreading  acacia. 
The  Bornu  troops  remained  quite  steady, 
without  noise  or  confusion;  and  a  few  horse- 
men, who  were  moving  about  in  front,  giv- 
ing directions,  were  the  only  persons  out  of 
the  ranks. 

"  On  the  Arabs  appearing  in  sight,  a  shout 
or  yell  was  given  by  the  sheikh's  people, 
whicli  rent  thp  air;  a  blast  was  blown  from 
their  rude  instruments  of  music  equally 
loud,  and  they  moved  on  to  meet  Boo-Kha- 
loom and  his  Arabs.  There  was  an  appear- 
ance of  tact  and  management  in  their 
movements,  which  astonished  me.  Three 
separate  bodies  from  the  centre  of  each 
flank  kept  charging  rapidly  toward  us, 
within  a  few  feet  of  our  horses'  heads,  with- 
out checking  the  speed  of  their  own  until 
the  moment  of  their  halt,  while  the  whole 
body  moved  onward. 

"These  parties  were  mounted  on  small 
but  very  perfect  horses,  who  stopped  and 
wheeled  from  their  utmost  speed  with  the 
greatest  precision  and  expertness,  shaking 
their  spears  over  their  heads,  and  exclaim- 
ing, '  Blessing!  blessing!  Sons  of  your  coun- 
try! Sons  of  your  country!'  and  returning 
quickly  to  the  front  of  the  body  in  order  to 
repeat  the  charge.  While  all  this  was  going 
on,  they  closed  in  their  right  and  left  flanks, 
and  surrounded  the  little  body  of  Arabs  so 
completely  as  to  give  the  compliment  of 
welcoming  them  very  much  the  appearance 
of  a  declaration  of  their  contempt  for  their 
weakness. 

"I  was  quite  sure  this  was  premedita- 
ted; we  were  all  so  closely  pressed  as  to  be 
nearly  smothered,  and  in  some  danger  from 
the  crowding  of  the  horses  and  clashing  of 
the  spears.  Moving  on  was  impossible,  and 
we  therefore  came  to  a  full  stop.  Our  chief 
was  much  enraged,  but  it  was  all  to  no  pur- 
pose :  he  was  only  answered  by  shrieks  of 


THE  KANEMBOO  INFANTRY. 


623 


'  Welcome  I '  aad  spears  most  unpleasantly 
rattled  over  our  heads  expressive  of  the  same 
feeling. 

"  This  annoyance  was  not,  however,  of 
long  duration.  Barca  Gana,  the  .sheikh's 
first  general,  a  negro  of  uohle  aspect,  clothed 
in  a  figured  silk  robe,  and  mounted  upon  a 
beautiful  Mandara  horse,  made  his  appear- 
ance, and  after  a  little  delay  the  rear  was 
cleared  of  those  who  had  pressed  in  upon  us, 
and  we  moved  forward,  although  but  very 
slowly,  from  the  frequent  impediments 
thrcjwn  in  our  way  by  these  wild  warrior.s. 

"  The  sheikh's  negroes,  as  thoy  were 
called,  meaning  the  black  chiefs  and  gener- 
als, all  raised  to  that  rank  by  some  deed  of 
bravery,  were  habited  in  coats  of  mail  com- 
posed of  iron  chain,  which  covered  them 
from  the  throat  to  the  knees,  dividing  be- 
hind, and  coming  on  eac<i  side  of  the  horse. 
Some  of  them  had  helmets,  or  rather  skull- 
caps, of  the  same  metal,  with  chin-pieces,  all 
sufficiently  strong  to  wai'd  otf  the  shock  of  a 
spear.  Their  horses'  heads  were  also  de- 
fended by  plates  of  iron,  brass,  and  silver, 
just  leaving  sutficient  room  for  the  eyes  of 
the  animal." 

In  my  collection  there  is  one  of  the  re- 
markable spears  carried  by  these  horsemen. 
In  total  length  it  is  nearly  six  feet  long, 
of  which  the  long,  slender,  leaf-like  blade 
occupies  twenty  inchets.  The  shaft  is  five- 
eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  at  the  thickest 
part,  but  diminishes  toward  the  head  and 
butt.  The  material  of  the  shaft  is  some 
hard,  dark  wood,  which  takes  a  high  polish, 
and  is  of  a  rich  brown  color.  The  head  is 
secured  to  the  shaft  by  means  of  a  rather 
long  socket,  and  at  the  butt  there  is  a  sort  of 
iron  spud,  also  furnished  with  a  socket,  .so 
that  the  length  of  the  wooden  portion  of  the 
sjsear  is  only  thirty-two  inclies.  It  is  a  light, 
well-balanced,  and  apparently  serviceable 
weapon. 

Besides  these  weapons,  there  are  several 
others,  offensive  and  defensive.  The  chiefs 
wear  a  really  well-formed  cuirass  made  of 
iron  plates,  and  having  an  ingenious  addi- 
tion of  a  kind  of  steel  upright  collar  attached 
to  the  back  piece  of  the  cuirass,  and  pro- 
tecting the  nape  of  the  neck.  The  cuirass  is 
made  of  five  plates  of  steel,  laid  horizontally 
and  riveted  to  each  other,  and  of  as  many 
similar  plates  attached  to  them  perpendicu- 
larly, and  forming  the  back  piece  and  shoul- 
der straps.  It  is  made  to  open  at  one  side 
to  admit  of  being  put  ©n  and  off,  and  the 
two  halves  are  kept  together  by  loops  and 
links,  which  take  the  place  of  straps  and 
buckles. 

The  chief's  horses  are  also  distinguished 
by  the  quantity  of  armor  with  which  they 
are  protected,  an  iron  chamfron  covering 
the  whole  of  the  forehead,  and  extending  as 
far  as  the  nostrils. 

By  the  saddle-bow  hangs  a  battle-axe, 
shaped  exactly  like  those  axes  with  which 

31 


we  have  been  so  familiar  in  Southern  and 
Central  Africa,  but  being  distinguished  from 
them  by  the  fact  that  an  iron  chain  is  passed 
through  a  hole  in  that  part  of  the  liead 
which  passes  through  the  knob  at  the  end 
of  the  handle,  the  other  end  of  the  chain 
being  attached  to  a  ring  that  slides  freely 
up  and  down  the  handle.  This  arr.angement 
enables  the  warrior  to  secure  and  replace 
the  head  of  the  axe  if  it  should  be  struck  out 
of  the  handle  in  the  heat  of  battle.  A  long 
double-edged  dagger,  shaped  almost  exactly 
like  the  .spear  head,  is  fastened  to  the  left 
arm  by  a  strap,  and  is  carried  with  the  hilt 
do^vnward. 

The  infantry  carry,  together  with  other 
weapons,  an  iron  axe,  shaped  like  a  sickle, 
and  closely  resembling  the  weapon  which 
has  been  mentioned  as  used  by  the  Neam- 
Nam  and  Fan  tribes.  This  is  called  the 
■'  liunga-muuga,"  and  is  used  for  throwing 
at  a  retreating  enemy.  The  infantry  are 
mostly  Kanemboo  negroes.  They  are  a  tall, 
muscular  race,  and,  l:>eing  also  cour.ageous, 
have  well  deserved  the  estimation  in  which 
they  are  held  by  their  master.  Unlike  the 
horsemen,  they  are  almost  completely  naked, 
their  only  clothing  being  a  rather  fantasti- 
cal belt,  or  "  sporran  "  of  goat-skin,  with  the 
hair  still  remaining  on  the  skin,  and  a  few 
strips  of  cloth,  called  "  gubkas,"  tied  round 
their  heads,  and  brought  under  the  nose. 
These  gulikas  are  the  currency  of  the  coun- 
try, so  that  a  soldier  carries  his  wealth  on 
his  head. 

Their  principal  weapons  are  the  spear 
and  shield.  The  former  is  a  very  horrible 
weapon,  seven  feet  or  so  in  length,  and 
armed  with  a  number  of  hook-shaped  barbs. 
The  shield  is  made  from  the  wood  of  the 
fogo,  a  tree  which  grows  in  the  shallow 
waters  of  Lake  Tchad,  and  which  is  so  light 
that,  although  the  shield  is  large  enough  to 
protect  the  whole  body  and  upper  part  of 
the  legs,  it  only  weighs  a  few  pounds.  The 
pieces  of  wood  of  which  it  is  made  are  bound 
together  by  strips  of  raw  bullock's  hide,  on 
which  the  hair  is  suftered  to  remain  as  an 
ornament,  .and  which,  after  doing  their  duty, 
are  carried  along  the  outer  edge  of  the 
shield  in  a  vandyked  pattern.  The  shield 
is  slightly  convex.  Besides  the  spear  and 
.shield,  the  Kanemboo  soldier  mostly  carries 
on  his  left  arm  a  dagger  like  that  which  has 
already  been  described,  but  not  so  neatly 
made.  The  Kanemboos  will  be  presently 
described. 

At  least  nine  thousand  of  these  black  sol- 
diers are  under  the  command  of  the  sheikli, 
and  are  divided  into  regiments  of  a  thou- 
sand or  so  strong.  It  may  be  imagined  that 
they  are  really  formidable  troops,  especially 
under  the  command  of  such  a  leader,  who, 
as  will  be  seen  by  Ma,jor  Denham's  descrip- 
tion of  a  review,  had  introduced  strict  disci- 
pline and  a  rough-and-ready  sort  of  tactics. 
The  sheikh  had  ordered  out  the  Kanemboo 


624 


BORNU. 


soldiers,  and  galloped  toward  them  on  his 
favorite  horse,  accompanied  by  four  sultans 
who  were  under  his  command.  His  staff 
were  gaily  adorned  with  scarlet  bernouses 
decorated  with  gold  lace,  while  he  himself 
preserved  his  usual  simplicity  of  dress,  his 
robes  being  white,  and  a  Cashmere  shawl 
forming  his  tin-ban.  As  soon  as  ho  gave  the 
signal,  the  Kanemboos  raised  a  deafening 
shout,  and  began  their  manueuvres,  their  offi- 
cers being  distinguished  by  wearing  a  dark 
blue  robe  and  turban. 

"  On  neariug  the  spot  where  the  sheikh 
had  placed  himself,  they  quickened  their 
pace,  and  after  striking  their  spears  against 
their  shields  for  some  minutes,  which  had 
an  extremely  grand  arid  stunning  effect,  they 
filed  off  to  the  outside  of  the  circle,  where 
they  again  formed  and  awaited  their  com- 
panions, who  succeeded  them  in  the  same 
order.  There  appeared  to  be  a  great  deal  of 
affection  between  these  troops  and  the 
sheikh.  He  spurred  his  horse  onward  into 
the  midst  of  some  of  the  tribes  as  they  came 
up,  and  spoke  to  them,  while  the  men 
crowded  round  him,  kissing  his  feet  and  the 
stirrups  of  his  saddle.  It  was  a  most  pleas- 
ing sight.  He  seemed  to  feel  how  much  his 
present  elevation  was  owing  to  their  exer- 
tions, while  they  displayed  a  devotion  and 
attachment  deserving  and  denoting  the 
greatest  confidence. 

"I  confess  I  was  considerably  disappointed 
at  not  seeing  these  troops  engage,  although 
more  than  compensated  by  the  reflection  of 
the  slaughter  that  had  been  prevented  by 
that  disappointment." 

It  seems  rather  curious  that  this  leader, 
so  military  in  all  his  thoughts,  should  take 
women  with  him  into  the  field,  especially 
when  ^he  had  to  fight  against  the  terrible 
Munga  archers,  whose  poisoned  arrows  are 
certain  death  to  all  who  are  wounded  by 
them.  Yet,  whenever  he  takes  the  field, 
he  is  accompanied  by  three  of  his  favorite 
wives,  who  are  mounted  on  trained  horses, 
each  being  led  by  a  boy,  and  their  whole 
figures  and  faces  so  wrajiped  in  their  wide 
robes  that  the  human  form  is  scarcely  dis- 
tinguishable. The  sultan,  as  becomes  his 
superior  rank,  takes  with  him  an  unlimited 
number  of  wives,  accompanied  by  a  small 
court  of  palace  officers.  Nine,  however,  is 
the  usual  number  allotted  to  the  sultan,  and 
there  are  nearly  a  hundred  non-combatants 
to  wait  upon  them. 

The  army,  well  ordered  as  it  is,  shows 
little  signs  of  its  discipline  until  it  is  near 
the  enemy,  the  troops  marching  much  as 
they  like,  and  beguiling  the  journey  with 
songs  and  tales.  As  soon,  however,  as  they 
come  within  dangerous  ground,  the  sheikh 
gives  the  word,  and  they  all  fall  into  their 
places,  and  become  steady  and  well-disci- 
plined troops. 

The  sheikh's  place  is  one  of  no  ordinary 
peril,  for,  besides  having  the  responsibility 


of  command,  and  the  practical  care  of  the 
sultan's  unwieldy  person,  he  is  the  object 
at  which  the  enemy  all  aim,  knowing  weK 
that,  if  they  can  only  kill  the  sheikh,  their 
victory  is  assured.  This  particular  sheikh 
entirely  disregarded  all  notion  of  persomu 
danger,  and  was  the  most  conspicuous  per- 
sonage in  the  army.  He  marches  in  front 
of  his  soldiers,  and  before  him  are  borne 
five  flags — two  green,  two  striped,  and  one 
red  —  upon  which  are  written  in  letters 
of  gold  exti-acts  from  the  Koran.  Behind 
him  rides  his  favorite  attendant,  bearing 
his  master's  shield,  mail  coat,  and  helmet, 
and  Ijeside  him  is  the  bearer  of  his  drum 
which  is  considered  as  almost  equivalent 
to  himself  in  value.  The  Begharmis  say  of 
this  sheikh,  that  it  is  useless  to  attack  him, 
because  he  has  the  power  of  rendering  him- 
self invisible;  anci  that  on  one  occasion, 
when  they  routed  his  army,  and  pursued 
the  sheikh  himself,  they  could  not  see  either 
him  or  his  drum,  though  the  instrument 
was  continually  sounding. 

Before  passing  to  another  branch  of  this 
subject,  we  will  finish  our  account  of  this 
.sheikh.  His  name  was  Alameen  Ben  Mo- 
hammed el  Kanemy,  and,  according  to  Ma- 
jor Denham's  portrait,  he  was  a  man  of 
mark,  his  boldly-cut  features  expressing  his 
energetic  character  even  under  the  folds  of 
the  turban  and  tobe  in  which  he  habitually 
enveloped  himself  Being  the  virtual  ruler 
of  the  kingdom,  he  administered  justice  as 
well  as  waged  war,  and  did  so  with  stern 
impartir.lity. 

On  one  occasion,  when  a  slave  had  of- 
fended against  the  law,  and  was  condemned 
to  death,  his  master  petitioned  the  sheikh 
against  the  capital  punishment,  saying  that, 
as  the  slave  was  his  property,  the  real  pun- 
ishment fell  upon  him,  who  was  not  even 
cognizant  of  his  slave's  offence.  The  sheikh 
admitted  the  validity  of  the  plea,  but  said 
that  public  justice  could  not  be  expected  to 
yield  to  private  interests.  So  he  ordered 
"the  delinquent  for  execution,  but  paid  his 
price  to  the  owner  out  of  his  own  purse. 

He  was  equally  judicious  in  enforcing  his 
own  authority.  His  favorite  officer  was 
Barca  Gnna,  who  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. El  Kanemy  had  an  especial  liking 
for  this  man,  and  had  committed  to  his  care 
the  government  of  six  districts,  besides 
enriching  him  with  numbers  of  slaves, 
horses,  and  other  valuable  property.  It 
happened  that  on  one  occasion  El  Kanemy 
had  sent  him  a  horse  which  he  had  inad- 
vertently promised  to  another  person,  and 
which,  accordingly,  Barca  Gaiia  had  to  give 
up.  Being  enraged  by  this  proceeding,  he 
sent  back  to  the  sheikh  all  the  animals 
he  had  presented,  saying  that  in  future  he 
would  ride  his  own  animals. 

El  Kanemy  was  not  a  man  to  suffer  such 
an  insolent  message  to  be  given  with  im- 
punity.   He  sent  for  Barca  Gana,  stripped 


GEXEKAL  BAECA  GANA. 


625 


him  on  the  spot  of  all  liis  gorgeous  clothing, 
siibstitnted  the  slave's  leathern  girdle  for 
his  robes,  and  ordered  him  to  be  sold  as 
a  slave  to  the  Tibboos.  Humbled  to  the 
dust,  the  disgraced  general  acknowledged 
the  justice  of  the  sentence,  and  only  begged 
that  his  master's  displeasure  might  not  lall 
on  his  wives  and  children.  Next  day,  as 
Barca  Gana  was  about  to  be  led  away  to  the 
Tibboos,  the  negro  body  guards,  who  seem 
to  have  respected  their  general  for  his 
courage  in  spite  of  his  haughty  and  some- 
what overbearing  manner,  came  before  the 
sheikh,  and  begged  him  to  pardon  their 
commander.  Just  at  that  moment  the  dis- 
graced chief  came  before  his  oft'ended  mas- 
ter, to  take  leave  before  going  off  with  the 
Tibboos  to  whom  he  had  been  sold. 

El  Kanemy  was  quite  overcome  by  the 
sight,  Hung  himself  back  on  his  carpet, 
wept  like  a  child,  allowed  Barca  Gana  to 
embrace  his  knees,  and  gave  his  free  par- 
don. "  In  the  evening  there  was  great  and 
general  rejoicing.  The  timbrels  beat,  the 
Kanemboos  yelled  and  struck  their  shields; 
everything  bespoke  joy,  and  Barca  Gana, 
in  new  robes  and  a  rich  bernouse,  rode 
round  the  camp,  followed  by  all  the  chiefs  of 
the  army." 

Even  in  war,  El  Kanemy  permitted  policy 
and  tact  to  overcome  the  national  feeling 
of  revenge.  For  example,  the  formidable 
Munga  tribe,  of  whom  we  shall  presently 
treat,  had  proved  themselves  exceedingly 
troublesome,  and  the  sheikh  threatened 
to  exterminate  them — -a  threat  which  he 
could  certainly  have  carried  out,  though 
with  m_uch  loss  of  life.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, intend  to  fulfil  the  threat,  but  tried, 
by  working  on  their  fears  and  their  inter- 
ests, to  conciliate  them,  and  to  make  them 
his  allies  rather  than  his  foes.  He  did 
not  only  frighten  them  by  his  splendidly- 
appointed  troops,  but  awed  them  by  his 
accomplishments  as  a  writer,  copying  out 
a  vast  number  of  charmed  sentences  for 
three  successive  nights.  The  illiterate  Mun- 
gas  thought  that  such  a  proceeding  was  a 
proof  of  supernatural  power,  and  yielded 
to  his  wisdom  what  they  would  not  have 
yielded  to  his  veritable  power.  They  said 
it  was  useless  to  fight  against  a  man  who  had 
such  terrible  powers.  Night  after  night,  as 
he  wrote  the  potent  words,  their  arrows 
were  blunted  in  their  quivers.  Their  spears 
snapped  asunder,  and  their  weapons  were 
removed  out  of  their  huts,  so  that  some  of 
the  chiefs  absolutely  became  ill  with  terror, 
and  all  agreed  that  they  had  better  conclude 
peace  at  once.  The  performance  of  Major 
Denham's  rockets  had  also  reached  their 
ears,  and  had  added  much  to  the  general 
consternation. 

He  carried  his  zeal  for  religion  to  the 
extreme  of  fanaticism,  constituting  himself 
the  guardian  of  public  morals,  and  visiting 
oflfeaces  with    the  severest  penalties.    He 


was  especially  hard  on  the  women,  over 
whom  he  kept  a  vigilant  watch  by  means  of 
his  spies.  On  one  occasion,  two  young  girls 
of  seventeen  were  found  guilty,  and  con- 
demned to  be  hanged.  Great  remonstrances 
were  made.  The  lover  of  one  of  the  girls, 
who  had  previously  offered  to  marry  her, 
threatened  to  kill  any  one  who  placed  a  rope 
round  her  neck,  and  a  general  excitement 
pervaded  the  place.  For  a  long  time  the 
sheikh  remained  inexorable,  but  at  last  com- 
pounded the  affair  by  having  their  heads 
shaved  publicly  in  the  market-place  —  a 
disgrace  scarcely  less  enduraljle  than  death. 

On  another  occasion  the  delinquents  had 
exaggerated  their  offence  by  committing  it 
during  the  fast  of  the  Rhamadau.  The  man 
was  sentenced  to  four  hundred  stripes,  and 
the  woman  to  half  that  number.  Tlie  pun- 
ishment was  immediate.  The  woman  was 
stripped  of  her  ornaments  and  all  her  gar- 
ments, except  a  cloth  round  the  middle,  and 
her  head  shaved.  She  was  then  suspended 
by  the  cloth,  and  the  punishment  inflicted. 

Her  partner  was  treated  far  worse.  The 
whip  was  a  terrible  weapon,  made  of  the 
skin  of  the  hippopotamus,  and  having  a 
metal  knob  on  the  end.  Each  blow  was 
struck  on  the  back,  so  that  the  lash  curled 
round  the  body,  and  the  heavy  knob  came 
with  terril)le  violence  on  the  breast  and 
stomach.  Before  half  the  lashes  were 
inflicted,  blood  flowed  profusely  from  his 
mouth,  and,  a  short  time  after  the  culprit 
was  taken  down,  he  was  dead.  Strange  to 
say,  he  acknowledged  the  justice  of  the 
sentence,  kissed  the  weapon,  joined  in  the 
profession  of  faith  which  was  said  before 
the  punishment  began,  and  never  uttered  a 
cry. 

Fierce  in  war,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  a 
savage  fanatic  in  religion,  the  sheikh  was 
no  stranger  to  the  softer  emotions.  Major 
Denham  showed  him  a  curious  musical 
snuff-box,  the  sweetness  of  which  entranced 
him.  He  sat  with  his  head  in  his  hands,  as 
if  in  a  dream;  and  when  one  of  his  cour- 
tiers spoke,  ho  struck  the  man  a  violent 
blow  for  interrupting  the  sweet  sounds. 

His  punishment  for  theft  was  usually  a 
severe  flogging  and  a  heavy  fine.  But,  in 
cases  of  a  first  offence  of  a  young  delin- 
quent, the  oftenderwas  buried  in  the  ground 
up  to  his  shoulders,  and  his  head  and  neck 
smeared  with  honey.  The  swarms  of  flies 
that  settled  on  the  poor  wretch's  head  made 
his  existence  miserable  during  the  time  that 
he  was  thus  buried,  and  no  one  who  had 
undergone  such  a  punishment  once  would 
be  likely  to  run  the  risk  of  sufteriug  it 
again,  even  though  it  did  no  permanent 
injury,  like  the  whip.  Beheading  is  also  a 
punishment  reserved  for  Mahometans,  while 
"  Kaffirs  "  are  either  impaled  or  crucified, 
sometimes  living  for  several  days  in  tor- 
ments. 

The  slaves  of  the  Bornuese  are  treated 


626 


BORNU. 


with  great  kindness,  and  are  almost  consid- 
ered as  belonging  to  their  master's  family, 
their  condition  being  very  like  that  of  the 
slaves  or  servants,  as  they  are  called,  of  the 
patriarchal  ages.  Much  of  the  marketing 
is  done  by  female  slaves,  who  take  to  market 
whole  strings  of  oxen  laden  with  goods  or 
cowries,  and  conduct  the  transaction  with 
perfect  honesty.  The  market,  by  the  way, 
in  which  these  women  buy  and  sell,  is  really 
a  remarkable  place.  It  is  regulated  in  the 
strictest  manner,  and  is  divided  into  dis- 
tricts, in  each  of  which  diflerent  articles 
are  sold.  It  is  governed  by  a  sheikh,  who 
regulates  all  the  prices,  and  gets  his  living 
by  a  small  commission  of  about  a  half  per 
cent,  on  every  purchase  that  exceeds  four 
dollars.  He  is  aided  by  dylalas,  or  brokers, 
who  write  their  private  mark  inside  every 
parcel. 

The  whole  place  is  filled  with  rows  of 
stalls,  in  which  are  to  be  found  everything 
that  a  Bornuese  can  want,  and  one  great 
convenience  of  the  place  is,  that  a  parcel 
need  never  be  examined  in  order  to  dis- 
cover whether  any  fraud  has  been  perpetra- 
ted. Should  a  parcel,  when  opened  at 
home,  be  defective,  the  buyer  sends  it  back 
to  the  dylala,  who  is  bound  to  find  out  the 
seller,  and  to  force  him  to  take  back  the 
parcel  and  refund  the  money.  As  an  exam- 
ple of  the  strange  things  which  are  sold  in 
this  market,  Major  Denham  mentions  that 
a  young  lion  was  offered  to  him.  It  was 
perfectly  tame,  and  was  led  about  by  a  cord 
round  his  neck,  walking  among  the  people 
without  displaying  any  ferocity.  Tame 
lions  seem  to  be  fashionable  in  Bornu,  as 
the  sheikh  afterward  sent  Major  Denham 
another  lion  equally  tame. 

The  architecture  of  the  Bornuese  is  supe- 
rior to  that  of  Dahome.  "  The  towns," 
writes  Major  Denham,  ''  are  generally  large, 
and  well  built:  they  have  walls  thirty-five 
and  forty  feet  in  height,  and  nearly  twenty 
feet  in  thickness.  They  have  four  entran- 
ces, with  three  gates  to  each,  made  of  solid 
planks  eight  or  ten  inches  thick,  and  fas- 
tened together  with  heavy  clamps  of  iron. 
The  houses  consist  of  several  courtyards 
between  four  walls,  with  apartments  leading 
out  of  them  for  slaves,  then  a  passage  and 
an  inner  court  leading  into  habitations  of 
the  different  wives,  which  have  each  a 
square  space  to  themselves,  enclosed  by 
walls,  and  a  handsome  thatched  hut.  From 
thence  also  you  ascend  a  wide  staircase  of 
five  or  six  steps,  leading  to  the  apartments 
of  the  owner,  which  consist  of  two  build- 
ings like  towers  or  turrets,  with  a  terrace  of 
communication  between  them,  looking  into 
the  street,  with  a  castellated  window."  The 
walls  are  made  of  reddish  clay,  as  smooth 
as  stones,  and  the  roofs  are  most  tastefully 
arched  on  the  inside  with  branches,  and 
thatched  on  the  outside  with  a  grass  known 
in  Bombay  by  the  name  of  lidther. 


"The  horns  of  the  gazelle  and  antelope 
serve  as  a  substitute  for  nails  or  jiegs. 
These  are  fixed  in  diflerent  parts  of  the 
walls,  and  on  them  hang  the  quivers,  boM's, 
spears,  and  shields  of  the  chief  A  man  of 
consequence  will  sometimes  have  four  of 
these  terraces  and  eight  turrets,  forming 
the  faces  of  his  mansion  or  domain,  with  all 
the  apartments  of  his  women  within  the 
space  below.  Horses  and  other  animals  are 
usually  allowed  an  enclosure  near  one  of  the 
courtyards  forming  the  entrance." 

Such  houses  as  these  belong  only  to  the 
wealthy,  and  those  of  the  poor  are  of  a 
much  simpler  description,  being  built  of 
straw,  reeds,  or  mats,  the  latter  being  the 
favorite  material. 

As  is  mostly  the  case  in  pol}'gamous  Af- 
rica, each  wife  has  her  owh  special  house,  or 
rather  hut,  which  is  usually  of  the  kind 
called  "  coosie,"  i.  e.  one  that  is  Iniilt  en- 
tirely of  sticks  and  straw.  The  wives  are 
obliged  to  be  very  humble  in  presence  of 
their  husbands,  whom  they  always  approach 
on  their  knees,  and  they  are  not  allowed  to 
speak  to  any  of  the  male  sex  except  kneel- 
ing, and  with  their  heads  and  faces  covered. 
Marriage  is  later  in  Bornu  than  in  many 
parts  of  Africa,  the  girls  scarcely  ever 
marrying  until  they  are  full  fifteen,  and 
mostly  being  a  j'car  or  two  older. 

Weddings  are  conducted  in  a  ceremoni- 
ous and  noisy  manner.  The  bride  is 
perched  on  the  back  of  an  ox,  and  rides 
to  the  bridegroom's  house  attended  by  her 
mother  and  friends,  and  followed  by  other 
oxen  carrying  her  dowry,  which  mostly 
consists  of  toorkadees  and  other  raiment. 
All  her  male  friends  are  mounted,  and  dash 
up  to  her  at  full  gallop,  this  being  the  rec- 
ognized salute  on  such  occasions.  The 
bridegroom  is  in  the  mean  time  parading 
the  streets  with  a  shouting  mob  after  him, 
or  sitting  in  his  house  with  the  same  shout- 
ing mob  in  front  of  him,  yelling  out  vocif- 
erous congratulations,  blowing  horns,  beat- 
ing drums,  and,  in  fact,  letting  their  African 
nature  have  its  full  swa}'. 

In  this  country,  the  people  have  a  very 
ingenious  method  of  counteracting  the  ef- 
fects of  the  rain  storms,  which  come  on 
suddenly,  discharge  the  water  as  if  it  were 
poured  from  buckets,  and  then  pass  on.  On 
account  of  the  high  temperature,  the  rain 
soon  evaporates,  so  that  even  after  one  of 
these  showers,  though  the  surface  of  the 
ground  is  for  the  time  converted  into  a 
marsh  intersected  with  rivulets  of  running 
water,  the  sandy  ground  is  quite  dry  at  the 
depth  of  two  feet  or  so. 

As  soon  as  the  Bornuese  perceive  one  of 
these  storms  aiiproaching,  they  take  off  all 
their  clothes,  dig  holes  in  the'ground,  Iiury 
the  clothes,  and  cover  them  u]i  carefully. 
The  rain  falls,  and  is  sim])ly  a  shower-bath 
over  their  naked  bodies,  and,  as  soon  as  the 
storm  has  passed  over,  they  reopen  the  hole, 


THE  KANEMBOOS. 


627 


(ind  put  on  their  dry  clothes.  "When  they 
are  preparing  a  resting-place  at  night,  they 
take    a    similar    precaution,  digging    deep 


holes  until  they  come  to  the  dry  sand,  on 
which  they  make  their  beds. 


THE  KANEMBOOS. 


If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  illustration 
on  page  612,  he  will  see  that  by  the_  side  of 
the  Kanemboo  warrior  is  liis  wife.  The 
women  are,  like  their  husbands,  dark  and 
well-shaped.  They  are  Uvely  and  brisk  in 
their  manners,  and  seem  always  ready  for  a 
laugh.  Their  clothing  is  nearly  as  limited 
as  "that  of  their  husliands,  but  they  take 
great  pains  in  plaiting  their  hair  into  nu- 
merous little  strings^  which  reach  as  far 
as  the  neck.  The  head  is  generally  orna- 
mented with  a  flat  piece  of  tin  or  silver 
hanging  from  the  hair.  This  custom  is 
prevalent  throughout  the  kingdom,  and, 
indeed,  the  principal  mode  of  detecting  the 
particular  tribe  to  which  a  woman  belongs 
is  to  note  the  color  and  i)attern  of  her  scanty 
dress.  Most  of  the  Kanemboo  women  have 
a  string  of  brass  beads  or  of  silver  rings 
hanging  upon  each  side  of  the  fiice.  In  the 
latter  case  they  mostly  have  also  a  flat  cir- 
cular piece  of  silver  on  their  foreheads. 

The  architecture  of  the  Kanemboos  is 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  Kaflirs  of  South- 
ern Africa,  the  huts  more  resembling  those 
of  the  Bechuanas  than  the  Zulu,  Kosa,  or 
Ponda  tribes.  They  are  compared  to  hay- 
stacks in  appearance,  and  are  made  of  reeds. 
Each  house  is  situated  in  a  neat  enclosure 
made  of  the  same  reed,  within  which  a  goat 
or  two,  a  cow,  and  some  fowls  are  usually 
kept.  The  hut  is  divided  into  two  portions, 
one  being  for  the  master  and  the  other  for 
the  women.  His  bed  is  supported  on  a 
wooden  framework  and  covered  with  the 
skins  of  wild  animals.  There  is  no  window, 
and  the  place  of  a  door  is  taken  by  a  mat. 

In  this  country,  they  subsist  generally  on 
fish,  which  they  ojjtain  from  the  great  Lake 
Tchad  in  a  very  ingenious  manner.  The 
fisherman  takes  two  large  gourds,  and  con- 
nects them  with  a  stout  bamboo,  just  long 
enough  to  allow  his  body  to  pass  easily 
between  them.  He  then  takes  his  nets,  to 
the  upper  part  of  which  are  fastened  floats 
made  of  cane,  and  to  the  lower  edge  are 
attached  simple  weights  of  sand  tied  up  in 
leathern  bags. 

He  launches  the  gourds,  and,  as  he  does 
so,  sits  astride  the  bamboo,  so  that  one  gourd 
is  in  fi'ont  of  him  and  the  other  behind. 
Having  shot  his  nets,  he  makes  a  circuit 
round  them,  splashing  the  water  so  as  to 
drive  the  fish  against  the  meshes.    When 


he  thinks  that  a  sufficiency  of  fish  has  got 
into  his  net,  he  draws  it  up  gently  with  one 
hand,  while  the  other  hand  holds  a  short 
club,  with  which  he  kills  each  fish  as  its  heatl 
is  lifted  above  the  water.  The  dead  fish  is 
then  disengaged  from  the  net,  and  flung  into 
one  of  the  gourds;  and  when  they  are  so  full 
that  they  can  h(jld  no  more  without  running 
the  risk  of  admitting  water,  the  fisherman 
paddles  to  shore,  lauds  his  cargo,  and  goes 
oft'  for  another  haul.  He  has  no  paddles 
but  his  hands,  but  they  are  efficient  instru- 
ments, and  propel  him  quite  as  fast  as  he 
cares  to  go. 

The  women  have  a  very  ingenious  mode 
of  catching  fish,  constituting  themselves  into 
a  sort  of  net.  Thirty  or  forty  at  a  time  go 
into  the  water,  and  wade  up  to  their  breasts. 
They  then  form  in  single  file,  and  move 
gradually  toward  the  muddy  shore,  which 
slopes  very  gradually,  stamping  and  beating 
the  water  so  as  to  make  as  much  disturbance 
as  possible.  The  terrified  fishes  retire  be- 
fore this  formidable  line,  and  at  last  are 
forced  into  water  so  shallow,  that  they  can 
be  scooped  out  by  the  hands  and  flung 
ashore. 

The  fish  are  cooked  in  a  very  simple  man- 
ner. A  fire  is  lighted;  and  when  it  has 
burnt  up  properly,  each  fish  has  a  stick 
thrust  down  its  throat.  Tlie  other  end  of 
the  stick  is  fixed  into  the  ground  close  to 
the  fire,  and  in  a  short  time  the  fire  is  sur- 
rounded with  a  circle  of  fish,  all  with  their 
heads  downward  and  their  tails  in  the  air  as 
if  they  were  diving.  They  can  be  easily 
turned  on  the  sticks,  the  tail  aflbrding  an 
excellent  leverage,  and  in  a  very  short  time 
they  are  thoroughly  roasted. 

The  Kanemboos  catch  the  large  animals 
in  pitfalls  called  "  blaquas."  These  blaquas 
are  laboriously  and  ingeniously  made,  and 
are  often  used  to  protect  towns  against  the 
Tuaricks  and  other  invaders,  as  well  as  to 
catch  wild  animals.  The  pits  are  very  deep, 
and  at  tlie  bottom  are  fixed  six  or  seven 
perpendicular  stakes,  with  sh.arpened  points, 
and  hardened  by  being  partially  charred. 
So  formidable  are  they,  that  a  Tuarick  horse 
and  his  rider  have  been  known  to  fall  into 
one  of  them,  and  both  to  have  been  found 
dead,  pierced  through  the  body  with  the 
stakes. 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 


THE  SHOOAS,  TIBBOOS,  TUAKICKS,  BEGHAKMIS,  AND  ilTJSGUESE. 


THE  SHOOA  TRIBE  —  THEIR  SKILL  IN  HORSEMAKSHIP  —  A  SHOOA  BUFFALO  -  HUNT  —  CHASE  OF  THB 
ELEPHANT  —  TRACES  OF  THEIR  ARABIC  ORIGIN"  —  SHOOA  DANCES  —  APPEARANCE  AND  DRESS  OF 
THE   WOMEN — THE   TIBBOO  TRIBE — THEIR  ACTIVITY  —  DRESS  AND  APPEARANCE   OF  BOTH   SEXES 

—  THEIR  SKILL  WITH  THE  SPEAR  —  TIBBOO  DANCES  —  THEIR  CITIES  OF  REFUGE — THE  TUA- 
RICKS — THEIR  THIEVISH  CHARACTER  AND  GRAVE  MANNERS  —  TUARICK  SINGING  —  THE  BEGHAKMIS 

—  LOCALITY  OF  THE  PEOPLE — THE  SULTAN  AND  HIS  RETINUE — CURIOUS  ARCHJTECTURE  —  COS- 
TUME AND  WEAPONS  OP  THE  LANCERS  —  WRESTLERS,  BOXERS,  AND  DANCEKB  —  THE  MUSGU 
TRIBE  —  APPEARANCE   OF  THE  W03IEN  — THE  LIP  ORNAMENT — A  MUSGU  CHIEF  jVND  ATTENDANTS 

—  A  DISASTROUS  BATTLE. 


One  of  the  most  important  of  the  many 
tribes  whicli  surround  Lake  Tchad  is  the 
Shooa  tribe,  wliicli,  like  tlie  Kanemboo,  has 
been  absorbed  into  the  Bornuau  kiuj^dom. 
Tlieir  chief  value  is  their  soldierly  nature, 
and,  as  they  are  splendid  horsemen,  they 
form  the  greater  part  of  the  cavalry.  Arabs 
by  descent,  they  preserve  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage, and  speak  it  nearly  pure,  only  mix- 
ing with  it  certain  words  and  phrases  of 
Bornuan  origin.  They  present  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  pure  Bornuese,  who  are 
peaceable,  quiet,  slow,  and  good-natured. 
They  are  absurdly  timid,  and,  except  in  pur- 
suing an  already  routed  enemy,  are  useless 
in  the  field,  running  away  when  there  is  the 
least  sign  of  danger. 

The  Shooas,  on  the  contrary,  are  bold, 
active,  energetic,  and  daring,  passing  a  con- 
siderable part  of  their  lives  on  horseback, 
and  such  admirable  equestrians  that  man 
and  horse  look  like  one  animal.  They  are 
mighty  hunters,  not  being  contented  to  dig 
pits  aiid  catch  the  animals  that  fall  into  them, 
but  boldly  chasing  the  fierce  and  dangerous 
buffaloes  and  killing  them  with  the  spear 
alone. 

The  Shooa  hunter  rides  to  the  swampy 
grounds  where  the  buffalo  loves  to  wallow^, 
and  drives  the  animals  upon  the  firm  land. 
He  then  makes  choice  of  one,  and  gives 
chase  to  it,  getting  on  its  off  side  and  press- 
ing it  closely.  His  horse  is  trained  to  run 
side  by  side  with  the  buffalo,  and  the  rider 
then  stands  like  a  circus-rider  upon  the  two 


animals,  one  foot  on  his  horse's  back,  and 
the  other  on  that  of  the  buffalo. 

He  then  drives  his  spear  through  the 
shoulders  of  the  buftalo  toward  the  heart, 
and,  if  he  has  time,  will  fix  another  spear. 
He  then  drops  on  his  horse,  which  leaps 
iiway  from  the  wounded  animal,  so  as  to 
avoid  the  stroke  of  the  horn  which  the 
buffalo  is  apt  to  give  as  it  feels  the  paiu 
of  the  wound.  As  a  rule,  the  buffalo  can 
run  but  a  very  short  distance  when  thus 
injured,  and,  as  soon  as  it  staggers,  the  bold 
hunter  dismounts,  and  gives  the  final  stroke. 
Sometimes  a  badly-trained  horse  will  be  too 
eager,  and  press  so  fiir  forward  that  the 
turn  of  the  buflalo's  head  will  wound  it 
severely;  but  an  old  and  experienced  horse 
knows  "the  danger  as  well  as  its  rider,  and 
just  keeps  itself  far  enough  back  to  avoid 
the  blow. 

The  Sliooas  chase  the  elephant  in  a  simi- 
lar manner,  but,  as  the  animal  is  so  enor- 
mous, twenty  or  thirty  hunters  generally 
unite  their  forces,  one  always  riding  in  front 
so  as  to  draw  the  angry  auimal's  attention, 
while  the  others  follow  it  up,  and  inflict  a 
series  of  wounds,  under  which  it  soon  sinks. 
Sometimes,  when  the  elephant  is  very  active 
and  savage,  one  of  the  hunters  will  dis- 
mount, and  try  to  hamstring  the  animal,  or 
will  even  creep  under  it  and  drive  his  spears 
into  its  belly. 

It  may  be  easily  imagined  that  such  hunt- 
ers as  tliese  are  likely  to  make  good  sol- 
diers, and  that  the  Bornuan  sheikh  was  fully 


(628) 


THE  SHOOA  DANCES. 


629 


Justified  in  forming  them  into  so  large   a 
contingent  of  his  army. 

Their  constant  practice  in  limiting  the 
wild  butfalo  renders  them  bold  and  succes- 
ful  cattle  managers.  They  are  excellent 
drivers,  and  contrive  to  make  whole  herds 
of  half-wild  cattle  obey  them  implicitly.  In 
nothing  is  their  skill  shown  so  much  as  in 
forcing' the  cattle  to  cross  the  rivers  in  sjiite 
of  their  instinctive  dread  of  the  crocodiles 
that  infest  the  water.  One  driver,  or  rather 
leader,  enters  the  water  first,  dragging  after 
him  an  ox  by  a  cord  tied  to  the  ring  through 
his  nose.  As  soon  as  the  timid  cattle  see 
that  one  of  their  number  has  ventured  into 
the  water,  they  are  easily  induced  to  follow 
its  example,  and  whole  herds  of  oxen  and 
flocks  of  sheep  are  thus  taken  across  in 
safety,  the  noise  and  splashing  which  they 
make  frightening  the  crocodiles  away.  Even 
the  women  assist  in  cattle-driving,  and  not 
unfrequently  the  part  of  leader  is  taken  by 
a  woman. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  Shooas  possess 
great  numbers  of  cattle,  and  Major  Deuhani 
calculated  that  this  single  tribe  owned  at 
least  sixty  thousand  oxen,  sheep,  and  goats, 
besides  multitudes  of  horses.  The  Shooas, 
indeed,  are  the  chief  horsebreeders  of  the 
Soudan. 

True  to  their  origin,  the  Shooas  have 
retained  many  of  their  Arabic  characteris- 
tics. They  build  no  houses,  but  live  in 
tents,  or  rather  movable  huts,  composed  of 
a  simple  framework  of  sticks,  covered  either 
with  leather  or  rush  mats.  They  have, 
however,  lost  much  of  the  nomad  character 
of  the  Arabs,  probably  because  the  fertile 
soil  permits  their  flocks  to  remain  perma- 
nently in  the  same  spot.  They  pitch  their 
tents  in  a  circle,  each  such  circle  represent- 
ing a  town,  and  having  two  openings  or 
entrances  for  the  cattle. 

Even  the  governor  or  sultan  of  the  largest 
settlement  does  not  inhabit  a  house.  The 
establishment  of  one  of  these  potentates, 
who  was  visited  by  Dr.  Oudney,  consisted 
of  a  great  quadrangular  enclosure  made  of 
mats  suspended  on  poles,  within  which 
were  a  number  of  small  huts,  or  rather 
tents,  with  walls  of  the  same  materials,  but 
with  thatched  roofs,  and  much  like  straw 
beehives  in  sliape.  The  doorway,  or  open- 
ing of  each  tent,  is  always  placed  westward, 
because  rain  always  comes  from  the  e.ast. 
The  furniture  of  the  tents  is  as  simple  as 
their  architecture,  and  consists  of  a  rude 
bed,  some  mats,  and  a  few  gourds  and 
earthen  jars.  The  dwelling  oif  a  man  of 
rank  is  distinguished  by  an  ostrich  egg-shell. 

Not  only  do  they  build  no  houses  of  their 
own,  but  they  never  inhabit  those  which 
others  have  built,  and,  though  they  have 
overcome  many  a  district,  they  have  never 
peopled  or  conquered  towns.  For  the  sur- 
rounding negro  nations  they  have  the  su- 
premest  contempt,  and  yet,  with  strange 


inconsistency,  they  are  always  tributary  to 
one  of  the  nations  which  they  despise. 
Probal)ly  on  this  account,  unless  they  are 
well  oflicered,  they  do  not  care  to  fight  even 
in  the  service  of  that  nation  which  they 
serve  ;  and  although  they  are  foremost 
when  plunder  seems  within  their  reach,  they 
are  always  apt  to  retire  from  the  battle 
when  it  seems  likely  to  go  against  them. 

Their  amusements  consist  principally  of 
dances,  one  of  which  is  very  peculiar,  and 
is  performed  exclusively  by  women.  They 
advance  by  pairs  at  a  time,  and  tlii'ow  them- 
selves into  various  attitudes,  accompanied  by 
the  wild  and  rude  music  of  the  band.  Sud- 
denly they  turn  their  backs  on  each  other, 
stoop,  and  butt  backward  at  each  other,  the 
object  being  to  upset  the  adversary.  "She 
who  keeps  her  equilil)rium  and  destroys 
that  of  her  opponent  is  greeted  with  cheers 
and  shouts,  and  is  led  out  of  the  ring  Ijy  two 
matrons,  covering  her  fiice  with  her  hands. 
They  sometimes  come  togetlier  with  such 
violence  as  to  burst  the  belt  of  beads  which 
all  the  women  of  rank  wear  round  their 
bodies  just  above  the  hips,  and  showers  of 
beads  would  fly  in  every  direction.  Some 
of  these  belts  are  twelve  or  sixteen  inches 
wide,  and  cost  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars. 

"  Address,  however,  is  often  attended  in 
these  contests  with  better  success  than 
strength,  and  a  well-managed  feint  exer- 
cised at  the  moment  of  the  expected  con- 
cussion, even  when  the  weight  of  metal 
would  be  very  unequal,  often  brings  the 
more  weighty  tumbling  to  the  ground, 
while  the  other  is  seen  quietly  seated  on 
tlio  spot  where  she  had  with  great  art  and 
agility  dropped  herself.  The  Shooas  are 
particularly  happy  in  these  feints,  which 
were  practised  in  different  ways,  either  by 
suddenly  stepping  on  one  side,  or  by  lying 
down." 

The  young  girls  are  fond  of  skipping  with 
a  long  rojie.  just  as  is  practised  in  Europe. 
They  display  very  great  agility,  which  is 
not  hindered  by  the  presence  of  any  gar- 
ment. Major  Denhani  once  came  on  a 
party  of  girls  amusing  themselves  in  tliis 
manner,  and  enjoying  the  S]iort  so  thcjr- 
ouglily  that  nothing  but  the  fear  of  losing 
dignity  prevented  him  from  joining  them. 

The  manners  of  the  Shooas  are  pleasing 
and  gentle.  They  are  a  hospitable  iieojUe, 
and  give  freely  of  the  milk  on  which  tliey 
almost  entirely  live,  as  is  always  the  case 
witli  a  pastoral  tribe.  Major  Denham  seems 
to  have  been  particularly  charmed  with  the 
manners  of  the  Shooas,  which  he  descrilies 
as  peculiarly  interesting  and  expressive. 
Even  when  bringing  milk  to  their  guests, 
tlie  girls  do  so  in  a  sort  of  punctilious  way, 
each  sitting  down  by  the  side  of  the  bowl, 
and  making  a  little  ceremonious  speech 
with  her  head  wrapped  in  a  mantle,  which 
she  afterward  removes  for  the  sake  of  fi'eer 
conversation. 


630 


THE   TIBBOOS. 


Tlio  Shooa  women  are  remarkable  for 
their  beauty.  Their  eolor  is  a  light  ruddy 
copjier,  and  they  have  fine  open  counte- 
nanees,  with  aquiline  noses  and  large  ej'es  — 
all  very  remarkable  among  the  negro  tribes 
that  surround  them.  The  women  are  espe- 
cially good-looking,  and  remind  the  observer 
of  the  gijis}'  women.  Their  dress  (see  en- 
graving on  page  631)  consists  of  two  wrap- 
pers, one  round  the  waist  and  the  other 
thrown  over  the  shoulders.  The  latter  is 
worn  in  different  ways,  sometimes  like  a 
shawl,  sometimes  tied  under  the  arms  so 
as  to  leave  both  shoulders  bare,  and  some- 


times thrown  over  one  shoulder  and  under 
the  other.  On  their  feet  they  wear  curious 
shoes  without  heels,  but  coming  up  the  sides 
of  the  foot  above  the  ankles.  Their  hair  is 
dressed  in  rather  a  curious  manner,  l.ieing 
plaited  into  innumerable  little  tresses,  which 
are  first  pressed  tightly  to  the  head,  and  then 
suddenly  diverge. 

Handsome  as  are  the  Shooa  women,  their 
beauty  is  held  in  great  contempt  by  the 
negro  tribes  among  which  they  live,  and 
who  naturally  think  that  thick  lips,  flat  noses, 
and  black  skins  constitute  the  only  real 
beauty  in  man  or  woman. 


THE   TIBBOOS. 


Allied,  in  all  probability,  to  the  Shooas 
are  the  Tibboos. 

Thej'  are  a  small  and  active  race,  and  are 
admirable  horsemen,  always  leaping  on 
their  horses  at  a  single  bound,  aiding  them- 
selves with  the  shatt  of  a  spear,  which  is 
used  as  a  leaping-pole.  Their  saddles  are  of 
wood,  lashed  together  with  thongs  of  cow- 
hide, and  li?ft  open  along  the  middle,  so  as 
to  avoid  galling  the  horse's  back.  They  are 
well  stufl'ed  with  camel's  hair,  and  are  com- 
fortable enough  when  the  rider  is  used  to 
them.'  Both  the  girth  and  the  stirrup  leath- 
ers are  of  plaited  leather,  and  the  stirrups 
themselves  are  so  small  that  they  only  ad- 
mit of  four  toes.  In  fact,  the  Tibboo  saddle 
is  almost  exactly  like  that  of  the  Patagonian. 

The  men  are  very  ugly,  but  the  women 
are  tolerably  good-looking,  and  tliose  who 
live  in  the  country  are  better  made  and 
more  active  tlian  those  who  live  in  the 
towns.  The  color  is  copper,  but  the  noses 
are  flat,  and  the  mouth  is  very  large,  though 
without  the  thick  lips  of  the  negro. 

Their  dress  is  a  tolerably  large  Soudan 
wrapper,  folded  round  the  body  and  tied  on 
the  left  shoulder  so  as  to  leave  the  right 
side  bare.  It  is,  however,  disposed  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  be  a  perfectly  delicate  as  well 
as  a  graceful  costume.  A  smaller  wrapper 
is  thrown  over  the  head,  and  is  drawn  across 
the  face  or  flung  back  at  pleasure.  The  hair 
is  dressed  in  triangular  flaps,  which  fall  on 
either  side  of  the  face;  and  they  wear  neck- 
laces of 'amber,  which  they  prize  very  highly, 
and  bits  of  red  coral  in  their  noses.  They 
invariably  carry  something  by  way  of  a  sun- 
screen, such  as  a  bunch  of  ostrich-feathers, 
a  tuft  of  long  grass,  or  even  a  leafy  bougli. 

Ugly  as  the  men  are,  thev  are  exceedingly 
vain  of  their  personal  a]i]iearance;  and  on 
one  occasion,  when  Major  Denham  had  lent 
a  Tibboo  chief  a  small  looking-glass,  the 
man  spent  several  hoin-s  in  contemplating 
his  own  features,  bursting  every  now  and 
then  into  loud  ejaculations  of  joy  at  his  own 
beauty,  and  sometimes  leaping  in  the  air  in 
the  extremity  of  his  delight. 


They  contrive  to  make  tlieir  naturally 
ugly  faces  still  less  attractive  by  their  invet. 
erate  habit  of  taking  snuff,  which  they  take 
both  by  the  mouth  and  the  nostrils,  the  lat- 
ter becoming  enormously  extended  by  their 
habit  of  thrusting  the  snutt'  into  their  heads 
with  their  fingers.  Their  mouths  are  also 
distended  bj'  their  custom  of  placing  quan- 
tities of  snuff  between  the  lips  and  gums. 

The  dress  of  the  Tiliboos  is  generally  a 
single  tobe,  or  shirt.  Close  garments  would 
only  embarrass  them  by  affording  a  lodge- 
ment for  the  sand,  which  has  the  eft'ect  of 
irritating  the  skin  greatly,  and  making  al- 
most intolerable  sores.  They  liave,  how- 
ever, a  mode  of  alleviating  the  ]iain  of  such 
sores  by  shampooing  them  with  fat.  a  pro- 
cess which  is  always  conducted  by  the 
women.  The  only  "article  of  dress  about 
which  they  seem  to  trouble  tliemselves  is 
the  turban,  which  is  worn  high  on  the  head, 
and  the  ends  brought  under  the  chin  and 
across  the  face,  so  as  to  conceal  all  but  the 
nose,  eyes,  and  part  of  the  forehead.  The 
turban"  is  dyed  of  a  dark  indigo  blue,  and 
is  mostly  decorated  with  a  vast  number  of 
charms,  sewed  in  little  leathern  cases. 

Their  horses,  though  small,  are  very 
handsome,  and  are  quite  strong  enough  to 
carry  the  light  and  active  men  who  ride 
them.  They  are  ke])t  in  admirable  condi- 
tion, and  are  fed  almost  entirely  on  camel's 
milk,  which  they  take  both  fresh  and  when 
clotted.  This  diet  suits  them  admirably, 
and  the  animals  are  in  excellent  condi- 
tion. 

The  Tibboos  stand  in  great  dread  of  the 
Arabs,  who  plunder  them  unmercifully  when 
they  have  the  chance.  They  are  better 
riders  and  better  mounted  than  their  foes; 
but  they  do  not  possess  fire-arms,  which 
they  look  upon  with  alisolute  terror.  !Major 
Denham  remarks  that  "  five  or  six  of  them 
will  go  round  and  round  a  tree  where  an 
Arab  has  laid  down  his  gun  for  a  minute, 
stepping  on  tiptoe,  as  if  afraid  of  disturbing  it; 
talking  to  each  other  in  whispers,  as  if  the  gun 
could  understand  their  exclamations;  and,  I 


1630 


CITIES  OF  KEFUGE. 


633 


dare  say,  praying  to  it  not  to  do  them  any 
injury  as  fervently  as  ever  Man  Friday  did 
to  Robinson  Crusoe's  muslvet." 

Tliougli  tlaey  liave  no  guns,  tliey  are  more 
formidable  warriors  tlian  tliey  seem  to  l^now, 
hurling  the  spear  with  deadly  aim  and  won- 
'ierful  force.  In  throwing  it,  they  do  not 
raise  the  hand  higher  than  the  shoulder; 
and,  as  it  leaves  the  hand,  they  give  it  a 
twist  with  the  fingers  that  makes  it  spin  like 
a  rifle  bullet.  The  shaft  is  elastic,  and,  when 
the  blade  strikes  the  ground,  the  shaft  bends 
nearly  double.  One  young  man  threw  his 
spear  a  good  eighty  yards ;  and,  as  each  man 
carries  two  of  these  spears,  it  may  be  imag- 
ined that  even  the  Arabs,  with  all  their  fire- 
arms, are  not  much  more  than  a  match  for 
ihe  Tibboos.  They  also  carry  the  strange 
tnissile-sword  which  has  already  been  men- 
tioned. The  warriors  carry  bows  and  ar- 
rows, as  well  as  two  daggers,  one  about 
eighteen  inches  long,  stuck  in  the  belt,  and 
the  other  only  six  inches  in  length,  and 
fastened  to  the  arm  by  a  ring.  The  Tibboos 
metaphorically  term  the  long  dagger  their 
gun,  and  the  short  one  their  pistol. 

The  dances  of  the  Tibboo  women  are  not 
in  the  least  like  those  of  the  Shooas.  Danc- 
ing is  among  them  one  of  the  modes  of  greet- 
ing an  lionored  guest;  and  when  a  man  of 
rank  approaclies,  the  women  meet  him  with 
dances  and  songs,  just  as  Jephthah's  daugh- 
ter met  her  victorious  father,  and  tlie  women 
of  Israel  met  David  after  he  had  killed 
Goliath. 

Nor  are  these  dances  the  slow,  gliding 
movements  with  whicli  we  generally  associ- 
.ite  Oriental  dances.  The  women  display 
very  great  activity,  and  fling  themselves 
about  in  an  astonishing  manner.  They 
begin  by  swaying  their  lieads,  arms,  and 
oodles  from  side  to  side,  but  gradually  work 
themselves  up  to  a  great  pitch  of  excite- 
ment, leaping  in  tlie  air,  gnashing  their 
teeth,  whirling  tlieir  arms  about,  and  seem- 
ing to  be  in  a  perfect  frenzy. 

Some  of  the  Tibboo  settlements,  or  vil- 
lages, are  ingeniously  placed  on  the  tops  of 
rocks  with  almost  perpendicular  sides.  The 
situation  is  an  inconvenient  one,  but  it  is 
useful  in  warding  off  the  attacks  of  the 
Tuaricks,  whc  niake  raids  upon  the  unfortu- 
nate Tibboos,  sweep  off  all  the  cattle  and 
other  property  that  they  can  find,  and  carry 
away  the  inhabitants  to  be  sold  as  slaves, 
sparing  neither  age  nor  sex.  Consequently, 
as  soon  as  the  Tibboos  have  warning  of  the 
approacli  of  their  enemies,  they  take  refuge 
on  the  top  of  the  rock,  carrying  with  them 
all  their  portable  property,  draw  up  tlie  lad- 
ders by  which  they  ascend,  and  abandon  tlie 
cattle  to  the  invaders. 

Partly  on  tliis  account,  and  partly  from 
natural  carelessness,  the  Tibboos  are  almost 
regardless  of  personal  appearance,  and  even 


their  sultan,  when  he  went  to  meet  Major 
Denham,  though  he  had  donned  in  honor  of 
his  guests  a  new  scarlet  bernouse,  wore  it 
over  a  filthy  checked  shirt;  and  his  cap  and 
turban,  which  purported  to  be  white,  were 
nearly  as  black  as  the  hair  of  the  wearer. 

One  might  have  thought  that  the  con- 
tinual suilerings  which  they  undergo  at  the 
hands  of  the  Tuaricks  would  have  taught  the 
Tibboos  kindness  to  their  fellow  creatures, 
whereas  there  are  no  people  more  reckless 
of  inflicting  pain.  The  Tibboo  slave-dealers 
are  notorious  for  the  utter  indifference  to 
the  sufferings  of  their  captives  whom  they 
are  conveying  to  the  market,  oven  though 
they  lose  many  of  them  by  their  callous  neg- 
lect. They  often  start  on  their  journey  with 
barely  one  quarter  the  proper  amount  oj 
provisions  or  water,  and  then  take  their  cap- 
tives over  wide  deserts,  where  they  fall  from 
exhaustion,  and  are  left  to  die.  The  skele- 
tons of  slaves  strew  the  whole  of  the  road. 
As  the  traveller  passes  along,  he  sometimes 
hears  his  horse's  feet  crasliing  among  the 
dried  and  brittle  bones  of  the  dead.  Even 
round  the  wells  lie  hundreds  of  skeletons, 
the  remains  of  those  who  had  readied  the 
water,  but  had  Ijeen  too  much  exhausted  to 
be  revived  by  it.  In  that  liot  climate  the 
skin  of  the  dead  person  dries  and  shrivels 
under  the  sun  like  so  much  horn,  and  in 
many  cases  the  features  of  the  dead  are  pre- 
served. Careless  even  of  the  pecuniary  loss 
which  they  had  suffered,  the  men  who  accom- 
panied Major  Denham  only  laughed  when 
they  recognized  the  faces  of  the  shrivelled 
skeletons,  and  knocked  them  about  witli  the 
butts  of  their  weapons,  laughing  the  while, 
and  making  jokes  upon  tlieir  present  value 
in  the  market. 

Tlie  Tibboos  are,  from  their  slight  and 
active  figures,  good  travellers,  and  are  em- 
plo^'ed  as  couriers  to  take  messages  from 
Bornu  to  Moorzuk,  a  task  which  none  but  a 
Tibboo  will  undertake.  Two  are  sent  in 
company,  and  so  dangerous  is  the  journey, 
that  they  do  not  expect  that  both  will  re- 
turn in  safety.  They  are  mounted  on  the 
swiftest  dromedaries,  and  are  furnished  with 
jiarched  corn,  a  little  brass  basin,  a  wooden 
ijowl,  some  dried  meat,  and  two  skins  of 
water.  Not  only  do  they  have  to  undergo 
the  ordinary  perils  of  travel,  such  as  the  hot 
winds,  the  sand-storms,  and  the  chance  of 
perishing  liy  thirst,  lint  they  also  run  great 
risk  of  being  killed  by  Arab  rol)ljers,  who 
would  not  dare  to  attack  a  caravan,  but  are 
glad  of  the  opportunity  of  robbing  defence- 
less travellers. 

Such  events  do  frequently  occur,  and  the 
consequence  is  that  the  Tibboos  and  the 
Arabs  are  in  perpetual  feuds,  each  niiu'der- 
ing  one  of  the  enemy  whenever  he  gets  a 
chance,  and  reckoning  each  man  killed  as  a 
point  on  his  own  side. 


S34 


THE   TUARICKS. 


THE   TUARICKS. 


"We  ousht,  before  leaving  the  Tiblioos,  to 
give  a  t'ew  words  to  their  enemies  tlie 
Tuarieks.  Tliese  are  emphatically  a  nation 
of  thieves,  never  working  themselves,  and 
gaining  the  whole  of  their  subsistence  by 
robbing  those  who  do  lalior.  They  do  not 
even  plant  or  sow,  and  their  whole  education 
consists  in  the  art  of  robbery,  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  dromedary,  and  the  handling 
of  the  spear.  They  live  in  teats,  which  are 
something  like  those  of  the  ordinary  Bedouin 
Arabs,  and  have,  like  our  gipsies,  a  supreme 
contempt  for  all  who  are  so  degraded  as  to 
live  in  houses  and  congregate  in  cities.  In 
the  engraving  No.  2  on  page  631,  the  artist 
has  iliustrated  the  characteristics  of  the 
Tuarieks  and   Tibboos. 

Like  the  gipsies,  the  Tuarieks  have  their 
own  language,  into  which  they  have  only 
inserted  occasional  words  of  Arabic,  and 
they  have  their  own  written  alphabet,  in 
which  several  letters  are  exactlj'  the  same  as 
some  of  the  Roman  characters,  though  they 
do  not  express  the  same  sounds,  such  as  the 
H,  the  S,  and  the  W.  There  are  also  the 
Greek  ©  and  a.  and  the  Hebrew  5,  while 
several  letters  are  composed  of  dots  grouped 
in  various  ways.  These  letters  are  either 
written  from  right  to  left,  as  the  Arabic,  or 
rice  versa,  as  European  languages,  or  per- 
pendicularly, as  the  Chinese ;  and  in  their 
country  almost  every  large  stone  is  engraved 
with  Tuarick  characters.  Yet  they  have  no 
literature,  nnd  assert  that  no  book  exists  in 
their  language.  In  sound  the  Tuarick  lan- 
guage is  harsh,  but  it  is  expressive,  and 
seems  to  be  capable  of  strength. 

In  theii-  manners  the  Tuarieks  are  grave 
and  sedate, and  before  Denhara  and  Clapper- 
ton  visited  them  they  were  carefully  lec- 
tured by  the  guide  on  their  proper  behavior, 
the  demeanor  of  Captain  Clappertou  being 
considered  too  cheerful  and  humorous  to 
suit  the  grave  Tuarieks.  This  applies  only 
to  the  men,  the  women  being  lively  and 
amusing.  They  are  very  fond  of  singing, 
joining  "in  little  bands  for  the  purpose,  and 
continuing  their  songs  until  midnight.  The 
men,  however,  never  sing,  considering  the 
song  to  be  essentially  a  feminine  amusement, 
and,  probably  for  the  same  reason,  they  are 
never  heard  to  recite  poetry  like  most  Ori- 
entals. The  women  wear  the  usual  striped 
blue  and  white  dress,  and  they  mostly  carry 
earrings  made  of  shells.  Wives  are  con- 
veniently valued  at  six  camels  each;  and 
whether  on  account  of  their  value,  or 
whether  from  an  innate  courtesy,  the  men 
treat  their  wives  with  respect,  and  permit 
them  a  freedom  of  manner  which  denotes 
the  admission  of  equality. 

The  depredations  of  the  Tuarieks  have 


been  mentioned  when  treating  of  the  Tib- 
boos,  on  whom  the  chief  l)runt  of  their  at- 
tacks seems  to  fall.  That  they  carry  off  all 
the  cattle,  and  would  seize  even  the  Tibboos 
themselves  for  slaves,  is  a  standing  and  rea- 
sonable grievance.  But  even  the  constant 
fear  of  these  attacks  does  not  seem  to  anger 
the  Tibboos  so  much  as  the  raids  uiiich  the 
Tuarieks  make  on  their  salt-market.  In  the 
Tibboo  country  there  are  some  large  salt 
marshes,  which  are  extremely  valuable  to 
the  owners,  salt  being  a  marketable  com- 
modity, fetching  a  high  price,  indeed  being 
itself  used  as  a  sort  of  currency;  a  cylinder 
of  coarse  bi-own  salt,  weighing  eieven  pounds, 
being  worth  four  or  live  dollars.  The  jiuri- 
tied  salt,  which  they  obtain  in  a  beautifully 
clear  and  white  state,  is  put  into  baskets, 
and  brings  a  corresponding!}'  high  price. 

Not  choosing  to  take  the  tronlile  of  pro- 
curing salt  for  themselves,  the  Tuarieks 
suppl}'  themselves  as  well  as  their  market 
by  robbing  the  Tibboos,  and  in  one  season 
these  robbers  carried  ofl"  t^venty  thousand 
bags  of  salt,  selling  the  greater  part  in  the 
Soudan  market.  The  Tibboos  were  par- 
ticularly enraged  at  this  proceeding.  It 
was  bad  enough  to  have  their  property 
stolen,  but  it  was  still  worse  to  take  their 
remaining  salt  to  the  market,  and  then  find 
that  the  price  had  fiillen  in  consequence  of 
the  Tuarieks  having  tilled  the  market  with 
the  twenty  thousand  bags  which  they  had 
stolen,  and  which  the}'  could  therefore  atford 
to  sell  at  a  very  low  price. 

Among  these  people  medicine  and  sur- 
gery are  necessarily  at  a  very  low  ebb, 
shampooing  and  cauterizing  being  the  chief 
remedies  for  almost  every  complaint.  One 
man  who  was  sufl'eriug  from  an  enlarged 
spleen  was  advised  to  undergo  the  opera- 
tion, and  was  laid  on  his  back  and  firmly 
held  down  by  five  or  six  assistants.  An 
iron  was  heated  in  the  lire,  and  three  spots 
burned  on  his  side,  just  under  the  ribs. 
Each  spot  was  about  as  large  as  a  sixpence. 

The  iron  was  then  replaced  in  the  fire, 
and,  while  it  was  being  heated,  the  assist- 
ants punched  him  in  the  side  with  their 
thumbs,  asking  whether  the  pressure  hurt 
him;  and,  as  their  hard  thuniOs  bruised  his 
rtesh,  he  was  obliged  to  admit  that  it  did 
hurt  him.  So  four  more  scars  were  made, 
close  to  the  others.  He  was  then  burned 
on  his  face,  and  three  large  scars  burned 
near  the  spine;  and,  by  way  of  making  the 
cure  quite  complete,  a  large  burn  was  made 
on  his  neck,  just  above  the  collar-bone. 
The  poor  man  endured  the  torture  with 
great  patience,  and,  when  the  operation  was 
over,  he  drank  a  draught  of  water,  and  went 
ou  as  usual  with  the  camels. 


CURIOUS  ARCHITECTUEE. 


635 


THE  BEGHARMIS. 


We  now  come  to  the  curious  Begharmi  1 
kingdom,  between  -wliich  and  Bornu  there 
rages  a  perpetual  warfare.  War  was  the 
ancient  custom  in  1824,  when  Denham  and 
Clapperton  visited  the  country,  and  many 
years  afterward,  when  Dr.  Bartli  travelled 
through  the  district,  it  was  going  on  as 
fiercely  as  ever.  Indeed,  if  they  could, 
each  kingdom  would  exterminate  the  other, 
and,  even  as  it  is,  great  loss  of  life  takes 
place  by  the  continual  battles,  in  which  no 
quarter  is  given,  except  to  those  prisoners 
who  are  to  be  qualified  for  the  harem.  Con- 
sequently, the  wives  of  the  Bornuan  sultan 
are  guarded  by  Begharmi  eunuchs,  and 
those  of  the  Begharmi  sultan  by  Bornuese. 

Even  the  Bornuan  sheikh  had  yielded  to 
the  prevailing  custom,  and  maintained  thirty 
of  these  unfortunate  individuals.  Major 
Denham  saw  about  a  dozen  of  them  shortly 
after  their  admission,  and  evidently  showed 
pity  by  his  countenance.  The  chief,  seeing 
this,  exclaimed,  "  Why,  Christian,  what  sig- 
nifies all  this?  They  are  only  Begharmis! 
dogsl  Kaffirs  I  enemies!  They  ought  to 
have  been  cut  in  four  quarters  alive;  and 
now  tliey  will  drink  colfee,  eat  sugar,  and 
live  in  a  palace  all  their  lives." 

When  Dr.  Bartli  visited  Begharmi,  the 
sultan  was  absent  on  one  of  his  warlike 
expeditions,  and  it  was  some  time  before  he 
was  allowed  to  proceed  to  Massena,  the  cap- 
ital. At  last  he  did  so,  and  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  the  sultan  return  after  his 
expedition,  in  which  he  had  been  victorious. 
First  rode  the  lieutenant-governor,  sur- 
rounded by  his  horsemen,  and  next  came 
another  ofiicer,  behind  wliom  was  borne  a 
long  and  peculiarly-formed  spear,  connected 
in  some  way  with  their  religion.  After  him 
rode  the  commander-in-chief,  and  then  the 
sultan  himself,  riding  on  a  gray  horse,  weai'- 
ing  a  yellow  bernouse,  and  sheltered  from 
the  sun  by  two  umbrellas,  one  green  and 
one  yellow,  held  over  him  by  slaves.  He 
was  continually  cooled  by  six  slaves  wield- 
ing long  ostrich-feather  flms,  and  having 
their  right  arms  clothed  in  iron  armor;  and 
around  him  rode  a  few  of  the  principal 
chiefs. 

Then  came  the  war  camel,  hearing  the 
hattle-drums,  which  were  vigorously  bela- 
bored by  the  drummer.  Next  came  a  long 
line  of  the  sultan's  wives,  clothed  in  black; 
then  the  baggage,  and  then  the  soldiers. 
Prisoners  are  led  in  the  triumphal  proces- 
sion, and  are  taken  to  the  harem,  where 
they  are  insulted  by  the  inmates.  The 
handsomest  among  them  are  selected  for 
the  service  of  the  harem,  and  the  remainder 
are  put  to  death. 

In  this  case  the  Begharmi  sultan  had  been 
victorious;  but  in  one  battle  witnessed  by 
Mqjor  Denham  the  Bornuese  won  the  day, 


the  sheikh  having  arranged  his  few  fire- 
arms with  such  skill  that  the  Begharmis, 
nearly  rive  thousand  strong,  fell  back  in 
contusion,  and  were  at  once  attacked  by  the 
Bornuan  horse,  who  are  ready  enough  to 
fight  when  the  enemy  seems  to  be  running 
away.  The  slaughter  was  enormous,  con- 
sidering the  number  of  the  combatants.  Of 
the  two  hundred  Begharmi  chiefs  who  came 
into  the  field,  only  one  was  said  to  have 
escaped,  seven  sons  of  the  sultan  were 
killed,  together  with  some  seventeen  hun- 
dred soldiers,  while  many  more  were  re- 
ported to  have  been  murdered  after  the 
battle  was  over.  They  also  lost  nearly  fi^-e 
hundred  horses,  and  nearly  two  hundred 
women,  who,  according  to  the  odd  custom 
of  the  land,  followed  their  lords  to  battle. 

In  the  greater  part  of  the  country,  as  well 
as  at  Loggun,  the  houses  are  built  in  a  very 
curious  "manner,  being  composed  of  cell 
within  cell,  like  a  nest  of  pill-boxes.  This 
curious  architecture  is  intended  to  keep  out 
the  flies,  which  at  some  seasons  of  the  year 
swarm  in  such  numbers  that  even  the  in- 
habitants dare  not  move  out  of  their  houses 
for  several  hours  in  the  day.  Major  Den- 
ham would  not  believe  the  story  until  it  was 
corroborated  by  the  appearance  of  one  of 
his  men,  who  imprudently  ventured  into  the 
open  air,  and  came  back  with  his  eyes  and 
head  swollen  up,  and  so  bitten  that  he  was 
laid  up  for  three  days. 

The  Begharmis,  though  they  are  always 
at  war  with  the  Bornuese,  resemble  them  in 
so  many  points  that  a  detailed  description  is 
not  needed,  and  we  will  only  glance  at  a  few 
of  their  peculiarities. 

As  we  have  mentioned  the  constant  war- 
fare in  which  they  are  engaged,  we  will  give 
a  few  words  to  the  remarkable  cavalry  force 
which  forms  the  chief  strength  of  the  Beg- 
harmi army.  These  men  present  a  most 
remarkable  api^earance,  as  may  be  seen  by 
reference  to  the  illustration  No.  1  on  page 
638.  They  carry  a  most  curious  spear,  with 
a  double  'head,  something  hke  a  pitchfork 
with  flattened  prongs. 

The  most  remarkable  point  is,  however, 
the  armor  with  which  the  Begharmi  lancer 
is  defended.  It  is  made  of  qXiilted  cloth  or 
cotton,  and  is  almost  exactly  identical  with 
the  quilted  armor  worn  by  the  Chinese,  and 
which  caused  the  miserable  deaths  of  so 
many  soldiers  by  the  cotton  taking  fire  from 
the  flash  of  their  own  muskets.  The  whole 
of  the  body  and  limbs  of  the  rider  are  cov- 
ered with  this  armor,  while  he  wears  on  his 
head  a  helmet  of  the  same  material;  and  his 
horse  is  defended  as  well  as  himself.  Al- 
though useless  against  fire-arms,  the  cotton 
quilting  is  proof  against  arrows,  and  is 
therefore  useful  in  guarding  the  soldier 
against  the  poisoned  weapons  of  his  foes. 


C36 


THE   BEGHARMIS. 


As  this  armor,  though  light,  is  very  cum- 
brous, it  is  seldom  worn  I'xccpt  in  actual 
combat,  or  when  the  geuoral  reviews  his 
troops;  and  it  maj'  be  doubted  whether  it  is 
not  such  au  impediment,  both  to  horse  and 
soldier,  that  the  trt)ops  woidd  be  more  effi- 
cient without  it.  Pcrha]>s  the  confidence 
which  it  inspires  is  its  chief  use,  alter  all. 
These  men  are  always  employed  as  heavy 
horse,  to  protect  the  van  and  guard  the  rear 
of  the  army,  the  archers  being  stationed 
just  behind  them,  and  shooting  whenever 
they  tiud  a  chance.  The  saddle  is  as  awkward 
as  the  armor,  ri.sing  both  in  front  and  belund 
to  such  a  height  that  the  soldier  could  hardly 
fall  to  the  ground  even  if  he  were  killed.  lii 
ti'ont  it  tbrms  a  sort  of  little  tal)le,  on  which 
the  soldier  can  rest  his  bridle-arm,  which 
might  be  fatigued  with  holding  the  reins 
and  lifting  the  sleeve  of  the  quilted  coat. 

The  Begharmis  may  be  almost  reckoned 
as  negroes,  their  skins  being  black,  and  their 
faces  having  much  of  the  flatness  and  thick- 
ness of  the  negro.  They  are  powerful  and 
active  men,  and  the  sultans  of  otlior  coun- 
tries pride  themselves  on  their  trained  Beg- 
harmi  wrestlers,  these  men  being  chosen 
for  their  gigantic  stature  and  well-knit  mus- 
cles. 

"When  two  athletes  contend,  it  is  no  child's 
play,  the  vanquished  being  sometimes  killed 
on  tlie  spot,  and  frequently  maimed  for  life. 
Their  masters  have  a  positive  monomania 
on  the  subject,  and  urge  on  the  wrestlers  by 
loud  cries,  promising  great  rewards  to  the 
victor,  and  threatening  the  severest  punish- 
ment to  the  vanquished.  The  great  object 
of  the  wrestlers  is  to  catch  the  opponent  by 
tlie  hi])S,  and  so  to  lift  him  oft'  his  feet  and 
dash  him  to  the  ground.  The  master  cares 
nothing  for  a  wrestler  who  has  been  once 
conquered;  and  a  man  for  whom  his  owner 
would  refuse  a  couple  of  hundred  dollars  in 
the  morning  may  be  sold  for  a  fiftieth  of  the 
sum  before  night. 

Similar  to  tliese  combats  are  the  boxing- 
matches,  in  which  the  negroes  from  Haussa 
are  thought  to  be  the  best  that  can  be  ob- 
tained. A  spirited  account  of  one  of  these 
matches  is  given  by  Major  Denham :  — 

"  Having  heard  a  great  deal  of  the  boxers 
of  Haussa,  I  was  anxious  to  witness  their 
performance.  Accordingly  I  .sent  one  of 
my  servants  last  night  to'o'fter  2,000  whydah 
for  a  puf'ilistic  exhibition  in  the  morning. 
As  the  death  of  one  of  the  combatants  is 
almost  certain  before  a  battle  is  over,  I 
expressly  prohibited  all  fighting  in  earnest; 
for  it  would  have  been  disgraceful,  both  to 
myself  and  my  country,  toliire  men  to  kill 
cue  another  for  the  gratification  of  idle  curi- 
osity. 

"About  half  an  hour  after  the  'massu- 
dubu '  were  gone,  the  boxers  arrived,  at- 
tended by  two  drums  and  the  whole  body  of 
butchers,  who  here  compose  '  the  fancy.'  A 
ring  was  soon  formed  bj  the  master  of  the 


ceremonies  throwing  dust  on  the  spectators 
to  make  them  stand  back.  The  drumnicrs 
entered  the  ring,  and  began  to  drum  lustily. 
One  of  the  boxers  followed,  quite  naked, 
except  a  skin  round  the  middle.  He  placed 
himself  in  an  attitude  as  if  to  oppose  an 
antagonist,  and  wrought  his  muscles  into 
action,  seemingly  to  find  out  that  every 
sinew  was  in  full  power  tor  the  approaching 
combat;  then,  coming  from  time  to  time  to 
the  side  of  the  ring,  and  presenting  his 
right  arm  to  the  bystanders,  he  said,  "l  am 
a  hysna'  —  'I  am  a  lion'  —  'I  am  able  to 
kill  all  that  oppose  me.'  The  spectators  to 
whom  he  pi-escnted  himself  laid  their  hands 
(ui  his  shoulder,  repeating,  '  The  blessing  of 
God  be  upon  thee'  —  'thou  art  a  hyjena'  — 
'thou  art  a  lion.'  He  then  abandoned  the 
ring  to  another,  who  showed  otf  in  the  same 
manner. 

"  The  right  arm  and  hand  of  the  pugilists 
were  then  bound  with  narrow  country  cloth, 
beginning  with  a  fold  round  the  middle 
finger;  when,  the  hand  being  first  clenched 
with  the  thumb  Iietweon  the  fore  and  mid 
fingers,  the  cloth  was  passed  in  many  turns 
round  the  fist,  the  wrist,  and  the  forearm. 

"  After  about  twenty  had  separately  gone 
through  their  attitudes  of  defiance  and 
appeals  to  the  bystanders,  they  were  next 
brought  forward  by  pairs.  If  they  happened 
to  be  friends,  they  laid  their  left  breasts  to- 
gether twice,  and  exclaimed, '  "We  are  lions' 
— '  We  are  friends.'  One  then  left  the  ring, 
and  another  was  brought  forward.  If  the 
two  did  not  recognize  one  another  as 
friends,  the  set-to  immediately  commenced. 

"  On  taking  their  stations,  the  two  pu- 
gilists first  stood  at  some  distance,  parrying 
with  the  left  hand  open,  and,  whenever 
ojjportunity  offered,  striking  with  the  right. 
They  generally  aimed  at  the  pit  of  the 
stomacli  and  under  the  ribs.  Whenever 
they  closed,  one  seized  the  other's  head 
under  his  arm,  and  beat  it  with  his  fist, 
at  the  same  time  striking  with  his  knee 
between  his  antagonist's  thighs.  In  this 
position,  with  thehead  '  in  chancery,'  they 
are  said  sometimes  to  attempt  to  gouge  or 
scoop  out  one  of  the  eyes.  When  they 
break  loose,  they  never  fail  to  give  a  swinge- 
ing blow  with  the  heel  under  the  ribs,  or 
sometimes  under  the  left  ear.  It  is  these 
blows  that  are  so  often  fatal. 

"The  combatants  were  repeatedlj'  sep- 
arated by  my  orders,  as  they  were  begin- 
ning to  lose  their  temper.  When  this  spec- 
tacle was  heard  of,  girls  left  their  pitchers 
at  the  wells,  the  market-people  threw  down 
their  baskets,  and  all  ran  to  see  the  fight. 
The  whole  square  before  my  house  was 
crowded  to  excess.  After  six  pairs  had 
gone  through  several  rounds,  I  ordered 
them,  to  their  great  satisfaction,  the  prom- 
ised reward,  and  the  multitude  quietly  dis- 
persed." 

The  Begharmi  women  are  good  dancers, 


(1.)    BEGHARMI  LANCKKS.    (See  page  635.) 


(2.)    MUSUU  CUIKK.    (See  page  639.) 
(638) 


A  MUSGU  CHIEF. 


639 


their  movements  being  gentle  anfl  grace- 
ful. They  make  much  use  of  their  hands, 
sometimes  crossing  them  on  their  lireasts, 
sometimes  clasping  them  together,  and  some- 
times just  pressing  the  tips  of  tlie  fingers 
against  those  of  the  opposite  hand.     As  they 


dance,  they  sing  in  low  and  plaintive  tones, 
swinging  the  body  backward  and  forward, 
and  lienfling  tlie  head  from  side  to  side,  end- 
ing by  sinking  softly  on  the  ground,  and  cov- 
ering their  faces. 


MUSGU. 


Neaely,  if  not  quite  equal  to  the  Beghar- 
mis  in  stature  and  strength  are  the  Musgu 
tribe,  which  inhaliit  a  district  of  Mandar.a. 
In  consequence  of  their  fine  proportions, 
Musgu  slaves  are  greatly  valued  by  the  sur- 
rounding nations,  and  are  employed  in  va- 
rious \'i'ays.  The  sultans  and  great  chiefs 
are  fond  of  having  their  male  Musgu  slaves 
as  wrestlers;  and  next  in  interest  to  a  match 
between  two  Begharmis  is  a  contest  be- 
tween a  Begharmi  and  a  Musgu  wrestler. 

The  female  slaves  are  proportionately 
strong,  but  they  are  never  purchaserl  by  the 
Fezzan  traders,  because  they  lack  beauty  of 
feature  as  much  as  they  possess  strength  of 
muscle.  Their  faces  are  large  and  ugly, 
and  they  have  a  custom  of  wearing  a  silver 
ornauient  in  the  lower  lip.  This  ornament 
is  about  as  large  as  a  shilling,  and  is  worn 
exactly  after  the  fashion  of  the  "  pelele," 
which  has  already  been  described  and  fig- 
in-ed.  In  order  to  make  room  for  this  ugly 
appendage,  the  women  knock  out  the  liwo 
middle  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw,  and,  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  the  lip  is  dragged  down  by  the 
inserted  metal,  and  has  a  very  horrid  and 
repulsive  appearance.  Their  hair  is  dressed 
like  that  of  the  Bornu  women,  j.f.  one  large 
plait  or  roll  from  the  forehead  to  the  nape  of 
the  neck,  and  two  others  on  each  side. 

They  are  very  trustworthy,  and  are  set  to 
laborious  t.asks.  from  which  weaker  slaves 
■would  shrink.  They  do  all  the  agricultural 
work,  —  digging  the  groiuid,  planting  the 
seed,  and  carrying  home  the  crops.  They 
also  perform  the  office  of  watchers,  by  night 
as  well  as  by  day,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  year 
pa.sses  that  one  or  two  of  these  patient  crea- 
tures are  not  carried  off  by  the  lions,  who 
creep  up  to  them  under  shelter  of  the  corn, 
and  then  spring  upon  them. 

Tlie  men  are  equally  ugly.  Only  the 
chiefs  wear  any  clothing,  and  even  they  are 
seldom  clad  in  anything  more  than  a  goat- 
skin or  leopard's  hide,  hung  over  the  shoul- 
ders so  as  to  bring  the  head  of  the  animal 
on  the  wearer's  breast.  Their  heads  are 
covered  with  rather  strange-looking  caps, 
and  their  hair,  as  it  straggles  from  under 
the  caps,  is  thick  and  bri.stly.  They  wear 
on  their  arms  large  rings  of  bone  or  ivory, 
and  round  their  necks  hang  trophies  of  their 
valor,  being  necklaces  made  of  the  strung 
teeth  of  slain  enemies.  They  paint  their 
bodies  with  red,  and  stain  their  teeth  of 
the  same  color,  so  that  they  present  a  sin- 


gularly wild  and  savage  appearance.  They 
are  mounted  on  small  but  strong  and  active 
horses,  which  they  ride  without  saddles  and 
almost  without  bridles,  a  slight  piece  of  cord 
being  tied  halter-wise  round  the  animafs 
muzzle. 

Their  weapons  consist  mostly  of  the  spear 
and  the  missile  knives,  similar  to  those 
which  have  lieen  already  described.  The 
inferior  men,  though  they  are  mounted,  and 
carry  the  same  weapons  as  the  chief,  wear 
no  clothing  except  a  leather  girdl(>  round 
the  waist,  and  the  same  light  attire  is  worn 
by  tlie  women.  Though  so  liable  to  be 
enslaved  themselves,  they  are  great  slave- 
dealers;  and  when  they  pay  tribute  to  the 
sultan  of  Mandara,  or  wish  to  make  a  peace- 
oflering,  the  greater  part  of  it  consists  of 
slaves,  both  male  and  female. 

In  illustration  No.  2,  page  6.38,  is  seen  a 
Musgu  chief  going  to  battle.  He  is  one  of 
the  very  great  chiefs,  as  is  shown  from  tho 
fact  that  he  wears  a  tobe  instead  of  a  skin. 
In  his  right  hand  is  a  spear,  and  in  his  left 
a  couple  of  the  missile  knives.  Behind  him 
ride  his  soldiers,  naked  men  on  naked 
horses.  In  the  background  is  seen  a  jiarty 
of  women  engaged  in  the  -vvater,  with  which 
element  they  are  very  famili.ar,  and  are  not 
kept  out  of  it  by  any  fear  of  wetting  their 
clothes.  Near  them  is  one  of  the  mound- 
like tombs  under  which  a  dead  chief  has 
been  buried  —  the  Musguese  being  almost 
the  only  African  tribe  "who  erect  such  a 
monument. 

The  huts  are  seen  a  little  farther  back, 
and  near  them  are  two  of  the  remarkable 
granaries,  covered  with  projecting  orna- 
ments, and  mostly  kept  so  well  filled  that 
marauders  are  nearly  as  anxious  to  sack  the 
granaries  as  to  steal  the  people.  On  the 
branches  of  the  trees  is  a  quantity  of  grass 
which  has  been  hung  there  to  dry  in  the 
sun,  and  to  be  used  as  hay  for  the  horses. 

When  Major  Denliam  was  near  the  Musgu 
territory,  he  was  told  that  these  strange  and 
wild-looking  people  were  Christians.  He 
said  that  they  could  not  be  so,  because  they 
had  just  begged  of  him  the  carcass  of  a 
horse  which  had  died  during  the  night,  and 
were  at  that  time  busily  employed  in  eating 
it.  The  man,  however,  adhered  to  his  opin- 
ion, saying  that,  although  he  certainly  never 
had  heard  that  Christians  ate  horse-flesh, 
they  did  eat  swine's-flesh,  and  that  was  in- 
finitely more  disgusting. 


640 


MUSGI7. 


These  people  were  unwittingly  the  cause 
of  great  loss  to  the  Bornuese  and  Mandaras. 
The  Arabs  who  had  accompanied  Denliam 
and  Clapperton  from  Tripoli  were  very  anx- 
ious, before  returning  home,  to  make  a  raid 
on  their  own  account,  aud  bring  back  a 
numljer  of  ISIusgu  slaves.  The  sheikh  of 
Bornu  thouglit  that  this  would  be  a  good 
opportunity  of  utilizing  the  lire-arms  of  the 
Arabs  against  the  warlike  aud  unyielding 
Fellatahs,  and  sent  them  off  together  with 
three  thousand  of  his  own  troops. 

As  had  ))eeu  anticipated,  when  they 
reached  Mandara,  the  sultan  would  not 
allow  them  to  attack  Musgu,  which  he 
looked  upon  as  his  own  particular  slave- 
preserve,  but  added  some  of  his  own  ti-oops 
io  those  of  the  Bornuan  sheikh,  and  sent 
them  to  capture  as  many  Fellatahs  as  they 
liked,  doing  them  the  honor  of  accompany- 
ing the  expedition  in  person.  It  is  also  evi- 
dent that  both  the  sultan  and  the  sheikh 
disliked  as  well  as  feared  the  Arabs,  and 
■were  very  willing  to  turn  to  account  the 
terrible  weajwus  which  they  carried,  and  by 
means  of  which  they  had  made  themselves 
so  overbearing  aud  disagreeable. 


When  they  reached  the  first  Fellatah  town 
and  attacked  it,  they  found  it  to  Ije  strongly 
defended  with  chevaux  de  frise  of  sharpened 
slakes  six  feet  in  height,  behind  which  were 
stationed  their  archers,  who  poured  showers 
of  poisoned  arrows  on  the  invaders.  The 
Arabs,  after  a  struggle,  carried  the  fence 
and  pursued  the  Fellatahs  up  the  hill. 
Here  they  were  received  with  more  arrows, 
brought  to  the  archers  by  the  women,  and 
with  stones  rolled  down  the  hill.  Had  the 
Bornu  and  Mandara  soldiers  pushed  for- 
ward, the  whole  town  must  ha^'e  been  taken, 
instead  of  which  thej'  prudeutly  kept  out  of 
range  of  the  poisoned  arrows.  The  Fella- 
tahs, seeing  their  cowardice,  then  assumed 
the  ott'ensive,  whereupon  the  Bornu  and 
ilandara  soldiers  at  once  ran  away,  headed 
by  the  sultan,  who  would  have  laid  claim  to 
the  town  had  the  Arabs  taken  it.  The 
whole  force  was  routed  with  great  loss,  thti 
Bornu  leader  —  a  truly  brave  man  —  was 
killed  with  a  poisoned  arrow,  and  Major 
Denham  was  severely  wounded,  stripped  of 
all  his  clothes,  and  barely  escaped  with  his 
life. 


CHAPTER  LXIV. 


ABYSSINIA. 


AETSSrNIA,  THE  LAlfD  OF  MTSTERV  —  ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  —  THE  KINGDOM  OF  PRE9TEK  JOHN  —  THH 
THREE  ABYSSINIAN  DISTRICTS  OR  KINGDOMS  —  GENERAL  APPEAR.\NCE  OF  THE  ABYSSINIANS  — 
DRESS  OF  THE  MEN  —  THE  QITARRY  AND  THE  TROUSERS  —  GOING  TO  BED  —  THE  DINO  AND  ITS 
FASHIONS  —  men's   ORNAMENTS  —  HOW   THE   JEWELLER    IS   PAID  —  WE.4P0NS   OF  THE   ABYSSINIANS 

—  THE    SWORD    OR    SHOTEL,  AND    ITS    SINGULAR    FORM    AND    USES  —  THE    SPEAR    AND    MODE    OF 
KEEPING  IT  IN  ORDER  —  THE   SHIELD  AND  ITS  ORNAMENTS  —  APPEARANCE  OF  A  MOUNTED  CHIEF 

—  SWORDSMANSHIP  —  THE  ABYSSINIAN  AS  A  SOLDIER  —  DRESS  AND  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  WOMEN 

—  THEIR  OKN^UVLENTS  —  TATTOOING  —  MODES  OF  DRESSING    THE  HAIR  —  THE  AEYSSLNIAN  PILLOW. 


Abyssinia  is  one  of  the  most  wonderfu! 
nations  on  tlie  face  of  the  earth.  It  was 
long  a  land  of  mystery,  in  which  the  unicorn 
and  the  lion  liekl  their  deadly  combats,  in 
which  dragons  flapped  their  scaly  wings 
through  the  air,  in  which  the  mountains  were 
of  gold  and  the  river-beds  paved  with  dia- 
monds, and,  greatest  marvel  of  .all,  in  which 
Prester  John,  the  priest  and  king,  held  his 
court,  a  Christian  Solomon  of  the  Middle 
Ages. 

In  this  last  tale  there  w^as  this  amount  of 
truth,  that  a  Christian  Church  existed  in 
Abyssinia  —  a  Church  of  extreme  antiquity, 
which  has  remained  to  the  present  day,  hav- 
ing accommodated  itself  in  a  most  remarka- 
ble manner  to  the  race-characteristics  of  the 
people.  Setting  aside  the  interest  which 
has  been  excited  in  Abyssinia  by  the  suc- 
cessful march  of  a  British  force  to  the  mili- 
tary capital,  Abyssinia  deserves  description 
in  this  volume.  At  first  sight  it  would 
appear  tliat  a  Christian  country  would  find 
no  place  in  a  work  which  has  nothing  to  do 
with  civilization;  but,  as  we  proceed  with 
the  account,  we  shall  find  that  Christianity  iu 
Abyssinia  has  done  scarcely  anything  to  civil- 
ize the  nation,  as  we  understand  the  word,  and, 
instead  of  extirpating  the  savage  customs  of 
the  people,  has  in  a  strange  manner  existed 
alongside  of  them,  if  such  a  term  may  be 
used. 

It  is  my  purpose  in  the  following  pages  to 
give  a  succinct  description  of  the  uncivil- 


ized manners  and  customs  of  the  Abyssi- 
nians,  together  with  a  brief  account  of  that 
peculiar  system  of  Christianity  which  could 
survive  for  nearly  fifteen  hundred  years, 
and  yet  leave  the  people  in  a  scarcely  better 
mor.al  state  than  if  they  had  never  heard  the 
name  of  Christ. 

Like  many  other  large  communities,  the 
gi'eat  Abyssinian  nation  is  composed  of 
several  elements,  difTering  as  much  from 
each  other  as  the  Scotch,  the  Irish,  the 
Welsh,  and  the  other  mixed  races  who  to- 
gether form  the  English  nation.  In  Abys- 
sinia, however,  these  different  elements  h.ave 
not  fused  themselves  so  much  together  as  is 
the  case  with  this  kingdom,  and  each  princi- 
pality is  independent,  liaving  its  own  ruler 
and  its  own  laws. 

That  such  a  state  of  things  is  injurious  to 
the  interests  of  the  kingdom  is  evident  to 
all  students  of  history,  and  W'e  find  that 
every  great  ruler  has  attempted  to  unite 
them  under  one  head.  The  peculiar  charac- 
ter of  the  Africans  is,  however,  strong  in 
these  people;  and  as  soon  as  the  strong  hand 
th.at  held  them  together  is  removed,  they 
fly  asunder,  and  resume  their  individuality. 
To  the  Abyssinian  kingdom  may  be  well 
applied  the  familiar  epigram  of  a  "  concur- 
rence of  antagonistic  atoms." 

Their  native  name,  "  Ilabash,"  of  ^vhioh 
our  word  Abyssinia  is  a  corruption,  signifies 
"  mixture,"  and  is  exceedingly  apijroi^riate 


(Mlj 


642 


ABYSSINIA. 


to  them.  Among  the  many  mixtures  which 
compose  the  Abyssinian  nation,  tlie  natives 
reckon  a  cmisiderable  Jewish  element.  They 
say  that  the  Sheba  of  Scripture  was  Aliyssi- 
nia,  anil  that  their  queen  went  to  visit  Solo- 
mon tor  the  express  purjiose  of  introducing 
the  blood  of  so  eminent  a  sovereign  into  the 
royal  succession  of  Abyssinia.  She  waited 
till  she  had  borne  a  son,  and  through  that 
sou  the  successive  kings  of  Abyssinia  be- 
lieve themselves  to  be  lineal  descendants 
of  Solomon.  Whether  this  story  be  true  or 
not,  it  is  thoroughly  in  consonance  with  the 
very  lax  morality  of  Abyssinian  females. 
When  the  queen  returned  to  her  own  coun- 
try, she  was  followed  by  a  number  of  Jews, 
and  they  say  that  at  the  time  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Temple,  and  the  captivity,  a  great 
multitude  of  fugitives  followed  tlieir  com- 
patriots, and  took  refuge  in  Abyssinia. 

Numbers  of  Greeks  and  Portuguese  have 
at  dili'erent  times  taken  up  their  residence 
in  Abyssinia,  and,  like  the  immigrant  Jews, 
been  absorbed  into  the  country,  so  that  the 
native  name  of  Habash  is  seen  to  be  well 
deserved. 

Tliree  of  the  districts  or  sub-kingdoms 
have  the  best  claim  to  the  title  of  Abyssinia, 
and  are  inhabited  by  Christians  of  that 
peculiar  kind  to  which  allusion  has  just  been 
made.  The  first  is  the  Tigie  (pronounced 
Teegray)  country,  which  takes  its  name  as  a 
province  from  a  small  distiict  to  which  this 
name  Iselongs.  It  extends  to  the  Bed  Sea 
on  the  east,  and  to  the  Taccazy  River  on  the 
west,  and  has  a  rather  uncertain  range  be- 
tween lat.  15°  and  12°  N.  It  is  divided  from 
Nubia  Iiy  a  number  of  independent  tribes, 
while  some  of  the  Gallas  and  other  tribes  are 
on  its  northern  boundary. 

Westward  of  the  Taccazy  lies  the  second 
kingdom  or  province,  called  Anihara,  in  the 
middle  of  which  is  situated  the  city  of  Gon- 
dar;  and  the  third  is  Shooa,  which  lies  south- 
ward of  Tigrd  and  Amhara,  and,  strangely 
enough,  is  separated  from  them  by  Gallas 
and  other  trilies. 

Of  these  three  districts,  Tigre  seems  to 
afford  the  best  characteristic  of  the  Aliyssi- 
nians,  and  therefore  the  chief  part  of  the 
account  will  be  devoted  to  the  Tigreans. 
Among  these  people  Mr.  Mansfield  Parkyns 
lived  fin-  a  considerable  time,  and  to  him  we 
are  indebted  for  the  greater  part  of  our  in- 
formation concerning  this  remarkalile  nation. 

As  a  rule,  the  Abyssinians  are  of  moderate 
stature,rather  below  than  above  the  English 
average.  Mr.  Parkyns  saw  one  or  two  men 
■who  attained  the  height  of  six  feet  two 
inches,  but  remarks  that  such  examples  were 
very  rare. 

As  is  often  the  case  with  Africans,  the 
complexion  is  exceedingly  varial)le,  some- 
times being  of  a  very  pale  coppery  brown, 
and  sometimes  almost  as  dark  as  the  negro. 
This  variation,  which  is  often  the  effect  of 
locality,  is  attributed  by  Mr.  Parkyns  to  th( 


mixture  of  races.  As,  moreover,  marriages 
are  of  the  loosest  description  in  Abyssinia, 
Christian  though  it  be,  a  man  may  be  often 
seen  with  a  number  of  children  by  different 
wives,  all  unlike  each  other  in  point  of  com- 
plexion; a  brother  and  sister,  for  example, 
being  totally  dissimilar,  one  short  and  black 
as  a  negro,  and  the  other  tall  and  fair  as  an 
European. 

The  negro  element  seems  to  expend  itself 
chiefly  in  color,  the  jjeculiarity  of  the  negro 
form  having  been  nearly  obliterated  by  con- 
tinual mixture  with  other  races.  Now  and 
then  the  negro  conformation  of  leg  shows 
itself,  but  even  this  evidence  is  rather  un- 
common. 

The  women  of  the  higher  class  are  re- 
markable for  their  beauty,  not  only  of  feature 
but  of  form,  and  possess  singularly  small  and 
pretty  hands  and  feet,  all  of  which  beauties 
their  style  of  dress  exhibits  freely.  Their 
features  are  almost  of  the  Euro|)ean  type, 
and  the  eyes  ai-e  exceedingly  large  and  beau- 
tiful—  so  large,  indeed,  that  an  exact  draw- 
ing would  have  the  appearance  of  exagger- 
ation to  persons  who  are  unaccustomed  to 
them.  It  is  said,  indeed,  that  the  only  wo- 
men who  can  be  compared  with  the  Abyssi- 
nians are  the  French  half-caste  of  the  Mau- 
ritius. The  engraving  No.  2  on  the  next 
page  will  give  a  good  idea  of  the  features  and 
general  appeaiance  of  the  Abyssinians. 

Beginning  at  the  top,  we  have  first  a  pro- 
file view  of  a  woman's  head,  to  show  the 
elaborate  way  in  which  the  hair  is  plaited 
and  arranged.  Next  comes  a  front  view  of 
a  head,  showing  the  appearance  of  the  hair 
as  it  is  teased  and  combed  out  before  plait- 
ing. The  third  figure  gives  a  view  of  the 
head  and  Inist  of  a  lady  of  rank.  This  is 
drawn  to  show  another  mode  of  arranging 
the  hair,  as  well  as  the  elaborate  tattoo  with 
which  the  women  love  to  decorate  every 
inch  of  the  body  and  limbs  from  the  neck  to 
the  tips  of  the  lingers  and  toes. 

Below  are  the  portraits  of  two  men.  One, 
a  priest,  has  covered  his  shaven  head  with  a 
white  turban,  the  mark  of  the  priesthood 
among  the  Abyssinians,  among  whom  the 
laity  wear  no  head  covering  save  their 
highly-decorated  and  well-greased  locks. 
The  second  portrait  is  the  profile  view  of 
a  man,  and  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  cast  of 
countenance.  The  reader  may  scarcely  be- 
lieve that  the  Abyssinians  have  been  cited 
by  a  certain  school  of  philanthropists  as 
examples  of  the  intellectual  capability  of  the 
nerjro. 

Next  to  the  personal  appearance  of  the 
Abyssinians  comes  their  dress.  Varying 
slightly  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
and  changing  in  some  of  its  details  accord- 
ing to  the  fashion  of  the  day,  the  dress  of  the 
Abyssinians  is  essentially  the  same  through- 
out"^ the  kingdom.  The  principal  articles  of 
dress  are  trousers,  and  a  large  mantle  or 
"  quarry." 


(2.)  ABYSSINIAN   HEADS.    (See  page  642.) 
(843) 


THE  QUARRY  AND  THE  TROUSERS. 


645 


The  trousers  are  of  soft  cotton,  and  of 
two  kinds,  tlie  one  descending  some  three 
inches  below  the  knee,  and  the  other  termi- 
natius  the  same  distance  above  it.  The 
trousers  ai'e  very  tight,  and  an  Abyssinian 
dandy  will  wear  them  of  so  very  close  a  fit 
that  to  get  them  on  is  nearly  an  hour's 
■work. 

Round  the  waist  is  rolled  the  sash  or  belt, 
about  one  yard  in  width.  This  is  also  of 
cotton,  and  varies  in  length  according  to 
the  fineness  of  the  material.  A  common 
belt  will  be  about  fifteen  yards  in  length, 
but  a  very  fine  one,  which  only  contains  the 
same  amount  of  material,  will  be  from  fiity 
to  sixty  yards  long.  From  thirty  to  forty 
yards  is  the  ordinary  length  for  an  Abys- 
sinian gentleman's  belt.  It  is  put  on  by 
holding  the  end  with  one  hand  to  the  side, 
and  getting  a  friend  to  spread  it  with  his 
hands,  while  the  wearer  turns  round  and 
round,  and  so  winds  himself  up  in  the  belt, 
just  as  our  olficers  did  when  the  long  silk 
sashes  were  worn  round  the  waist. 

These  belts  are  not  only  useful  in  preserv- 
ing health,  but  act  as  defensive  armor  in  a 
country  where  all  the  men  are  armed,  and 
where  "they  are  apt  to  quarrel  terribly  as 
soon  as  they  are  excited  by  drink.  Even  in 
war  time,  the  belt  often  protects  the  wearer 
from  a  blow  which  he  has  only  partially 
guarded  with  his  shield. 

Like  the  trousers  and  belt,  the  mantle  or 
"quarry"  is  made  of  cotton,  and  is  very  fine 
and  soft.  It  is  made  in  a  rather  curious 
manner.  The  ordinary  quarry  consists  of 
three  pieces  of  cotton  cloth,  each  fifteen  feet 
long  by  three  wide,  and  having  at  each  end 
a  red  stripe,  some  five  or  si.x  inches  in  width. 
These  are  put  together  after  a  rather  curious 
and  complicated  manner.  "  One  is  first  taken 
and  doubled  carefully,  so  that  the  red  stripes 
of  each  end  come  exactly  together.  A  sec- 
ond piece  is  then  taken,  and  also  folded,  but 
inside  out,  and  one  half  of  it  laid  under  and 
the  other  half  over  the  first  piece,  so  that 
.the  four  red  borders  now  come  together. 
One  edge  of  this  quadruple  cloth  is  then 
§ewed  from  top  to  bottom,  and  the  last- 
mentioned  piece  is  turned  liack,  so  that  the 
two  together  form  one  double  cloth  of  two 
breadths.  The  third  piece  is  now  added  in  a 
similar  manner,  the  whole  forming  a '  quarry ' 
which,  lest  any  reader  should  have  got  con- 
fused with  the  above  description,  is  a  white 
double  cloth,  with  a  red  border  near  the 
bottom  only."  A  completed  quarry  is  seven 
feet  six  inches  long,  by  nine  feet  wide.  The 
quarries  are  seldom  washed  more  than  once 
a  year,  and,  in  consequence  of  the  abundant 
grease  used  in  the  Abyssinian  toilet,  they 
become  horribly  dirty.  The  natives,  how- 
ever, rather  admire  this  appearance.  An 
Abyssinian  dandy  despises  a  clean  quarry, 
and  would  no  more  wash  his  mantle  than  a 
fashionable  lady  would  bleach  a  piece  of  old 
lace. 

33 


There  are  difl'erent  qualities  of  quarry, 
the  best  being  made  of  materials  so  fiiie 
that  six  pieces  are  required,  and  it  is  folded 
four  times  double.  The  colored  stripe  at  the 
edge  is  of  red,  yellow,  and  blue  silk,  neatly 
worked  together.  It  is  worn  in  various 
modes,  the"  most  usual  resembling  that  in 
which  a  Highlander  wears  his  plaid,  so  as  to 
leave  the  right  arm  at  liberty. 

The  quarry  forms  the  sleeping  costume 
of  the  Abyssinians,  who  take  off  their  trou- 
sers, and  roll  themselves  up  so  completely 
in  their  mantles  that  they  cover  up  their 
entire  bodies,  limbs,  and  heads.  When  they 
arrange  themselves  for  the  night,  they  con- 
trive "to  remove  their  trousers,  and  even 
their  belts,  without  exposing  themselves  in 
the  least;  and  when  we  remember  the  ex- 
treme tightness  of  the  former  article  of 
dress,  and  the  inordinate  length  of  the  lat- 
ter, it  is  a  matter  of  some  surprise  that  the 
feat  should  be  accomplished  so  cleverly. 

Married  persons  pack  themselves  up  in  a 
similar  manner,  but  in  pairs,  their  mantles 
forming  a  covering  for  the  two.  It  is  very 
curious  to  see  how  they  manage  to  perform 
this  seemingly  impossible  task.  They  seat 
themselves  side  by  side,  the  man  on  tlie 
woman's  right  hand,  and  place  the  short 
end  of  the  quarry  under  them.  The  long 
end  is  then  thrown  over  their  heads,  and 
under  its  shelter  the  garments  are  removed. 
Tiie  quarry  is  rolled  tightly  round  the 
couple,  and  they  are  ready  for  repose. 

So  large  a  malitle  is,  of  course,  inconven- 
ient on  a  windy  day,  and  in  battle  would  be 
a  fatal  encumbrance.  On  the  former  occa- 
sion it  is  confined  to  the  body  by  a  short, 
cape-like  garment  called  the  "  dino "  or 
"  lemd,''  and  in  war  the  quarry  is  laid  aside, 
and  the  dino  substituted  for  it.  The  dino  i.s 
often  a  vei-y  elaborate  garment,  made  of 
cloth,  velvet,  or,  more  frequently,  the  skin 
of  some  animal,  cut  in  a  peculiar  manner  so 
as  to  leave  eight  strips  pendent  from  the 
lower  edge  by  way  of  a  fringe. 

The  skins  of  the  lion  and  black  leopard 
are  most  esteemed,  and  are  only  worn  on 
gala  days  Isy  chiefs  and  very  great  warriors. 
They  are  lined  with  scarlet  cloth,  and  are 
fitted  with  a  number  of  amulets  which  ap- 
pear in  front  of  the  breast.  A  dino  made 
of  the  black-maned  lion  skin  will  often  be 
valued  at  eight  or  ten  pounils,  while  a  com- 
mon one  will  scarcely  cost  one-tenth  of  th.at 
amount.  A  very  favorite  skin  is  that  of  the 
unborn  calf,  which  takes  a  soft  lustre  like 
that  of  velvet,  and  accordingly  can  only  be 
worn  l^y  dandies  who  are  rich  enough  to 
purchase  it,  or  kill  a  cow  for  the  sake  of 
this  skin.  An  ordinary  calf-skin  is  con- 
temned, and  would  only  be  worn  by  a  man 
of  the  lowest  class.  A  peculiar  kind  of 
sheep  is  kept  by  the  Abyssinians  for  the 
sake  of  its  wool,  which  is  sometimes  more 
than  two  feet  in  length. 

The  sheep  lead  a  very  artificial  life,  are 


040 


ABYSSINIA. 


kept  day  and  night  on  couches,  are  fed  with 
meat  and  niilli.  and  tlieir  tieeces  washed  and 
comljed  regularly  as  it  they  were  ladies"  lap- 
dogs.  The  result  of  this  trealnieiH  is,  that 
tliey  have  beautifal  Heeces,  which  are  worth 
from  twenty  to  thirty  shilliugs  each,  but 
their  flesh  is  utterly  useless  fur  consump- 
tion, being  very  small  in  quantity,  and 
otl'ensive  in  quality.  The  fleeces  are  gener- 
ally dyed  black,  that  being  a  fashionable 
color  in  Abyssinia. 

The  skin  of  tlie  hynena  or  the  dog  is  never 
used  for  clothing,  and  the  natives  have  a 
superstitious  fear  of  the  red  jackal,  thinking 
that  if  they  should  be  wounded  while  wear- 
ing a  dino  of  jackal  skin,  one  of  the  hairs 
might  enter  the  wound,  and  so  prove  fatal 
to  the  sulferer.  The  leojKird  skin  is  never 
worn  by  ordinary  Abyssinians,  being  exclu- 
sively used  by  the  txallas  and  Shooas,  and 
by  a  certain  set  of  dervishes  called  the  Zac- 
chari. 

Contrary  to  the  habit  of  most  African 
nations,  the  men  wear  but  few  ornaments, 
those  which  they  employ  being  almost  al- 
waj'S  signs  of  valor.  Amulets  are  found  on 
almost  every  man,  and  many  of  them  wear 
whole  strings  of  these  sacred  articles,  crossed 
over  the  shoulders  and  falling  as  low  as  the 
knees.  Most  Abyssinians  carry  a  pair  of 
tweezers  for  extracting  thorns  from  the  feet 
and  legs,  and  the  wealthier  among  them 
place  their  tweezers  in  a  highly  ornamented 
silver  case,  which  is  hung  from  the  handle 
of  the  sword. 

Whenever  an  Abyssinian  is  seen  wearing 
a  silver  chain,  he  is  known  to  have  killed  an 
elephant,  while  those  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  in  battle  are  known  by 
a  sort  of  silver  bracelet,  which  extends  from 
the  wrist  nearly  as  irir  as  the  elbow.  It  opens 
longitudinally  by  hinges,  and  is  fastened  with 
a  clasp.  This  ornament  is  called  the  "  bitoa," 
and  is  often  very  elegantly  engraved,  and 
adorned  with  gilded  patterns.  The  silver- 
smiths who  make  these  and  similar  articles 
are  rather  oddly  treated.  They  are  consid- 
ered as  slaves,  are  not  allowed  to  leave  the 
country,  and  yet  are  treated  with  consider- 
able kindness,  save  and  except  the  payment 
for  their  labor. 

Consequently,  the  silversmith,  finding  that 
ho  has  to  wait  a  very  long  time  for  his  money, 
and  proliably  will  not  get  it  at  all,  is  forced 
to  pay  himself  by  embezzling  a  quantity  ot 
the  gold  and  silver  which  are  given  him  for 
the  manufacture  of  the  bracelet,  and  sul)sti- 
tuting  an  equal  amount  of  less  jirecious 
metal.  Mr.  Parkyns  mentions  that  he  has 
known  a  man  to  receive  silver  equal  to 
thirty  sequins,  and  to  use  in  the  work  rather 
less  than  eight.  Many  of  these  bracelets 
are  ornamented  with  little  bell-like  pieces 
of  silver  round  the  edge,  which  tinkle  and 
clash  as  the  wearer  moves.  Similar  bells 
are  attached  to  a  sort  of  silver  coronet  worn 
by  very  great  men,  and,  together  with  th<' 


silver  chains  to  which  thoy  are  attached, 
liaug  over  the  ears  and  neck  of  the  wearer. 

As  to  the  weapons  of  the  Abyssinians, 
they  consist  chiefly  of  the  sword,  spear,  and 
shield.  In  later  days  fire-arms  have  Ijeen 
introduced,  but,  as  this  work  treats  only  of 
the  uncivilized  i)art  of  mankind,  these  weaji- 
ons  will  not  be  reckoned  in  the  Abyssinian 
armory. 

The  sword,  or  "  Shotel."  is  a  very  oddly- 
shaped  weapon.  The  blade  is  nearly "straiglit 
for  some  two  feet,  and  then  turns'suddenly 
like  a  sickle,  but  with  a  more  angular  bend. 
The  edge  is  on  the  inside,  and  this  peculiar 
form  is  intended  for  striking  downward 
over  the  enemy's  .shield.  In  order  to  give 
weight  to  the  blow,  the  blade  is  much  wider 
and  heavier  toward  the  point  than  at  the 
hilt.  As  if  this  form  of  blade  did  not  make 
the  swoi'd  feeble  enough,  the  hilt  is  so  con- 
structed that  it  prevents  all  play  of  the 
wrist.  The  handle  is  made  of  a  pyramidal 
piece  of  rhinoceros  horn,  five  inches  wide 
at  one  end,  and  three  at  the  other.  It  is 
made  into  the  proper  shape  for  a  handle  liy 
cutting  out  semicircular  pieces  along  the 
sides,  leaving  the  four  sharp  corners  in 
their  previous  form.  When  the  sword  is 
grasped,  one  of  the  foiu'  angles  must  come 
imder  the  wrist,  so  that  if  the  weapon  were 
allowed  to  play  freely,  as  in  ordinary  swords- 
manship, the  point  would  be  driven  into  the 
wrist. 

As  with  the  nat'ivos  of  Southern  Africa, 
the  Abyssinians  prefer  soft  iron  to  tempered 
steel,  the  former  admitting  of  being  straight- 
ened when  bent,  but  the  latter  being  apt  to 
snap.  The  sword  is  always  hung  on  the 
right  side,  in  order  to  be  out  of  the  way  of 
the  shield,  especially  when,  as  in  travelling, 
it  is  swung  backward  and  forward  with  the 
play  of  the  left  arm. 

The  sheath  of  the  sword  is  made  of  lea- 
ther or  red  morocco,  and  is  ornamented  by 
the  great  men  with  a  lunnber  of  silver 
plates.  At  the  end  of  the  sheath  is  a  metal 
ball,  called  ''  lomita."  This  curious  orna- 
ment is  mostly  of  silver,  and  is  almost  as 
large  as  a  billiard  l.iall.  The  sword-belt  is 
of  the  same  material  as  the  scabbard. 

The  spear  is  from  six  to  seven  feet  in 
length,  and  the  head  is  squared  like  that  of 
a  pike.  The  four  sides  arc  mostly  grooved, 
so  that  the  head  of  the  weapon  looks  some- 
thing like  a  quadrangular  liayonet.  This 
spear  is  used  both  as  a  lance  and  as  a  jave- 
lin, a  good  soldier  being  able  to  strike  a 
man  at  thirty  or  forty  yards'  distance.  Tlie 
cavalry  always  carry  two  sjiears,  one  of 
which"  is  thrown,  and  the  other  retained  to 
be  used  as  a  lance.  They  have  rather  a 
curious  mode  of  using  the  lance,  aiming  it 
at  the  adversarv  as  if  they  meant  to  throw 
it,  but  only  letting'  the  shaft  slip  through 
the  hand,  and  catching  it  by  the  butt. 

The  shafts  of  the  spears"  are  very  neatly 
aiadfi  auJ  much  pains  are  bestowed  upon 


THE  ABYSSINIAK  AS    A  SOLDIER. 


647 


them.  They  are  made  of  very  young  trees, 
which  are  cleared  of  the  bark  by  fire,  and 
are  tlieu  straightened  and  dried.  Tliis  oper- 
ation requires  a  very  slvilful  manipul.ator,  as, 
if  the  wood  be  too  mucli  (h'ied,  it  is  brittle 
and  snap.s;  if  irregularly  heated,  it  never 
will  remain  straight;  and  if  not  dried  suffi- 
ciently, it  warps  with  every  change  of 
weather.  When  properly  straightened,  the 
shafts  are  greased  and  hung  over  the  lire 
for  several  months,  until  they  assume  the 
proper  reddish-yellow  hue. 

When  not  in  use,  each  lance  is  kept  in  a 
sheath,  to  the  top  of  which  is  fastened  a 
loop  by  which  it  can  be  hung  to  the  end  of 
the  cow's  horn  which  does  duty  for  a  peg  in 
Abyssinian  houses,  and  which  is  just  long 
eno"ugh  to  allow  the  lance  to  hang  straight 
without  touching  the  wall. 

The  Abyssinian  shield  is  made  of  buffiilo 
hide,  and  is  strong  enough  to  resist  any 
sword  cut,  and  to  throw  off  a  spear  if  re- 
ceived obliquely  upon  it.  If,  however,  a 
good  spear  should  strike  the  shield  fairly, 
it  will  pierce  it.  In  order  to  preserve  the 
needful  obliquity,  the  shield  is  made  like 
the  segment  of  a  sphere,  and  has  a  jirqject- 
ing  boss  in  the  centre.  The  shield  is  al- 
most always  ornamented,  the  most  valued 
decorations  being  the  mane,  tail,  and  paw  of 
a  lion,  arranged  in  various  ways  according 
to  the  taste  of  the  owner.  To  some  shields 
is  attached  the  skin  of  the  Guereza  monkey, 
which,  with  its  bold  contrast  of  long  jetty- 
black  and  snowy-white  hair,  has  really  a 
striking  and  artistic  ett'ect.  This,  however,  is 
always  discarded  when  the  native  kills  a  lion. 

Chiefs  always  have  their  shields  nearly 
covered  with  silver  plates  and  bosses,  "a 
fashion  which  is  imitated  in  brass  by  the 
poorer  soldiers.  Still,  if  a  common  soldier 
had  a  good  shield,  he  woidd  not  hide  its 
beauties  with  brass  plates.  A  chief  is  dis- 
tinguished not  only  by  his  silver-mounted 
shield,  but  by  his  silver-plated  sword-scab- 
bard. On  his  head  he  wears  a  silver  front- 
let, called  "  akodamir,"  having  silver  chains 
hanging  from  it,  and  a  white  feather  stuck 
in  the  hair  behind  the  frontlet.  If  a  man 
of  notable  courage,  he  also  wears  the  lion- 
skin  dino. 

Bound  the  edge  of  the  shield  are  pierced 
a  nuralier  of  holes,  through  which  is  passed 
the  thong  that  suspends  it  to  the  wall  when 
not  in  use.  Each  day,  as  it  hangs  on  the 
wall,  the  owner  takes  it  down  and  shifts  the 
thong  from  one  hole  to  another,  so  that  the 
shielil  may  not  be  warjied,  and  lose  its 
prized  roundness.  The  shield  must  swing 
quite  clear  of  the  wall. 

To  a  good  swordsman  tlie  shield  would  be 
an  encumbrance,  and  not  a  means  of  safety. 
Ou  account  of  the  necessity  of  liolding  out 
the  shield  with  the  left  arm,  the  sword 
becomes  of  little  value  as  an  offensive  weap- 
on, the  owner  not  daring  to  strike  lest  he 
should  expose  himself  to  a  counter  blow. 


Whereas  he  who,  like  Pitz-.James,  finds  his 
"  blade  both  sword  and  shield,"  makes  very 
light  of  an  Abyssinian  warrior's  i)rowess. 
Mr.  Parkyns  says  on  this  suliject,  tliat  any 
ordinary  swordsman,  without  a  shield,  can 
easily  beat  the  best  Abyssinian  armed  with 
sword  and  shield  also.  The  best  mode  of 
fighting  the  Abyssinian  warrior  is  to  make 
a  feint  at  his  head.  Up  goes  his  heavy 
shield,  which  certainly  guards  his  head,  but 
prevents  the  owner  from  seeing  that  his 
adversary  is  making  a  sweeping  cut  at  his 
legs.  Should  the  cut  5  or  6  fail,  make 
anotlier  feint  at  the  head,  and  follow  it  up 
with  a  real  blow.  Antici]iating  a  feint,  the 
Abyssinian  lowers  his  shield  to  protect  his 
legs,  and,  as  he  docs  so,  receives  the  edge  of 
the  sword  full  on  his  unprotected  crown. 

Although  he  is  well  armed,  looks  very 
fierce,  and  is  of  a  quarrelsome  disposition, 
the  Abyssinian  soldier  is  not  remarkable  for 
courage,  and  prefers  boasting  to  fighting. 
He  never  seems  to  enter  the  battle  with  the 
idea  of  merely  killing  or  routing  the  enemy, 
but  is  always  looking  out  for  trophies  for 
himself.  As  with  many  nations,  and  as  was 
the  case  with  the  Israelites  in  the  earlier 
times,  the  Abyssinian  mutilates  a  fallen 
enemy,  and  carries  oft'  a  portion  of  his  body 
as  a  trophy,  which  he  can  exhibit  before  his 
chief,  and  on  which  he  can  found  a  reputa- 
tion for  valor  tor  the  rest  of  his  life. 

So  much  do  the  Abyssinians  prize  this 
savage  trophy  that,  just  as  American  In- 
dians have  feigned  death  and  submitted  to 
the  loss  of  their  scalps  without  giving  the 
least  sign  of  life,  men  wounded  in  battle 
have  suffered  an  even  more  cruel  mutila- 
tion, and  survived  the  injury.  An  Abyssi- 
nian has  even  been  known  to  kill  a  comrade 
in  order  to  secure  this  valued  trophy,  when 
he  has  been  unable,  either  from  mischance 
or  want  of  courage,  to  kill  an  enemy. 

We  come  now  to  the  w^omen  and  their 
dress. 

Y(3ung  girls  are  costumed  in  the  simplest 
possible  style,  namely,  a  piece  of  cotton 
stuff  wrapped  round  the  waist,  and  descend- 
ing half  way  to  the  knee.  Should  the  girl 
l.)e  rich  enough  to  aftbrd  a  large  wrajiper, 
she  brings  one  end  of  it  u]iward  and  throws 
it  over  the  left  shoulder.  In  Tigre  the  girls 
prefer  a  black  goatskin,  ornamented  with 
cowries.  A  married  woman  wears  a  sort  of 
loose  shirt,  and  a  mantle,  or  quarry,  similar 
to  that  which  is  worn  by  the  men,  but  of 
finer  materials.  Should  she  be  able  to  own 
a  mule,  she  wears  trousers,  which  are  very 
full  at  the  waist,  and  decrease  gradually  to 
the  ankle,  where  they  fit  like  the  skin. 

As  to  their  ornaments,  they  are  so  numer- 
ous as  to  defy  description.  That  which 
costs  the  least,  and  is  yet  the  most  valued, 
is  the  tattoo,  which  is  emjiloyed  with  a 
profusion  worthy  of  the  New  Zealandei-. 
"The  Tigrean  ladies,"  so  writes  Mr.  Par.- 


648 


ABYSSINIA. 


kyns,  "tattoo  themselves;  though,  as  this 
mode  of  adorning  the  jierson  is  not  com- 
mon excepting  among  tlie  inhabitants  of 
the  cajMtal  and  persons  who  have  passed 
some  time  tliere,  I  should  judge  it  to  be  a 
fasliiou  imported  from  tlie  Amhara. 

'■  The  men  seldom  tattoo  more  than  one 
ornament  on  tlie  upper  part  of  the  arm, 
near  the  shoulder,  ^\hile  the  women  cover 
neai'ly  the  whole  of  their  bodies  with  stars, 
lines,  and  crosses,  often  rather  tastefully 
arranged.  I  may  well  say  nearly  the  ■whole 
of  their  persons,  for  they  mark  the  neck, 
shoulders,  breasts,  and  arms,  down  to  the 
fingers,  which  are  enriched  with  lines,  to 
imitate  rings,  nearly  to  the  nails.  The  feet, 
ankles,  and  calves  of  the  legs  are  similarly 
adorned,  and  even  the  gums  are  by  some 
pricked  entirely  blue,  while  others  have  them 
striped  alternately  blue  and  the  natural  pink. 

"  To  see  some  of  their  designs,  one  would 
give  them  credit  for  some  skill  in  the  handling 
tlieirpencil;but,  in  fact,  their  system  of  draw- 
ing the  pattern  is  purely  mechanical.  I  had 
one  arm  adorned;  a  rather  blind  old  woman 
was  the  artist;  her  implements  consisted  of 
a  small  pot  of  some  sort  of  lilacking,  made, 
she  told  me,  of  charred  herbs,  a  large  home- 
made iron  pin,  aliout  one-fourth  of  an  inch 
at  the  end  of  which  was  ground  tine,  a  bit 
or  two  of  hollow  cane,  and  a  piece  of  straw. 
The  two  last-named  items  were  her  substi- 
tutes for  pencils. 

''  Her  circles  were  made  by  dipping  the 
end  of  a  piece  of  cane  of  the  required  size 
into  the  blacking,  and  making  its  impres- 
.sion  on  the  skin;  while  an  end  of  the  straw, 
bent  to  the  proper  length,  and  likewise 
blackened,  marked  all  the  lines,  squares, 
diamonds,  &c.,  which  were  to  be  of  equal 
length.  Her  design  being  thus  completed, 
she  worked  away  on  it  with  her  pin,  which 
she  dug  in  as  far  as  the  thin  part  would 
enter,  keeping  the  supply  of  blacking  suf- 
ficient, and  going  over  the  same  ground 
repeatedly  to  insure  regularity  and  unity  in 
the  lines.  With  some  persons  the  first  effect 
of  this  tattooing  is  to  produce  a  considerable 
amount  of  fever,  from  the  irritation  caused 
by  the  punctures,  especially  so  with  the 
ladies,  from  the  extent  of  surface  thus  ren- 
dered sore.  To  allay  this  irritation,  they 
are  generally  obliged  to  remain  for  a  few 
days  in  a  case  of  vegetable  matter,  wliich  is 
plastered  all  over  them  in  the  form  of  a  sort 
of  green  poultice.  A  scab  forms  over  the 
tattooing,  which  should  not  lie  jiicked  off, 
but  allowed  to  fall  off  of  itself.  When  this 
disappears,  the  operation  is  complete,  and 
the  marks  are  indelible;  nay,  more,  the 
Abyssinians  declare  that  tliey  may  be  traced 
on  the  person's  bones  even  after"  death  has 
bared  them  of  their  fleshy  covering.'' 

The  women  also  wear  a  vast  number  of 
silver  ornaments,  such  as  several  chains 
round  the  neck,  three  pairs  of  silver  or  gilt 
bracelets,  a  number  of  little  silver  orna- 


ments hung  like  bells  to  the  ankles,  above 
which  are  a  series  of  bangles  of  the  same 
metal.  A  wealthy  woman  has  also  a  large 
flat  silver  case,  containing  talismans,  and 
ornamented  with  bells  of  the  same  metal, 
suspended  by  four  silver  chains;  while  her 
hair  is  decorated  with  a  large  silver  pin, 
elaborately  made,  and  furnished  with  a 
number  of  pendent  ornaments. 

The  illustration  No.  1,  GlTth  page,  exhib- 
its the  costume  of  an  Abyssinian  lady,  and 
the  dilference  in  dress  between  herself  and 
her  servants.  The  latter  —  wdio,  of  course, 
are  her  slaves,  no  other  idea  of  servitude 
entering  the  Abyssinian  mind  —  are  wash- 
ing clothes  in  a  brook,  in  preparation  for 
the  Feast  of  St.  John,  the  only  day  in  the 
year  when  the  Abyssinians  trouble  them- 
to  wash  either  their  clothes  or  themselves. 
Other  slaves  are  carrying  water-jars  on  their 
backs — not  on  their  heads;  and  in  the  fore- 
ground stands  their  mistress  giving  her 
orders.  The  reader  will  note  the  graceful 
way  in  which  the  mantle  is  put  on.  and  the 
string  of  leathern  amulet  cases  which  hangs 
by  her  side. 

As  to  the  hair  itself,  it  is  dressed  in  a 
peculiar  manner.  It  is  gathered  into  a  mul- 
titude of  plaits,  lieginning  at  the  very  top 
of  the  head,  and  falling  as  low  as  the  neck. 
Both  sexes  have  the  "hair  plaited  in  this 
manner,  but  the  men  wear  their  plaits  in 
various  ways.  According  to  strict  Abys- 
sinian etiquette,  which  has  greatly  taded"  in 
later  years,  a  j'outh  wlio  has  not  distin- 
guished himself  ought  to  wear  his  hair 
unplaited.  As  soon  as  he  has  killed  a  man 
in  battle,  he  shaves  his  head,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  single  plait,  and  for  every  addi- 
tional victim  afresh  plait  is  added.  When 
he  kills  the  fifth,  he  is  allowed  to  wear  the 
whole  of  his  hair  in  tresses. 

This  mode  of  dressing  the  hair  occupies 
a  vast  amount  of  time,  but  time  i.s  of  no 
value  to  an  Abyssinian,  who  expends  sev- 
eral hours  upcii  his  head  once  everv  fort- 
night or  so.  The  plaits  are  held  in  their 
places  by  a  scrt  of  fixture  made  of  boiled 
cotton-seeds,  and  are  plentifully  saturated 
with  butter.  Vast  quantities  of  this  latter 
article  are  consumed  in  Abyssinian  toilets, 
and  it  is  considered  a  mark  of  fiishion  to 
place  a  large  pat  of  butter  on  the  top  of  the 
head  before  going  out  in  the  morning,  and 
to  allow  it  to  be  melted  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun  and  run  over  the  hair.  Of  course  it 
drips  from  the  ends  of  the  long  tresses  on 
the  neck  and  clothes  of  the  wearer,  but 
such  stains  are  considered  as  marks  of 
wealth.  Sometimes  it  runs  over  the  face, 
and  is  apt  to  get  into  the  eyes,  so  that  in  hot 
weather  the  corner  of  the  quarry  is  largely 
used  in  wiping  away  the  trickling  butter. 

In  order  to  preserve  tlie  arrangement  of 
the  hair  during  the  night,  they  use  instead  of 
a  pillow  a  sort  of  .short  crutch,  looking  very 
like  a  common  scraper  with  a  rounded  top. 


CHAPTER    LXV. 


ABYSSINIA—  Continued. 


GOVEENMENT  OF  ABYSSINIA  —  THE  EirPEROR  AND  HIS  GENEAIOGY  —  THE  THREE  DISTRICTS  AND  THEIR 
RULERS — THE  MINOR  CHIEFS  AND  THEm  DISTINGUISHING  EJIBLEMS  — KING  THEODORE  —  A  EULEP 
SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE— CAREER  FROM  THE  RANKS  TO  THE  THRONE  —  HIS  ATTEJLPTS  AT  REFORM 
—  ADSHNISTRATION  OF  JUSTICE  —  A  MODERN  SOLOMON  —  MODES  OF  PUNISHMENT  —  THE  LADIEs' 
GAJU5— ABYSSINIAN  PLEADING  — THE  TRIAD  BY  WAGER— QUARRELSOME  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
ABYSSmiANS  — THEIR  VANITY  AND  EOASTFULNESS  —  THE  LAW  OF  DEBT  —  HOSPITALITY  AND  ITS 
DUTIES  — COOKERY  AND  MODES  OF  EATING  — THE  RAW  FLESH  FEAST  —  PEPPER  SAUCE  —  THE 
USE  OF  THE  SHOTEL  —  A  WEDDING  FEAST  —  ABYSSINIAN  DIGESTION. 


The  government  of  the  Abyssinians  has 
varied  several  times,  but  has  mostly  settled 
down  into  a  sort  of  divided  monarchy. 

Tliere  is  an  Emperor,  supreme  king,  or 
Negust,  who  must  be  a  lineal  descendant  of 
Solomon  and  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  and  who 
must  be  crowned  by  the  high  priest  or  Abuna, 
an  ecclesiastic  who  corresponds  very  nearly 
■with  the  Greek  Patriarch.  Mostly,  the  king 
holds  but  nominal  sway  over  the  fierce  and 
insubordinate  chiefs  of  provinces,  and,  as 
is  likely,  the  fiercest,  cleverest,  and  most 
unscrupulous  chief  generally  contrives  to 
manage  the  king  much  as  he  likes.  Should 
the  king  be  strong-minded  enough  to  hold 
his  own  opinions,  the  chiefs  become  dissatis- 
fied, and  by  degrees  fall  into  a  state  of 
chronic  rebellion,  as  was  the  case  during  the 
last  years  of  Theodore's  life. 

Each  of  the  great  districts  has  its  own 
Has,  chief,  or  prince,  according  to  the  title 
that  may  be  used,  and  his  autliority  is  abso- 
lute in  his  own  province.  The  Kas  appoints 
under  him  a  number  of  great  chiefs,  who 
bear  the  title  of  Dejasmatcli  (commonly  con- 
tracted into  Dejatch),  corresponding  in  some 
degree  with  our  ducal  rank.  Under  these 
great  chiefs  are  lesser  officers,  and  each  of 
them  is  appointed  by  beat  of  the  great 
drum  of  ceremony  and  proclamation  by  the 
heralds.  Men  so  appointed  have  the  privi- 
lege of  drums  beating  before  them  on  a  march 
or  in  battle,  and  their  rank,  that  of "  addy 


negarie,"  or  men  of  honor,  confers  the  same 
practical  power  as  that  of  Dejasmatcli,  the 
title  alone  being  wanting. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  mention  that  the  late 
King  Theodore  held  the  title  of  Dejasmatcli 
before  he  had  himself  named  King  of  Ethio- 
])ia;  and  as  the  history  of  this  remarkal)le 
man  gives  some  idea  of  the  Abyssinian  mode 
of  government,  a  very  brief  sketch  will  be 
given  of  his  progress  to  the  throne. 

Putting  together  the  various  histories  that 
have  appeared,  and  rejecting  their  many 
discrepancies,  we  come  to  the  following  series 
of  events. 

Kassai,  for  such  was  his  name  before  he 
changed  it  to  Tbeodorus,  was  the  son  of  a 
very  small  chief  named  Hailu  Weleda  Geor- 
gis,  whose  only  distinction  seems  to  have 
been  his  reputed  descent  from  the  Queen  of 
Sheba,  a  tradition  of  which  Kassai  afterward 
took  advantage.  When  he  died,  his  little 
property  was  seized  by  liis  relations,  and  his 
widow  was  forced  to  support  herself  by  sell- 
ing the  "  kosso, "  the  popular  remedy  for  the 
tape-worm,  a  creature  which  is  singularly 
prevalent  in  this  country.  Kassai,  then  a 
boy,  took  refuge  in  a  monastery,  where  ha 
might  have  remained  until  this  day,  had  not  a 
Dejasmatcli,  who  had  turned  rebel  after  their 
custom,  attacked  the  monastery,  burned  the 
huts  of  which  it  was  composed,  and  killed  the 
lioys  who  inhabited  it  by  way  of  avenging 
himself  on  their  parents.    Kassai,  however. 


(649J 


C50 


ABYSSINIA. 


escaped  the  massacre,  and  fled  to  a  powerful 
and  warlike  relation,  the  Dejasmatch  Cout'u, 
under  whom  he  learned  the  management  of 
arms,  and  as  much  of  the  art  of  war  as  was 
known. 

His  uncle  however  died,  and  his  two  sons 
immediately  fought  for  the  patrimony;  and, 
while  they  were  quarrelling,  another  power- 
ful Dejasmatch  saw  his  ojjportunity,  swept 
down  suddenly  upon  them,  and  made  himself 
master  of  the  hest  and  most  fertile  part  of  the 
district. 

Again  ejected  from  a  home,  Kassai  con- 
trived to  get  together  a  hand  of  followers, 
whom  we  should  not  wrong  very  greatlj'  hj- 
calling  robhcrs,  and  for  some  years  lived  a 
wandering  life  marvellously  resembling  that 
of  David  in  Ills  earlier  years.  By  degrees 
his  band  increased  until  some  of  the  petty 
chiefs  joined  him  with  their  followers,  and 
he  became  a  man  of  such  importance  that 
the  well-known  "W'aisoroMenneu,  the  crafty 
and  ambitious  mother  of  Ras  All,  finding  that 
he  could  not  be  beaten  in  the  field,  gave  him 
in  marriage  the  daughter  of  the  Ras.  She. 
however,  proved  a  ihithful  wife  to  him,  and 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  schemes 
of  her  grandmother.  At  last  Kassai  and 
Waisoro  Menneu  came  to  an  open  rupture, 
and  fought  a  battle,  in  which  the  former  was 
victorious,  and  captured  both  the  lady  and 
her  fine  province  of  Dembea,  The  latter  he 
kept,  but  the  former  he  set  at  liberty. 

Ras  All  then  tried  to  rid  himself  of  his 
trouldcsome  son-in-law  by  assigning  Dem- 
bea to  Berru  Goshu,  a  powerful  Dejasmatcli, 
who  accordingly  invaded  the  district,  and 
drove  Kassai  out  of  it.  Tliis  happened  in 
18.50.  In  less  than  two  3-ears,  however,  Kas- 
sai reorganized  an  army,  attacked  the  camp 
of  Berru  Goshu,  shot  him  with  his  own  ha  nd, 
and  got  back  his  province.  Thinking  that 
matters  were  now  becoming  serious,  Ras 
Ali  took  the  field  in  person  and  marched 
against  Kassai,  who  conquered  him,  drove 
him  among  the  Gallas  for  safety,  and  took 
possession  of  the  whole  of  Amhara. 

Having  secured  this  splendid  prize,  he 
sent  to  Ras  Onbi,  the  Prince  of  Tigre,  and 
demanded  tribute.  Oubi  refused,  led  his 
army  against  Kassai,  and  lost  both  his  prov- 
ince" and  his  liberty.  The  conqueror  kept 
him  in  prison  until  1860,  when  his  first  wife 
died,  and  he  married  the  daughter  of  Oubi, 
whom  he  released  and  made  a  tributary  vas- 
sal. 

Being  now  practically  master  of  the  whole 
country,  bo  sent  for  Abba  Salama,  the 
then  Abuna  or  Patriarch,  and  had  himself 
crowned  by  the  title  of  Theodoras,  King  of 
the  kings  of  Ethiopia.  This  event  took 
place  ni  18.55;  and  from  that  time  to  his 
death  Theodore  maintained  liis  supremacy, 
his  astonishing  personal  authority  keeping 
in  check  the  fierce  and  rebellious  spirits  by 
whom  he  was  surrounded.  How  he  really 
tried  to  do  the  best  for  his  country  we  all 


know.  Semi-savage  as  he  was  by  nature, 
he  possessed  many  virtues,  and,  had  he 
known  his  epoch  better,  would  still  have 
been  on  the  throne,  the  ruler  of  a  contented 
instead  of  a  rebellious  people.  But  he  was 
too  far  ahead  of  his  age.  He  saw  the  neces- 
sity for  reforms,  and  imjiatiently  tried  to 
force  them  on  the  people,  instead  of  gently 
paving  the  way  for  them.  The  inevitable 
results  followed,  and  Theodore's  mind  at 
last  gave  w.ay  under  the  cares  of  empire 
and  the  continual  thwartings  of  his  many 
schemes.  Still,  even  to  the"  last  he  never 
lost  his  self-reliance  nor  his  splendid  cour- 
age, and,  though  the  balance  of  his  mind 
was  gone,  and  he  alternated  between  acts  of 
singular  kindness  and  savage  cruelty,  he 
fought  to  the  last,  and  not  until  he  was 
deserted  by  his  soldiers  did  he  die  by  his 
own  hand  at  the  entrance  of  his  stronghold. 

He  saw  very  clearly  that  the  only  way 
to  establish  a  consolidated  kingdom  was 
to  break  the  power  of  the  great  chiefs  or 
princes.  This  he  did  by  the  simple  process 
of  putting  them  in  chains  until  they  yielded 
their  executive  powers,  and  contented  them- 
selves rather  with  the  authority  of  generals 
than  of  irresponsible  rulers.  He  was  also 
desirous  of  doing  away  with  the  custom  that 
made  every  man  an  armed  soldier,  and 
wished  to  substitute  a  paid  standing  army 
for  the  miscellaneous  horde  of  armed  men 
that  filled  the  country.  He  was  anxious  to 
promote  agriculture,  and,  according  to  his 
own  words,  not  only  to  turn  swords  into 
reaping-hooks ■ — a  very  easj-  thing,  by  the 
way,  with  an  Abyssinian  sword  —  but  to 
make  a  ploughing  ox  more  valuable  than  a 
a  war-horse.  To  his  own  liraneh  of  the 
Church  he  was  deeply  attached,  and  openly 
said  that  he  had  a  mission  to  drive  Islam- 
ism  from  his  country,  and  for  that  reason 
was  at  war  with  the  Gallas,  who,  as  well  as 
the  Shooas  and  other  tribes,  profess  the  re- 
ligion of  Mohammed.  That  being  done,  he 
intended  to  march  and  raze  to  the  ground 
Mecca  and  Medina,  the  two  sacred  cities  of 
Islam;  and  even  projected  a  march  to  Jeru- 
salem itself. 

His  most  difficult  task,  however,  was  the 
suppression  of  the  immorality  that  reigns 
throughout  Abyssinia,  and  which,  according 
to  Mr.  Parkyns,  has  a  curious  effect  on  the 
manners  of  "the  people.  Neither  men  nor 
women  seem  to  have  any  idea  that  the  least 
shame  can  be  attached  to  immorality,  and 
the  consequence  is  that  both  in  ^vord  and 
nmnner  they  are  perfectly  decorous.  To 
cope  with  so  ingrained  a  vice  seems  an 
impracticable  task,  and  such  it  turned  out  to 
be.  He  set  the  example  to  his  people  by 
only  taking  one  wife,  and  when  she  died  he 
had  many  scruples  about  the  legality  of  tak- 
ing another,  and  did  not  do  so  until  after 
consultation  with  European  friends  and 
careful  examination  of  the  Bible.  He  could 
not,  however,  keep  up    the    fight   against 


v^tniiHifflfOTSBitr' 


'"ib'Ai\^'\ 


(2.)    PLEADERS.    (See  page  6540 
(652) 


THE  TAME   LIGHTS. 


653 


nature,  and  in  his  last  yeai's  he  liad  resorted 
to  the  old  custom  of  the  harem. 

As  the  reader  would  probably  like  to  see 
what  kind  of  a  man  was  this  Theodoras,  I  give 
a  portrait  ou  page  652,  taken  from  a  sketcli 
made  of  him  while  he  was  in  the  enjoymeut  of 
perfect  health  of  body  and  mind,  and  while  he 
was  tlie  irresponsible  ruler  of  his  country, 
knowing  of  none  greater  than  himself,  and 
having  his  mind  tilled  with  schemes  of  con- 
quest of  other  lands,  and  reform  of  his  own. 
Tlie  portrait  was  taken  by  M.  Lejean,  some 
ten  years  before  the  death  of  Theodorus; 
and,  in  spite  of  the  loss  of  his  hair,  which 
he  wore  short  in  the  last  years  of  his  life, 
and  of  the  ravages  which  time,  anxiety,  and 
misdirected  zeal  had  made  in  his  features, 
the  face  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of 
the  dead  man  who  lay  within  the  gates 
of  Magdala  on  the  fatal  Good  Friday  of 
18C8. 

Knowing  the  character  of  the  people  over 
whom  he  reigned,  Theodore  made  liberal 
use  of  external  accessories  for  the  puri)ose 
of  striking  awe  into  tliem,  such  as  magnifi- 
cent robes  and  weapons  adorned  with  tlie 
precious  metals.  Among  the  most  valued  of 
these  accessories  were  four  tame  lions,  of 
wliich  he  was  very  fond.  These  animals  trav- 
elled about  with  him.  and  even  lived  in  the 
same  stable  with  the  horses,  never  being 
chained  or  shut  up  in  cages,  but  allowed  to 
walk  about  in  perfect  liberty.  They  were  as 
tame  and  docile  as  dogs,  and  M.  Lejean 
states  that  the  only  objection  to  them  was 
the  over-demonstrative  affection  of  their 
manners.  Like  cats  they  delighted  to  be 
noticed  and  made  much  of,  and  were  apt  to 
become  unpleasantly  importunate  in  solicit- 
ing caresses. 

They  were,  however,  somewhat  short- 
tempered  when  travelling  over  the  moun- 
tain ranges,  the  cold  weather  of  those  ele- 
vated regions  making  them  uncomfortable 
and  snappish.  With  an  idea  of  impressing 
his  subjects  with  his  importance,  an  art  in 
which  he  was  eminently  successful,  Theo- 
dore was  accustomed  to  have  his  lions  with 
him  when  he  gave  audience,  and  the  accom- 
panying portrait  was  taken  from  a  sketch 
of  the  Lion  of  Abyssinia  seated  in  the 
audience-chamber,  and  surrounded  with  the 
living  emblems  of  the  title  which  he  bore, 
mnd  which  he  perpetuated  in  his  royal 
seal. 

Justice  is  administered  in  various  modes, 
sometimes  by  the  will  of  the  chief,  and 
sometimes  by  a  sort  of  court  or  council  of 
elders.  The  former  process  is  generally  of 
a  very  summary  character,  and  is  based  on 
the  old  Mosaic  principle  of  an  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.  If  one  man 
murders  another,  for  example,  and  the  cul- 
prit be  detected,  the  Ras  will  direct  the 
nearest  relation  of  the  murderer  to  kill  him 
in  precisely  the  same  manner  that  he  killed 


his  victim.  One  very  odd  case  was  inves- 
tigated by  Oubi,  the  Ras  or  Prince  of 
Tigre. 

Two  little  boys,  the  elder  eight  and  the 
younger  five  years  of  age,  had  been  walking 
together,  when  they  saw  a  tree  laden  wiili 
fruit.  After  some  difficulty,  the  elder  climl)ed 
into  the  tree,  and,  standing  on  a  branch, 
plucked  the  fruit  and  threw  it  to  his  little 
companion  who  stood  below  him.  By  some 
accident  or  other  he  fell  from  the  tree  upon 
the  head  of  his  playfellow,  and  killed  him 
on  the  spot.  The  parents  of  the  poor  child 
insisted  that  the  boy  who  killed  him  should 
be  arraigned  for  murder,  and,  after  a  vast 
amount  of  consultation,  he  was  found  guilty. 
Ras  Oubi  then  gave  sentence.  The  culprit 
was  to  stand  under  the  In'anch  exactly  where 
had  stood  the  poor  little  boy.  The  eldest 
In-other  was  then  to  climb  up  the  tree  and 
fall  on  the  other  boy's  head  until  he  killed 
him. 

Theft  is  generally  punished  with  flogging, 
the  whip  being  a  most  formidaljle  weapon, 
made  of  hide,  aud  called,  from  its  length 
and  weight,  the  "  giraffe."  A  thief  is  some- 
times taken  into  the  market-place,  stripped 
to  the  waist,  and  led  by  two  men,  while  a 
third  delivers  a  terrific  series  of  blows  with 
the  giraffe  wdiip.  After  each  blow  the  delin- 
quent is  forced  to  exclaim,  "  All  ye  who  see 
me  thus,  profit  by  my  example." 

Many  other  offences,  such  as  sacrilege, 
rebellion,  and  the  like,  are  punished  by  the 
loss  of  a  hand  or  a  foot,  sometimes  of  both. 
Tiie  forfeited  member  is  amputated  in  a 
very  clumsy  way,  with  a  small  curved  knife, 
so  that  a  careless  or  maladroit  executioner 
can  inflict  frightful  suffering.  The  culprit 
generally  gives  a  fee  to  the  executioner, 
who  will  then  put  as  keen  an  edge  as  possi- 
Ide  on  the  knife,  and  tell  the  sufferer  how  to 
arrange  his  hand,  and  spread  his  fingers,  so 
that  the  tendons  may  be  stretched,  and  the 
joint  separated  easily.  One  man  of  rank, 
who  had  been  condemned  to  lose  his  left 
hand,  suffered  the  operation  without  moving 
a  muscle  of  his  countenance,  and  when  the 
hand  was  severed,  he  took  it  up  with  his 
right,  and  flung  it  in  the  face  of  the  presid- 
ing chief,  with  the  exclamation  that  he  still 
had  a  hand  wherewith  to  fling  a  spear. 
With  the  same  equanimity  he  dipped  the 
bleeding  stump  into  the  boiling  oil  which 
is  generally  used  as  a  styptic.  Sometimes, 
however,  the  use  of  the  hot  oil  is  forbidden, 
anil  the  sufferer  is  left  to  bleed  to  death. 

Tlie  Abyssinians,  however,  arc  as  little 
sensitive  to  pain  as  most  African  tribes,  and 
endure  with  ease  injuries  which  would  kill  an 
European.  The  young  men  have  a  curious 
amusement,  which  well  exemplifies  their 
insensibility  to  pain.  "  When  a  party  of 
young  men  are  seated  togetlier,  the  ladies 
present  will  bring  bits  of  the  pith  of  millet 
stems,  cut  to  about  an  inch  long,  and  of  the 
thickness  of  a  man's  tliurab,  or,  what  is  bet- 


G54 


ABYSSINIA- 


tcr  still,  pieces  of  old  ras,  rolled  tight,  so 
as  to  form  a  pellet  of  similar  dimensions. 
These  are  arranged  in  patterns  by  each  lady 
on  the  extended  arm  of  any  one  whom  she 
maj'  choose,  and  their  tops  lighted. 

"  The  only  merit  in  the  man  is  to  allow 
them  to  burn  themselves  out  entirely,  with- 
out moving  his  arm  so  as  to  cause  them  to 
fall,  or  evincing  the  slightest  consciousness 
of  pain  either  by  word,  look,  or  gesture.  On 
the  contrary,  he  must  continue  a  llow  of 
agreeable  conversation,  as  if  nothing  were 
occurring.  The  lady  operator  usually  blows 
her  tires  to  keep  them  going,  and  the  mate- 
rial, whether  pith  or  rag,  being  of  a  very 
porous  nature,  and  burning  slowly  like  tin- 
der, the  action  of  the  tire  is  felt  on  the  skin 
long  before  it  actually  reaches  it.  It  is,  in 
fact,  an  operation  similar  to  the  '  moxa '  of 
European  surgery.  When  the  pellets  are 
completely  burned  out,  the  lady  rubs  her 
hand  roughly  over  the  cauterized  parts,  so  as 
to  remove  the  burnt  skin.  On  a  copper- 
colored  person  the  scars,  when  well  healed, 
assume  a  polished  black  surface,  which  con- 
trasts very  prettily  with  the  surrounding 
skin." 

The  courtsof  justice,  to  which  allusion  has 
been  made,  are  composed  of  elders;  or  not 
unfrequently  the  chief  of  the  district  acts  as 
the  magistrate.  When  two  persons  fall  into 
a  dispute  and  bring  it  before  the  court,  an 
oificer  comes  for  the  Utigants,  and  ties  to- 
gether the  corner  of  their  quarries.  Hold- 
ing them  by  the  knot,  he  leads  them  betbre 
the  magistrate,  where  each  is  at  liberty  to 
plead  his  own  cause.  From  the  moment 
that  the  knot  is  tied,  neither  is  allowed  to 
speak,  under  penalty  of  a  heavy  fine,  until 
they  have  come  beibre  the  magistrate;  and 
when  the  trial  has  begun,  (see  engraving  No. 
2.  p.  652.)  the  plaintiff  has  the  first  right  of 
.speech,  followed  by  the  defendant  in  reply. 
Neither  is  allowed  to  interrupt  the  other  un- 
der pain  of  a  tine;  but,  in  compassion  to  the 
weakness  of  human  nature,  the  non-speaker 
may  grunt  if  he  likes  wdaen  the  adversary 
makes  any  statement  that  displeases  him. 

The  oddest  part  of  the  proceeding  is  the 
custom  of  betting,  or  rather  paying  forfeits, 
on  the  result  of  the  investigation.  A  plain- 
tiff, for  example,  offers  to  bet  one,  two,  or 
more  mules,  and  the  defendant  feels  himself 
bound  to  accept  the  challenge,  though  he 
may  sometimes  modify  the  amount  of  the 
lict.  When  the  case  is  determined,  the  loser 
pays  the  sum,  not  to  the  winner,  but  to  the 
chief  who  decides  the  case.  A  "  mule,"  by 
the  way,  does  not  necessarily  mean  the  ani- 
mal, but  the  word  is  used  conventionally  to 
I'cpresent  a  certain  sum  of  money,  so  that  a 
'•  mide  "  means  ten  dollars,  just  as  among 
English  sporting  men  a  "pony"  signifies 
£25. 

This  practice  is  carried  on  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  Mr.  Parkyns  has  seen  ten  mules  bet- 
i.ed  upon  the  payment  of  a  small  quantity  of 


corn,  worth  only  two  or  three  shillings.  The 
object  of  the '■  bet"  seems  to  be  that  the 
oiler  binds  the  opposite  party  to  carry  out 
the  litigation,  and  when  it  is  offered,  the 
chief  forces  the  loser  to  pay  under  the 
penalty  of  being  put  in  chains. 

It  may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  obser- 
vations that  the  Abyssinians  are  rather  a 
quarrelsome  people.  This  arises  chiefly 
from  their  vanitj',  which  is  extreme,  and 
which  culminates  to  its  highest  point  when 
the  lirain  is  excited  and  the  tongue  loosened 
by  drink.  It  w-as  this  national  character- 
istic which  induced  King  Theodore  to  imag- 
ine himself  the  equal  of  any  monarch  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  and  to  fancy  that  he  could 
cope  successfully  with  the  power  of  Eng- 
land. 

Mr.  Mansfield  Parkyns  gives  a  very  amus- 
ing account  of  this  national  failing. 

"  Vanity  is  one  of  the  principal  besetting 
sins  of  the  Abyssinians,  and  it  is  to  this 
weakness,  when  brought  out  by  liquor,  that 
the  origin  of  most  of  their  quarrels  may  be 
traced.  I  remember  m^re  than  once  to  Jiave 
heard  a  i-emark  somethmg  like  the  following 
made  by  one  of  two  men  who,  from  being '  my 
dear  friends,'  had  chosen  to  sit  next  to  each 
other  at  table :  '  You're  a  very  good  fellow, 
and  my  very  dear  friend;  but  (hiccuj))  you 
aren't  "half  so  brave  or  handsome  as  I  am! ' 
The  'very  dear  friend'  denies  the  flict  in  a 
tone  of  voice  denoting  anything  but  amity, 
and  states  that  his  opinion  is  exactly  the 
reverse.  The  parties  warm  in  the  argu- 
ment; words,  as  is  usual  when  men  are  iu 
such  a  state,  are  bandied  about  without  any 
measure,  and  often  without  much  meaning; 
insults  follow;  then  blows;  and  if  the  parties 
round  them  be  in  a  similar  condition  to 
themselves,  and  do  not  immediately  separate 
them,  it  frequently  happens  that  swords  are 
drawn. 

"  Dangerous  wounds  or  death  are  the  con- 
sequence ;  or,  as  is  not  uncommon,  others  of 
the  party,  siding  with  the  quarrcllers,  prob- 
ably with  the  id'ea  of  settling  the  atiair,  are 
induced  to  join  in  the  row,  which  in  the  end 
becomes  a  general  engagement.  I  have 
noticed  this  trait  of  vanity  as  exhibiting 
itself  in  various  ways  in  a  drunken  Abyssi- 
nian. I  always  found  that  the  best  plan  for 
keeping  a  man  quiet,  when  in  this  state,  was 
to  remark  to  him  that  it  was  unbecoming  in 
a  great  man  to  behave  in  such  a  way,  that 
people  of  rank  were  dignified  and  reserved 
in  their  manners  and  conversation.  And 
thus  I  have  argued  very  successfully  with 
my  own  servants  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
flattering  them  wdiile  they  were  tipsy,  and 
then  paying  them  ott"  with  a  five-foot  male 
bamboo" wlien  they  got  sober  again. 

"  I  recollect  one" fellow  who  was  privileged, 
for  he  had  asked  my  leave  to  go  to  a  party 
and  get  drunk.  On  returning  home  in  the 
evening,  he  staggered  into  my  room  in  as 
dignified  a  manner  as  he  could,  and,  seating 


THE   L^W  OF  DEBT. 


655 


himself  beside  me  on  my  couch,  embraced  me 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  made  me  a  thousand 
protestations  of  attacliment  and  affection, 
otlering  to  serve  me  in  any  way  lie  could,  but 
never  by  a  single  expression  evincing  that 
he  considered  me  as  other  than  a  dear  friend, 
and  that  indeed  in  rather  a  patronizing  fash- 
ion, although  the  same  fellow  was  in  the  habit 
of  washing  my  feet,  and  kissing  them  after- 
ward, every  evening,  and  would,  if  sober, 
have  no  more  thought  of  seating  himself, 
even  on  the  ground,  in  my  presence,  than 
of  jumping  over  the  moon. 

"With  his  fellow-servants,  too,  he  acted 
similarly;  for  though  he  knew  them  all,  and 
their  characters  and 'positions,  he  addressed 
them  as  his  servants,  ordering  them  about, 
and  upbraiding  them  for  sundry  peccadil- 
loes which  they  had  doubtless  committed, 
and  which  thus  came  to  my  knowledge.  In 
fact,  in  every  point  he  acted  to  perfection 
the  manners  and  language  of  a  great  man; 
and  so  often  have  I  seen  the  same  mimicry, 
that  it  has  led  me  to  believe  that  the  chief 
mental  employment  of  the  lowest  fellow  in 
the  country  is  building  castles  in  the  air, 
and  practising  to  himself  how  he  would  act, 
and  what  he  would  say,  if  he  were  a  great 
man." 

The  law  of  debt  is  a  very  severe  one. 
The  debtor  is  thrown  into  prison,  .and 
cliained  to  the  wall  by  the  wrist.  The  ring 
that  encloses  the  wrist  is  a  broad  hoop  or 
bracelet  of  iron,  which  is  forced  asunder  far 
enough  to  permit  tlie  hand  to  enter,  and 
is  then  hammered  together  tightly  enough 
to  prevent  the  hand  from  being  withdrawn. 
After  a  while,  if  the  sum  be  not  paid,  the 
bracelet  is  hammered  a  little  tighter;  and 
so  the  creditor  continues  to  tighten  the  iron 
until  it  is  driven  into  the  flesh,  the  course 
of  the  blood  checked,  and  the  hand  finally 
destroyed  hy  mortification. 

Should  the  Government  be  the  creditor 
for  unpaid  tribute,  a  company  of  soldiers  is 
quartered  on  the  debtor,  and  he  is  obliged 
to  feed  them  with  the  best  of  everything 
under  pain  of  brutal  ill-treatment.  Of  course 
this  mode  of  enforcing  payment  often  h.as 
the  opposite  effect,  and,  when  a  heavy  tax 
has  been  proclaimed  in  a  district,  the  people 
run  away  en  masse  from  the  villages.  In 
such  a  case  the  headman  of  the  village  is 
responsible  for  the  entire  amount,  and  some- 
times is  oliliged  to  make  his  escape  with  as 
much  portable  property  as  he  can  manage 
to  carry  off. 

"When  rightly  managed,  the  Abyssinians 
are  a  hospitable  people.  Some  tr.ivellers 
take  a  soldier  with  them,  and  demand  food 
and  lodging.  These  of  course  are  given, 
tlirough  fear,  but  without  a  welcome.  The 
right  mode  is,  that  when  a  traveller  comes 
to  a  village,  he  sits  under  a  tree,  and  waits. 
The  villagers  soon  gather  round  him,  ques- 
tion him,  and  make  remarks  on  his  appear- 


ance with  perfect  candor.  After  ho  has 
inidergone  this  ordeal,  some  one  is  sure  to 
ask  him  to  his  house,  and,  should  he  happen 
to  be  a  person  of  distinction,  one  of  the 
chief  men  is  certain  to  be  his  host. 

When  Mr.  Parkyus  was  residing  in  Abys- 
sinia, he  always  adopted  this  jilan.  On  one 
occasion  the  headman  invited  him  to  bis 
house,  and  treated  him  most  hosi)itably, 
apologizing  for  the  want  of  better  food  on 
the  ground  that  he  had  lately  been  made 
liable  for  the  tribute  of  a  number  of  persons 
who  had  run  away,  and  was  consequently 
much  reduced  in  the  world.  It  proved  that 
sixteen  householders  had  escaped  to  avoid 
the  tax,  and  that  the  unfortunate  man  had 
to  pay  the  whole  of  it,  amounting  to  a  sum 
which  forced  him  to  sell  his  horse,  mule, 
and  nearly  all  his  plough  oxen,  and,  even 
when  he  was  entertaining  his  visitor,  he 
was  in  dread  lest  the  soldiers  should  be 
quartered  on  him. 

The  question  of  hospitality  naturally  leads 
us  to  the  cooking  and  mode  of  eating  as 
practised  in  Abyssinia,  about  which  so 
many  strange  stories  have  been  told.  We 
have  all  heard  of  Bruce's  account  of  the 
eating  of  raw  me.at  cut  from  the  limljs  of  a 
living  bullock,  and  of  the  storm  of  derision 
which  was  raised  by  the  tale.  We  will  see 
how  far  he  was  borne  out  by  facts. 

The  "staff  of  life"  is  prepared  in  Abys- 
sinia much  after  the  same  fashion  as  in 
other  parts  of  Africa,  the  grain  being 
ground  between  two  stones,  anil  then  made 
into  a  sort  of  very  thin  paste,  about  the 
consistency  of  gruel.  This  paste  is  allowed 
to  remain  in  a  jar  for  a  day  and  night  in 
order  to  become  sour,  and  is  then  taken  to 
the  oven.  This  is  a  very  curious  article, 
being  a  slab  of  earthenware  in  which  a  con- 
cave hollow  is  made,  and  furnished  with  a 
small  cover  of  the  same  material.  A  fire  is 
made  beneath  the  oven,  or  "  magogo,"  as  it 
is  termed,  and  when  it  is  hot  the  baker,  who 
is  always  a  woman,  proceeds  to  work.  • 

She  first  rubs  the  hollow  with  an  oily  seed 
in  order  to  prevent  the  bread  from  adhering 
to  it,  and  then  with  a  gourd  ladle  takes 
some  of  the  thin  dough  from  the  jar.  The 
gourd  holds  exactly  enough  to  make  one 
loaf,  or  rather  cake.  With  a  rapid  move- 
ment the  woman  spreads  the  dough  over 
the  entire  hollow,  and  then  puts  on  tlie 
cover.  In  two  or  three  minutes  it  is  re- 
moved, and  the  bread  is  peeled  off  in  one 
flat  circular  piece,  some  eighteen  inches  in 
width,  and  about  the  eighth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness.  This  bread,  called  "  teft',"  is  the 
ordinary  diet  of  an  Abyssinian.  It  is  very 
sour,  very  soft,  and  very  spongy,  and 
requires  an  experienced  palate  to  appreci- 
.ate  it.  There  are  several  oflier  kinds  of 
bread,  but  the  teff  is  that  which  is  most 
valued. 

As  to  the  meat  diet  of  the  Abyssini.ans,  it 
may  be  roughly  divided  into  cooked  and 


656 


ABYSSIJflA. 


uncooked  meat.  Cooked  meat  is  usually 
prepared  from  the  least  valued  parts  of  the 
animal.  It  is  cut  u])  into  little  pieces,  and 
stewed  in  a  pot  together  with  other  ingre- 
dients, a  considerable  quantity  of  butter, 
and  such  an  amount  of  capsicum  pods  that 
the  whole  mess  is  of  a  light  red  color,  and  a 
drop  of  it  leaves  a  red  stain  on  any  garment 
on  which  it  may  happen  to  fall.  This  paste 
is  called  "  dillikh,"  and  is  made  bj'  grinding 
together  a  quantity  of  capsicum  pods  and 
an  equal  amount  of  onions,  to  which  are 
added  ginger,  salt,  black  i^episer,  and  other 
herbs,  according  to  the  taste  of  the  pre- 
parer. The  ijoorer  class,  who  cannot  atlbrd 
meat,  can  still  make  dillikh  paste,  and  live 
almost  entirely  on  teil"  clotted  milk,  and  dil- 
likh. 

But  the  great  treat  for  an  Abyssinian 
epicure  is  the  "  broundo,"  or  raw  meat, 
about  which  he  is  as  fastidious  as  the  Euro- 
pean bon  vivant  about  liis  sauces  and  ra- 
gouts. Not  an  Abyssinian  will  eat  any 
animal  which  has  incisor  teeth  in  its  upper 
jaw,  and,  like  the  Jews,  they  even  reject 
the  camel,  because  it  has  not  a  cloven  hoof. 

According  to  the  account  given  by  Bruce, 
when  a  dinner  party  is  assembled,  "a  cow  is 
brought  to  the  door  of  the  house,  bound, 
flung  down,  and  a  few  drops  of  its  blood 
poured  on  the  ground  in  order  to  save  the 
letter  of  the  Mosaic  law.  The  butchers 
then  cut  large  strips  of  meat  from  the  poor 
beast,  taking  care  to  avoid  the  vital  parts 
and  larger  vessels,  and  managing  so  as  to 
remove  the  flesh  without  much  eflusion  of 
blood. 

The  still  warm  flesh  is  taken  within  the 
house,  where  it  is  sliced  into  strips  by  the 
men,  and  handed  to  the  women  who  .sit  by 
their  side.  The  women  cut  it  up  into  small 
squares,  lay  it  on  the  "teflf"  bread,  season  it 
plentifully  with  the  dillikh  paste,  roll  it  up 
into  balls,  and  push  the  balls  into  the  mouth 
of  their  companion,  who  eats  until  he  is 
satislicd,  and  then  reciprocates  the  atten- 
tion by  making  up  a  couple  of  similar  balls, 
and  putting  them  into  the  mouths  of  the 
women.  (See  page  043.)  Mead  and  tedge 
are  then  consumed  as  largely  as  the  meat, 
and,  according  to  Bruce,  a  scene  of  the  most 
abominable  licentiousness  accompanies  the 
conclusion  of  the  festival. 

These  statements  have  been  much  con- 
troverted, but  there  is  no  doulU.  tliat,  in  the 
main,  the  narrative  of  Bruce  was  a  truthful 
one.  JNIany  of  the  facts  of  which  he  wrote 
have  since  been  corroborated,  while  the 
changes  to  which  Abyssinia  has  been  sub- 
jected will  account  for  unimportant  varia- 
tions. Later  travellers,  for  example,  have  not 
witnessed  such  a  scene  as  has  been  narrated 
by  Bruce,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  such  a 
scene  should  not  have  occurred.  The  most 
important  part  of  it,  namely,  the  eating  of 
raw  flesh,  has  Iieen  repeatedly  corroborated, 
especially  by  Mansfield  Parkyns,  who  lived 


so  long  with  the  Ab3-ssinians,  dressed  like 
them,  fed  like  theni,  and  accommodated 
hims'elf  in  most  respects  to  their  mode  of 
life. 

He  found  that  meat  was  always,  if  possible, 
eaten  in  the  raw  state,  only  the  inferior 
qualities  being  made  fit  lor  consumption  by 
cookery.  His  description  of  the  mode  of 
eating  tallies  exactly  with  that  of  Bruce. 
The  meat  is  always  brought  to  the  consumer 
while  still  warm  and  quivering  with  life,  as 
it  becomes  tough  and  stringy  when  sull'ered 
to  become  cold.  Each  guest  is  furnished 
with  plenty  of  teff  and  the  invariable  jiepper 
sauce.  His  Angers  take  the  place  of  a  fork, 
and  his  sword,  or  shotel,  does  duty  for  a 
knife.  Holding  the  broundo  in  his  left  hand, 
he  takes  into  his  capacious  mouth  as  miicli  as 
it  can  accommodate,  and  tlien,  with  an  adroit 
upward  stroke  of  the  sword,  severs  the 
piece  of  meat,  and  just  contrives  to  avoid 
cutting  off  his  nose.  He  alternates  the  pieces 
of  meat  with  tefl'  and  dillikh,  and,  when  he 
has  finished,  refreshes  himseli  copiously  with 
drink. 

Such  food  as  this  appears  to  be  indescriba- 
bly disgusting,  and  very  unfit  fm-  a  nation 
that  prides  itself  on  its  Christianit}'.  Many 
persons,  indeed,  have  said  that  no  one  could 
eat  raw  meat  except  when  pressed  b\-  star- 
vation, and  have  therefore  discredited  all 
accounts  of  the  practice. 

Perhaps  my  readers  ma}'  remember  that 
after  Bruce's  return  a  gentleman  was  mak- 
ing very  merry  with  this  account  in  the 
traveller's  presence,  treating  the  whole 
stor}'  as  a  fabrication,  on  the  ground  that  to 
eat  raw  meat  was  impossible.  Bruce  said 
nothing,  but  quietly  left  the  room,  and  ju'es- 
ently  returned  with  a  piece  of  beef  rolled 
and  peppered  after  the  Abyssinian  fashion, 
and  gave  his  astonished  opponent  the  choice 
of  eating  the  meat  or  fighting  him  on  the 
spot.  As  Bruce  was  of  gigantic  strength 
and  stature,  and  an  accomplished  swordsman 
to  boot,  the  meat  was  eaten,  and  the  fact 
proved  to  be  possible. 

Mr.  Parkyns,  who,  when  in  Abj'ssinia, 
very  wisely  did  as  the  Abyssinians  do,  found 
that  he  soou  became  accustomed  to  the  taste 
of  raw  meat,  and  learned  how  to  prefer  one 
part  of  an  animal  to  another.  He  discovered 
that  a  very  good  imitation  of  an  oyster 
could  be  made  by  chopping  up  a  sheep's 
liver  very  fine,  and  seasoning  it  with  pepper, 
vinegar,  and  a  little  salt,  provided  that  the 
consumer  shut  his  ej-es  while  eating  it.  He 
even  learned  to  appreciate  a  dish  called 
chogera,  which  seems  to  be  about  the  very 
acme  of  abomination.  It  con.sists  of  the 
liver  and  stomach  chopped  up  fine,  mixed 
with  a  little  of  the  half-digested  grass  found 
in  the  stomach,  flavored  with  the  contents 
of  the  gall  bladder,  plentifully  seasoned  with 
|)epper,  salt,  and  onions,  and  eaten  un- 
cooked. 

An  Abyssinian's  digestion  is  marvellous, 


FEAST  AT  A  WEDDING. 


657 


and  almost  rivals  that  of  a  pike,  wliich  will 
digest  half  of  a  flsli  in  its  stomach  while  the 
other  half  is  protruding  from  its  mouth, 
lie  will  go  to  any  number  of  feasts  in  a  day, 
and  bring  a  tine  fresh  appetite  to  each  of 
them,  consuming  at  a  meal  a  quantity  that 
would  sutflce  seven  or  eight  hungry  Eng- 
lishmen. Mr.  Parkyns  once  gave  a  break- 
fast to  fourteen  guests,  thinking  that,  as  they 
were  engaged  for  three  or  four  other  feasts 
on  the  same  day,  they  would  perhaps  eat  but 
little. 

Keeping  up,  however,  the  old  hospitable 
customs,  he  killed  a  cow  aud  two  fat  sheep, 
and  provided  many  gallons  of  mead  and  an 
infinite  quantity  of  "  tetf."  To  his  astonish- 
ment, the  whole  of  this  enormous  supply 
vanished,  as  he  says,  "  like  smoke."  before 
his  guests,  who  left  scarcely  a  scrap  for  their 
servants.  And,  after  this  feast,  the  whole  of 
the  party  proceeded  to  another  house,  where 
they  were  treated  in  a  similarly  liberal  man- 
ner, and  employed  the  day  iu  a  series  of  four 
or  five  such  banquets. 

The  Abyssiniaus  are  very  fastidious  re- 
specting the  part  of  the  animal  from  which 
the  broundo  is  cut,  and  have  a  vast  nnmljer 
of  names  to  express  the  different  qualities 
of  meat.  The  most  valued  portion  is  the 
hump  of  the  shoulder,  the  first  cut  of  which 
is  always  given  to  the  man  of  the  highest 
rank.  "Consequently,  when  several  men  of 
nearly  equal  rank  meet,  a  polite  controversy 
is  carried  on  for  some  time,  each  oftering  the 
cut  of  honor  to  his  neighbor. 

On  one  occasion  this  piece  of  etiquette 
produced  fatal  results.  Several  Amhara 
chiefs  were  present,  together  with  one  Ti- 
grean.  The  latter,  iu  order  to  assert  the  su- 
periority of  his  own  pi-ovince,  drew  his  sword 
and  helped  himself  to  the  first  cut,  where- 
upon he  was  immediately  challenged  by  two 
Amhara  warriors.  He  accepted  the  chal- 
lenge, fought  them  both,  killed  them  both, 
and  so  vindicated  the  course  which  he  had 
taken. 

The  quantity  which  an  Abyssinian  will 
eat  when  he  gets  the  chance  must  be  seen  to 
be  appreciated.  See  for  example  Mr.  Par- 
kyns' account  of  a  feast  at  an  Abyssinian 
veedding  :  — 

"  The  Abyssinian  guests  were  squatted 
round  the  tables  in  long  rows,  feeding  as  if 
their  lives  depended  on  the  quantity  they 
could  devour,  and  washing  it  down  with 
floods  of  drink.  I  never  could  have  believed 
that  any  people  could  take  so  much  food,  and 
certainly,  if  the  reader  wishes  to  see  a  curi- 
ous exhibition  in  the  feeding  line,  he  has 
only  to  run  over  to  Abyssinia,  aud  be  pres- 
seut  at  a  wedding-feast. 


"  Imagine  two  or  three  hundred  half-naked 
men  and  women  all  in  one  room,  eating  and 
drinking  in  the  way  I  have  described  in  a 
former  chapter,  but  witli  this  dilference^ 
that  the  private  party  is  well  ordered  and 
arranged,  while  the  public  'hang-out'  is  a 
scene  of  the  most  terrible  confusion.  Here 
all  decorum  is  lost  sight  of ;  and  you  see  the 
waiters,  each  with  a  huge  piece  of  raw  beef 
in  his  hands,  rushing  frantically  to  and  fro 
in  his  desire  to  satisty  the  voracious  appe- 
tites of  the  guests,  who,  as  he  comes  within 
their  reach,  grasp  the  meat,  and  with  their 
Icjng  crooked  swords  hack  olf  a  lump  or  strip, 
as  the  case  may  be,  in  their  eagerness  not  to 
lose  their  share. 

"  One  man  was  reported  on  this  occasion 
to  have  eaten  '  tallak  '  and  '  tamash  '  of 
raw  beef  (each  weighing  from  tour  to  five 
pounds)  and  seven  cakes  of  bread,  and  to 
have  drunk  twenty-six  pints  of  beer  and 
•  tedge.'  From  what  I  saw  I  can  believe 
a  good  deal,  but  this  appears  rather  a 
'  stretcher.' 

"  "We  of  the  Frank  sect  were  presented 
with  our  share  of  the  '  In-oundo  ;'  but  as  our 
thoughtful  host  had  informed  us  that  a  din- 
ner, cooked  by  his  own  hands  iu  the  Turkish 
style,  was  awaiting  us  in  an  inner  apartment, 
we  merely,  for  formality's  sake,  tasted  the 
offered  delicacies,  and  "then  handed  them 
over  to  our  servants,  who,  standing  behind 
us,  were  ready  enough  to  make  away  with 
them.  The  silversmith  Michael,  before  com- 
ing to  the  feast,  had,  it  would  appear,  been 
pouring  a  tolerably  copious  libation  to  some 
god  or  other,  for  he  was  considerably  ele- 
vated, and,  being  anxious  to  show  off,  com- 
menced eating  in  the  Aljyssinian  fashion,  nor 
did  he  stop  until  he  had  cut  a  large  gash  in 
his  nose." 

The  hands  are  always  carefully  washed 
both  before  and  after  a  meal.  Just  before 
the  feast  is  over,  the  servants  come  round 
with  baskets  to  the  guests,  each  of  whom 
places  in  the  basket  a  portion  of  his  food.  As 
to  the  little  boys,  they  crawl  ahout  under  the 
tables,  and  among  the  legs  of  the  guests,  and 
are  always  ready  for  any  fragments  that 
maybe  accidentally  dropped  or  intentionally 
given  to  them. 

The  beer,  or  "  tedge,"  and  mead,  which 
have  been  mentioned,  are  favorite  drinks 
among  the  Abyssiniaus.  The  former  is  very 
thick  and  gruel-like,  and  to  a  European 
is  very  repulsive.  The  latter,  however,  is 
tolerably  good,  and  is  kept  carefidly  in  large 
jars.  The  mouth  of  each  j.ar  is  covered 
with  a  piece  of  cotton  cloth  drawn  tightly 
over  it.  This  is  not  removed  when  the 
mead  is  poured  out,  and  acts  as  a  strainer. 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 


ABYSSINIA—  Concluded. 


BIRTH,  LIFE,  AND  DEATH  OF  THE  ABVSSINTANS  —  CERF.MONIES  AT  BIRTH  —  THE  CIKCITMCISION  AND 
BAPTISM  —  CARE  AS  TO  THE  EXACT  DATE  OF  EACH  KITE  —  JIAKRIAOE,  CIVIL  AND  RELIGIOUS,  AND 
THEIR  DIFFERENT  CHARACTERS  —  THE  CIVIL  SLiRRIAGE  AND  ITS  ATTENDANT  CEREMONIES  — 
DEATH  AND  FUNERAL  —  SHAPE  OF  THE  GRAVE — THE  HIRED  MOURNERS  —  THE  SUCCESSIVE  COM- 
MEMORATIONS OP  THE  DEAD—  RAISING  THE  HAI-HO  —  THE  RELIGION  OF  ABYSSINIA  —  FASTING 
AND  FEASTING  BOTH  CARRIED  TO  EXTREMES  —  ST.  JOHN'S  DAY  AND  THE  ANNUAL  WASHING  — 
FRIENDLY  SKIRMISHES  —  ABYSSINIAN  CHURCHES  —  THE  SANCTUARY"  AND  THE  ARK  —  THE  ARK 
IN  BATTLE  —  IGNORANCE  OF  THE  PRIESTHOOD  —  THE  BIBLE  A  SEALED  BOOK  TO  PRIESTS  AND 
LAYMEN  —  LIFE  OF  A  SAINT  —  SUPERSTITION  —  TRANSFORMATION — THE  BOUDA  ANT)  THE  TIGKI- 
TIYA  —  EXAJIPLES  SEEN  BY"  MR.    PARKYNS — ABYSSINIAN  AKCHITECTUBE. 


We  will  now  cursorily  glance  at  the  life  of 
au  Abyssinian  from  his  birth  to  his  funeral. 

As  soon  as  the  birth  of  a  child  is  expected, 
all  the  men  leave  the  house,  as  they  would 
be  considered  as  polluted  if  they  were  under 
the  same  roof,  and  woulil  not  be  allowed  to 
enter  a  church  for  forty  days.  The  women 
take  immediate  charge  of  the  new  comer, 
■wash  and  perfume  it,  and  mould  its  little 
features  in  order  to  make  them  handsome. 
Should  it  be  a  boy,  it  is  held  up  to  the  win- 
dow until  a  warrior  thrusts  a  lance  into  the 
room  and  pokes  it  into  the  child's  mouth, 
this  ceremony  being  supposed  to  make  it 
courageous.  The  throat  of  a  fowl  is  then 
cut  in  front  of  the  child,  and  the  women 
utter  their  joy-cries  —  twelve  times  for  a 
boy  and  three  times  for  a  girl.  They  then 
rush  tumaltuously  out  of  the  house,  and  try 
to  catch  the  men.  If  they  succeed,  they 
hustle  their  ca])tives  about,  and  force  them 
to  ransom  themselves  by  a  jar  of  mead,  or 
Kome  such  present. 

Next  come  the  religious  ceremonies;  and 
it  is  not  the  least  curious  point  in  the  reli- 
gious system  of  the  Abyssinians  that  they 
have  retained  the  Jewish  rite,  to  which  they 
superadded  Christian  baptism.  Eight  days 
after  birth  the  child  is  circumcised,  twenty 
days  afterward  the  priests  enter  the  house, 
and  i)erform  a  purification  ser\'ice  which 
restores  it  to  general  use,  and  forty  days 
afterward  the  yaptism  takes  i)lace,  should 
the  child  be  a  boy,  and  eighty  days  if  a  girl. 


A  plaited  cord  of  red,  blue,  and  white  silk 
is  then  placed  round  the  ehild's  neck,  as  a 
token  that  it  has  been  baptized,  which  is 
afterward  exchanged  for  tlie  blue  cord,  or 
'•  match,"  worn  by  all  Christian  Aliyssi- 
nians.  There  is  a  curious  law  that,  if  cither 
of  the  sponsors  should  die  without  issue, 
his  godchild  becomes  the  heir  to  his  prop- 
erty. 

The  priests  are  very  particular  about  the 
date  of  the  baptism.  They  believe  that 
Adam  and  Eve  did  not  receive  the  spirit  of 
life  until  they  had  been  created  forty  and 
eighty  days.  Should  the  father  miscalculate 
the  date,  "he  would  be  sentenced  to  a  year's 
fixsting;  while  the  jiriest  is  liable  to  a  sinn- 
lar  penalty  if  he  should  happen  to  assign 
the   wrong  day. 

As  to  their  marriages,  the  Abyssinians 
manage  them  very  easily.  As  soon  as 
lietrothal  takes  place,  which  is  mostly  at  a 
very  early  age,  the  couple  are  not  ano\vcd 
to  see  each  other,  even  tliough  they  may 
have  enjoyed  the  greatest  liberty  before- 
hand. So"  rigidly  is  this  practice  carrieil 
out  in  Tigre'^  that  the  bride  never  leaves 
her  father's  house  until  her  marriage,  be- 
lieving that  if  she  did  so  she  would  be  bit- 
ten by  a  snake. 

Jus't  before  the  wedding-day,  a  "dass,"  or 
marquee,  is  built  of  stakes  and  reeds  for  the 
reception  of  the  wedding-party,  in  which 
thi^  marriage-feast  is  prepared.  Certain 
distinguished    guests    have    special    places 


{6.58) 


MARRIAGE  AND  FUNERAL  CEREMONIES. 


659 


reserved  for  them;  but  any  one  is  at  liberty 
to  enter  and  eat  to  his  lieart's  content.  A 
scene  of  great  turmoil  always  occurs  ou 
these  occasions,  a  crowd  of  men  who  have 
already  been  fed  trying  to  gain  re-admis- 
siou,  whUst  another  crowd  of  hungry  appli- 
cants is  lighting  and  pushing  toward  the 
entrance.  Order  is  kept  to  some  extent  by 
a  number  of  young  meu  who  volunteer 
their  services,  and  are  allowed  to  exercise 
their  office  as  they  think  best,  bitting  aljout 
at  the  crowd,  and  no  man  returning  their 
blows.  As  soon  as  one  batch  of  guests 
have  eaten  as  much  as  they  can  be  expected 
to  consume,  the  door-keepers  turn  them  out 
by  main  force  and  admit  a  fresh  batch. 

After  the  feast,  the  bride  is  carried  in 
upon  a  man's  back,  and  put  down,  like  a 
sack  of  coals,  on  a  stool.  Music  and  dancing 
then  take  place,  while  the  bridegroom,  at- 
tended by  his  groomsmen,  or  "  arkees,"  is 
proceeding  to  the  house,  accompanied  by 
his  friends,  and  preceded  by  music.  When 
he  arrives,  the  marriage  —  which  is  a  civil 
rather  than  a  religious  ceremony  —  takes 
place,  an  address  being  delivered  to  the 
married  couple  by  a  priest,  should  one  hap- 
pen to  be  present;  if  not,  by  an  elder;  and 
the  actual  ceremony  is  at  an  end. 

The  arkees  have  a  numljer  of  curious  offi- 
ces to  perform,  among  which  is  the  custom 
of  collecting  gifts  for  the  newly-married 
couple,  begging  with  son^s  and  drum-beat- 
ing before  the  houses.  If  nothing  be  given 
them,  they  take  whatever  they  wish;  and, 
after  a  wedding  the  robberies  are  countless, 
the  arkees  being  privileged  persons  during, 
their  term  of  office.  They  are  even  allowed 
to  perjure  themselves  —  a  crime  -which  is 
held  in  the  deepest  abhorrence  by  all  Abys- 
sinian Christians.  Should  a  person  from 
whom  anything  is  stolen  otfer  a  present  as  a 
ransom,  the  arkees  are  obliged  to  give  up 
the  stolen  property;  but  should  they  have 
taken  fowls  or  any  other  edibles,  there  is  no 
restitution  possible,  the  arkees  taking  care 
to  have  them  cooked  and  eaten  at  once. 

Such  marriages,  being  merely  civil  cere- 
monies, are  dissolved  as  easily  as  they  are 
made,  the  slightest  pretext  on  cither  side 
being  considered  as  sufficient  for  the  separa- 
tion. Should  there  be  children,  the  father 
takes  the  boys,  and  the  mother  the  girls, 
and  each  will  probaljly  marry  again  almost 
immediately. 

In  consequence  of  this  very  easy  arrange- 
ment, it  often  happens  that,  in  one  family  of 
children,  two  may  be  by  one  mother,  two  by 
anotlier,  and  one  or  two  more  by  a  third; 
and  it  is  almost  invariably  the  case  that  the 
children  of  one  father  by  different  mothers 
hate  each  other  cordially,  while  the  children 
of  one  mother  by  different  fathers  live  to- 
gether in  amity. 

Besides  these  civil  marriages,  which  are 
really  no  marriages  at  all,  there  arc  ecclesi- 
astical   marriages,  which    are    held  to  be 


indissoluble.  These,  however,  are  very  sel- 
dom contracted  except  between  persons  who 
have  been  civilly  married,  and  have  found, 
after  many  years  of  experience,  that  they 
cannot  be  better  suited.  They  therefore  go 
to  the  church,  are  married  by  the  priest, 
and  receive  the  Communion  together. 

When  an  Abyssinian  dies,  the  funeral 
takes  place  within  a  very  short  time,  the 
same  day  being  preferred  if  possible.  The 
death  being  announced  from  the  house-top 
by  the  relatives,  and  )jy  messengers  to  the 
neighl)oring  villages,  a  grave  is  at  once  dug 
by  volunteers.  There  are  no  professional 
grave-diggers  in  Abyssinia,  but,  as  the  act 
of  burying  the  dead  is  considered  as  a  meri- 
torious one,  plenty  of  assistance  is  always 
found.  The  body"  is  then  placed  on  a  couch 
and  carried  to  the  grave,  the  whole  of  the 
P.salter  being  repeated  as  the  procession 
makes  its  way.  Six  halts  are  made  during 
the  progress  of  the  body  to  the  church,  at 
each  of  which  incense  is  burned  over  it, 
and  certain  portions  of  the  Scriptures  are 
read,  or  rather  gabbled,  as  fast  as  the  words 
can  be  repeated.  In  order  to  save  time, 
each  priest  or  scribe  who  is  present  has  a 
certain  portion  assigned  to  him,  and  they 
all  read  at  once,  .so  that  not  a  word  can  be 
caught  by  the  mourners.  These,  however, 
are  making  such  a  noise  on  their  own 
account  that  they  do  not  trouble  themselves 
about  hearing  the  Scriptures. 

The  bearers  of  the  corpse  manage  so  that 
their  seventh  halt  is  made  at  the  church 
gate.  Here  more  portions  of  Scripture  are 
read  in  the  same  time-saving  fashion,  while 
the  body  is  wrapped  in  a  cloth  made  of  palm 
leaves,  this  being  emblematical  of  the  palms 
thrown  before  our  Lord  on  His  triumphal 
entry  into  Jerusalem.  When  the  grave  is 
ready,  the  priest  descends  into  it  and  censes 
it,  after  which  the  body  is  lowered  and  the 
earth  filled  in. 

In  consequence  of  the  rapidity  with  wdiich 
burial  follows  death,  the  mourning  ceremo- 
nies are  postponed  for  three  days,  so  as  to 
give  time  for  assembling  the  mourners,  and 
making  the  corresponding  preparations. 

Ou  that  day  the  mourners  proceed  to  a 
spot  near  the  church,  on  which  is  placed 
a  couch  containing  a  rude  figure  of  a 
human  being,  supposed  to  represent  the 
deceased  person.  The  relations  appear  with 
their  heads  shaven  like  those  of  the  priests, 
and  among  the  Tigre'ans  they  rub  their  fore- 
heads and  temples  with  the  borders  of  their 
rol)es  until  they  take  oft'  the  skin,  and  pro- 
duce sores  which  often  occupy  many  weeks 
in  healing.  Mostly  the  injury  is  so  great, 
tliat  when  the  skin  is  renewed  it  is  blacker 
than  the  rest  of  the  body,  and  remains  so 
during  life,  giving  to  the  face  a  very  sin- 
gular ex|iression.  The  Amharas  do  not 
emnloy  this  mode  of  showing  their  grief. 

Eacii  of  the  mourners  then  advances,  and 
pronounces  a  sort  of  eulogy  on  the  decea-sed, 


600 


ABYSSINIA. 


generally  uttering  their  panegj'rics  in  a  sort 
of  rude  verse.  In  ciise,  however,  the  rela- 
tives should  not  be  good  poets,  a  number  of 
professional  mourners  attend  the  funeral, 
some  being  hired,  but  the  greater  uumber 
coming  merely  in  hope  of  a  fee  and  a  share 
jn  the  funeral  banquet  which  concludes  the 
proceedings.  According  to  Mr.  Parkyns, 
these  people  will  give  minute  details  of  the 
history  of  the  deail  man,  his  deeds,  character, 
and  even  his  property;  and  this  to  a  great 
length,  thus:  •' O  Gabron,  son  of  Welda 
MousA,  grandson  of  Itta  Garra  Raphael,  &c. 
itc. ;  lider  of  the  bay  horse  with  white  foot, 
and  of  the  grey  ambling  mule;  owner  of  the 
Damascus  liarrol-guu,  and  bearer  of  the 
silvor-raounted  shield,  why  have  you  left 
us?  "  &c.,  entering  with  astonishing  readi- 
ness into  every  particular  of  the  deceased's 
life  and  iictious.  All  the  bystanders,  at  the 
end  of  each  verse,  break  in  with  a  chorus  of 
sol)l)ing  lamentations,  adajited  to  a  mourn- 
ful chant,  "  Moni  I  wai!  waii  wailayay!  wai- 
lay!  wailayay!"  &c.,  which  has  a  pretty  plain- 
tive Bound,  especially  when,  as  is  usually 
the  case,  a  uumber  of  soft  feniaie  voices  join 
in. 

"  The  '  ambilta '  and  the  '  cundan '  keep 
time  with  them,  and  add  not  a  little  to  the 
eflect.  This  continues  until  all  the  expected 
friends  have  arrived,  and  had  their  fill  of 
wailing;  and  about  noon  the  whole  party 
retire  to  tlie  house,  where  a  cow  is  killed, 
and  a  quantity  of  provisions  provided  for 
those  who  have  come  from  a  distance. 
Everj'thing,  except  the  cow,  is  usually  fur- 
ni.shed  by  the  neighbors,  as  the  mourners 
are  supposed  to  be  so  overwhelmed  with 
grief  as  to  be  unable  to  attend  to  such  prep- 
arations.'' 

The  ''ambilta,"  which  is  mentioned  above, 
is  a  musical  instrument  composed  of  a  set 
of  six  pipes,  each  performer  having  one 
pipe,  and  each  pipe  only  having  one  note. 
The  "  cundan  melakhat "  is  made  of  foui' 
long  cane  tubes,  each  having  a  bell,  and  a 
reed  mouth-piece,  like  that  of  a  clarionet. 
They  are  plaj-ed  in  succession  like  the 
ambilta,  and  give  forth  very  harsh  and 
unpleasant  notes.  Both  instruments  are 
generally  accompanied  by  a  sm:ill  drum. 
Although  the  immediate  ceremonies  of  the 
funeral  terminate  with  this  feast,  they  are 
not  totally  completed.  Indeed,  for  a  whole 
year,  masses  are  said  regularly  for  forty 
days,  and  another  mass  is  said  on  the  eigh- 
tieth day.  A  second  and  larger  edition  of 
the  funer.al  feast,  called  the  "  teskar,"  is  held 
six  months  after  the  burial,  and  sometimes 
lasts  for   several  days. 

To  this  feast  come  all  the  poor,  who  claim 
for  themselves  the  right  of  being  helped  be- 
fore any  of  the  regular  guests.  They  seat 
thcmseves  in  the  "  dass,"  and  pour  out  loud 
invocations,  until  an  official  comes  round,  and 
siightl  V  taps  each  one  on  the  head  with  a  stick. 
The  man  who  has  been  thus  signalled  holds 


out  his  hands,  and  receives  in  them  a  por- 
tion of  meat  rolled  up  in  "  teft'"  bread. 
When  all  have  been  served,  they  hold  the 
food  under  their  mouths,  and  call,  in  a  very 
loud  voice,  "  Hai  .  .  .  oh!"  the  last  syllable 
being  protracted  until  they  have  no  more 
breath. 

"Tliis  "Hai  ...  oh!  "  is  thought  to  be  a 
sort  of  benediction,  and  very  few  wnuld 
dare  to  omit  it.  Such  an  omission  woidd 
be  taken  as  a  drawing  down  of  the  maledic- 
tions of  the  poor,  and  would  excite  the 
greatest  contempt.  If  such  a  man  wore  to 
quarrel,  his  opponent  would  be  sure  to  say 
to  him,  "Ah!  \ou  are  the  man  who  made 
no  '  Hai  .  .  .  oil!'  for  his  brother." 

On  the  next  day  the  priests  and  men 
of  highest  rank  assemble,  and  day  by  day 
the  rank  of  the  guests  diminishes,  until  the 
seventh  day  is  contemptuously  given  to  the 
women.  Six  months  after  the  teskar  an- 
other feast,  but  of  a  larger  kind,  is  held, 
and  on  every  anniversary  of  the  funeral 
food  is  sent  to  the  priests. 

"We  now  naturally  come  to  the  religion  of 
the  Abyssiniaus. 

This  is  a  kind  of  Christianity  which  con- 
sists chiefly  in  fasting,  so  that  an  Ab3-ssinian 
life  oscillates  between  alternate  severe  fasts 
and  inordinate  gluttony.  The  fasts  of  the 
Abyssinian  Church  occupy  nearly  two-thirds 
of  the  year,  and  are  measured  in  duration  1)y 
the  length  of  the  shadow.  One  fast,  for  exam- 
ple, must  be  kept  until  a  man's  shadow  mea- 
sures in  length  nine  and  a  half  of  his  own  feet, 
another  until  it  is  nine  feet,  and  a  third  until 
it  is  ten  feet  long.  And  these  fasts  are  real 
ones,  no  food  of  any  kind  being  taken  until 
the  prescribed  time,  and  no  such  modifica- 
tions as  fish,  &c.,  being  allowed  to  mitigate 
their  severity.  During  Good  Friday  and 
the  following  Saturday  the  clergv,  and  all 
who  have  any  pretensions  to  religion,  fa.st 
for  forty-eiglit  hours;  and,  altogether,  in- 
cluding" the  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  two 
hundred  and  sixty  days  of  fasting  occur  in 
the  year.  During  the  long  fasts,  such  as 
that  of  Lent,  which  lasts  tor  fifty-five  days, 
the  people  are  allowed  to  eat  on  the  morn- 
ings of  Saturday  and  Sunday,  but,  even  in 
that  case,  meat  in  any  form  is  strictly  for- 
bidden. 

As  soon  as  the  lengthening  shadow  pro- 
claims the  end  of  the  "fast,  the  feasting  sets 
in,  and  during  the  season  of  E]iiphany  the 
whole  night  is  passed  in  a  succession  of  eat- 
ing, drinking,  singing,  dancing,  and  pray- 
ing, each  being  considered  equally  a  reli- 
gious duty.  Then  there  is  a  sort  of  game, 
much  resembling  our  "  hockey,"  at  \vhich 
all  the  people  jilay,  those  from"  one  district 
contending  against  those  of  another,  much 
as  the  Asiiburne  North  and  South  football 
match  used  to  be  conducted  on  Shrove 
Tuesday. 

St.  John's  Day  is  a  great  feast  among  the 


(1.)    THE    ISATTLE  FIELD.     (S^'O  page  r.(i:i.) 


iplplilil^ 


(■>.)    INTEKIOK  OF  AN  ABYSSINIAN  HOUSE.    (Sot  page  6«70 
(662) 


ST.  JOHN'S   DAY  AXD  THE   ANNUAL  WASHING. 


663 


Abyssinians,  and  has  this  pve-emiuence  over 
the"  others,  that  all  the  people  not  only  wash 
themselves,  but  their  clothes  also.  It  is  the 
only  day  when  the  Abyssinians  apply  water 
externally,  with  the  exception  of  washing  the 
hands  liefore  and  after  meals,  and  the  feet 
after  a  journey.  In  fact,  they  consider  that 
washing  the  body  is  a  heathenish  and  alto- 
gether un-Christian  practice,  only  to  be 
practised  by  the  Mohammedans  and  such 
like   contemptible  beings. 

Between  St.  John's  Day  and  the  feast  of 
Mascal,  or  the  Cross,  the  young  people  of 
both  sexes  keep  up  a  continual  skirmishing. 
In  the  evening  they  all  leave  their  houses, 
the  bovs  with  bunches  of  nettles,  and  the 
girls  with  gourds  filled  with  all  kinds  of 
filth.  When  they  meet,  they  launch  volleys 
of  abuse  at  each  other,  the  language  being 
not  the  most  delicate  in  the  world,  and  then 
proceed  to  active  measures,  the  girls  fling- 
ing the  contents  of  the  gourds  at  the  boys, 
while  the  latter  retaliate  by  nettling  the 
girls  about  their  naked  shoulders. 

The  (lay  on  which  the  greatest  ceremo- 
nials take'place  is  the  feast  of  Mascal.  On 
the  eve  of  Mascal  every  one  goes  about  with 
torches,  first  carrying  them  over  the  houses, 
and  peering  into  every  crevice  like  the  .Jews 
looking  for  leaven,  and  then  .sallying  into 
the  air.  The  play  which  ensues  mostly 
turns  into  a  fight,  which  reminded  Mr.  Par- 
kyns  of  the  to'wn  and  gown  rows  at  colle,Q;e, 
and  which  begin  in  the  same  way,  i.  e.  with 
the  mischievous  little  boys.  These  begin  at 
first  to  abuse  each  other,  and  then  to  fight. 
Next,  a  man  sees  his  son  getting  rather 
roughly  handled,  drags  him  out  of  the  fray, 
and  pommels  his  antagonist.  The  father  of 
the  latter  comes  to  the  rescue  of  his  son,  the 
friends  of  each  party  join  in  the  struggle, 
and  a  general  fight  takes  place.  Mostly 
these  contests  are  harmless,  but,  if  the  com- 
batants have  been  indulging  too  freely  in 
drink,  they  are  apt  to  resort  to  their  weap- 
ons, and  to  inflict  fatal  injuries. 

During  the  night  great  fires  of  wood  are 
built  by  the  chiefs  on  the  highest  hills  near 
the  towns,  and  set  on  fire  before  daybreak. 
Oxen  and  sheep  are  then  led  three  times 
round  the  fires,  slaughtered,  and  left  to  be 
eaten  by  the  birds  and  beasts  of  prey.  This 
is  distinctly  a  heathen  custom,  both  the 
position  of  the  altar  and  the  mode  of  sacri- 
fice designating  clearly  the  fire-worshipper. 
When,  therefore,  the  people  awake  in  the 
morning  after  the  fatigue  and  dissipation  of 
the  night,  they  find  the  whole  country 
Uluminated  with  these  hill-fires. 

They  then  go  to  their  several  chiefs,  and 
all  the  soldiers  boast  before  him  of  their 
prowess,  some  describing  the  feats  which 
they  have  done  before  the  enemy,  and 
others  prophesying  the  feats  that  they  in- 
tend to  do  when  they  happen  to  meet  an 
enemy.  Gifts  are  mostly  presented  at  this 
time,  and  feasting  goes  on  as  usual;  every 


chief,  however  petty,  slaughtering  as  many 
cows  as  he  can  afford,  and  almost  every 
householder  killing  at  least  one  cow. 

The  churches  of  Abyssinia  are  not  in  the 
least  like  those  edifices  with  which  we  gen- 
erally associate  the  name  of  church,  being 
smart,  low,  flat-roofed,  and,  indeed,  very 
much  like  the  old  Jewish  tabernacle  trans- 
formed into  a  permanent  building.  Some 
of  the  more  modern  churches  are  oblong  or 
square,  but  the  real  ancient  Abyssinian  build- 
ings are  circular,  and  exactly  resemlile  the 
ordinary  houses,  except  that  they  are  rather 
larger.  They  are  divided  into  three  com- 
partments by  concentric  walls.  The  space 
between  the  first  and  second  wall  is  that  in 
which  the  laity  stand,  the  priests  alone  hav- 
ing the  privilege  of  entering  the  holy  place 
within  the  second  wall. 

In  the  very  centre  is  a  small  compartment, 
sometimes  square  and  sometimes  circular. 
This  is  the  Most  Holy  Place,  and  contains 
the  ark,  which  is  venerated  almost  as  much 
by  the  Abyssinians  as  the  ancient  ark  was 
reverenced  by  the  Jews.  The  ark  is  merely 
a  wooden  box,  in  many  churches  being  of 
extreme  antiquity,  and  within  it  is  placed 
the  Decalogue.  Over  the  ark  is  a  canopy  of 
silk  or  chintz,  and  around  it  are  a  vast 
number  of  silken  and  cotton  rags.  They 
even  fixncy  that  the  original  ark  of  the  Jews 
is  deposited  within  a  rock-shrine  in  Abyssi- 
nia. 

The  Abyssinians  also  follow  the  old  Jew- 
ish custom  of  taking  their  sacred  shrine  into 
battle. 

In  an  illustration  on  page  062,  whicli  rep- 
resents a  battle  between"  the  Abyssinians 
and  Gallas,  is  seen  the  king,  shaded  with  his 
umbrellas,  giving  orders  to^  a  mounted  chief, 
whose  ornamented  shield  and  silver  coronal 
denote  his  rank.  In  the  distance  may  be 
seen  villages  on  fire,  while  on  the  right  an 
attack  is  being  made  on  one  of  the  lofty 
strongholds  in  which  the  peojile  love  to  en- 
trench themselves.  Several  dead  Gallas  are 
seen  in  the  foreground,  and  in  front  of  the 
king  are  some  of  the  fallen  prisoners  beg- 
ging for  mercy.  In  the  right-hand  corner  of 
the  illustration  is  seen  a  conical  object  on  the 
back  of  a  mule.  This  is  one  of  their  shrines, 
which  accompanies  them  as  the  ark  used  to 
accompany  the  Israelites  to  battle.  The 
shrine  mostly  contains  either  a  Bible  or  the 
relics  of  some  favorite  s.aint,  and  the  cover- 
ing of  the  mule  is  always  of  scarlet  cloth. 
Two  priests,  with  their  white  robes  and  tur- 
bans, are  seen  guarding  the  mule. 

Paintings  of' the  rudest  possible  descrip- 
tion decorate  the  walls  of  the  church,  and 
are  looked  upon  with  the  greatest  awe, 
though  thev  are  no  better  in  execution  than 
the  handiwork  of  a  child  of  six.  Their  sub- 
jects are  generally  the  Crucifixion  and  con- 
ventional portraits  of  .saints,  St.  Goorgo 
being,  perhaps,  the  greatest  favorite,  and 
having  the  most  numerous  representations. 


6G4 


AJ3YSSINIA. 


The  priesthood  are,  as  maj-  be  imagined, 
no  very  guod  examples  either  of  [liety  or 
letters.  Some  of  tlieni,  but  by  no  means  all. 
can  read;  and  even  of  those  who  do  posse.ss 
this  accomplishment,  very  few  trouble  them- 
selves to  understand  what  they  read,  but 
gabble  the  words  in  parrot  fashion,  with- 
out producing  the  least  imjiressiou  ou  the 
brain. 

Such  being  the  education  of  the  teachers, 
that  of  the  taught  may  be  inferred;  in  fact, 
no  Abyssinian  layman  can  read.  The  late 
King  Theodore  was  a  brilliant  exception  to 
this  general  rule;  but  then  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  he  had  passed  several  years 
in  a  monastery,  and  had  partaken  of  the 
same  educational  privileges  as  those  who 
were  intended  for  the  priesthood.  Conse- 
quently, the  Bible  is  a  sealed  book  to  all  the 
laity  and  to  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
priests,  and  the  lives  of  the  saints,  and  the 
various  written  charms  which  they  jiur- 
chase  so  freel}%  are  by  the  Abyssinians  val- 
ued far  above  the  sacred  volume  itself. 

As  moreover  the  scribes,  wlio  are  the  most 
educated  men  in  the  country,  gain  their  liv- 
ing by  writing  copies  of  the  Bible,  of  the 
lives  of  the  saints,  and  by  writing  charms,  it 
is  their  interest  to  keep  the  peojile  in  igno- 
rance, even  though  the  laity  were  to  mani- 
fest any  desire  to  think  for  themselves.  As, 
however,  thinking  is  tar  too  troublesome  a 
process  for  them,  they  very  contentedly 
leave  all  their  religious  matters  in  the  hands 
of  their  clergy.  Each  man  to  his  own  busi- 
ness, say  they  —  the  warriors  to  light,  the 
priests  to  pray. 

As  for  these  lives  of  the  saints,  they  are  a 
collection  of  the  most  marvellous  tales,  often 
ludicrous  and  puerile,  mostly  blasphemous 
according  to  our  ideas  on  the  subject,  but 
sometimes  highly'  poetic  and  even  touching 
the  sublime.  There  is  one  tale  of  St.  Gabro 
Memfus  Kouddos,  i.  e.  Slave  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  contrives  to  comprise  in  itself 
all  these  elements.  He  was  born  a  saint, 
stood  u]i  and  repeated  the  tlireefold  invoca- 
tion three  days  alter  his  birth,  and  -ivas  so 
very  holy  that  for  his  entire  life  he  took  no 
nourishment  of  any  kind.  Once  he  fell  over 
a  precipice  three  hundred  feet  deep,  and 
when  the  angels  spread  their  wings  under 
him  he  declined  their  assistance,  giving  his 
reasons  at  such  length  that  the  fall  must 
have  been  a  very  slow  one.  The  ap))arently 
blasphemous  portions  of  his  life  I  omit,  and 
proceed  to  the  end  of  it. 

He  uTiuld  go  on  living  for  such  an  uncon- 
scionable time  that  at  last  the  angel  of  death 
was  sent  personally  to  fetch  him.  The 
saint,  however,  declined  the  invitation,  and 
logically  argued  that,  as  he  had  neither  eaten 
nor  drunk,  his  body  did  not  belong  to  earth, 
therefore  could  not  be  restored  to  earth,  and 
that,  on  the  whole,  any  change  must  be  for 
the  worse.  All  the  previous  saints  came 
and  tried  to   persuade  him,  and   at  last  he 


found  himself  obliged  to  die.  But  then 
there  was  a  great  controversy  as  to  the  des- 
tination of  his  bod}-.  Air,  of  course,  would 
not  take  it;  and  as  the  saint  had  never  eaten 
nor  drunk  nor  used  a  fire,  neither  of  the  ele- 
ments could  receive  his  body;  and  so  he  was 
again  restored  to  it,  and,  still  living,  was 
taken  up  to  heaven.  Any  of  oiu-  leaders 
who  have  perused  the  Talmud  will  remem- 
ber a  similar  legend,  which  is  doubtless  the 
origin  of  the  above-mentioned  story. 

This  being  a  sample,  and  a  very  mild  one, 
of  the  religion  of  the  Abyssinians,  we  may 
easily  imagine  what  must  be  their  supersti- 
tions. Tliese  are  of  the  genuine  African 
cast,  and  have  survived  with  undiminished 
strength  in  spite  of  the  system  of  Christian- 
ity which  has  so  long  existed  in  Altyssinia. 

The  people  fully  believe  in  the  power  of 
transformation.  There  is  a  sort  of  demon, 
called  Bouda,  who  possesses  this  power, 
and  is  supposed  to  be  the  special  demon  of 
blacksmiths.  Now  in  Abyssinia  the  trade 
of  blacksmith  is  hereditary,  and  is  consid- 
ered a  disgraceful  one,  all  smiths  being 
looked  upon  as  sorcerers.  This  idea  has 
evidently  taken  its  rise  from  times  of  groat 
antiquity,  when  the  power  of  .smelting,  tbrg- 
ing,  and  welding  iron  was  thought  to  be 
too  wonderful  to  be  possessed  by  ordinary 
human  beings. 

Mr.  Parkyns  narrates  several  instances  of 
this  belief  in  transformation.  He  knew,  for 
example,  of  two  little  girls  who  had  been  in 
the  forest  to  gather  wood,  and  came  liack  in 
a  great  fright.  They  had  met  a  blacksmith, 
aiid  had  Ijegun  to  jeer  at  him  for  a  -wizard, 
asking  him  as  a  proof  of  his  power  to  turn 
himself  into  a  hyrena.  The  man  took  them 
at  their  word,  untied  a  corner  of  his  robe, 
took  out  some  ashes,  and  sprinkled  them 
over  his  shoulders.  Immediately  his  head 
changed  into  that  of  a  hyaena,  hair  sjiread 
itself  over  his  body,  and,  before  they  could 
recover  from  the  terror  which  paralyzed 
them,  the  now  complete  hyrena  grinned  and 
laughed  at  them,  and  then  trotted  into  the 
neighboring  bush. 

Another'story  curiously  resembles  some 
of  the  transforiiiation  tales  of  the  Arabian 
Nights.  Two  Bouda  brothers  used  to  make 
a  good  living  by  their  powers  of  transforma- 
tion. One  of  'them  would  change  himself 
into  a  horse,  mule,  or  some  other  valuable 
animal,  and  was  then  sold  by  his  brother. 
In  the  middle  of  the  night  the  transformed 
man  resumed  his  human  shape,  and  walked 
home  to  join  his  brother.  This  went  on  tor 
some  time,  but  at  last  ho  one  would  buy 
from  them,  as  they  kept  no  stock.  No  one 
knew  where  they  obtained  the  animals 
which  they  sold,  and,  moreover,  no  one 
liked  to  biiy  animals  which  had  a  knack  of 
ahv.avs  escaping  before  twenty-four  hours. 
At  last  one  man  determined  to  solve  the 
mystery.  One  of  the  Bouda  brothers  oflercd 
for  sale  a  peculiarly-  handsome  horse.     The 


SUPEKSTITKJUS  LEGENDS. 


665 


man  bought  it,  and  as  soon  as  he  got  the 
animal  out  of  tlie  town,  he  drove  his  lance 
through  its  heart,  and  killed  it  on  the  spot. 

He  then  threw  himself  in  the  way  of  the 
seller,  and  uttered  loud  lamentatiiins  over 
his  hasty  temper,  which  had  caused  him  to 
kill  so  splendid  an  animal.  The  Bouda  con- 
trived to  hide  his  emotion  until  he  reached 
his  home,  and  then  began  the  usual  lamen- 
tations for  the  dead,  rubbing  the  skin  off  his 
temples  and  wailing  loudly.  On  being  que.s- 
tioned,  he  said  that  he  was  mourning  the 
death  of  his  brother,  who  had  l)een  robbed 
and  murdered  by  the  Gallas,  from  whom  he 
had  been  buying  horses  for  sale. 

It  seems  also  that  the  Boudas  can  trans- 
form other  persons  into  animals,  even  with- 
out their  consent.  A  woman  had  died,  and, 
immediately  after  the  funeral,  a  blacksmith 
came  to  the  priest  in  charge  of  the  ceme- 
tery, and  bribed  him  to  give  up  the  newly- 
buried  corpse.  This  was  done,  and  the 
neighbors  all  remarked  that  the  blacksmith 
had  purchased  a  remarkably  fine  donkey,  on 
which  he  always  rode.  There  was  this 
peculiarity  about  the  animal,  that  it  always 
wanted  to  run  into  the  house  where  the 
dead  woman  had  lived,  and  whenever  *lt 
met  any  of  the  young  people  brayed  loudly, 
and  ran  toward  them. 

The  eldest  son  being  a  very  intelligent 
young  man,  suddenly  declared  that  the  ani- 
mal in  question  must  be  his  mother,  and 
insisted  on  bringing  the  ass  and  its  rider 
into  the  hut.  Here  the  animal  seemed 
quite  at  home:  and  the  smith  was  charged 
with  being  a  Bouda,  and  with  changing  the 
bodv  of  the  woman  into  an  ass.  At  first  he 
repudiated  the  assertion,  but  at  last,  by  dint 
of  mingled  threats  and  promises,  he  con- 
fessed that  he  had  indeed  wrought  the 
change.  The  woman  was  not  dead,  but  was 
only  in  a  trance  into  which  he  had  thrown 
her,  and  could  be  restored  to  her  own  form 
again.  Being  promised  forgiveness,  he  be- 
gan his  incantations,  when  the  ass  gradually 
threw  off  the  furry  coat  and  assmned  the 
human  form.  The  transformation  was 
nearly  complete,  when  one  of  the  sons,  in 
a  sudden  access  of  fury,  drove  his  spear 
through  the  blacksmith  and  stopped  ■  the 
transformation,  so  that  ever  afterward  the 
■woman  had  one  human  foot  and  one  ass's 
hoof.  Many  persons  told  Mr.  Parkyns  that 
they  had  actually  seen  the  hoof  in  question. 

The  Bouda  exhibits  his  power  in  various 
modes,  one  of  which  is  a  kind  of  possession, 
in  which  the  afflicted  person  is,  as  it  were, 
semi-demoniacal,  and  performs  feats  which 
are  utterly  impossible  to  the  human  body 
in  the  normal  condition.  Men  and  women 
are  alike  seized  with  the  Bouda  madness, 
although  the  females  are  naturally  more  lia- 
ble to  its  attacks  than  the  men,  generally 
accounting  for  the  fact  by  stating  that  they 
have  rejected  the  love  of  some  Bouda  or 
other.  The  chief  object  of  the  Bouda  seems 
33 


to  be  to  lay  a  spell  on  the  afflicted  persons 
which  will  cause  them  to  come  at  his  call. 
Consequently,  he  assumes  the  shape  of  the 
hyaiua,  calls  the  victims  at  night,  and,  if  they 
are  not  bound  and  carefully  watched,  they 
are  forced  to  go  to  the  hya;na,  and  are  then 
devoured. 

A  remarkable  example  of  this  Bouda  ill- 
ness was  watched  by  Mr.  Parkyns  with  fhe 
greatest  care.  The  afflicted  person  was  a 
servant  woman  of  Rohabaita.  The  com- 
plaint began  by  languor  and  headache,  and 
then  changed  into  an  ordinary  tit  of  hys- 
terics, together  with  great  pain. 

"  It  was  at  this  stage  that  the  other  ser- 
vants began  to  suspect  that  she  was  under 
the  influence  of  the  Bouda.  In  a  short  time 
she  became  quiet,  and  by  degrees  sank  into 
a  state  of  lethargy,  approaching  to  insensi- 
bility. Either  from  excellent  acting  and 
great  fortitude,  or  from  real  want  of  feeling, 
the  various  experiments  which  were  made 
on  her  seemed  to  have  no  more  effect  than 
they  would  have  had  on  a  mesmeric  som- 
nambulist. We  pinched  her  repeatedly; 
but,  pinch  as  hard  as  we  could,  she  never 
moved  a  muscle  of  her  face,  nor  did  she 
otherwise  express  the  least  sensation.  I 
held  a  bottle  of  strong  sal-volatile  under  her 
nose,  and  stopped  her  mouth ;  and  this  hav- 
ing no  effect,  I  steeped  some  rag  in  it,  and 
placed  it  in  her  nostrils;  but,  although  I 
would  wager  any  amount  that  she  had  ui^ver 
either  seen,  smelt,  or  heard  of  such  a  prep- 
aration as  liquid  ammonia,  it  had  no  more 
effect  on  her  than  rosewater. 

"  She  held  her  thumbs  tightly  inside  her 
hands,  as  if  to  prevent  their  being  seen. 
On  my  observing  this  to  a  bystander,  he 
told  me  that  the  thumbs  were  the  Bouda's 
particular  perquisite,  and  that  he  would 
allow  no  person  to  take  them.  Conse- 
quently, several  persons  tried  to  open  her 
hands  and  get  at  them;  but  she  resisted 
with  what  appeared  to  me  wonderful 
strength  for  a  girl,  and  bit  their  fingers  fill 
in  more  than  one  instance  she  drew  blood. 
I,  among  others,  made  the  attempt,  and, 
though  I  got  a  bite  or  two  for  my  pains,  yet 
either  the  devil  had  great  rps]iect  for  me  as 
an  Englishman  and  a  good  Christian,  or  she 
liad  for  me  as  her  master,  for  the  luting  was 
all  a  sham,  and  struck  me  as  more  like  kiss- 
ing than  anything  else,  compared  with  the 
fearful  wounds  she  had  inflicted  on  the  rest 
of  the  party. 

"  I  had  a  string  of  ornamental  amulets 
which  I  usually  wore,  having  on  it  many 
charms  for  various  maladies;  but  I  was  per- 
fectly aware  that  none  for  the  Bouda  was 
among  them.  Still,  hoping  thereby  to  ex- 
pose the  cheat,  I  asserted  that  there  was  a 
very  celebrated  one,  and  laid  the  whole 
string  on  her  face,  expecting  tli;it  she  would 
pretend  to  feel  the  effects,  and  act  accord- 
ingly; but,  to  my  surprise  and  disappoint- 
ment, she  remained  quite  motionless.    Sev- 


666 


ABYSSINIA. 


eral  persons  had  been  round  the  village  to 
look  lor  some  talisman,  but  only  one  was 
found.  On  its  being  applied  to  her  mouth 
she  lor  an  instant  sprang  up,  bit  at  it,  and 
tore  it,  but  then  laughed,  and  said  it  was 
weak,  and  would  not  vex  him. 

"  I  here  use  the  masculine  gender, 
because,  although  the  patient  was  a  woman, 
the  Bouda  is  supposed  to  speak  through  her 
medium;  and,  of  whatever  sex  they  be,  the 
sulferers,  or  rather  the  spirits,  when  speak- 
ing of  themselves,  invariably  use  thai  gen- 
der. I  deluged  her  with  bucketfuls  of 
water,  but  could  not  either  elicit  from  her  a 
start  or  a  pant,  an  etlect  usually  produced 
by  water  suddenly  dashed  over  a  person. 

"  At  night  she  could  not  sleep,  but  be- 
came more  restless,  and  spoke  several  times. 
She  even  remarked,  in  her  natural  tone  of 
voice,  that  she  was  not  ill.  nor  attacked  by 
the  Bouda,  but  merely  wished  to  return  to 
Adoun.  She  said  this  so  naturally  that  I 
was  completely  taken  ofl'  my  guard,  and  told 
her  that  of  course  she  might  go,  but  that 
she  must  wait  till  the  morrow.  The  other 
people  smiled,  and  whispered  to  me  that 
it  was  only  a  device  of  the  Bouda  to  get 
her  out  into  the  forest,  .and  then  devour 
her." 

By  one  of  those  curious  coincidences  that 
sometimes  occur,  a  hysena,  who,  according 
to  the  popular  ideas  was  the  transformed 
Bouda,  was  heard  hooting  and  laughing 
close  to  the  village  for  the  whole  of  the 
night,  that  being  the  only  time  that  Mr. 
Parkyns  had  known  the  animal  do  so  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  his  stay  at  Rohabaila.  In 
consequence  of  the  presence  of  the  animal, 
the  J'oung  woman  was  tightly  bound,  and 
sentinels  were  placed  witliin  and  without 
the  door  of  the  hut.  Whenever  the  hytena 
called,  the  woman  moaned  and  started  up, 
and  once,  after  she  had  been  quiet  for  nearly 
an  hour,  and  the  inner  sentinel  had  dropped 
off  to  sleep,  the  hyaena  came  close  to  the  hut. 
and  the  woman  rose,  without  her  bonds, 
crejit  on  all-fours  to  the  door,  and  had 
partly  succeeded  in  opening  it  when  one  of 
the  sentinels  made  a  noise,  and  she  went 
back  to  her  place.  In  this  way  .she  was  kept 
under  the  strictest  watch  for  three  days, 
during  which  time  she  would  neither  eat 
nor  drink,  rejecting  even  a  small  piece  of 
bread  when  she  had  swallowed  it,  and  on  the 
third  evening  she  mended  and  gradually 
recovered. 

If  this  were  imposture,  as  Mr.  Parkyns 
remarks,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  motive.  She 
had  scarcely  any  work  to  do,  and  the  won- 
der is  what  could  make  her  voluntarily  pre- 
fer three  days  confinement,  with  pinches, 
cords,  cold  water,  and  other  ill-treatment  — 
not  to  mention  that  severest  of  all  punish- 
ments to  an  Abyssinian,  total  abstinence 
from  food  and  drink. 

According  to  the  people,  this  enchantment 
is  caused  by  a  Bouda,  who  has  learned  the 


baptismal  name  of  the  affected  person.  This 
is  always  concealed,  and  the  Abyssiiiians  are 
only  known  by  a  sort  of  nickname,  which 
is  given  by  the  mother  as  tliey  leave  the 
church.  When,  however,  a  Bouda  learns 
the  baptismal  name,  he  takes  a  straw,  bends 
it  into  a  circle,  mutters  charms  over  it,  and 
puts  it  under  a  stone.  As  the  straw  is  bent, 
the  illness  begins;  and  should  it  break,  the 
victim  dies. 

Charms  of  certain  kinds  have  a  potent 
effect  on  the  Bouda.  On  one  occasion  a 
poor  weakly  girl  was  lying  apparently  sense- 
less, on  whom  Mr.  Parkyns  had  uselessly 
tried,  by  the  application  of  false  charms,  to 
produce  an  effect.  Suddenly  the  woman 
flew  into  violent  convulsions,  screaming 
and  struggling  so  that  four  strong  men 
could  scarcely  hold  her.  Just  then  an  Am- 
hara  soldier  entered  the  outer  court,  and 
she  cried  out,  "  Let  me  alone  and  I  will 
sijcak."  This  man,  it  appeared,  had  heard 
that  a  patient  was  ill  of  the  Bouda,  and 
had  brought  with  him  a  charm  of  known 
power. 

After  much  threatening  with  the  amulet, 
accompanied  b_v  fierce  and  frantic  rage  on 
i\lL'  part  of  the  possessed,  the  Bouda  prom- 
ised to  come  out  if  food  were  given  him.  It 
is  remarkable  by  the  way,  that  the  Bouda  is 
always  of  the  male  sex,  and,  whether  the 
possessed  be  a  man  or  a  woman,  always 
uses  the  masculine  gender  in  language.  The 
rest  must  be  told  in  Mr.  Parkyns'  own 
words  :  — 

"  A  basin  was  fetched,  in  which  was  put  a 
quantity  of  any  filth  that  could  be  found 
(of  fowls,  dogs,  &c.),  and  mixed  up  with  a 
little  water  and  some  ashes.  I  took  the 
basin  myself,  and  hid  it  where  I  was  posi- 
tive that  she  could  not  see  me  place  it,  and 
covered  it  up  with  some  loose  stones  which 
were  heajied  in  the  corner.  The  Bouda 
was  then  told  that  his  supper  was  prepared, 
and  the  woman  rose  and  walked  down  the 
court  on  all-fours,  smelling  like  a  dog  on 
either  side,  until,  passing  into  the  yard 
where  the  basin  was,  she  went  straight  up 
to  it,  and.  ]nilling  it  out  from  the  place  where 
it  was  hidden,  devoured  its  abominable  con- 
tents with  the  utmost  greediness.  The 
Bouda  was  then  supposed  to  leave  her,  and 
.she  fell  to  the  ground,  as  if  fainting.  From 
this  state  she  recovered  her  health  in  a  few 
davs." 

A  somewhat  similar  sort  of  possession  is 
called  Tigritiya.  In  this  case  the  patient 
foils  intoa  sort  of  wasting  away,  without 
apparent  cause,  and  at  last  sits  for  several 
days  together  without  eating  or  speaking. 
Music  is  the  only  means  of  curing  a  patient, 
who  will  then  "spring  from  the  couch  on 
which  he  has  lain^  apparently  without 
strength  to  sit  up,  and  will  dance  with  the 
most  violent  contortions,  keejiing  up  the 
exercise  with  a  vigor  and  pertinacity  that 
would   tire   the   strongest   man    in    perfect 


ABYSSIXIAN  AKCHITECTURE. 


667 


health.  This  is  a  sign  that  tlie  demon  may 
be  driven  nut;  and  when  tlie  music  ceases, 
the  patient  falls  to  the  ground,  and  then 
begins  to  speak  (always  in  the  person  of  the 
demon),  demanding  all  kinds  of  ornaments 
—  sometimes,  even  if  a  poor  woman,  asking 
for  the  velvet  robes  and  silver-mounted  weap- 
ons of  a  chief.  These  cannot  be  obtained 
without  much  expense,  but  at  last  are  pro- 
cured, when  the  dancing  is  resumed,  and, 
after  several  accessions  of  the  fit,  the  patient 
takes  off  all  the  borrowed  ornaments,  and 
runs  at  full  speed  until  the  demon  suddenly 
departs,  and  the  possessed  person  loses  all 
the  fictitious  strength  that  had  animated 
him,  and  falls  to  the  earth  in  a  swoon.  The 
demon  takes  his  leave,  and  is  deterred  from 
returning  by  the  firing  of  guns,  and  a  guard 
with  drawn  swords  that  surrounds  the  pros- 
trate form  of  the  moaning  patient. 

The  architecture  of  the  Abyssinians  is 
simple,  but  characteristic.  Houses  difter  in 
form  according  to  the  means  of  their  owner, 
those  of  the  commonalty  being  merely  cir- 
cular huts,  while  those  of  the  wealthy  are 
square  and  flat-roofed. 

A  rich  man's  house  is  rather  a  compli- 
cated piece  of  architecture.  It  stands  in  an 
enclosure,  like  an  Indian  comp<nuid,  and  the 
principal  gateway  is  covered  and  flanked  on 
either  side  by  a  porter's  lodge,  in  which 
sleep  the  actual  gate-keeper  and  other  ser- 
vants. Within  the  enclosure  are  generally  a 
few  slight  huts  of  straw,  for  the  reception  of 
strangers  or  servants.  About  one-fourth  of 
the  compound  is  divided  by  a  wall,  and  con- 
tains the  kitchen,  store-hoiises,  &c.  At  the 
end  opposite  the  gateway  is  the  Adderash, 
or  reception  room,  which  is  square  or  ol)- 
long,  and  often  pf  considerable  size.  The 
roof  is  flat;  but  when  the  room  is  too  large 
to  be  crossed  by  beams,  only  the  angles  are 
roofed  in  the  ordinary  way,  so  as  to  leave  an 
octagonal  opening  in  the  centre.  A  wooden 
wall  about  four  or  five  feet  high  is  next  built 
round  the  opening,  and  there  is  then  no  diffi- 
culty in  roofing  it. 

The  Adderash  is  divided  into  three  rooms, 
the  largest  of  which  is  the  reception  room. 
At  the  end  is  the  stable,  the  horses  and 
mules  passing  into  it  through  the  reception 
room.  The  "medeb,''  or  bed-room  (if  it 
may  be  so  called),  is  merely  a  strip  of  the 
apartment,  about  eight  feet  wide,  separated 
by  a  partition  wall;  and  if  the  owner  of  the 
house  should  be  a  married  man,  the  entrance 
of  the  medeb  is  closed  by  a  curtain.  This 
apartment  takes  its  name'  from  the  medeb, 
or  divan,  which  is  simply  a  part  of  the  floor 
raised  a  foot  or  so  above  the  rest,  about  five 
feet  in  width,  and  extending  for  the  whole 
length  of  the  room.  Opposite  the  medeb  is 
a  small  alcove,  in  which  is  placed  the  couch 
of  the  master  of  the  house.  This  couch,  or 
"  arat,"  is  a  stout  wooden  framework,  across 
which  is  stretched  a  network  of  raw  hide 


thongs,  an  inch  or  two  in  width.  These 
contract  when  drying,  and  tbrm  a  tolerably 
elastic  bed. 

In  warm  weather  the  arat  is  placed  out  of 
doors,  and  is  only  covered  with  a  slight  cloth 
roof.  One  of  these  outdoor  beds  may  be 
seen  in  the  illustration  No.  2,  on  page  662. 

The  floor  of  the  reception  room  is  covered 
with  grass,  just  as  in  the  olden  times  even 
palace  floors  were  strewn  with  rushes. 
Whenever  a  visitor  enters,  fresh  grass  is 
strewn  to  make  a  clean  seat  for  him,  but  no 
one  thinks  of  removing  that  which  already 
has  become  discolored.  Consequenth',  what 
with  the  continual  washing  of  hands  by 
pouring  water  over  them,  the  spilling  of 
beer  and  mead,  and  the  mud  that  clings  to 
the  horses'  feet  as  they  ])ass  to  and  from 
their  stable,  the  flooring  of  the  house  be- 
comes nothing  more  or  less  than  a  ferment- 
ing manure-heap.  At  last,  when  even  the 
Abyssinian  nose  can  endure  it  no  longer, 
the  room  is  cleared,  and  left  empty  for  a  day 
or  two  in  order  to  rid  it  of  the  intolerable 
odor  which  still  clings  to  it. 

Round  the  walls  of  the  reception  I'oom  are 
a  number  of  cows'  horns  by  way  of  pegs,  ou 
which  are  hung  the  spears,  shields,  horse- 
accoutrements,  drinking-horns,  and  other 
projierty  of  the   owner. 

The  store-houses  contain  huge  earthen- 
ware jugs,  the  mouths  of  which  nearly  reach 
the  roof  of  the  house,  though  their  bases  are 
sunk  a  yard  or  so  in  the  ground.  The 
Abyssinians  value  these  jars  highly,  inas- 
much as  they  are  evidences  of  wealth. 

As  to  the  other  two  provinces,  Shoa  and 
Amhara,  there  is  so  little  dift'erence  between 
them  and  Tigre  that  theri^  is  no  need  to 
occupy  space  with  them.  Practically  they 
form  one  kingdom,  just  as  England,  Wales, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  there  is  among 
them  a  very  strong  provincial  jealousy,  anal- 
ogous to  tliat  which  still  prevails  'among 
the  uneducated  members  of  our  own  United 
Kingdom.  Even  Mr.  Parkyns  could  not 
resist  the  feeling,  and  was  a  strenuous  ad- 
mirer of  Tigre,  considering  the  Amharas  as 
ferocious  and  overbearing  boors,  and  despis- 
ing the  Shoas  altogether. 

The  province  of  Shoa,  however,  is  by  no 
means  a  despicable  one,  as  may  be  seen'from 
the  following  description  of  the  great  annual 
feast  which  is  given  by  the  king  or  prince  at 
Easter.  This  hospitable  banquet  is  on  a 
truly  royal  scale,  and  is  continued  for  a 
whole  week,  so  that  every  free  man  who  can 
attenil  the  capital  may  have  an  opportunity 
of  taking  part  in  it. 

The  banqueting  room  is  a  very  large  and 
lofty  chamber,  having  on  one  side  a  cur- 
tained alcove,  in  which  the  prince  sits. 
Fresh  grass  is  daily  strewn  on  the  floor,  and 
round  the  room  are  set  the  tables,  which  are 
low,  circular  pieces  'of  wickerwork.  It  is 
only  in  such  houses  that  the  tables  are  uni- 


C68 


ABYSSINIA. 


form  in  shape  or  size.  Behind  the  tables 
and  ranged  along  tlie  wall  are  the  body 
guards  of  the  prinee,  anned  with  shields  and 
a  sword  nuieh  resembling  the  old  Roman 
■weapon.  Troops  of  servants  are  in  waiting, 
and  before  the  banquet  begins  they  bring  in 
the  bread  in  piles,  and  place  it  on  the  tables. 
Sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  loaves  will  be 
placed  for  each  guest,  the  finest  bread  being 
always  at  the  top  and  the  coarsest  below. 

Tlie  object  of  this  arrangement  is  to  suit 
the  different  ranks  of  the  j)arty.  Those  of 
highest  rank  come  first,  and  eat  the  finest, 
using  the  second-class  bread  as  table-nap- 
kins. When  they  have  finished,  the  guests 
of  the  next  rank  come  in,  eat  the  second- 
class  bread,  and  wipe  their  fingers  on  the 
third-class  bread,  anil  so  on  until  the  whole 
is  consumed. 

Round  the  room  are  hung  rows  of  shields, 
lion  skins,  and  mantles  of  honor  to  be  con- 
ferred by  the  prince  on  his  subjects,  while 
above  them  is  a  wide  carpet,  on  which  are 
depicted  lions,  camels,  horses,  and  other  ani- 
mals. 

All  being  ready,  the  guests  assemble,  and 
the  prince  takes  his  seat  in  the  alcove, 
where  he  gives  audience.  Professional  mu- 
sicians enliven  the  scene  with  their  instru- 
ments, and  professional  dancers  aid  their 
efforts.  In  the  mean  time,  the  guests  are 
eating  as  fast  as  they  can,  the  servants  car- 
rying meat  from  one  guest  to  the  other,  and 
making  up  neat  little  sausages  of  meat, 
bread,  an(l  pepper,  which  they  put  adroitly 
into  the  mouths  of  the  guests.  As  in  more 
civilized  lands,  it  is  always  better  to  propiti- 
ate the  servants,  because  they  can  give  the 
best  parts  of  the  meat  to  those  whom  they 
like,  and  reserve  the  gristle  and  toughest 
parts  for  those  who  displease  them. 

The  politer  guests,  having  by  means  of 
two  or  three  pounds  of  meat,  a  pile  of  bread, 
and  a  gallon  or  so  of  mead,  taken  the  edge 
off  their  own  appetites,  make  up  similarly 
seasoned  balls,  and  put  them  into  their 
neighbors'  mouths.  This  is  done  with  such 
rapidity  that  a  man  who  happens  to  have 
made  himself  agreeable  to  his  right  and  left 
hand  neighbors  is  nearly  choked  by  the 
haste  with  which  etiquette  requires  that  he 
shall  despatch  the  highly-spiced  morsels. 

After  this  preliminary  portion  of  the  feast, 
in  which  cooked  mutton  is  mostly  employed, 
acting  as  a  ]irovocative  to  the  real  banquet 
which  is  to  follow,  the  servants  bring  in  raw 
meat  still  warm  with  life,  and  cut  from  a 
cow  that  has  been  slaughtered  at.  the  door 
while  the  mutton  and  bread  has  been  con- 
sumed. 

The  giver  of  the  feast  sits  in  his  alcove, 
and  below  him  are  the  armed  guards.  The 
guests  sit  at  wiekerwork  tables,  using  their 
curved  swords  with  the  national  adroitness, 
and  servants  wait  on  the  guests  carrying 
great  pieces  of  raw  beef  about.  The  liquids, 
by  the  way,  are  drunk  from  horns,  which  are 


always  served  by  women.  In  the  centre  are 
the  musicians,  ji'laying  the  curious  fiddle  and 
harp  of  Shoa,  and  a  little  further  on  are  iho 
dancers. 

As  to  the  other  tribes  which  are  eifher  in 
or  about  Abyssinia,  a  very  few  words  nuist 
suffice  for  them. 

There  is  one  curious  and  very  wild  tribe, 
known  by  the  name  of  Barea.  They  are 
inborn  marauders,  executing  their  raids 
with  marvellous  rapidity  and  skill.  So 
clever  are  they  at  concealing  themselves, 
that  even  on  an  open  plain,  wliere  there  is 
not  the  least  cover,  they  manage  to  dispose 
of  themselves  in  such  a  way  as  to  deceive 
an  eye  unpractised  in  their  arts. 

Once  Mr.  Parkyns  was  passing  through  a 
district  over  which  one  of  the  bush  fires  had 
swept,  when  ho  was  astonished  Ijy  the  excla- 
mation of  his  guide,  that  Barea  were  in 
sight,  pointing  at  the  same  time  to  a  dead 
tree,  standing  on  an  eminence  at  a  distance 
of  several  hundred  yards,  and  charred  lilack 
by  last  year's  fires.  "All  I  saw  was  a 
charred  stump  of  a  tree,  and  a  few  black- 
ened logs  or  stones  lying  at  its  foot.  The 
hunter  declared  that  neither  Iho  tree  nor 
the  stones  were  there  the  last  time  that  he 
]iassed,  and  that  they  were  simjily  naked 
Barea,  who  had  placed  themselves  in  that 
position  to  observe  us,  having  no  doubt 
seen  us  for  some  time,  and  prepared  them- 
selves. 

"  I  could  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that 
they  should  remain  so  motionless,  and  de- 
termined to  explore  a  little.  The  rest  of 
the  jiarty  advised  me  to  continue  quietly  in 
the  road,  as  it  was  possible  that,  from  our 
liresenting  a  rather  formidable  appearance, 
we  should  pass  unmolested;  but,  so  confi- 
dent was  I  of  his  misfake,-that,  telling  the 
rest  to  go  on  slowly  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened, I  drojiped  into  the  long  grass  and 
stalked  toward  them.  A  shot  from  my  rifle, 
at  a  long  distance  (I  did  not  venture  too 
close),  acted  on  the  tree  and  stones  as 
jn-omptly  as  the  fiddle  of  Orpheus,  but  with 
the  contrary  effect,  for  the  tree  disappeared, 
and  the  stones  and  logs,  instead  of  running 
after  me,  ran  in  the  opposite  direction. 

"  I  was  never  more  surjirised  in  my  life, 
for  so  complete  was  the  deception,  that  even 
up  to  the  time  I  fired  I  could  have  declared 
the  objects  before  me  were  vegetable  or 
mineral  —  anything  but  animal.  The  fact 
was  that  the  cunning  rascals  who  repre- 
sented stones  were  lying  flat,  with  their  lit- 
tle round  shields  placed  before  them  as 
screens." 

Some  of  the  wild  tribes  of  Indt«  act  in  the 
same  manner.  There  is  a  well-known  story 
of  an  officer  on  the  march,  who  was  so  com- 
pletely deceived  that  he  stood  close  by  one 
of  these  metamorjihosed  men  for  some  time, 
and  at  last  hung  his  helmet  on  a  projecting 
bough.      This  "was   nothing   more    than    a 


(1.)    XiL'FFALO  DANCE.    (See  iKiye  o;i.) 


(i)    liKlMlUlN    CAMl'.     (S.r  Ir.L'^r  cte.:.; 

(670) 


THE  GALLAS. 


671 


leg  of  the  dark  sava2;o,  who  was  standing 
on  his  liead,  with  liis  limbs  fantastically  dis- 
posed to  represent  the  branches  of  an  old 
tree-stump,  the  illusion  being  heightened 
by  the  spear-shafts,  which  did  duty  for  the 
Sinaller  branches.  This  mark  of  confidence 
Was  too  much  for  the  gravity  of  the  savage, 
who  burst  into  a  shriek  of  laughter,  turned 
iiead-over-heels,  and  disappeared  into  the 
junrjle,  the  helmet  still  attached  to  his  leg. 

These  clever  and  withal  amusing  marau- 
ders are  very  thorns  in  the  side  of  the  Abys- 
sinians,  who  never  know  when  the  Barea 
may  not  be  upon  them.  In  many  respects 
they  resemble  the  warlike  tribes  of  the  Red 
Indians,  though  they  are  certainly  superior 
to  them  in  size  and  strength.  They  will 
follow  a  travelling  party  for  days,  giving  not 
an  indication  of  their  presence,  and  speak- 
ing to  one  another  wholly  by  signs,  of  which 
they  have  an  extensive  vocabulary.  But 
they  will  never  show  themselves  until  the 


time  comes  for  striking  the  long-meditated 
blow,  when  they  will  make  their  attack,  and 
then  vanish  as  mysteriously  as  they  had 
come.  On  one  occasion  nearly  two  hundred 
Barea  came  overnight  to  the  outskirts  of  a 
village,  and  there  lay  in  wait.  In  the  early 
morning,  two  of  the  principal  men  of  the 
village,  one  a  man  who  was  celebrated  for 
his  majestic  and  somewhat  pompous  de- 
meanor, took  a  walk  toward  their  cotton- 
fields,  and  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of 
the  Barea,  who  captured  them,  and  carried 
them  off  to  be  sold  as  slaves  to  the  Ai-abs, 
who  would  probably  sell  them  again  to  the 
Turks. 

When  the  Barea  encamp  round  a  village, 
they  keep  themselves  warm  for  the  night 
by  the  ingenious  plan  of  each  man  digging 
a  hole  in  the  ground,  making  a  small  fire  in 
it,  and  squatting  over  it  enveloped  iu  his 
cloth,  so  as  to  retain  the  heat  and  to  pre- 
vent the  fire  from  being  seen. 


THE   GALLAS. 


SuRROTnsTDiNG  a  Very  considerable  por- 
tion of  Abyssinia  proper  are  various  tribes 
)f  the  fierce  and  warlike  Gallas. 

The  Galla  men  are  a  fine  and  even  hand- 
some race,  extremely  varialile  in  the  hue  of 
their  skin,  as  may  be  supposed  from  the 
V(!ry  large  extent  of  ground  which  is  inhab- 
ited by  their,  tribes.  Moreover,  they  have 
tiiixed  considerably  with  the  Abyssinians 
proper,  and  are  often  employed  as  slaves  by 
them.  Female  Galla  slaves  are  frequently 
kept  in  the  households  of  Abyssinians,  and 
the  consequence  is,  that  a  mixed  progeny 
has  sprung  up  which  partakes  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  both  parents.  This  has  taken 
place  considerably  in  Shoa,  where  the  Galla 
element  is  very  conspicuous  among  the  pop- 
ulation. As  a  rule,  however,  they  are  much 
darker  than  the  Abyssinians,  a  circumstance 
which  has  induced  Mr.  Johnstone  to  derive 
their  name  from  the  word  "  calla,"  or  black. 
Their  language  is  a  dialect  of  the  Amliara 
tongue,  but  varied,  like  their  .skins,  accord- 
ing to  the  precise  locality  of  the  tribe. 

The  features  of  the  Gallas  have  none  of 
the  negro  characteristics,  such  as  the  length 
of  the  skull,  the  contracted  (though  not 
receding)  forehead,  and  the  full  develop- 
ment of  the  lips  and  jaws.  The  hair  resem- 
bles that  of  the  Abyssinians,  and  is  dressed 
in  various  modes.  Sometimes  it  is  formed 
into  long,  narrow  plaits,  hanging  nearly  to 
the  shoulders,  and  in  others  it  is  frizzed  out 
into  tuffs.  The  most  singular  way  of  dress- 
ing the  hair  is  to  collect  it  into  three  divi- 
sions, one  occupying  the  top  of  the  head,  and 
one  crossing  each  temple.  The  divided 
tresses  being  then  combed  and  frizzed  to 
the  greatest  possible  extent,  the  whole  head 


has  a  most  comical  aspect,  and  has  been 
likened  to  the  ace  of  clubs. 

The  young  women  are  bold  and  hand- 
some, but  are  anything  but  good-looking 
when  they  grow  old.  Three  old  women 
who  visited  Mr.  Johnstone,  and  evidently 
acted  as  spies,  were  remarkable  for  their 
ugliness.  They  wore  the  hair  in  the  usual 
multitudinous  plaits,  which  they  had  con- 
nected by  means  of  threads,  so  as  to  form 
them  into  a  continuous  curtain,  and  had 
been  exceedingly  lavish  of  butter.  They 
^vore  a  sort  of  soft  leather  petticoat,  and  had 
on  their  feet  a  simple  sandal  of  ox-hide, 
fastened  to  the  foot  by  a  lap  passing  over 
the  great  toe,  and  a  thong  over  the  instep. 
They  came  ostensibly  to  sell  tobacco  and 
ropes.  The  latter  articles  they  made  even 
while  they  were  bargaining,  a  bundle  of 
hemp  being  fastened  to  their  girdles  in 
front,  and  itlie  ropes,  as  fast  as  they  were 
twisted,  being  coiled  round  tlieir  waists. 

The  Gallas  are  a  warlike  race,  and  far 
more  courageous  than  the  Abyssinians,  who 
are  more  given  to  vaporing  than  fighting. 
When  they  return  home  after  a  victory  theV 
celebrate  a  curious  and  violent  dance,  called 
the  Buffalo  Dance.  A  head  and  the  attached 
skin  of  a  buffalo  is  laid  on  the  ground,  and 
the  men  assemble  round  it  armed  as  if  for 
war,  with  their  spears  and  crooked  swords. 
They  then  dance  vigorously  round  the  buf- 
falo skin,  leaping  high  in  the  air,  striking 
with  their  swords,  and  thrusting  with  their 
spears,  and  going  through  all  the  mana?uvres 
of  killing  the  animal.  The  women  take  an 
active  part  in  the  dance.  It  is  illustrated 
in  the  engraving  No.  1,  on  the  preceding 
page. 


672 


ABYSSIXIA. 


THE  DA2^KALLI  AND   SOMAULI. 


Then  there  are  the  Daukalli  and  Somauli 
tribes,  each  of  them  sulxlivided  into  a  num- 
ber of  smaller  tribes,  and  having  some  traits 
peculiar  to  themselves,  and  others  common 
to  the  Abyssiuians  proper.  Indeed,  Mr. 
Johnstone  remarks  that  he  has  no  doubt 
that,  although  they  are  now  distinct  nations, 
they  are  derived  from,  a  common  origin. 

The  Somaulis  are  a  warlike  people,  and, 
instead  of  the  spears  and  shields  which  are 
almost  the  universal  weapons  through  this 
jiart  of  Africa,  they  carry  light  bows  and  large 
quivers,  which  hang  under  the  left  arm  by  a 
broad  strap  passed  over  the  same  shoulder. 
The  bow,  though  light,  is  very  strong,  and 
is  much  after  the  classical  or  Cupid's  bow 
form.  In  consequence  of  this  shape,  when 
the  arrow  is  discharged,  the  string  comes 
quickly  against  the  handle,  and  if  the 
archer  be  inexpert  his  thumb  gets  a  vio- 
lent blow. 

The  quiver  is  made  of  an  emptied  gourd, 
the  mouth  of  which  is  closed  with  a  cover 
like  that  which  is  represented  on  several  of 
the  African  quivers  mentioned  in  this  work. 
It  contains  about  a  dozen  arrows,  about  a 
foot  in  length,  and  made  of  a  hollow  reed. 
Each  is  armed  with  a  head  of  blue  steel, 
shaped  something  like  the  ace  of  spades,  and 
having  its  neck  lengthened  into  a  spike 
al)0ut  an  inch  and  a  half  long;  this  is  not 
attached  to  the  arrow,  but  is  loose,  and  when 
wanted  for  use  the  spike  is  simiily  slipped 
into  the  imfeathered  end  of  the  hollow  shaft. 
Of  course,  when  the  weajjon  strikes  its  ob- 
ject, the  shaft  falls  off,  and  the  head,  which 
is  poisoned,  remains  in  the  wound,  and  soon 
causes  death. 

Instead  of  the  sword,  they  carry  a  knife 
with  a  blade  about  eight  inches  in  length, 
the  handle  being  merely  a  piece  of  wood 


rounded,  and  slightly  hollowed  to   give   a 

flrmer  grasp. 

The  dress  of  the  men  consists  of  a  "  fotah," 
or  waist  cloth,  and  a  robe  called  the  "  sarree." 
Diftering  in  use,  these  cloths  are  of  exactly 
the  same  shape  and  size,  i.  e.  about  eleven 
feet  in  length.  The  fotah  is  wound  twice 
round  the  waist,  the  end  being  tucked  in 
behind,  and  the  whole  garment  made  secure 
by  the  broad  belt  which  holds  the  knife. 
The  sarree  is  worn  in  robe  fashion,  roimd 
the  body,  and  a  man  of  taste  disposes  it  so  as 
to  show  oft"  the  two  broad  stripes  of  blue  or 
scarlet  at  the  end. 

The  women  also  wear  the  fotah,  over 
which,  when  out  of  doors,  thej'  wear  a  long 
blue  skirt  without  sleeves,  and  very  open 
down  the  front.  This  is  laid  aside  in  the 
house,  where  nothing  but  the  fotah  is  worn. 
The  mode  of  dressing  the  hair  into  a  con- 
tinuous veil  has  been  already  mentioned, 
and  Mr.  Johnstone  was  fortunate  enough  to 
witness  the  process  of  dressing  "  this  entan- 
gled mass,  which  reminded  me  of  the  hair  of 
Samson,  interwoven  with  the  web  of  the 
loom.  The  lady  whose  hair  was  to  be  oper- 
ated upon  sat  upon  a  stone  in  the  court 
beneath  one  of  our  windows,  and  behind  lier, 
on  her  knees,  was  a  stout  slave-girl,  who 
held  in  both  hands  a  long-handled  wooden 
fork-like  comb,  having  lour  very  strong 
in'ongs,  which  she  dragged  through  the 
woolly,  greasy,  and  black  hair  of  her  mis- 
tress, with  the  force  of  a  groom  currying  a 
horse's  tail." 

The  particular  sub-tribe  to  which  the  peo- 
ple belong  is  denoted  by  sundry  incised 
marks,  which  are  cut  with  a  fragment  of 
obsidian,  and  are  formed  into  patterns  which 
sometimes  extend  over  the  whole  back  and 
breast. 


CHAPTER  LXVIL 


NUBIAJSrS  AND  HAMRAN  ARABS. 


TTNT  OP  THE  NTTBIAN  SKIN  —  DRESS  AND  WEAPONS  OF  THE  SfEN — PECULI-iR  SWORD  AND  SHTELD  — 
DRESS  OF  THE  WOMEN  —  RAHAT,  OR  THONG  APRON  —  AMULETS  —  NUBIAN  ARCHITECTURE  —  THE 
HA5IEAN  ARABS  —  WEAPONS  OF  THE  MEN  —  CARE  TAKEN  OF  THE  WEAPONS  —  ELEPHANT  HUNT- 
ING—  ADMIRABLE  HORSEMANSHIP —  CATCHING  BABOONS  —  HUNTING  THE  LION  —  CATCHING  A 
BUFFALO  BY  THE  TAIL  —  HARPOONING  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS. 


iNASjrtJCH  as,  in  spite  of  the  continual  con- 
tict  with  civilization,  caused  by  their  locality 
on  the  Nile  bank,  the  Nubians  have  pre- 
served their  ancient  style  of  dress  and  much 
of  their  ancient  manners,  they  deserve  a 
place  in  this  work. 

In  color  the  Nubians  are  mostly  black, 
some  being  of  quite  a  jetty  hue,  while  others 
are  of  muchlightercolor.  Even  in  the  black- 
est Nubian,  however,  the  tint  of  the  skin  is 
not  that  (jf  the  tropical  negro,  but  there  is  a 
certain  transparency  about  it,  which,  in  the 
sunbeams,  gives  a  sort  of  amber  hue  to  the 
limbs.  Besides  being  a  fine  and  well-built 
race,  the  Nubians  possess  pleasing  features, 
the  only  fault  being  that  the  lower  part  of  the 
face  is  somewhat  apt  to  project. 

While  young  the  boys  wear  no  clothing 
whatever,  but  when  adult  they  wear  short 
trousers,  a  shirt,  and  a  kind  of  large  scarf 
which  passes  over  the  left  shoulder,  and  is 
fastened  by  a  girdle  round  the  waist.  Being 
Mahometans,  they  shave  the  hair  except  one 
tuft  on  the  crown,  and  cover  their  bare  heads 
with  a  white  cotton  cap. 

The  Nubian  men  mostly  go  armed  accord- 
ing to  their  ability.  The  usual  weapons  are 
the  sword,  dagger,  spear,  and  shield.  The 
sword  is  shaped  somewhat  like  that  of  the 
Abyssinian,  but  the  curve  is  not  so  abrupt. 
The  general  style  of  the  weapon,  however, 
and  the  .shape  of  the  handle,  proclaim  a  com- 
mon origin.  With  some  of  the  Nubians  the 
favorite  weapon  is  the  straight  sword,  like 
that  of  the  Hamran  Arabs,  which  will  be 
described  in  a  future  page. 


Perhaps  on  account  of  the  facility  which 
the  Nile  affords  for  travelling  into  South  Cen- 
tral Africa,  they  wear  a  dagger  fastened  to 
the  left  arm  just  above  the  elbow,  exactly  as 
do  several  of  the  triljes  that  are  found  near 
the  sources  of  the  Nile.  This  dagger  is  short 
and  crooked,  and  is  kept  in  a  red  leathern 
sheath,  and,  on  account  of  its  position  on  the 
arm,  is  covered  by  the  garments.  The  s]iear 
is  simply  the  ordinary  wooden  shaft  with  an 
iron  head,  and  has  nothing  about  it  specially 
worthy  of  notice. 

The  shield,  however,  is  remarkable  for  its 
structure.  It  is  generally  made  of  the  hide 
of  the  hi]ipopotaiuus  or  of  crocodile  skin,  and 
is  easily  known  by  the  projecting  boss  in  the 
centre.  The  hide  is  stretched  on  a  wooden 
framework,  and  the  boss  is  made  of  a  sepa- 
rate piece  of  skin.  The  Nubians  value  these 
shields  very  highly,  and,  in  consequence,  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  procure  them. 

The  women  are  dressed  after  the  usual 
African  manner.  ,As  girls  they  wear  iKjth- 
ing  but  a  little  apron  of  leathern  thongs  called 
a  rahat.  This  apron  is  about  nine  inches  or 
a  f(jot  in  width,  and  perhaps  six  or  seven  in 
deiith,  and  in  general  appearance  resembles 
that  of  the  Kaffir  girl.  Instead  of  being  cut 
from  one  piece  of  leather,  each  thong  is  a 
separate  strip  of  hide,  scarcely  thicker  than 
packthread,  and  knotted  by  tlie  middle  to  the 
thong  which  passes  round  the  waist.  The 
apron  is  dyed  of  a  brick-red  color,  and,  after 
it  has  been  in  use  for  any  time,  becomes  so 
saturated  with  the  castor-oil  which  stands 
these  primitive  belles  in  lieu  of  clothing,  that 
3) 


674 


NUBIANS. 


the  smell  is  unendurable.  Travellers  often 
purchase  them  from  the  Nubian  girls,  who, 
as  a  rule,  are  perfectly  willing  to  sell  them; 
but  the  buyers  are  obliged  to  hang  their  pur- 
chases on  "the  top  of  the  mast  for  a  month  or 
so,  before  they  can  be  taken  into  the  cabin. 
One  of  these  aprons  in  my  collection  has  still 
the  fomiliar  castor-oil  odor  about  it,  though 
many  years  have  passed  since  it  was  pur- 
chased from  a  Nubian  girl. 

Of  course  they  wear  as  many  ornaments  as 
they  can  procure ;  and  some  of  these,  which 
are  handed  down  from  one  generation  to 
another,  are  of  great  value.  Few  character- 
istics are  more  striking  to  an  observant  trav- 
eller than  the  fact  that  a  Nubian  girl  whoso 
whole  dress  may  perhaps  be  worth  three- 
pence, and  who  really  could  not  aftbrd  to 
wear  any  clothing  at  all  if  it  cost  sixpence, 
will  yet  carry  on  her  neck,  her  wrists,  her 
ankles,  and  in  her  ears,  a  quantity  of  gold 
sufficient  to  purchase  a  handsome  equipment. 

It  is  rather  a  remarkable  point  that  these 
aprons  always  beome  narrower  toward  the 
left  side.  The  daughters  of  wealthy  parents, 
though  they  wear  no  clothing  except  the 
apron,  still  contrive  to  satisfy  the  instinctive 
love  of  dress  by  covering  the  leathern  thongs 
with  beads,  white  shells,  and  pieces  of  silver 
twisted  round  them.  When  the  girls  marry, 
they  retain  the  apron,  but  wear  over  it  a  loose 
garment,  which  passes  over  one  shoulder, 
and  hangs  as  low  as  the  knee. 

The  ornaments  with  which  they  profusely 
decorate  their  persons  are  of  various  materi- 
als, according  to  the  wealth  of  the  woman 
who  owus  them.  Those  of  the  wealthy  are 
of  gold  and  silver,  while  those  of  the  jioorer 
class  are  of  buftalo  horn,  brass,  and  similar 
materials.  The  metal  amulets  are  of  a  cres- 
cent shape,  and  are  open  at  one  side,  so  as  to 
be  clasped  on  the  arm  or  removed,  accord- 
ing to  the  wearer's  pleasure. 

The  hair  is  dressed  in  a  way  that  recalls 
the  ancient  Egyjjtiau  woman  to  the  traveller. 
It  is  jetty  black  and  tolerably  long,  and  is 
twisted  with  hundreds  of  small  and  straight 
tresses,  generally  finished  otf  atthe  tips  with 
little  knobs  of  yellow  clay,  which  look  at  a 
distance  as  if  they  were  little  lumps  of  gold. 
Amulets  of  difter'ent  kinds  are  woven  "into 
the  locks,  and  the  whole  is  so  saturated  with 
eastor-oil  that  an  experienced  traveller  who 
wishes  to  talk  to  a  Nubian  woman  takes 
care  to  secure  the  windward  side,  and  not  to 
approach  nearer  than  is  absolutely  needful. 
As  a  rule,  the  Nubian  women  are  not  so  dark 
as  the  men,  but  approach  neai'ly  to  a  coflfee 
tint. 

"Two  beautiful  young  Nubian  women 
visited  me  in  my  boat,  with  hair  in  the  little 
plaits  finished  otf  with  lumps  of  yellow  clay, 
burnished  like  golden  tags,  soft  deep  bronze 
skins,  and  lips  and  eyes  fit  for  Iris  and  Athor. 
Their  very  dress  and  ornaments  were  the 
same  as  those  represented  in  the  tombs, and 
I  felt  inclined  to  ask  them  how  many  thou- 


sand years  old  they  were."  (Lady  Duff  Gor- 
don's "  Letters  form  Egypt.") 

The  same  writer  well  remarks  that  the 
whole  country  is  a  palimjisest,  in  which 
the  Bible  is  written  over  Herodotus,  and 
the  Koran  over  the  Bible.  In  the  towns 
the  Koran  is  most  visible;  in  the  country, 
Herodotus. 

One  of  these  graceful  Nubian  girls  is 
represented  in  the  frontispiece  to  this  vol- 
ume. 

The  amulets  which  have  been  just  men- 
tioned are  worn  by  men  and  women  alike, 
and  are  sewed  up  in  red  leather  cases  like 
those  of  tlie  Bornuans.  It  is  an  essential 
part  of  their  efficacy  that  their  contents 
should  not  be  known,  and  if  once  a  case  be 
opened,  the  enclosed  amulet  loses  its  power. 
The  men  often  wear  great  numbers  of  them, 
tying  them  on  their  arms  above  the  elbows. 

The  houses  in  which  the  Nubians  live,  or 
rather  in  which  they  sleep,  are  of  very  sim- 
ple construction.  Besiding  among  the  ruins 
of  palaces,  the  Nubians  have  never  learned 
to  build  anything  better  than  a  mud  hut. 
These  huts  are  of  nuicb  the  same  shape  as  the 
old  Egyptian  buildings,  being  squared  tow- 
ers, large  at  the  base,  and  decreasing  toward 
the  top,  which  is  square,  and  in  the  better 
class  of  house  answers  as  a  terrace.  The 
roof  is  covered  with  palm  branches,  and 
every  good  house  possesses  a  sort  of  court- 
yard surrounded  by  walls,  in  which  the 
Women  can  pursue  their  different  vocations 
while  sheltered  from  the  sun. 

Granaries  are  seen  near  every  village, 
and  consist  of  shallow  pits  sunk  in  the 
ground  and  covered  with  a  sort  of  white 
plaster.  The  villages  also  possess  a  shed 
for  the  reception  of  strangers,  and  each 
house  has  a  jar  of  fresh  water  always  kept 
ready  for  use. 

Fortunately  for  themselves,  the  Nuliians 
are  both  proiid  and  fond  of  their  country; 
and,  although  they  are  despised  by  the 
Arabs  to  such  an  extent  that  a  Nul)iau 
always  tries  to  pass  himself  ofl'  as  an  Arab 
whenever  he  has  the  opportunity,  they  are 
ever  boasting  of  the  many  perfections  of 
the  land  which  they  thus  reject. 

How  long  the  Nubians  may  possess  this 
land  is  doubtful.  The  Turk,  "  under  whose 
foot  no  grass  grows,"  is  doing  his  best  to 
depopulate  the  country.  The  men  are  pressed 
for  soldiers,  as  many  as  thirty  per  cent, 
having  been  carried  oft'  in  one  conscription, 
and  they  are  always  being  seized  for  forced 
labor — i.  e.  a  life  .somewhat  worse  than  that 
of  plantation  slaves.  Consequently,  as  soon 
as  they  take  alarm,  they  leave  their  village 
and  escape  into  the  interior,  abandoning 
their  crops  and  allowing  them  to  perish 
rather  than  serve  under  "the  hated  rule  of 
the  Turk.  The  least  resistance,  or  show  of 
resistance,  is  punished  by  death,  and  several 
travellers  have  related  incidents  of  cold- 
blooded cruelty  which  seem  almost  too  hor- 


WEAPOXS   OF  THE  ARABS. 


675 


rible  to  tell,  but  -which  were  taken  quite  as 
matters  of  ordinary  occurrence.  Taxation, 
too,  is  carried  out  to  a  simply  ruinous  ex- 
tent, and  the  natural  result  is   fast  taking 


place,  namely,  the  depopulation  of  the  land, 
and  the  gradual  lessening  of  the  number 
of  tax-payers. 


THE  HAMRAN  ARABS. 


To  describe,  however  briefly,  all  the  tribes 
■which  inhabit  the  vast  district  called  Arabia, 
would  be  a  task  far  Ijeyond  the  pretensions 
of  this  work.  Some  have  advanced  very 
far  in  civilization,  while  others  have  re- 
tained, with  certain  modifications,  their 
pristine  and  almost  sav.age  mode  of  life. 
I  shall  therefore  select  these  latter  tribes 
as  examples  of  the  Arab  life,  and  shall 
briefly  describe  one  or  two  of  the  most  char- 
acteristic examples. 

South  of  Cassala  there  is  a  remarkable 
tribe  of  Arabs  known  as  the  Hamrans,  who 
are  celebrated  through  all  the  country  for 
their  skill  in  hunting.  They  ])ossess  the 
well-cut  features  and  other  characteristics 
of  the  Arab  race,  and  are  only  to  l)e  distin- 
guished by  the  style  of  wearing  the  hair. 
They  permit  the  hair  to  grow  to  a  great 
length,  part  it  down  the  middle,  and  care- 
fully train  it  into  long  curls.  Each  man 
always  carries  the  only  two  weapons  he 
cares  about,  namely,  the  sword  and  shield. 
The  latter  is  of  no  very  great  size,  is  circu- 
lar in  shape,  and  about  two  feet  in  diameter, 
with  a  boss  in  the  centre  much  like  that  of 
the  Nuliian  shield  already  described.  It  is 
made  of  the  skin  of  the  hippopotamus,  and, 
being  meant  for  use  and  not  for  show,  is 
never  ornamented. 

As  to  the  sword,  it  is  the  chief  friend  of 
the  Hamran  Arab's  life,  and  he  look.s  upon 
it  with  a  sort  of  chivalric  respect.  It  is 
straight,  double-edged,  and  is  furnished  with 
a  cross-handle,  like  that  of  the  ancient  Cru- 
saders, from  whom  the  fashion  seems  to 
have  been  borrowed.  The  blades  are  of 
European  make,  and  the  Arabs  are  excel- 
lent judges  of  steel,  valuing  a  good  blade 
above  everything.  They  keep  both  edges 
literally  as  sharp  as  razors,  and  prove  the 
fact  by  shaving  with  them.  When  a  Ham- 
ran  Arab  is  travelling  and  comes  to  a  halt, 
the  first  thing  he  does  after  seating  himself 
is  to  draw  his  sword  and  examine  both 
edges  with  the  keenest  attention.  He  then 
sharpens  the  weapon  upon  his  leathern 
shield,  and  when  he  can  shave  the  hair 
on  his  own  arm  with  both  edges,  he  care- 
fully returns  the  blade  into  the  sheath. 

The  length  of  the  blade  is  three  feet,  and 
the  handle  is  about  six  inches  long,  so 
that  the  weapon  is  a  very  weighty  one,  and 
a  fair  blow  from  its  keen  edge  will  cut  a 
man  in  two.  Still,  it  is  not  serviceable 
in  single  combat,  as,  although  its  weight 
renders  a  successful  blow  fatal,  it  prevents 


the  recovery  of  the  sword  after  an  unsuc- 
cessful blow.  Sir  S.  Baker,  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  an  account  of  this  remark- 
able tribe,  says  that  a  Hamran  Arab,  with 
his  sword  and  shield,  would  be  at  the  mercy 
of  an  ordinary  swordsman.  He  can  cut  and 
slash  with  wonderful  energy,  but  knows  noth- 
ing of  using  the  point  or  parrying,  so  that, 
if  a  feint  be  made  at  his  head,  he  will  instinc- 
tively raise  the  .shield,  and  lay  his  whole  body 
open  to  the  point  of  his  adversary's  sword. 

The  scabbard  in  which  the  sword  is  car- 
ried is  very  ingeniously  made  of  two  strips 
of  soft  and  elastic  wood,  slightly  hollowed 
to  receive  the  blade,  and  covered  with  lea- 
ther. The  absurd  metal  scabbards  still  in 
use  in  our  army  would  be  scorned  by  an 
Arab,  who  knows  the  value  of  a  keen  edge 
to  his  weapon.  On  the  scabbard  are  fitted 
two  projecting  pieces  of  leather.  When 
the  Aral)  is  on  the  march,  he  slings  the 
sword  on  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and 
passes  his  leg  between  these  leather  pro- 
jections, so  that  the  sword  is  held  in  its 
place,  and  does  not  jump  and  bang  against 
the  sides  of  the  horse. 

Armed  with  merely  the  sword,  these 
mighty  hunters  attack  all  kinds  of  game, 
and  match  themselves  with  equal  coolnes.s 
against  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  the 
giratfe,  the  lion,  or  the  antelope.  Their 
mode  of  -procedure  is  almost  invarialily  the 
same.  They  single  out  some  particular 
animal,  and  contrive  to  cut  the  tendon  of 
the  liind  leg  with  a  blow  of  the  sword,  thus 
rendering  the  unfortunate  beast  helpless. 

When  they  chase  the  elephant,  they  pro- 
ceed in  the  following  manner.  The  elei)hant 
hunters,  or  aggageers,  as  they  call  them- 
selves, convert  their  swords  into  two-handed 
weapons  by  wrapping  thin  cord  very  closely 
round  the  blade,  for  alwut  nine  inches  from 
the  handle.  The  guarded  portion  of  the 
blade  is  held  in  the  right  hand,  and  the  hilt 
in  the  left. 

Two  hunters  generally  set  out  in  cliase  of 
the  elephant.  Having  selected  the  bull 
with  the  largest  tusks,  they  separate  it  from 
its  fellows,  and  irritate  it  until  it  charges 
them.  One  of  the  aggageers  takes  on  him- 
self this  duty,  and  draws  the  attention  of 
the  elephant  upon  himself.  The  irritated 
animal  makes  its  furious  onset,  and  goes  off 
at  full  speed  after  the  aggageer,  who  care- 
fully accommodates  his  pace  to  that  of  the 
elephant,  so  that  it  always  thinks  it  is  going 
to  catch  him,  and  forgets  that  he  has  a  com- 
panion. 


676 


THE  HAMRAN  ARABS. 


Meanwhile,  the  other  ajjarageor  rides  close 
to  tlie  side  of  the  elephaut,  draws  his  sword, 
springs  to  the  ground,  bounds  alongside  of 
the  elephant,  delivers  one  tremendous  cut 
on  the  ankle  of  the  hind  foot,  and  springs 
again  on  his  horse.  As  soon  as  the  elephant 
puis  the  injured  foot  on  the  ground,  the 
joint  becomes  dislocated,  and  the  foot  turns 
up  like  an  old  shoe.  The  animal  is  now 
helpless,  and,  while  its  attention  is  still  en- 
gaged by  the  aggageer  whom  it  has  been 
pursuing,  the  swordsman  passes  to  its  other 
side,  slashes  the  ankle  of  the  remaining 
leg,  and  brings  the  animal  to  a  dead  halt. 
The  sword  is  carefullj'  wiped,  sharpened, 
and  returned  to  the  sheath,  while  the 
wounded  elephant  sinks  to  the  ground,  and 
in  a  short  time  dies  from  loss  of  blood. 
Thus  one  man  will  kill  an  elephaut  with  two 
blows  of  a  sword. 

It  is  evident  that  such  hunting  as  this 
requires  the  most  perfect  horsemanship,  and 
it  is  according!}'  found  that  the  Ilamran 
Arabs  are  among  the  best  horsemen  in  the 
world.  They  and  their  steeds  seem  to  be 
actuated  by  one  spirit,  and  they  sit  as  if  the 
horse  and  his  rider  were  but  one  animal. 
In  his  travels  in  Abyssinia  Sir  S.  Baker 
gives  a  very  graphic  account  of  their  mode 
of  riding. 

"  Hardly  were  we  mounted  and  fairly 
started,  than  the  monkey-like  agility  of  our 
aggageers  was  displayed  in  a  variety  of 
antics,  that  were  for  more  suited  to  perform- 
ance in  a  circus  than  to  a  partj'  of  steady 
and  experienced  hunters,  who  wished  to 
reserve  the  strength  of  their  horses  for  a 
trying  journey. 

"Abou  Do  was  mounted  on  a  beautiful 
Abyssinian  horse,  a  gray ;  Suleiman  rode  a 
rough  and  inferior-looking  beast;  while  lit- 
tle Jali,  who  was  the  pet  of  the  party,  rode 
a  gray  mare,  not  exceeding  fourteen  hands 
inheight,  which  matched  her  rider  exactly 
in  fire,  spirit,  and  speed.  Never  was  there 
a  more  perfect  picture  of  a  wild  Arab  horse- 
man than  .Jali  on  his  mare.  Hardly  was  he 
in  the  saddle,  than  away  flew  the  mare  over 
the  loose  shingles  that  formed  the  dry  bed 
of  the  river,  scattering  the  rounded  pebbles 
in  the  air  from  her  flinty  hoofs,  while  her 
rider  in  the  vigor  of  delight  threw  himself 
almost  under  her  belly  while  at  full  speed, 
and  picked  up  stones  from  the  ground,  which 
he  flung,  and  again  caught  as  they  descended. 

"Never  were  there  more  complete  Cen- 
taurs than  these  Hamran  Arabs;  the  horse 
and  man  appeared  to  be  one  animal,  and 
that  of  the  most  elastic  nature,  that  could 
twist  and  turn  with  the  suppleness  of  a 
snake;  the  fact  of  their  separate  being  was 
proved  by  the  rider  sjiringing  to  the  earth 
\\'ith  his  drawn  sword  while  the  horse  was 
in  full  gallop  over  rough  and  difficult  ground, 
and,  clutching  the  mane,  he  again  vaulted 
into  the  saddle  with  the  agility  of  a  monkey, 
without  once  checking  the  speed. 


"  The  fact  of  being  on  horseback  had 
suddenly  altered  the  character  of  these 
Arabs;  from  a  sedate  and  proud  bearing 
they  had  become  the  wildest  examples  of 
the  most  savage  disciples  of  Nimrod;  ex- 
cited by  enthusiasm,  they  shook  their  naked 
blades  aloft  till  the  steel  trembled  in  their 
grasp,  and  away  they  dashed,  over  rocks, 
through  thorny  bush,  across  ravines,  up  and 
down  steep  inclinations,  engaging  in  a 
mimic  hunt,  and  going  through  thu  various 
acts  supiiosed  to  occur  in  the  attack  of  a 
furious  elephant." 

This  capability  of  snatching  up  articles 
from  the  ground  stands  the  hunters  in  good 
stead.  If,  for  example,  they  should  come 
across  a  flock  of  sheep,  each  man  will  dash 
through  the  flock,  stoop  from  his  saddle, 
pick  up  a  lamb,  and  ride  oft'  with  it.  They 
can  even  catch  far  more  active  prey  than 
the  lamb  or  kid.  On  one  occasion,  as  the 
party  were  travelling  along,  they  came  upon 
a  large  troop  of  baboons,  who  had  been 
gathering  gum  araliic  from  the  mimosas. 
"  Would  the  ladylike  to  have  a  baboon?" 
asked  Jali,  the  smallest  and  most  excitable 
of  the  part}'. 

Three  of  the  hunters  dashed  off  in  pursuit 
of  the  baboons,  and  in  spite  of  the  rough 
ground  soon  got  among  them.  Stooping 
from  their  saddles,  two  of  the  aggageers 
snatched  each  a  young  baboon  from  its 
mother,  placed  it  oil  the  neck  of  the  horse, 
and  rode  off  with  it.  Strange  to  say,  the 
captive  did  not  attempt  to  escape,  nor  even 
to  bite,  but  clung  convulsively  to  the  mane 
of  the  horse,  screaming  with  fear.  As  soon 
as  they  halted,  the  hunters  stripped  some 
mimo.sa  bark  from  the  trees,  Ijound  the 
baboons,  and  with  their  heavy  whips  in- 
flicted a  severe  flogging  on  the  poor  beasts. 
This  was  to  make"  them  humble,  and  jire- 
vent  them  from  biting.  However,  in  the 
course  of  the  next  halt,  when  the  balioons 
were  tied  to  trees,  one  of  them  contrived  to 
strangle  itself  in  its  struggles  to  escape,  and 
the  other  bit  through  its  bonds  and  made  off 
unseen. 

For  such  work  as  this,  the  hunter  must 
be  able  to  stop  his  horse  in  a  moment,  and 
.accordingly  the  bit  must  be  a  very  severe 
one.  The  saddle  is  a  very  clumsy  afl'air, 
made  of  wood  and  unstufted,  while  the  stir- 
rups are  only  large  enough  to  admit  the 
great  toe. 

The  rhinoceros  gives  far  more  trouble  to 
the  hunters  than  the  elephaut.  It  is  much 
swifter,  more  active,  and  can  turn  more  rap- 
idly, spinning  round  as  if  on  a  pivot,  and 
baffling  their'attemps  to  get  at  its  hind  leg. 
Unlike  the  elejihant,  it  can  charge  on  three 
legs,  so  that  a  single  wound  does  not  disable 
it."  Still  the  Ilamran  Arabs  alw.ays  kill  the 
rhinoceros  when  they  can,  as  its  skin  will 
jiroduce  hide  for  seven  shields,  each  piece 
being  worth  two  dollars,  and  the  horn  is 
cold  to  the    Abyssinians  as    material    for 


HUNTING  THE  HIPPOPOTAMUS. 


677 


sword  hilts,  the  best  horn  fetching  two  dol- 
lars per  pound. 

Lion-himting  is  not  a  favorite  pursuit 
with  the  Hanirans,  as  they  gaiu  little  if  suc- 
cessful, and  they  seldom  come  out  of  the 
contest  without  having  sutt'ered  severely. 
They  always  try  to  slash  the  animal  across 
the  loins,  as  a  blow  in  that  spot  disables  it 
instantly,  and  prevents  it  from  leaping. 
Sometimes  the  lion  springs  on  the  crupper 
of  the  horse,  and  then  a  back-handed  blow 
is  delivered  with  the  two-edged  sword, 
mostly  with  fatal  eftcct. 

The  buftalo,  fierce  and  active  as  it  is,  they 
hunt  witli  the  sword.  Nothing,  perhaps, 
shows  the  splendid  horsemanship  and  dar- 
ing courage  of  the  Hamrans  better  than  a 
scene  which  was  witnessed  bj'  Sir  S.  Baker. 

A  large  herd  of  butt'aloes  was  seen  and 
instantly  charged  by  the  aggageers,  and, 
while  the  buffaloes  and  hunters  were  mixed 
together  in  one  mass,  the  irrepressible  little 
Jali  suddenly  leaned  forward,  and  seized 
the  tail  of  a  fine  young  buffalo,  some  twelve 
hands  high.  Two  other  hunters  leaped 
from  their  horses,  snatched  off  their  belts, 
and  actually  succeeded  in  taking  the  animal 
alive.  This  was  a  "reat  prize,  as  it  would 
be  sold  for  a  considerable  sum  at  Cassala. 
Now  as  .Jali  was  barely  five  feot  three  inches 
in  height,  and  very  slightly  made,  such  a 
feat  as  seizing  and  flnaUy  capturing  a  pow- 
erful animal  like  a  buflalo  bull  was  really  a 
wonderful  one. 

They  are  as  active  on  foot  as  on  horse- 
back. On  one  occasion,  three  of  them,  Jali 
of  course  being  one,  were  so  excited  with 
the  chase  of  a  wounded  elephant  that  they 
actually  leaped  from  their  horses  and  pur- 
sued the  animal  on  foot.  The  elephant  was 
mad  with  rage,  but  seemed  instinctively  to 
know  tliat  his  enemies  wanted  to  get  behind 
him,  and  always  turned  in  time  to  prevent 
them.  Active  as  monkeys,  the  aggageers 
managed  to  save  themselves  from  the 
charges  of  the  elephant,  in  spite  of  deep 
sand,  which  impeded  them,  while  it  had  no 
effect  on  the  elephant.  Time  after  time  he 
was  within  a  yard  or  so  of  one  of  the  hun- 
ters, when  the  other  two  saved  him  by 
dashing  upon  either  flank,  and  so  diverting 
his  attention. 

They  hunt  the  hippopotamus  as  success- 
fully as  they  chase  the  elephant,  and  are 
as  mighty  hunters  in  the  water  as  upon 
land.  In  this  chase  they  exchange  the  sword 
and  shield  for  the  harpoon  and  lance.  The 
former  weapon  is  made  on  exactly  the  same 
]iriuciple  as  that  which  has  already  been 
described  when  treating  of  the  hippopota- 
mus hunters  of  South  Central  Africa,  but 
it  is  much  lighter.  The  shaft  is  a  stout 
bamboo  about  ten  feet  in  length,  and  the 
head  is  a  piece  of  soft  steel  about  a  foot 
long,  sharply  pointed  at  one  end  and  having 
a  single  stout  barb.  One  end  of  a  rope, 
about  twenty  feet  in  length,  is  firmly  at- 


tached to  the  head,  and  to  the  other  end  is 
fastened  a  fioat  made  of  a  very  light  wood 
called  ambatch,  which  is  also  used  for  mak- 
ing canoes  and  raffs. 

When  the  hunter  sees  a  hippopotamus, 
and  means  to  attack  it,  he  puts  on  his  hunt- 
ing dress,  i.  e.  he  braces  a  leathern  belt 
round  his  waist,  and  takes  off  all  his  clothes. 
lie  then  fixes  the  iron  head  on  the  bamboo 
shaft,  winds  the  rope  round  the  latter,  and 
boldly  enters  the  water,  holding  the  har- 
poon in  the  right  hand  and  the  ambatch 
float  in  the  left.  As  soon  as  he  comes 
within  striking  distance  of  his  victim,  the 
harpoon  is  hurled,  and  the  hunter  tries  to 
find  a  spot  in  which  the  infuriated  animal 
cannot  reach  him.  The  wounded  hiiipojiot- 
amus  dashes  about,  first  in  the  river,  then 
on  the  bank,  and  then  in  the  river  again,  al- 
ways trailing  after  it  the  rope  and  float,  and 
so  weakening  itself,  and  allowing  its  ene- 
mies to  track  it.  Sooner  or  later  they  con- 
trive to  seize  the  end,  drag  the  animal  near 
the  bank,  and  then  with  their  lances  put  it 
to  death. 

Often,  when  they  have  brought  the  hip- 
popotamus to  the  shore,  it  charges  open- 
mouthed  at  its  tormentors.  Some  of  them 
receive  it  with  spears,  while  others,  though 
unarmed,  boldly  await  its  onset,  and  flin" 
handfuls  of  sand  into  its  eyes.  The  sand 
really  seems  to  cause  more  pain  and  annoy- 
ance than  the  spears,  and  the  animal  never 
can  withstand  it,  but  retreats  to  the  water 
to  wash  the  sand  out  of  its  eyes.  In  the 
mean  time,  weapon  after  weapon  is  plunged 
into  its  body,  until  at  last  loss  of  blood 
begins  to  tell  upon  it,  and  by  degrees  it 
yields  up  its  life. 

Sir  S.  Baker  gives  a  most  animated  de- 
scription of  one  of  these  strange  hunts. 

One  of  the  old  Hamran  hunters,  named 
Abou  Do  —  an  abbreviated  version  of  a  very 
long  string  of  names — was  celebrated  as  a 
howarti,  or  hippopotamus  hunter.  This  fine 
old  man,  some  seventy  years  of  age,  was  one 
of  the  finest  conceivable  specimens  of  hu- 
manity. In  spite  of  his  great  age,  his  tall 
form,  six  feet  two  in  height,  was  .as  straight 
as_  in  early  youth,  his  gray  locks  hung  in 
thick  curls  over  his  shoulders,  and  his 
bronze  features  were  those  of  an  ancient 
statue.  Despising  all  encumbrances  of 
dress,  he  stepped  from  rock  to  rock  as 
lighty  as  a  goat,  and,  dripping  with  water, 
and  bearing  his  spear  in  his  hand,  he  looked 
a  very  Neptune.  The  hunters  came  upon  a 
herd  of  hippopotami  in  a  pool,  but  found 
that  they  were  too  much  awake  to  be  safely 
attacked. 

"  About  h.alf  a  mile  below  this  spot,  as 
we  clambered  over  the  intervening  rocks 
through  a  gorge  which  formed  a  powerful 
rapid,  I  observed,  in  a  small  pool  just  below 
the  rapid,  an  immense  head  of  a  hippopota- 
mus close  to  a  perpendicular  rock  that 
formed  a  wall  to  the  river,  aboui  six  feet 


678 


TEE  HAMEAN  ARABS. 


above  the  surface.  I  pointed  out  the  liippo 
to  old  Abou  Do,  who  had  not  seen  it. 

"  At  once  tlie  gravity  of  the  old  Arab  dis- 
appeared, and  tlie  euerg}'  of  the  hunter  was 
exhibited  as  he  motioned  us  to  remain, 
while  he  ran  nimbly  behind  the  thiek 
screen  of  bushes  for  aliout  a  liundred  and 
fifty  yards  below  the  sjiot  where  tlie  hippo 
was  imconsciously  basking,  with  his  ugly 
head  above  the  surface.  Plunging  into  the 
rapid  torrent,  the  veteran  hunter  was  carried 
some  distance  down  the  stream,  but,  lireast- 
ing  the  powerful  current,  he  landed  upon 
the  rocks  on  the  opposite  side,  and,  retiring 
to  some  distance  from  the  ri\'er,  lie  quickly 
advanced  toward  the  spot  beneath  which 
the  hippopotamus  was  lying.  I  had  a  fine 
view  of  tlie  scene,  as  I  was  lying  concealed 
exactly  opposite  the  hippo,  wholiad  disap- 
pearecl  beneath  the  water. 

"  Abou  Do  now  stealthily  approached  the 
ledge  of  rock  beneath  which  lie  had  ex- 
pected to  see  the  head  of  the  animal;  his 
long,  sinewy  arm  was  raised,  with  the 
harpoon  ready  to  strike  as  he  carefully 
advanced.  At  length  he  reached  the  edge 
of  the  perpendicular  rock,  the  hippo  had 
vanished,  but,  far  from  exhibiting  surprise, 
the  old  Arab  remained  standing  on  the 
sharp  ledge,  unchanged  in  attitude. 

"No  figure  of  bronze  could  have  been 
more  rigid  than  that  of  the  old  river-king, 
as  he  stood  erect  njion  the  rock  with  the  leit 
foot  advanced,  and  the  harpoon  poised  in 
his  ready  right  hand  above  his  head,  while 
in  the  left  he  held  the  loose  coils  of  rope 
attaclied  to  the  ambatch  buoy.  For  about 
three  minutes  he  stood  like  a  statue,  gazing 
intently  into  the  clear  and  deep  water  be- 
neath his  feet. 

"  I  watched  eagerly  for  the  reappearance 
of  the  hippo;  the  .surface  of  the  water  was 
still  barren,  when  suddenly  the  right  arm  of 
the  statue  descended  like  lightning,  and  the 
harpoon  shot  perpendicularly  into  the  pool 
with  the  speed  of  an  arrow.  What  river- 
fiend  answered  to  the  summons?  In  an 
instant  an  enormous  pair  of  open  jaws 
Appeared,  followed  by  the  ungainly  head 


and  form  of  the  furious  hijipopotamus,  who, 
springing  half  out  of  the  water,  lashed  the 
river  into  foam,  and,  disdaining  the  couccal- 
meut  of  the  deep  pool,  he  charged  straiudit 
up  the  violent  rapids.  (See  engraving  No. 
1,  on  the  next  iiage.)  With  extraordinary 
power  he  breasteil  the  descending  stream; 
^'aining  a  footing  in  the  rapids,  about  live 
teet  deep,  he  ploughed  his  way  against  the 
broken  waves,  sending  them  in  showers  of 
spray  upon  all  sides,  and  Ujion  gaining 
broader  shallows  he  tore  along  through  the 
water,  with  the  buoyant  tloat  hojiping  be- 
hind him  along  the  surtace,  until  he  lauded 
from  the  river,  started  at  full  gallop  along 
the  dry  shingly  bed,  and  at  length  disap- 
peared in  the  thorny  nabbuk  jungle." 

During  one  of  these  flights,  the  hippopot- 
amus took  it  into  his  head  that  the  aniliatch 
float  was  the  enemy  that  was  damaging  him, 
and  attacked  it  furiously.  Taking  ad\an- 
tage  of  his  pre-occupation,  two  hunters  swam 
across  the  river,  carrying  with  them  a  very 
long  and  tough  rope,  and  holding  one  end  on 
each  bank  and  "  sweeping,"  as  the  sailors  say, 
they  soon  caught  the  float  in  the  centre  of  the 
rope  and  brought  it  ashore.  The  liiii]iopot- 
amus  then  made  a  charge,  and  the  slackened 
line  was  immediately  coiled  round  a  rock, 
while  two  hunters  fixed  additional  harpoons 
in  the  animal;  and  though  he  made  six 
charges  at  his  foes,  bit  one  of  tlie  ropes  asun- 
der, "and  crushed  the  lance-shafts  between 
his  teeth  like  straws,  the  hardy  hunters  got 
the  better  of  him,  and  his  death  was  a  mere 
matter  of  time. 

The  hippopotamus  is  nearly  as  great  a 
prize  as  the  rhinoceros,  as  it  aflbrds  an  almost 
unlimited  supply  of  food,  and  the  hide  is 
extremely  valuable,  being  cut  into  strips  two 
inches  in  width,  which  are  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  the  koorbash,  or  hide  whip,  so  uni- 
versally employed  throughout  Africa. 

In  the  water,  the  crocodile  is  even  a  more 
dangerous  antagonist  than  the  hipjiopota- 
mus,  and  yet  the  Hamrans  attack  it  with 
their  harpoons,  boldly  entering  the  water, 
aud  caring  no  more  for  crocodiles  than  for 
so  many  frogs. 


(2.)    TKAVELLEKS  AJSU  TUE  MiUAUE.    (Slu  payu  (Jb'JO 
(679) 


CHAPTER    LXVm. 


BEDOUINS,  HASSANIYEHS,  AND  MALAGASY. 


SIGNIFICATION    OF    THE    NAME — GENERAL    APPEARANCE    OF    THE    EEDOCTNS — THEIK  HOEBER  NATtTRB 

—  HOSPITALITY  AND  ITS  DUTIES  —  LIFE  AMONG  THE  BEDOUINS — THE  BEDOUm  WOMEN  —  SIMPLE 
MODE  OF  GOVERNMENT  —  CONSTANT  FEUDS  —  MODE  OF  COOKING  —  THE  DATE  AND  ITS  USES  — 
THE  HASSANIYEHS  —  GENERAL  APPEARANCE  —  THEIR  VILLAGES  —  STRANGE  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  — 
A  HASSANIYEH  DANCE  —  SLTERSTITI0N3  OF  THE  ARABS  —  THE  HAUNTED  HOUSE  —  NOTIONS  OF 
THE  MIRAGE  —  THE   INK  MIRROR  — THE  MALAGASY  AND  THEIR  TRIBES  —  THE  FIRST  BEEF-EATER 

—  THE  HOVA  TRIBE  —  ARCHITECTURE  —  THE  TRAVELLER'S  TREE  AND  ITS  USES  —  TREATMENT  OF 
SLAVES  —  NOTIONS  OF  RELIGION  —  THE  BLACKSMITH  TRIBE. 


Of  all  the  manj'  tribes  which  are  designated 
by  the  common  tith;  of  Arab,  the  typical 
tribes  are  those  which  are  so  well  known  by 
the  name  of  Bedouix,  or  Bedaweex.  The 
former  is  tlie  more  familiar  mode  of  spell- 
ing the  word,  and  it  will  therefore  be  em- 
ployed. The  name  is  a  most  appropriate 
one,  being  derived  from  an  Arabic  word 
which  siguifles  the  desert,  and  meaning, 
therefore,  a  man  of  the  wilderness.  The 
Bedouins  are  indeed  men  of  the  desert. 
True  Ishmaelites,  their  hand  is  against  every 
man,  and  every  man's  hand  against  them. 
They  build  no  houses,  they  cultivate  no 
lands,  they  conduct  no  merchandise;  but  are 
nomad  and  predatory,  trusting  chiefly  for 
their  living  to  the  milk  of  their  camels,  and 
looking  upon  their  horses  and  dromedaries 
as  means  whereby  they  can  plunder  with 
greater  security. 

As  Mr.  Palgrave  pithily  remarks,  while 
treating  of  the  character  of  tlie  Bedouin  : 
"  The  Bedouin  does  not  tight  for  his  home, 
he  has  none;  nor  for  his  country,  that  is  any- 
where; nor  for  his  honor,  he  has  never  heard 
of  it;  nor  for  his  religion,  he  owns  and  cares 
for  none.  Hi.s  only  object  in  war  is  the  tem- 
porary occupation  of  some  bit  of  miserable 
rasture-land,  or  the  use  of  a  brackish  well; 
perhaps  the  desire  to  get  such  a  one's  horse 
or  camel  into  his  own  possession." 

In  person  the  Bedouins  are  fine  specimens 
of  the  human  race.  They  are  tall,  stately, 
with  well-cut  features,  and  have  feet  and 
hands  that  are  proverbial  for  their  beauty. 
Their  demeanor  in  public  is  grave  and 
haughty,  and  every  man  walks  as  if  he  were 


monarch  of  the  world.  "While  other  Arab 
tribes  have  lost  their  distinctive  manners 
by  contact  with  civilization,  the  Bedouins 
alone  have  preserved  them,  and,  even  when 
they  visit  the  cities  which  they  hate  so  much, 
they  can  be  at  once  distinguished  by  their 
demeanor.  Lady  Duff-Gordon  was  greatly 
struck  with  it.  "  To  see  a  Bedawee  and  his 
wife  walk  through  the  streets  of  Cairo  is 
superb.  Her  hand  resting  on  his  .shoulder, 
and  scarcely  deigning  to  cover  her  liaughty 
face,  she  looks  down  on  the  Egyptian  veiled 
woman,  who  carries  the  heavy  burden  and 
walks  Iiehind  her  lord  and  master.  " 

The  dress  of  the  Bedouins  is  simple  enough. 
The  men  wear  a  sort  of  a  tunic  or  shirt, 
covered  with  a  large  thick  mantle  called  the 
haik.  Another  cloth  is  disposed  over  the 
head,  and  falls  on  either  side  of  the  fiice  so 
as  to  shield  it  from  the  sun,  and  is  kept  in  its 
place  by  a  cord  of  camel's  hair,  that  is  wound 
several  times  across  the  brows.  As  for  the 
women,  they  wear  a  blue  shirt,  much  open 
at  the  bosom,  and  care  for  no  other  cloth- 
ing. 

Being  a  predatory  race,  the  Bedouins  are 
always  armed,  their  chief  weapon  being  the 
spear,  which  is  of  enormous  length,  and 
often  so  weighty  that  a  powerful  as  well 
as  a  practised  arm  is  required  to  wield  it. 
At  the  present  day  those  who  can  afford 
flre-arms  carry  guns  of  such  length  of  barrel 
that  they  seem  to  have  been  made  in  emu- 
lation of  the  spear  shafts.  These  weapons 
are  of  very  indiflerent  quality,  and  the  Be- 
douin is  never  a  good  marksman,  his  clumsy 
weapon  taking  a  long  time  to  load,  and  the 


C081J 


682 


BEDOUINS. 


owner  taking  a  long  time  to  aim,  and  then 
aiming  very  badly. 

In  consequence  of  the  roliber  nature  of 
the  Bedouins,  no  one  will  venture  to  pass 
through  their  districts  without  being  well 
armed,  or  protected  by  a  sufficient  escort. 
At  the  present  day,  Europeans  can  travel 
with  comparative  safetj',  as  they  have  a  way 
of  lighting  when  attacked,  and  of  generally 
hitting  their  mark  when  they  fire,  so  that 
even  the  wandering  Bedouins  have  con- 
ceived a  respect  for  such  incomprehensible 
beings,  and  would  rather  receive  them  as 
guests  than  fight  them  as  enemies. 

If,  however,  they  come  u])on  a  solitary 
ti-aveller,  they  pounce  upon  him,  and  rob 
him  of  everything,  even  of  his  clothes.  Still, 
they  are  not  brutal  aljout  it,  except  perhaps 
in  enforcing  haste  lay  a  menacing  gesture 
with  a  spear.  They  seldom  accomi)any  rob- 
bery with  murder,  and  have  been  known  to 
take  the  tra\'eller  whom  they  have  robbed 
into  their  tents,  feed  him,  give  him  old  clothes 
instead  of  the  new  which  they  have  taken 
from  him,  keep  him  all  night,  and  send  him 
on  his  journey,  even  taking  the  trouble  to 
accompany  him  for  some  distance,  lest  he 
should  lose  his  way.  The  robber  feels  no 
enmity  towanl  the  man,  and  simply  looks 
ou  him  as  a  ]irovidential  benefit  east  in  his 
way,  and  as  such  ratliei>  respects  him  than 
otherwise. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  the  Be- 
douin takes  the  man  to  his  tent  after  he  has 
robbed  him.  Had  he  begun  operations  by 
allowing  the  traveller  to  enter  his  tent,  and 
partake  of  his  food,  he  could  not  have  robbed 
his  guest  atterward.  There  is  a  chivalrous 
sort  of  feeling  in  the  Arab  mind  that  the 
person  of  a  guest  is  sacred;  and  if  the  fiercest 
I5edouin  had  received  a  man  under  the 
shadow  of  his  tent,  he  woidd  be  liound  to 
protect  that  man  as  if  he  were  his  own  son. 
So  far  is  this  feeling  carried,  that  instances 
have  been  known  where  a  strange  Arab  has 
taken  refuge  in  a  tent  and  received  pro- 
tection, though  the  owner  discovered  that 
his  guest  had  killed  one  of  his  nearest  rela- 
tions. 

The  only  habitations  of  the  Bedouins  are 
their  tents.  These  tents,  on  which  so  much 
poetry  has  been  lavished,  are  about  as  un- 
poetical  as  anything  can  be.  Any  one  can 
make  a  Bedouin  tent  in  five  minutes.  He 
has  only  to  take  a  few  sticks,  some  five  feet  in 
length,  thrustone  end  into  the  ground,  throw 
over  them  a  piece  of  black  and  very  dirty 
sackcloth,  peg  the  edges  to  the  ground,  and 
there  is  the  tent.  Being  only  some  four  feet 
in  lieight  in  the  middle,  no  one  can  stand 
upright  in  it,  and  only  in  the  middle  can  any 
one  even  sit  upright.  But  as  the  tent  is  not 
regarded  as  we  regard  a  house,  and  is  onlv 
used  as  a  sort  of  convenient  shelter  in  which 
the  Arabs  can  sleep,  height  is  of  no  impor- 
tance. The  engraving  No.  2,  on  page  670, 
illustrates  a  "Bedouin  camp." 


These  low,  dark  tents  are  almost  invaria- 
bly pitched  in  the  form  of  a  semicircle,  the 
openings  eastward,  and  just  enougli  space 
left  between  each  hut  for  the  passage  of 
their  camels  and  horses.  The  an  a  inclosed 
between  the  arms  of  the  crescent  is  intended 
for  the  children,  as  a  place  wherein  they 
may  disport  themselves  while  still  under  the 
mother's  eye.  When  new,  the  tents  are 
mostly  striped  in  broad  bands  of  two  or 
three  feet  in  width,  but  the  rough  usage  to 
which  they  are  subjected  soon  destroys  the 
color. 

Such  are  the  tents  of  the  ordinary  Be- 
douins. The  sheikh,  or  chief  of  each  clan, 
has  a  larger  and  better  tent,  which  is  di- 
vided into  c(imparlments  b}'  curtains,  so 
disposed  as  to  leave  a  set  of  rooms  on  the 
outside,  and  one  or  more  rooms  in  the  cen- 
tre. Those  on  the  outside  are  for  the  men, 
and  those  in  the  interior  for  the  women 
belonging  to  the  sheikh's  thmilv.  A  certain 
amount  of  privacy  is  gained,  which  belongs, 
however,  only  to  the  eye  and  not  to  the  ear, 
the  partitions  being  nothing  moie  than  cur- 
tains, and  the  Araljs  all  speaking  in  the 
loudest  of  voices  —  a  bawling  nation,  as  a 
French  traveller  described  them. 

The  furniture  is  suitable  to  the  dwelling, 
and  consists  merely  of  a  mat  or  two  and  a 
few  pots.  S(ime  of  the  wealthier  are  very 
proud  of  possessing  brass  mortars  in  which 
the}'  pound  their  cofl'ee,  and  every  morning 
is  heard  the  musical  tinkle  of  the  coflee- 
maker.  Even  the  men  condiscend  to  make 
coflce,  and  the  sheikh  himself  may  be  seen 
at  work  in  the  morning,  pounding  away  at 
the  berries,  and  rejoicing  equally  in  the 
musical  sound  of  the  pestle  and  the  fragrant 
odor  of  the  freshly-roasted  cofl'ee. 

Thus  bred  entirely  in  the  ojen  air,  the 
only  shelter  being  the  tattered  sackcloth  of 
the  tent,  the  true  Bedouin  can  endure  no 
other  life.  lie  is  as  miserable  within  the 
walls  of  a  town  as  a  wolf  in  a  trap.  His 
ej'es,  accustomed  to  range  over  the  vast 
expanse  of  desert,  are  aftronted  by  the  walls 
over  which  he  cannot  see.  The  streets 
oppress  him.  and  within  the  atmosphere  of  a 
room  he  can  scarcely  breathe.  Both  he  and 
his  camel  are  equall}'  out  of  their  element 
when  among  civilizeel  people,  and  they  are 
ever  looking  forward  to  the  happy  meiment 
when  they  may  again  breathe  the  free  air  of 
the  desert. 

Life  among  the  Bedouins  is  not  pleasant 
to  a  European,  and  is  by  no  means  the  sort 
of  paradisaical  existence  that  we  are  often 
led  to  think.  It  is  certainly  a  free  life  in 
its  way,  and  has  that  peculiar  chaiiu  which 
is  felt  by  all  civilized  beings  when  first 
allowed  to  do  as  they  like.  But  it  has  its 
drawbacks,  not  the  least  being  that  every 
one  is  equally  free;  and  if  a  stronger  man 
.should  choose  to  .assert  his  freedom  Ijj'  plun- 
dering the  traveller,  he  is  at  perfect  liberty 
to  do  so. 


SOCIAL  PECULIABITIES. 


CS3 


Tlien  the  "Arab  maids,"  who  look  so 
picturesque  —  in  a  painting  —  are  not  quite 
so  pleasant  in  reality.  Dirt,  evil  odors, 
screaming  voices  and  detestable  manners 
are  not  seen  in  a  picture,  but  in  reality  force 
themselves  on  more  senses  than  one.  Even 
in  youtli  the  Bedouin  girls  are  not  so  hand- 
some as  is  generally  thought.  They  are 
tall,  well  made,  and  graceful,  but  are  delicient 
iu  that  gentleness  and  softness  which  we 
naturally  associate  with  the  feminine  nature. 
They  are  fond  of  tattooing  themselves,  and 
cover  their  arms  and  chins  with  blue  pat- 
terns, such  as  stars  or  ai'abesque  figures. 
Some  of  them  extend  the  tattoo  over  the 
breast  nearly  as  low  as  the  waist.  The  cor- 
ners of  the  eyes  are  sometimes  decorated 
with  this  cheap  and  indestructiljle  ornament. 
They  are  fond  of  ornaments,  especially  of 
ear-rings,  which  can  scarcely  l)e  too  large  for 
them. 

Unlike  the  more  civilized  Mahometans, 
they  care  little  about  veiling  their  faces,  and, 
in  fact,  pass  a  life  nearly  as  free  as  that  of 
the  men.  Even  the  women's  apartment 
of  the  tent  is  thrown  open  by  day  for  the 
sake  of  air,  and  any  one  can  see  freely  into 
it. 

Feminine  beauty  differs  as  much  among 
the  Arabs  as  among  other  people.  Mr. 
Palgrave  says  wittily  that  if  any  one  could 
invent  an  instrument  which  could  measure 
beauty  —  a  kalometer,  as  he  calls  it  —  the 
Bedouin  would  be  "  represented  by  zero,  or 
at  most  1°.  A  degree  higher  would  repre- 
sent the  female  sex  of  ISTejed;  above  them 
rank  the  women  of  Shomer,  who  are  iu  their 
turn  surmounted  by  those  of  Djowf.  The 
fifth  or  sixth  degree  symbolizes  the  fair  ones 
of  Ilasa;  the  seventh  those  of  Katar;  and 
lastly,  by  a  sudden  rise  of  ten  degrees  at 
least,  the  seventeenth  or  eighteenth  would 
denote  the  pre-eminent  beauties  of  Oman. 

"  Arab  poets  occasionally  languish  after 
the  charmers  of  Hejaz;  I  never  saw  anyone 
to  charm  me,  but  then  I  only  skirted  the 
province.  All  bear  witness  to  the  absence 
of  female  loveliness  in  Yamen ;  and  I  should 
much  doubt  whether  the  mulatto  races  and 
dusky  complexions  of  Hadramout  have  much 
to  vaunt  of  But  in  Hasa  a  decided  improve- 
ment in  this  important  point  is  agreeably 
evident  to  the  traveller  arriving  from  Nejed, 
and  he  will  be  yet  further  delighted  on  find- 
ing his  Calypsos  much  more  couversible,  and 
having  much  more  too  in  their  conversation, 
than  those  he  left  behind  him  in  Sedeys 
and  Aared." 

It  is  popularly  thought  that  Arab  manners 
are  like  those  of  the  Turk,  —  grave,  polite, 
and  majestic.  The  fact  is  far  different. 
Though,  like  the  American  Indian,  the 
Arab  has  a  proud  and  stately  walk,  and 
knows  well  enough  how  to  assume  a  regally 
indifferent  demeanor  on  occasion,  he  is  by 
nature  lively  and  talkative,  not  caring  very 
much  what  he  talks  about;  and  fond  of  sing- 


ing Arab  songs  in  that  curious  mixture  of 
high  screaming  falsetto  and  guttural  intona- 
tion which  he  is  pleased  to  consider  vocal 
music. 

Then  the  general  manners  are  by  no 
means  dignified,  even  when  the  Bedouins 
want  to  do  special  honor  to  a  guest.  Mr. 
Palgrave  spent  much  time  among  them,  and 
has  drawn  a  vivid  picture  of  life  in  a  Bedouin 
encampment.  It  is  no  unfavorable  one,  the 
inmates  being  described  as  "  .ajaweed,"  or 
gentlemen  — though  the  author  remarks 
rather  wickedly  that,  if  they  were  gentle- 
men, he  very  much  wondered  what  the 
blackguards  were  like. 

"  The  chief,  his  family  (women  excepted), 
his  intimate  followers,  and  some  twenty 
others,  young  and  old,  boys  and  men,  came 
up,  and,  after  a  kindly  salutation  Bedouin- 
wise,  seated  themselves  in  a  semicircle  be- 
fore us.  Every  man  held  a  short  crooked 
stick  for  camel-driving  in  his  hand,  to  ges- 
ticulate with  in  speaking,  or  to  play  with 
in  the  intervals  of  conversation;  while  the 
younger  members  of  society,  less  prompt 
in  discourse,  politely  employed  their  leisure 
in  staring  at  us,  or  in  pinching  up  dried 
pellets  of  dirt  from  the  sand,  and  tossing 
them  about. 

"  But  how  am  I  to  describe  their  conver- 
sation, their  questions  and  answers,  their 
manners  and  jests?  '  A  sensible  person  in 
this  city  is  like  a  man  tied  up  among  a  drove 
of  mules  in  a  .stable,'  I  once  heard  from  a 
respectable  stranger  in  the  Syrian  town  of 
Homs,  a  locality  proverbial  for  the  utter 
stupidity  of  its  denizens.  But  among  Be- 
douins in  the  desert,  where  the  advanta<ies 
of  the  stable  are  wanting,  the  guest  rather 
resembles  a  man  in  the  middle  of  a  held 
among  untied  mules,  frisking  and  kicking 
their  heels  in  all  directions  around  him. 

"  Here  you  may  see  human  nature  at  its 
lowest  stage,  or  very  nearly.  One  sprawls 
stretched  out  on  the  sand,  another  draws 
unmeaning  lines  with  the  end  of  his  stick,  a 
third  grins,  a  foin-th  asks  purposeless  or  im- 
pertinent questions,  or  cuts  jokes  meant  for 
wit,  but  in  fact  only  coarse  in  the  extreme. 
Meanwhile  the  boys  thrust  themselves  for- 
ward without  restraint,  and  interrupt  their 
elders  (their  betters  I  can  hardly  say)  with- 
out the  smallest  respect  or  deference. 

"And  3'et,  in  all  this,  there  is  no  real 
intention  of  rudeness,  no  desire  to  annoy  — - 
quite  the  reverse.  They  sincerely  wish  to 
make  tliemselves  agreeable  to  the  new 
comers,  to  put  them  at  their  ease,  nay,  to 
do  them  what  good  service  they  can,  only 
they  do  not  exactly  know  how  to  set  about 
it.  If  they  violate  all  laws  of  decorum  or 
courtesy,  it  is  out  of  .sheer  ignorance,  not 
mnlice  prepense.  And,  amid  the  aimlessness 
of  an  utterly  uncultivated  mind,  they  occa- 
sionally show  indications  of  considerable 
tact  and  shrewdness;  while,  through  all  the 
fickleness  proper  to  man  accustomed  to  no 


684 


BEDOUINS. 


moral  or  physical  restraint,  there  appears 
the  groundwork  of  a  manly  and  generous 
character,  such  as  a  Persian,  for  instance, 
seldom   offers. 

"  Their  defects  are  inherent  in  their  con- 
dition, their  redeeming  qualities  are  their 
own — they  have  them  by  inheritance  from 
one  of  the  noblest  races  of  earth,  from  the 
Arabs  of  inliabited  lands  and  organized 
governments.  Indeed,  after  having  trav- 
elled much  and  made  pretty  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  many  races,  African,  Asiatic, 
and  European,  I  should  hardly  be  inclined  to 
give  the  preference  to  any  over  the  genuine 
unmixed  clans  of  Central  and  Eastern  Af- 
rica. Now  tliese  last-mentioned  populations 
are  identical  in  blood  and  tongue  with  the 
myriads  of  the  desert,  yet  liow  immeasurably 
inferior!  The  difference  between  a  barbar- 
ous Highlander  and  an  English  gentleman, 
in  '  Rob  Roy  '  or  '  Waverley,'  is  hardly  less 
striking." 

The  resemblance  between  the  gipsy  and 
the  Bedouin  is  almost  too  evident  to  need 
mention,  and  tlie  author  of  this  passage  has 
here  drawn  attention  to  the  singular  re- 
semblance between  the  Bedouin,  and  the 
Highlandei',  as  described  by  Scott.  There 
is,  however,  in  the  "  Legend  of  Montrose,"  a 
passage  which  is  wortliy  of  being  quoted  in 
this  place,  so  strangely  close  is  tiie  parallel. 
It  occurs  in  the  scene  where  the  wounded 
Mac-Eogh  is  dying  in  prison,  and  is  giving 
bis  last  commands  to  his  grandson.  "  Keep 
thou  uusoiled  tlie  freedom  which  I  leave  thee 
as  a  birthright.  Barter  it  not,  neither  for 
the  rich  garment,  nor  for  the  stone  roof, 
nor  for  the  covered  board,  nor  for  the  couch 
of  down.  Son  of  the  Mist,  be  free  as  thy 
forefathers.  Own  no  land  —  receive  no  law 
— take  no  hire  —  give  no  stipend  —  build  no 
hut  —  inclose  no  pasture  —  sow  no  grain.  .  .  . 
Begone  —  shake  the  dust  from  thy  feet 
against  the  habitations  of  men,  whether 
banded  together  for  peace  or  war."  Shift 
the  scene  from  Scotland  to  Arabia,  and  no 
more  appropriate  words  could  have  been  put 
into  the  mouth  of  a  dj^ing  Bedouin  chief 

With  characters  so  impatient  of  control, 
it  is  evident  that  there  can  be  no  govern- 
ment worthy  of  the  name.  Like  the  Son  of 
the  Mist,  they  acknowledge  no  lord,  and 
there  is  no  one  who  bears  even  by  courtesy 
the  title  of  King  of  the  Bedouins.  Each 
clan  is  governed  by  its  own  sheikh,  and 
occasionally  a  few  clans  unite  for  some  raid 
under  the  presidency  of  the  eldest  or  most  im- 
portant sheikh,  and  remain  united  for  some 
time.  But  his  rule  only  lasts  as  long  as  the 
others  choose  to  obey  him,  and  instead  of 
being  a  sovereign,  or  even  a  commander-in- 
chief,  he  is  but  }y>'i>nus  inter  pares. 

The  clans  themselves  vary  exceedingly  in 
numljers,  and,  as  a  general  rule,  each  clan 
consists  of  one  family,  gathered  together 
after  the  patriarchal  system.  Tlien  if  one  of 
the  men  should  happen  to  excel  his  feUows 


he  is  sure  to  get  together  a  band  of  followers, 
to  separate  in  time  from  his  family,  and 
found  a  clan  of  his  own. 

In  consequence  of  this  insubordinate  na- 
ture, war,  as  we  understand  it,  is  impos- 
sible, simply  because  discipline  cannot  be 
maintained.  If,  for  example,  several  clans 
unite  under  the  presidency  of  one  of  their 
number,  should  one  of  tlie  confederated 
sheiklis  feel  dissatisfied  with  the  commander, 
he  will  go  off  together  with  his  people,  and 
probably  join  another  who  is  more  to  his 
mind. 

Though  war  is  unknown,  the  Bedouins 
live  in  a  chronic  state  offend,  no  one  know- 
ing whether  his  encampment  may  not  be 
assailed  liy  another  clan,  all  his  little  prop- 
erty—  dress  included — torn  from  him,  if 
he  submits,  and  his  throat  very  probably  cut 
if  he  resists.  No  one  ever  thinks  of  giving 
notice  of  attack,  or  of  fighting  anything  like 
equal  numbers.  Should  tliey  not  be  far 
superior  in  numbers,  tliey  contrive  to  pro- 
ject their  assault  secretly,  and  to  take  their 
victims  Ijy  surprise,  and  the  man  who  is  most 
ingenious  in  ]il.anning  such  raids,  and  the 
most  active  and  courageous  in  carrying  them 
out,  is  sure  to  be  the  man  who  will  rise  to  a 
sort  of  eminence  in  his  own  clan,  and  finish 
by  founding  one  of  his  own.  The  only 
object  of  such  a  raid  is  the  acquisition  of 
property;  and  even  a  handsome  horse,  or  a 
remarkably  swift  dromedary,  will  cause  the 
destruction  of  a  whole  clan. 

Living  in  the  desert,  and  only  travelling 
from  one  fertile  spot  to  another,  they  cannot 
be  expected  to  be  very  delicate  in  regai'd  to 
provisions,  nor  to  possess  any  great  skill  in 
cookery.  Their  greatest  luxury  is  a  feast 
on  boiled  mutton  and  the  whole  process  of 
cooking  and  serving  is  almost  ludicrously 
simple.  The  body  of  a  sheep  is  cut  up  and 
tlirown  into  a  pot,  together  with  a  suffl- 
ciency  of  water.  The  jiot  is  tlien  placed  on 
the  tire,  and  in  process  of  time  it  boils. 
When  it  is  about  two-thirds  cooked,  accord- 
ing to  our  ideas,  the  liungry  Bedouins  can 
wait  no  longer;  it  is  all  turned  into  a  Large 
wooden  bowl,  and  the  guests  assemble 
round  it.  Their  hands  are  plunged  into 
the  bowl,  the  scalding  and  half-raw  meat  is 
quickly  torn  to  pieces',  and  in  five  minutes 
nothing  is  left  but  the  cleanly  picked  bones. 
No  vegetables  are  added  to  it.  and  no  condi- 
mentsare  thought  needful.  Water  is  then 
passed  round  in  another  howl  or  pail,  a  deep 
draught  is  taken,  and  the  feast  is  over. 

Tlie  bread  of  the  Bedouin  is  as  simple  as 
the  cookery.  The  baker  pours  a  few  hand- 
fuls  of  Hour  upon  a  circular  piece  of  leather, 
pours  a  little  water  upon  it,  and  kneads  it 
into  dough.  Another  m;in  has  in  the  mean 
time  been  preparing  a  fire,  and,  as  soon  as 
it  burns  up,  the  dough  is  patted  into  a  tkin 
circular  cake,  about  one  inch  thick  and  six 
inches  diameter.  This  is  laid  on  the  fire 
and  covered  with  embers,  and  after  being 


THE  DATE  AND  ITS  USES. 


685 


turned  once  or  twice,  and  the  ashes  brushed 
off,  it  is  taken  from  the  fire,  broken  up, 
and  eaten  as  it  is  —  "  lialf-kueadcd.  half-i'aw, 
half-roasted,  and  burnt  all  round."  Were  it 
not  eaten  while  still  hot,  it  would  become 
so  tough  and  leathery  that  not  even  a  Be- 
douin could  eat  it.  In  fiict,  it  very  much 
resembles  the  rough-and-ready  bread  of  the 
Australian  shepherds,  which  is  so  well 
known  under  the  name  of  "  damper."  One 
advantage  of  this  style  of  bread  is,  that  it  can 
be  readify  cooked  on  .a  journey,  and,  on  special 
occasions,  a  camel-rider  can  even  bake  his 
bread  while  on  the  back  of  his  dromedary. 

The  date  is,  however,  the  chief  resource 
of  the  Bedouin,  and  on  that  fruit  alone  he 
can  exist  for  a  long  time,  even  through  the 
many  hardships  which  he  has  to  endure  in 
his  journeying  through  the  desert.  In  Eng- 
land we  do  not  know  what  the  date  really  is, 
nor  can  understand  the  rich  lusciousness  of 
the  fruit  before  it  is  dried  and  preserved. 
In  the  latter  state  it  is  very  heating  to  a 
European,  and  slightly  so  even  to  a  native, 
whereas  in  its  fresh  state  it  has  no  such  evil 
qualities.  It  contains  a  marvellous  amount 
of  nourishment,  and  when  fresh  does  not 
cloy  the  palate,  as  is  always  the  case  when 
it  is  dried. 

In  consequence  of  this  nourishing  prop- 
erty of  the  fruit,  the  date  tree  is  not  only 
valued,  but  absolutely  honored.  The  Arab 
addresses  it  as  his  mother,  and  treats  it  with 
as  much  reverence  as  if  it  were  really  his 
parent.  A  single  date  tree  is  a  valuable 
property  among  all  Arab  tribes,  and,  al- 
though the  genuine  Bedouins  own  none, 
they  reverence  it  as  much  as  their  more 
stationary  brethren.  Cutting  down  the  date 
trees  of  an  enemy  is  looked  upon  as  the  last 
extremity  of  cruelty,  while  planting  the 
trees  on  a  now  piece  of  ground  is  a  sign  of 
peace  and  prosperity. 

The  date  is  eaten  in  various  ways.  It  is 
usually  preferred  while  fresh  and  full  of  its 
own  sweet  juices,  but,  as  it  cannot  be  kept 
fresh  very  long,  it  is  dried,  pressed  together, 
and  so  stored  for  future  use.  When  the 
dried  date  forms  a  portion  of  a  feast,  the 
fruit  is  served  in  a  large  wooden  bowl,  in 
the  middle  of  which  is  a  cup  containing 
melted  butter.  Each  guest  then  picks  out 
the  dates  singlj'  from  the  mass,  and  dijis 
each  slightly  into  the  butter  before  eating  it. 
There  are  many  qualities  of  dates,  and 
the  best,  which  grow  at  Kaseem,  are  in 
great  estimation,  and  are  largely  imported 
to  the  non-producing  parts  of  Arabia.  At 
Kaseem,  the  date-palm  is  cultivated  to  a 
great  extent,  and  probably  owes  its  peculiar 
excellence  to  the  constant  presence  of  water 

31 


six  or  seven  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  The  ripening  season  corresponds 
\vith  our  autumn,  extending  through  the 
latter  part  of  August  and  the  beginning  of 
Sejitember. 

Some  connoisseurs,  however,  prefer  the 
Khalas  date.  It  grows  only  in  Ilasa,  and 
fully  deserves  its  name,  which  signifies 
quintessence.  It  is  smaller  than  the  Ka- 
seem date,  semi-transparent,  and  of  a  rich 
amber  color.  The  sale  of  this  particular 
date  brings  in  a  large  income  to  Hasa,  the 
fruit  being  exported  as  far  as  Bombay  and 
Zanzibar. 

Of  religion,  the  genuine  Bedouin  has  not 
the  least  idea.  He  is  nominally  a  Mahome- 
tan, and  will  repeat  certain  formula?  with 
perfect  accuracy.  He  will  say  his  BismiUahs, 
and  Mashallahs,  and  other  jiious  ejaculations 
as  well  as  any  one,  but  he  has  not  the  least 
idea  who  Allah  may  be,  neither  does  he 
care.  As  far  as  Mr.  Palgrave  could  ascer- 
tain, their  only  idea  of  Allah  was  that  of  a 
very  great  sheikh,  who  would  have  about 
the  same  authority  over  them  in  the  next 
world  as  their  own  sheikh  in  this  sphere. 
Tliat  is  to  say,  they  consider  that  they  will 
be  quite  as  'independent  after  death  as 
before,  and  that  they  will  acknowledge  alle- 
giance to  this  great  sheikh  as  long  as  they 
choose,  and  no  longer. 

Like  all  men  who  are  ignorant  of  religion, 
they  are  superstitious  in  proportion  to  their 
ignorance.  Profoundly  illiterate  themselves, 
they  have  the  greatest  reverence  for  book- 
learning,  and  any  one  who  can  read  a  book 
is  respected,  while  he  who  can  write  as  ^vell 
as  read  is  regarded  with  a  curious  mixture 
of  admiration,  envy,  and  fear.  The  latter 
feeling  is  excited  by  his  presumed  ability  of 
writing  saphies,  or  charms,  which  are  mostlv 
sentences  from  the  Koran,  and  are  supposed 
to  possess  every  imaginable  virtue. 

Before  leaving  the  Bedouin  Arabs,  a  few 
words  must  be  said  about  the  Arab  and  his 
horse.  Many  tales  are  told  of  the  love  that 
exists  between  the  animal  and  its  master,  of 
the  attention  which  is  lavished  on  a  favorite 
mare,  and  how  she  and  her  colt  inhabit  the 
tent  together  with  the  children,  and  are  all 
playfellows  together.  Tliis  certainly  may 
be  the  case  occasionally,  but  not  invariably. 
That  they  are  brought  up  in  close  contact  is 
true  enousjh,  and  that  tlie  animal  thereby 
acquires  an  intelligence  which  it  never  could 
possess  under  less  sociable  treatment.  But 
the  Ai'ab  has  no  more  real  affection  for  his 
steed  than  has  many  an  English  gentleman 
for  his  favorite  horse;  and,  if  he  be  angered 
he  is  capable  of  treating  the  animal  with 
hasty  cruelty. 


68o 


THE  nx\.SSAKIYEH. 


THE   HASSAXIYEH. 


We  arc  come  to  a  branch  of  the  Arabs 
called  the  Hassaniyeh,  who  inhabit  a  large 
tract  of  land  south  of  Khartoum.  They  are 
))aler  in  complexion  than  tliose  of  whom  we 
have  already  treated,  having  a  decided  tinge 
of  yellow  in  their  skins.  They  are  slight, 
tall,  and  straight-featured.  The  men  jjart 
their  hair  in  the  middle,  plait  it  into  long 
braids,  and  fasten  it  at  the  back  of  the  head, 
so  that  they  have  rather  a  feminine  aspect. 

The  villages  of  the  Hassaniyeh  are  mere 
assemblages  of  slight  huts,  circular  in  shape, 
and  having  conical  roofs,  with  a  hole  in  the 
centre  by  way  of  a  chimney.  The  w-alls  are 
made  of  sticks  and  reeds,  and  the  roofs  of 
straw,  and  at  a  little  distance  the  huts  look 
more  like  tents  than  houses.  Each  hut  is 
surroundi'd  with  a  fence  of  thorns. 

As  among  other  Arab  tribes,  the  .sheikh's 
house  is  much  larger  and  better  than  those 
of  the  commonalty,  and  is  divided  into  sev- 
eral chaniljers.  Sometimes  a  sort  of  second 
hut  is  placed  in  the  interior,  is  made  of  fine 
yellow  grass,  and  is  iidiabited  b\'  the  women. 
Now  and  then  a  sheikh  has  his  tent  covered 
with  camel's-hair  cloth,  and  one  of  them, 
seen  by  Mr.  IJayard  Taylor,  was  thirty  feet 
in  length,  and  contained  two  inner  cham- 
bers. The  walls  were  covered  with  skins, 
gourds,  and  similar  articles;  the  principal 
chamber  contained  a  large  bedstead  or  anga- 
rep;  and  the  cloth  roof  was  decorated  with 
great  quantities  of  cowrie  shells,  sewed  upon 
it  in  crosses,  stars,  and  other  patterns. 

The  people  have  some  very  strange  cus- 
toms, among  which  is  one  that  is  almost 
peculiar  to  themselves,  though  an  analogous 
custom  prevails  in  one  or  two  parts  of  the 
world.  A  woman  when  she  marries  does 
not  merge  her  identity  entirely  in  that  of 
her  husijand,  but  reserves  to  herself  one- 
fourth  of  her  life.  Consequently,  on  every 
fourth  day  she  is  released  from  her  marriage 
vows;  and,  if  she  happens  to  take  a  fancy  to 
any  man,  the  favored  lover  may  live  with 
her  for  four-and-twent^'  hours,  during  which 
time  the  husband  may  not  enter  the  hut. 
With  this  curious  exce]ition,  the  Hassani- 
yeh women  are  not  so  innuoral  as  those  of 
many  parts  of  tlie  world.  When  a  traveller 
passes  through  the  country,  they  are  bound 
to  fulfil  the  rites  of  hospitality  by  assigning 
him  a  house  during  the  time  of  his  visit, 
and  lending  liim  a  wife  for  the  same  period. 
Mr.  Taylor  suggests  that  if  the  Hassaniyeh 
would  also  lend  him  a  family  of  children 
their  generosity  would  he  complete. 

When  a  stranger  of  rank  visits  their  do- 
mains, they  perform  a  curious  dance  of  wel- 
come by  way  of  salutation.  Mr.  Bayard 
Taylor  has  well  deseril)ed  one  of  these 
dances  which  he  witnessed  on  his  voyage 
to  Khartoum.  He  had  won  the  hearts  of 
the  people  by  presenting  them  with  a  hand- 


ful of  tobacco  and  fourpence  in  cojiper.  "In 
a  .short  time  1  received  word  that  the 
women  of  the  village  would  come  to  per- 
form a  dance  of  welcome  and  salutation,  if 
I  would  allow  them.  As  the  wind  was 
blowing  strongly  against  us  and  the  sailors 
had  not  finished  skinning  the  sheep,  I  had 
my  carpet  spread  on  the  sand  in  the  shade 
of  a  group  of  mimosas,  and  awaited  their 
arrival. 

"Presently  we  heard  a  sound  of  .shrill 
singing  and  the  clapping  of  hands  in  meas- 
ured beat,  and  discerned  the  procession 
advancing  .slowly  through  the  trees.  They 
came  two  by  two,  nearly  thirty  in  all,  sing' 
ing  a  .shrill,  piercing  chorus,  which  sounded 
more  like  lamentation  than  greeting. 

"  When  they  had  arrived  in  front  of  me, 
they  ranged  themselves  into  a  semicircle, 
with  their  faces  toward  me,  and.  still  clap- 
ping their  hands  to  mark  the  rhythm  of  the 
song,  she  who  stood  iu  the  centre  stepped 
forth,  with  her  breast  heaved  almost  to 
a  level  with  her  face,  which  was  thrown 
back,  and  advanced  with  a  slow  undulating 
motion,  till  she  had  reached  the  edge  of 
my  carpet.  Then,  with  a  quick  jerk,  she 
reversed  the  curve  of  her  body,  tin-owing 
her  head  forward  and  downward,  so  that  the 
multitude  of  her  long  twists  of  black  hair, 
siiining  with  butter,  brushed  my  cap.  This 
was  intended  as  a  salutation  and  sign  of  wel- 
come; I  bowed  my  head  at  the  same  time, 
and  she  went  back  to  her  place  iu  the  ranks. 

"After  a  pause  the  chorus  was  resumed 
and  another  advanced,  and  so  in  succession, 
till  all  had  saluted  me,  a  ceremony  which 
occupied  an  hour.  They  were  nearly  all 
3'oung,  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and 
twenty,  and  some  were  strikingly  beautiful. 
They  had  the  dark-olive  Arab  complexion, 
with  regular  features,  teeth  of  pearly  white- 
ness, and  black,  brilliant  eyes.  The  coarse 
cotton  robe  thrown  over  one  shoulder  left 
free  the  arms,  neck,  and  breasts,  which 
were  exquisitely  moulded.  Their  bare  feet 
and  ankles  were  as  slender  as  those  of  the 
Venus  of  Cleomenes."' 

All  the  women  took  their  part  succes- 
sively in  this  curious  dance,  and  by  far  tlie 
most  beautiful  and  graceful  of  them  was  the 
wife  of  the  sheikh,  a  young  woman  barely 
twenty  3'ears  old,  with  features  compared 
by  Mr.  Taylor  to  those  of  Guido's  Cleopa- 
tra, the  broad  round  forehead,  full  oval  face, 
and  regal  bearing  all  adding  to  the  resem- 
blance. Her  hair  was  plaited  into  at  least 
fifty  braids,  and  was  thickly  plastered  with 
butter,  and  upon  her  head  \vas  a  diadem 
of  white  beads.  She  moved  with  a  stately 
grace  down  the  line,  and  so  charmed  were 
the  guests  with  her  mode  of  performing  the 
curious  salutation,  that  she  rejieated  it  sev- 
eral times  for  their  gratification. 


1 


ARAB   SrPERSTITIOXS. 


687 


Even  the  men  took  part  in  the  dance, 
and  one  of  them,  a  splendid  example  of  the 
purest  Arab  blood,  possessed  so  perfect  a 
form,  and  moved  in  the  dance  with  such 
entire  and  absolute  grace,  that  he  even 
drew  away  the  traveller's  attention  from  the 
women. 

We  now  come  to  some  of  the  manners 

and  customs  of  the  Arabs,  which  are  not 
restricted  to  certain  tribes,  but  are  charac- 
teristic of  the  Arab  nature.  Some  of  them 
are  remarkalile  for  the  fact  that  they  have 
survived  through  many  centuries,  and  have 
resisted  the  inrtuence  of  a  comparatively 
new  religion,  and  the  encroachments  of  a 
gradually  advancing  civilization. 

As  may  be  expected,  their  superstitions 
have  undergone  but  little  change,  and  the 
learned  and  most  civilized  Arab  acknowl- 
edges their  power  in  his  heart  as  well  as  the 
ignorant  and  half-savage  Aralj  who  never 
saw  a  book  or  entered  a  house.  He  will  not 
openly  admit  that  he  believes  in  these  super- 
stitions, but  he  does  believe  in  them  very 
firmly,  and  betrays  his  belief  in  a  thousand 
ways.  Educated  though  ho  be,  he  has  a 
lingering  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  written 
charm?;  and  if  he  should  happen  to  see  in 
the  possession  of  another  man  a  scrap  of 
paper  covered  with  characters  he  does  not 
understand,  he  will  feel  uneasy  as  often 
as  the  mysterious  writing  occurs  to  him. 
Should  he  get  such  a  piece  of  paper  into  his 
own  possession,  he  cherishes  it  fondly,  and 
takes  care  to  conceal  it  from  others. 

In  consequence  of  this  widely-diffused 
superstition,  travellers  have  passed  safely 
through  large  tracts  of  country,  mjeting 
with  various  tribes  of  Arabs,  all  at  variance 
with  each  other,  in  true  Arab  fashion,  and 
yet  have  managed  to  propitiate  them  by  the 
simple  process  of  writing  a  sentence  or  two 
of  any  language  on  a  scrap  of  paper.  One 
favorite  form  of  the  "  saphies,"  as  these 
written  charms  are  called,  exhibits  a  curi- 
ous mixture  of  medicine  and  literature.  A 
man  who  is  ill,  or  who  wants  a  charm  to 
prevent  him  from  being  ill,  brings  to  the 
saphie  writer  a  smooth  board,  a  pen  and  ink. 
The  saphie  is  written  on  the  board,  and  the 
happy  possessor  takes  it  home,  washes  off 
every  vestige  of  the  writing,  and  then  drinks 
the  blackened  water. 

Even  at  the  present  day,  the  whole  of  the 
Arabian  tribes  have  the  full  and  implicit 
belief  in  the  Jinns,  Efreets,  Ghouls,  and 
other  superhuman  beings,  that  forms  the 
chief  element  in  the  '•  Arabian  Nights." 
This  belief  is  inbred  with  them,  and  no 
amount  of  education  can  drive  it  out  of 
them.  They  do  not  parade  this  belief,  nor 
try  to  conceal  it,  but  accept  the  existence  of 
these  beings  as  an  acknowledged  fact  wdiich 
no  one  would  dream  of  disputing. 

According  to  tlieir  ideas,  every  well  has 
its  peculiar  spirit,  mostly  an  efreet  or  semi- 


cvil  genius,  and  every  old  tower  is  peopled 
with  them,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  house 
that  has  not  at  least  one  spirit  inmate. 
Many  of  the  Arabs  say  that  they  have  seen 
and  conversed  with  the  efreets,  and  relate 
very  curious  adventures.  Generally,  the 
efreet  is  harmless  enough,  if  he  be  only  let 
alone,  but  sometimes  he  becomes  so  trouble- 
some that  strong  measures  must  be  used. 
AVhat  w^as  done  in  the  way  of  exorcism  be- 
fore the  discovery  of  fire-arms  is  not  known, 
but  in  the  present  day,  when  an  efreet  can 
be  seen,  he  can  be  destroj'ed  by  a  bullet  as  if 
he  were  a  human  being. 

Mr.  Lane  relates  a  most  curious  story  of 
such  an  encounter.  It  is  so  interesting,  and 
is  so  well  told,  that  nothing  but  our  very 
limited  space  prevents  its  insertion.  The 
gist  of  it,  however,  is  as  follows  :  — 

An  European  lady  had  been  looking  after 
a  house  in  Cairo,  and  at  last  had  found  a 
very  handsome  one,  witli  a  large  garden,  for 
a  very  low  rent — scarcely  more  than  £'12 
per  annum.  She  took  the  house,  which 
pleased  her  well  enough,  though  it  did  not 
have  the  same  effect  oli  the  maid-servants, 
all  of  whom  left  it  as  soon  as  possible.  At 
last  the  reason  came  out.  The  house  was 
liaunted  by  an  efreet,  which  lived  mostly  in 
the  bath,  and  at  night  used  to  go  about  the 
house,  banging  at  the  doors,  knocking  against 
the  walls,  and  making  such  a  perpetual  riot 
that  he  had  frightened  tenant  after  tenant 
out  of  it,  auil  kept  the  house  to  himself.  The 
family  had  heard  the  noises,  but  attributed 
them  to  the  festivities  which  had  been  going 
on_^for  some  time  at  the  next  house. 

in  spite  of  the  change  of  servants,  the 
noises  continued,  and  rather  increased  than 
decreased  in  violence.  "Very  frequently 
the  door  of  the  room  in  which  we  were  sit- 
ting, late  in  the  evening  within  two  or  three 
hours  of  midnight,  was  violently  knocked  at 
many  short  interv.als.  At  other  times  it 
seemed  as  if  something  very  heavy  fell  upon 
the  pavement,  close  uniler  the  windows  of  the 
same  room  or  one  adjoining;  and,  as  these 
rooms  were  on  the  top  of  the  house,  we  im- 
agined at  first  that  some  stones  or  other 
things  had  been  thrown  by  a  neighbor,  but 
we  could  find  nothing  outside  after  the  noise 
I  have  mentioned.  TJie  usual  sounds  con- 
tinued during  the  greater  part  of  the  niglit, 
and  were  generally  varied  with  a  heavy 
tramping,  like  the  walking  of  a  person  in 
large  clogs,  varied  by  knocking  at  the  door.s 
of  many  of  the  apartments,  and  at  the  large 
water-jars,  which  are  placed  in  recesses  in 
the  galleries." 

During  the  fast  of  Ramadhan  the  house 
was  free  from  noises,  as  efrec^ts  are  supposed 
to  be  imprisoned  during  that  season,  but  as 
soon  as  it  was  over  they  recommenced  with 
.added  violence.  After  a  while,  the  efreet 
began  to  make  himself  visible,  and  a  new 
door-keejier  was  greatly  amazed  bv  hearing 
and  seeing  the  figure  walking  nightlv  round 


688 


THE  HASSAXIYEH. 


the  gallery.  lie  begged  to  be  allowed  to  fire 
at  it,  and  at  last  he  was  permitted  to  do  so, 
provided  that  lie  oidy  used  blank  cartridge. 
The  man,  however,  not  only  i)ut  balls  into 
his  pistol,  but  loaded  it  with  two  bullets  and 
a  double  charge  of  powder.  Just  about 
midnight  the  report  of  the  pistol  rang  through 
the  house,  followed  by  the  voice  of  the  door- 
keeper, crying  out,  "  There  he  lies,  the  ac- 
cursed !"  and  accompanied  by  sounds  as  of  a 
a  wounded  creature  struggling  and  gasping 
for  breath. 

The  man  continued  to  call  to  his  fellow- 
servants  to  come  up,  and  the  master  of  tlie 
house  ran  at  once  to  the  spot.  The  door- 
keeper said  that  tlie  efreet  had  appeared  in 
his  usual  shape,  a  tall  white  figure,  and  on  be- 
ing asked  to  leave  the  house,  refused  to  do  so. 
He  then  passed  as  usual  down  the  passage, 
when  the  man  fired  at  him  and  struck  him 
down.  "  Here,"  said  he,  "  are  the  remains." 
So  saying,  he  picked  up,  under  the  spot 
where  the  bullets  had  entered  the  wall,  a  | 
small  mass  of  something  that  looked  like 
scorched  leather,  perforated  by  fire  in  sev- 
eral places,  and  burnt  to  a  cinder.  This,  it 
appears,  is  always  the  relic  which  is  left 
when  an  efreet  is  destroyed.  Ever  afterward 
the  house  was  free  from  disturbance. 

The  reader  will  notice  the  curious  resem- 
blance to  the  efreet  stories  in  the  "  Arabian 
Xights,"  more  especially  to  the  story  of  the 
Second  Calender,  in  which  the  efreet  and  the 
princess  who  fought  him  were  both  reduced 
to  ashes.  The  idea,  too,  of  tlie  wells  being 
inhabited  by  efreets  repeatedly  occurs  in 
those  wonderful  tales. 

Another  curious  tale  of  the  efreet  was  told 
to  Mr.  Taylor  by  an  Arab  of  some  rank. 
He  was  walking  one  night  near  Cairo,  when 
he  saw  a  donkey  near  him.  The  animal 
seemed  to  be  without  an  owner,  and,  as  he 
happened  to  be  rather  tired,  he  mounted, 
and  rode  on  his  way  p)leasautly.  In  a  short 
time,  however,  he  became  startled  by  finding 
that  the  donkey  was  larger  than  it  w  as  when 
he  mounted  it,  and  no  sooner  had  he  made 
this  discovery  than  the  animal  increased 
rapidly  in  size,  and  in  a  few  minutes  was  as 
large  as  a  camel.  Of  course  he  was  horri- 
bly frightened,  but  he  remembered  that  a 
disguised  efreet  could  be  detected  by  wound- 
ing him  with  a  sharp  instrument.  Accord- 
ingly, he  cautiously  drew  his  dagger,  and 
was  about  to  plunge  it  into  the  animal's 
back.  The  efreet,  however,  was  too  clever 
for  him,  and,  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  dagger, 
suddenly  shrunk  to  his  former  size,  kicked 
off  his  rider,  and  vanished  with  a  peal  of 
laughter  and  the  exclamation,  "  Oh,  }'ou 
want  to  ride,  do  you  ?  " 

According  to  the  Arab  belief,  the  sjiirit  of 
man  is  bound  to  pass  a  certain  time  on 
earth,  and  a  natural  death  is  the  token  of 
reaching  that  time.  Should  he  be  killed  by 
violence,  his  spirit  haunts  the  spot  where 
his  body  was  buried,  and  remains  there  until 


the  term  on  earth  has  been  fulfilled.  The 
same  Arali  told  Mr.  Taylor  that  tor  many 
years,  whenever  he  passed  by  night  over 
the  place  where  Napoleon  defeated  the 
Mamelukes,  the  noise  of  battle  was  heard, 
the  shouts  of  the  soldiers,  the  cries  of  the 
wounded,  and  the  groans  of  the  dying.  At 
first  the  sounds  were  loud,  as  of  a  midtitude; 
but  year  by  year  they  gradually  decreased, 
as  the  time  of  earthly  sojourn  exjiired,  and 
at  the  time  when  he  told  the  story  but  few 
could  be  heard. 

Among  some  of  the  tribes  they  have  a 
rather  odd  superstition.  A  traveller  was 
struck  with  the  tastefulness  of  a  young  girl's 
headdress,  and  wanted  to  buy  it.  She  was 
willing  enough  to  sell  it  for  the  liberal  price 
which  was  ottered,  but  her  father  prohibited 
the  sale,  on  the  ground  that  from  the  head- 
dress could  be  made  a  charm  which  would 
force  the  girl  to  fiy  to  the  jiosscssor,  no  mat- 
ter in  what  part  of  the  world  he  might  be. 

It  is  not  wonderful  that,  saturated  as  they 
are  with  these  ideas,  many  of  the  wonders  of 
nature  apiiear  to  them  to  be  of  supernatural 
origin.  Chief  among  them  is  that  extraordi- 
nary phenomenon,  the  mirage,  in  which  a 
place  far  below  the  horizon  is  suddenly  made 
visible,  and  appears  to  be  close  at  hand. 
Even  in  our  own  country  we  have  had 
examples  of  the  mirage,  though  not  in  so 
striking  a  manner  as  is  often  seen  among 
the  sandy  plains  of  Arabia.  Water  is  a 
favorite  -subject  of  the  mirage,  and  the  trav- 
eller, as  he  "passes  over  the  burning  plains, 
sees  before  him  a  rolling  river  or  a  vast  lake, 
the  palm  trees  waving  on  its  edge  and  re- 
flected on  its  surface,  and  the  little  wavelets 
rippling  along  as  driven  by  the  wind.  Beasts 
as  well  as  men  see  it,  and  it  is  hardly  possi- 
ble to  restrain  tlie  thirsty  camels  from  rush- 
ing to  the  seeming  water. 

The  Arabs  call  the  mirage,  "  Water  of  the 
Jinns,"  and  believe  that  it  is  an  illusion 
caused  by  the  jinns  —  our  old  friends  the 
geni  of  "The  "Arabian  Nights."  A  yery 
vivid  account  of  this  phenonunon  is  given 
in  St.  John's  "  Egypt  and  Nubia:"  — 

"  I  had  been  riding  along  in  a  reverie, 
when,  chancing  to  raise  my  head,  I  thought 
I  perceived,  desertward,  a  dark  strip  on  the 
far  horizon.  "What  could  it  be?  My  com- 
panion, who  had  very  keen  sight,  was"riding 
in  advance  of  me,  and,  with  a  sudden  excla- 
mation, he  pulled  up  his  dromedary  and 
gazed  in  the  same  direction.  I  called  to 
him,  and  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  j-ou- 
der  strip,  and  whether  he  could  make  out 
anything  in  it  distinctly.  He  answered  that 
water  had  all  at  once  "appeared  there;  that 
he  saw  the  motion  of  the  waves,  and  tall 
palms  and  other  trees  bending  up  and  down 
over  them,  as  if  tossed  by  a  strong  wind.  An 
Arab  was  at  my  side,  with  his  tace  iiiufHed 
up  in  his  burnous;  I  roused  his  attention, 
and  iiointed  to  the  object  of  our  inquiry. 
'MashallahP  cried  theold  man,  witk  a  face 


THE  MIRAGE. 


C89 


as  if  he  had  seen  a  ghost,  and  stared  with  all 
his  might  across  the  desert. 

"  All  the  other  Arabs  of  the  party  evinced 
no  less  eniotioii;  and  our  interpreter  called 
out  to  us,  that  what  we  saw  was  the  evil 
spirit  of  the  desert,  that  led  travellers  astray, 
luring  them  farther  and  farther  into  the 
heart  of  the  waste,  ever  retreating  before 
them  as  they  [lursued  it,  and  not  finally  dis- 
appearing till  its  deluded  victims  had  irre- 
coverably lost  themselves  in  the  pathless 
sands.  This,  then,  was  the  mirage.  My 
com))^nion  galloped  towar<l  it,  and  we  fol- 
lowed hinr,  thougli  the  Arabs  tried  to  pre- 
vent us,  and  erelong  I  could  with  my  own 
eyes  discern  sometliing  of  this  strange  phe- 
nomenon. It  was,  as  my  friend  reported,  a 
broad  sheet  of  water,  with  fresh  green  trees 
along  its  banks;  and  yet  there  was  nothing 
actually  before  us  but  parched  yellow  sand. 
The  apparition  occasioned  us  all  very  uncom- 
fortalile  feelings,  and  yet  we  congratulated 
ourselves  in  having  seen  for  once  the  desert 
wonder. 

"  The  phenomenon  really  deserves  the 
name  the  Arabs  give  it,  of  Goldin  of  the 
Desert;  an  evil  spirit  that  bejjuiles  the  wan- 
derer from  the  safe  path,  and  mocks  him 
with  a  false  show  of  what  liis  heated  brain 
paints  in  glowing  colors.  Whence  comes  it 
that  this  illusion  at  first  fills  with  uneasiness 
—  I  might  even  say  with  dismay  —  those 
even  who  ascribe  its  existence  to  natural 
causes'?  On  a  spot  where  the  bare  sands 
spread  out  for  hundreds  of  miles,  where 
there  is  neither  tree  nor  shrub,  nor  a  trace 
of  water,  tliere  suddenly  appeared  before  us 
groups  of  tall  trees,  proudly  girdling  the  run- 
ning stream,  on  whose  waves  we  savv  the 
sunbeams  dancing.  Hills  clad  in  pleasant 
green  rose  before  us  and  vanished;  small 
houses,  and  towns  with  higli  walls  and  ram- 
parts, were  visible  among  the  trees,  whose 
tall  boles  swayed  to  and  fro  in  the  wind  like 
reeds. 

"  Far  as  we  rode  in  the  direction  of  the 
apparition,  we  never  came  any  nearer  to  it; 
tlie  whole  seemed  to  recoil  step  by  step  with 
our  advance.  We  halted,  and  remained  long 
in  contemplation  of  the  magic  scene,  until 
whatever  was  unpleasant  in  its  strangeness 
ceased  by  degrees  to  atiect  us.  Never  had  I 
seen  any  landscape  so  vivid  as  this  seem- 
ing one,  never  water  so  bright,  or  trees  so 
softly  green,  so  tall  and  stately.  Everything 
seemed  far  more  charming  there  than  in  the 
real  world;  and  so  strongly  did  we  feel  this 
attraction  that,  although  we  were  not  driven 
by  thirst  to  seek  for  water  wliere  water  there 
was  none,  still  we  would  willingly  have  fol- 
lowed on  and  on  after  the  phantom;  and  thus 
we  could  well  perceive  how  the  despairing 
wanderer,  who  with  burning  eyes  thinks  he 
gazes  on  water  and  human  dwellings,  will 
struggle  onward  tn  his  last  gasp  to  reach 
them,  until  his  fearful,  lonely  doom  befalls 
him."    Thia  singular  illusion  and  its  eft'ect 


upon  travellers  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
artist,  on  the  C79th   page. 

"  We  returned  slowly  to  our  Arabs,  who 
had  not  stirred  from  the  spot  where  we  left 
them.  Looking  back  once  more  into  the 
desert,  we  saw  the  apparition  gradually  be- 
coming fainter,  until  at  last  it  melted  away 
into  a  dim  land,  not  unlike  a  tliin  mist 
sweeping  over  the  fixce  of  a  field  (Hoch- 
lander).  It  was  probalily  this  plieuomenon, 
whicli  is  beheld  as  well  in  Hadramaut  and 
Yemen  as  in  the  deserts  of  Egypt,  which 
gave  rise  to  the  table  of  the  Garden  of  Irem, 
described  in  the  story  of  the  Phantom 
Camel,  in  the  '  Tales  of  the  Ramad'han.'  " 

I  cannot  part  from  the  Aralj  superstitions 
witliout  mentioning  one  which  is  of  very 
great  antiquity,  and  which  has  spread  itself 
widely  over  the  world.  I  allude  to  the  cele- 
brated ink-mirror  of  the  Arab  magicians,  in 
which  they  see,  througli  the  ej-es  of  another, 
the  events  of  the  future  and  the  forms  of 
persons  far   distant. 

The  mirror  is  made  as  follows  :  —  The 
magician  calls  a  very  young  Iwy,  not  old 
enough,  according  to  "their  ideas,  to  be 
tainted  with  sin,  and  makes  him  sit  on  the 
ground.  The  magician  sits  opposite  him, 
holding  the  boy's  opened  right  hand  in  his, 
and  after  repeating  prayers,  and  Ijurning  in- 
cense, he  draws  a  crossed  square  on  the  palm 
of  the  hand  —  thus  '^  —  writes  cabalistic 
words  in  all  the  angles,  and  pours  about  a 
spoonful  of  ink  into  tlie  centre.  More 
prayers  and  suflfumigations  follow,  and  the 
boy  is  then  directed  to  look  closely  into  the 
ink.  Should  he  be  really  pure,  and  a  fit  sub- 
ject for  the  magic  art,  he  sees  a  series  of  firr- 
ures,  always  beginning  with  a  man  sweeping 
the  ground,  and  ending  \7ith  a  camp,  with 
the  sultan's  tent  and  flag  in  the  centre. 
These  vanish,  and  tlie  mirror  is  left  clear  for 
any  figure  which  may  be  invoked. 

All  parties  seem  to  have  the  most  implicit 
belief  in  the  proceeding;  and  though  several 
boys  in  succession  may  fail  to  see'  anything 
but  the  reflection  of  their  own  faces,  the  fail- 
in'e  is  set  down  to  their  bad  moral  character, 
and  others  are  tried  until  one  is  found  who 
possesses  the  requisite  vision.  It  is  a  curi- 
ous fact  that  the  magician  himself  never  pre- 
tends to  this  inner  sight,  the  sins  which  he 
has  committed  being  an  cftectual  himlrance. 
Educated  Europeans  have  often  witnessed 
this  curious  ceremony,  and  have  given  ditfer- 
ent  accounts  of  it.  With  some  it  has  been 
an  utter  failure,  the  boy  evidentlv  trying  to 
deceive,  and  inventing,  according  to  his 
ability,  scenes  which  are  supposed  to  be  rep- 
resented in  the  mirror.  With  others  it  has 
been  as  singular  a  success,  European  scenes 
and  persons  have  been  descriliod  accurately 
liy  the  boy,  though  the  greatest  care  w.i's 
taken  that  no  clue  should  be  given  either  to 
the  magician  or  the  bo3\ 


690 


MADAGASCAR 


MADAGASCAE. 


"We  complete  the  account  of  African  tribes 
■witli  11  brief  notice  of  some  of  tlie  tribes 
^vhicll  inliabit  tlie  island  of  Madagascar. 
For  my  information  I  am  chietiy  indebted 
to  Ellis's  well-known  work,  and  to  a  valua- 
ble ]iaper  read  by  Lieutenant  Oliver,  R.  A., 
bi-fore  the  Anlhro5)ological  Society  of  Lon- 
don, on  March  3, 1868. 

The  name  of  Madagascar  is  entirely  of 
European  invention,  the  native  name  for 
this  great  island  being  Kosindamlio,  i.e.  the 
island  of  wild  hogs.  The  inhabitants  are 
known  by  the  general  name  of  Malagasy, 
and  they  are  divided  into  several  tribes. 
These  tribes  dilfer  from  each  other  in  their 
color,  mode  of  dress,  and  other  particulars, 
and  may  be  roughly  divided  according  to 
their  color  into  the  tair  and  the  dark  tribes, 
each  consisting  of  four  in  number,  and  rang- 
ing through  almost  every  shade  of  skin,  from 
the  light  olive  of  the  Hovas  to  the  black  tribes 
of  the  south.  According  to  Ellis  the  entire 
population  is  only  three  millions,  while  Lieu- 
tenant Oliver,  who  gives  the  ajiproximate 
numljers  of  each  tribe,  estimates  them  at 
live  millions. 

The  origin  of  the  Malagasy  is  rather 
obscure,  and,  although  so  close  to  the  con- 
tinent of  Africa,  they  have  scared}'  any- 
thing in  common  with  the  African  races. 
Thehypothesis  which  has  been  generally 
accepted  is  that  they  are  of  Malay  origin, 
their  .ancestors  having  been  in  all  probability 
blown  out  to  sea  in  their  canoes,  and  eventu- 
ally landed  on  the  island.  That  they  are  not 
of  African  origin  has  been  argued  from  sev- 
eral points,  while  they  have  many  habits  be- 
longing to  the  oceanic  race.  For  example, 
although  they  are  so  close  to  Africa,  they 
liave  never  adopted  the  skin  dresses  which 
are  generally  found  throughout  the  savage 
races  of  the  continent,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
make  use  of  the  hibiscus  bark  beaten  out 
exactly  after  the  fashion  of  the  Polyne- 
sians. 

"  It  is  evident,''  writes  Lieutenant  Oliver, 
"that  the  Malagasy  have  never  deteriorated 
from  any  original  condition  of  ciTilization, 
for  there  are  no  relics  of  primieval  civiliza- 
tion to  be  found  in  the  country.  Yet  the  Ma- 
lagasy seem  to  have  considerably  advanced 
themselves  in  the  art  of  building  houses,  and 
originating  elaborate  fortifications,  which 
they  have  themselves  modified  to  suit  their 
oft'ensive  and  defensive  weapons,  previous  to 
any  known  intercourse  with  civilized  peoi)le. 
They  had  domesticated  oxen,  and  pigs,  antl 
made  advances  in  the  cultivation  of  rice, 
yams,  &c.;  but  whether  by  their  own  un- 
aided intellect,  or  by  external  example,  we 
cannot  say." 

With  regard  to  the  domestication  of  cattle, 
tliey  themselves  refer  it  to  a  very  recent 
date,  and  even  state  that  the  use  of  beef  was 


accidentally  discovered  during  the  last  een- 
tury.  A  chief  named  Eabiby  was  superin- 
tending the  planting  of  his  rice,  when  he 
noticed  that  one  of  his  men  was  remarkable 
for  his  increase  in  strength  and  corpulence, 
and  interrogated  liim  on  the  subject.  The 
man  told  him  that  some  time  previously  he 
ha]ipened  to  kill  a  bullock,  and  had  the  curi- 
osity to  cook  some  of  the  meat.  Finding  it 
to  be  remarkably  good,  he  continued  to  kill 
and  eat,  and  so  improved  his  bodily  condi- 
tion. Raliiby  very  wisel}'  tried  the  exi)eri- 
mcnt  for  himself,  and,  finding  it  successful, 
had  a  bullock  killed,  and  gave  a  feast  to  his 
companions.  The  general  impression  was 
so  favorable  that  he  gave  orders  for  building 
folds  in  which  the  cattle  might  be  collected, 
and  he  further  extended  the  native  diet  by 
the  fiesh  of  the  wild  hog.  The  original  folds 
built  l\y  his  orders  are  still  in  existence. 

Chief  among  the  Malagasy  are  the  IIovA 
tribe,  who  hare  gradually  extended  them- 
selves over  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
island,  and  are  now  virtually  its  masters. 
They  are  the  lightest  in  color  of  all  the  tribes, 
and  have  more  of  the  Spanish  than  the  negro 
expression.  The  hair  is  Ijlack,  long,  and 
fibundant,  and  is  worn  in  several  fashions. 
The  men  usually  cut  the  hair  rather  short, 
and  arrange  it  over  the  forehead  and  temples 
much  after  the  style  that  was  prevalent  in 
the  days  of  the  Regency.  The  women  sjiend 
much  "time  over  their  hair,  sometimes  friz- 
zing it  out  until  they  remind  the  spectator  ot 
the  Fiji  race,  and  sometimes  plaiting  it  into 
an  intinity  of  braids,  and  tying  them  in  small 
knots  or  bunches  all  over  the  head. 

Their  dress  has  something  of  the  Abyssin- 
ian type.  Poor  people  wear  little  except  a 
cloth'  twisted  round  their  loins,  while  the 
more  wealthy  wear  a  shirt  covered  with  a 
mantle  called  a  lamba.  This  article  of  ap- 
parel is  disposed  as  variously  as  the  Abyssin- 
ian's  tobe.  The  Hovas  are  "distinguished  by 
having  their  lambas  edged  with  a  border  of 
five  broad  stripes.  Their  houses,  to  which 
allusion  has  already  been  made,  are  formed 
exclusively  of  vegetable  materials.  The 
walls  are  formed  by  driving  rows  of  ])osts 
into  the  ground  at"  unequal  distances,  and 
filling  in  the  sjiaces  with  the  strong  leaf-stalka 
of  tlie  "  traveller's  tree."  Each  leaf-stalk  is 
■about  ten  feet  in  length,  and  they  are  fixed 
in  their  places  by  flat  laths.  The  roof  is 
thatched  with  the  broad  leaves  of  the  same 
tree,  tied  firmly  on  the  very  stee]i  rafters. 
The  eaves  in-oject  well  beyond  the  walls, 
so  as  to  form  a  veranda  round  the  house, 
under  which  the  benches  are  placed.  The 
floor  is  covered  with  a  sort  of  boarding  made 
of  the  traveller's  tree.  The  bark  is  stripped 
ott"  and  beaten  flat,  so  as  to  form  boards  of 
twenty  feet  or  so  in  length,  and  fifteen  inches 
in  width.    These  boards  are  laid  on  the  floor. 


I 


TRAVELLING    IN    MADAGASCAE. 
(See  page  693.) 


(692) 


THE  ART  OF  TRAVEL. 


693 


an.l,  although  they  are  not  nailed,  they  keep 
their  places  tirmly. 

This  traveller's  tree  is  one  of  the  most 
useful  plants  in  Madagascar.  It  is  a  sort  of 
palm,  and  its  broad  leaves,  besides  supplying 
thatch  and  walls  for  the  houses,  furnish  a 
copious  supply  of  fresh  water.  The  water 
is  found  in  the  hollow  formed  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  base  of  the  leaf-stem  em- 
braces the  trunk  from  which  it  springs,  and 
the  liquid  is  obtained  by  piercing  the  leaf- 
stem  with  a  spear.  A  full  quart  of  water  is 
obtained  from  each  leaf,  and  it  is  so  pure 
that  the  natives  will  rather  walk  a  little  dis- 
tance to  a  traveller's  tree,  than  supply  tliein- 
selves  with  water  from  a  stream  at  their  feet. 

The  Malagasy  have  some  knowledge  of 
musical  sounds,  and  have  invented  some 
instruments  which  are  far  superior  to  those 
of  the  African  tribes.  One  of  the  best  is  the 
violin.  It  is  played  with  a  bow  equally  rude 
in  character,  and,  although  the  sounds  which 
it  produces  are  not  particularly  harmoni- 
ous to  English  ears,  they  are  at  all  events 
quite  as  agreeable  as  those  produced  by  the 
stringed  instruments  of  China,  Japan,  or 
Turkey. 

Slavery  exists  among  the  Milagasy,  liut  is 
not  of  a  very  severe  character,  and  may  pos- 
sibly, through  the  exertions  of  the  mission- 
aries, become  extinguished  altogether.  The 
slaves  do  all  the  hard  work  of  the  ]ilace, 
which  is  really  not  very  hard,  and,  as  they 
take  plenty  of  time  over  everything  that 
they  do,  their  work  would  be  thought  very 
liglit  by  an  ordinary  English  laborer.  Draw- 
ing water  is  perhaps  the  hardest  labor  the 
female  slaves  undergo,  and  it  is  not  such  very 
hard  work  after  all.  They  draw  the  water 
by  means  of  cows'  horns  tied  to  ropes,  and 
pour  it  into  ingenious  pails  made  of  bamboo. 
The  hardest  work  which  the  men  do  is  act- 
ing as  bearer  to  their  master's  hammock  or 
litter,  and,  as  the  roads  often  lie  through 
uncleared  forests,  and  are  very  rough  and 
rocky,  they  have  a  fatiguing  task.  These 
litters  are  very  convenient,  and  are  covered 
with  a  roof  to  shield  the  occupant  from  the 
sun.  They  are  rather  unwieldy,  and  some- 
times as  many  as  twenty  or  thirty  men  are 
attached  to  each  litter,  some  bearing  the 
poles  on  their  shoulders,  and  others  dragging 
it  by  ropes,  while  the  whole  proceedings  are 
directed  by  a  superintendent.  The  engrav- 
ing on  the  preceding  page  illustrates  the 
moile  of  travelling  in  Madagascar. 

Within  the  last  few  years,  Christianity 
has  made  wonderful  progress  among  the 
Malagasy,  although  at  first  missionaries 
were  driven  out,  and  the  native  converts 
put  to  death  with  frightful  tortures.  The 
old  superstitions,  however,  still  remain,  but 
they  are  of  a  more  harmless  character  than 
is  generally  the  case  with  the  superstitions 


of  a  people  who  are  only  beginning  to 
emerge  out  of  the  savage  state.  All  rep- 
tiles, especially  snakes,  are  regarded  with 
great  veneration.  ^Vhether  any  of  the  ser- 
pents are  poisonous  is  not  clearly  .ascer- 
tained, though  the  natives  deny  that  ven- 
omous snakes  are  found  on  the  island.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  they  never  kill  a  snake,  and, 
even  if  a  large  serpent  should  come  into 
their  house,  they  merely  guide  it  through  the 
doorway  with  sticks,  telling  it  to  go  away. 

They  do  not  appear  to  possess  idols, 
though  Mr.  Ellis  found  certain  objects  to 
which  a  sort  of  worship  was  paid.  These 
were  simply  "  pieces  of  wood  about  nine 
feet  high,  not  square  and  smooth  at  the 
base,  but  spreading  into  two  or  three 
branches  at  about  five  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  gradually  tapering  to  a  point."  Kear 
them  was  a  large  basaltic  stone,  al)out  live 
feet  high,  and  of  its  natural  prismatic  form, 
and  near  it  was  another  stone,  smooth  and 
rounded,  and  about  as  large  as  a  man's  head. 
The  natives  said  that  blood  was  poured  on 
one  stone,  and  flit  burned  on  the  other,  luit 
they  were  very  averse  to  any  conversation 
on  the  subject,  and  very  probably  did  not 
tell  the  truth. 

Some  of  their  domestic  superstitions  —  if 
we  may  use  such  a  term  —  are  rather  curious. 
Mr.  Ellis  had  noticed  that  on  several  occa- 
sions a  spot  of  white  paint  had  been  placed 
on  the  forehead,  or  a  white  circle  drawn 
round  the  eye.  One  morning,  he  found 
these  marks  ailorning  nearly  the  wdiole  of 
his  bearers.  On  inquiring  into  the  cause  of 
this  decoration,  he  found  that  it  was  a 
charm  to  avert  the  consequences  of  l)ad 
dreams.  As,  however,  they  had  partaken 
copiously  of  beef  on  the  preceding  evening, 
the  cause  of  the  bad  dreams  was  clearly 
more  material  than  spiritual. 

Partly  connected  with  their  superstitious 
ideas  is  the  existence  of  a  distinct  class, 
the  Zanakambony.  They  are  hereditary 
blacksmiths,  and"  are  exempt  from  forced 
labor  e.xcept  in  their  own  line,  so  that,  as 
Lieutenant  Oliver  writes,  they  will  make  a 
sijade,  but  cannot  be  compelled  to  use  it. 
They  have  the  right  of  carrying  deceased 
kings  to  the  grave,  and  building  monuments 
over  them.  They  are  very  proud,  and  be- 
have most  arrogantly  to  other  clans,  refu- 
sing to  associate  with  them,  to  eat  with 
them,  or  even  to  lend  them  any  article  to  be 
defiled  by  the  touch  of  plebeian  hands.  As 
they  will  not  even  condescend  to  the  ordi- 
nary labor  of  their  countrymen,  and  think 
that  even  to  build  a  house  is  a  degradation, 
they  are  very  poor;  as  they  refuse  to  associ- 
ate with  others,  they  are  very  ignorant,  but 
they  console  themselves  for  their  inferiority 
in  wealth  and  learning  by  constantly  dwell- 
ing on  their  enormous  superiority  in  rank. 


CHiVPTEE    LXrX. 


AUSTRALIA. 


THE  NATm;  AUSTRALLiXS  —  THE  GEN'ERAL  CONFORMATION  OF  THE  HEAD  AND  rBA«'C>y^9 — THEIB 
AVERAGE  STATUUE  AN'D  FORM — THE  WOMEN"  AND  THEIR  APPEARANCE  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE 
NATIVES  —  THEIR  THIEVISH  PROPENSITIES — THEIR  CUNNING,  AND  POWER  OF  DISSDIULATION  — 
A  PAIR  OF  CLEVER  THIEVES — THE  "GOOD  NATIVE" — A  CLEVER  OLD  WOMAN  —INCENTIVES  TO 
ROBBERY — HIDEOIIS  ASPECT  OF  THE  OLD  WOMEN  —  A  REPULSIVE  SUBJECT  FOR  AN  ARTIST  — 
YOUNGER  WOMEN  OF  SAME  TRIBE — THEIB  STRANGE  DRESS  —  THE  CIRCULAR  MAT  CLOAK  AND 
ITS  USES — THE  NATIVE  BASKET  —  TREACHEROUS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  NATIVES — MR.  BAINES'S 
NARRATIVE  —  THE  OUTRIGGER  CANOE  OF  NORTH  AUSTRALIA,  AND  ITS  PROBABLE  ORIGIN  —  PIPE, 
AND  MODE  OF  SMOKING — THE  MAMMALS  OF  AUSTRALIA,  AND  THEIR  MARSUPIAL  CHARACTER  — 
CONFUSION  OF  NOMENCLATURE — EFFECT  OF  THE  ANIMALS  ON  THE  HUMAN  INHABITAirrS  0» 
THE   COUNTRY — PRIMARY  USE  OF  WE^U?ONS. 


Following  up  tlie  principle  of  taking  the 
least  civilized  races  in  succession,  we  natu- 
rally pass  to  the  great  continent  of  Austra- 
lia and  its  adjacent  islands. 

This  wonderful  country  holds  a  sort  of 
isolated  position  on  the  earth,  owing  to  the 
curious  contrast  which  reigns  between  it 
and  all  the  lands  with  which  we  are  familiar. 
It  is  situated,  as  my  readers  will  see  by  ref- 
erence to  a  map,  just  below  the  equator,  and 
extends  some  forty  degrees  southward,  thus 
having  at  its  northern  extremity  a  heat 
which  is  tropical,  and  at  its  southern  point 
a  climate  as  cold  as  our  own.  But  there  is 
perhaps  no  country  where  the  temperature 
is  so  variable  as  Australia,  and  there  is  one 
instance  recorded  wdiere  the  thermometer 
registered  a  change  of  fifty  degrees  in  twen- 
ty-five minutes.  This  sudden  change  is 
owing  to  the  winds,  which  if  they  blow  from 
the  sea  are  cool,  but  if  they  blow  toward 
the  coast,  after  passing  over  the  heated 
sand-wastes  of  the  interior,  raise  the  tem- 
perature in  the  extraordinary  manner  which 
nas  been  mentioned.  Still,  the  climate, 
changeable  though  it  be,  is  a  pleasant  one; 
and  the  colonists  who  visit  England  nearl}' 
always  grumble  at  the  damp  climate  of  the 
mother  country,  and  long  to  be  back  again 
in  Australia.  Both  the  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble products  of  this  country  are  strangely 
unlike  those  of  other  lands,  but.  as  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  describe  them  in  the  course 
of  the  following  pages,  they  will  not  be 
mentioned  at  present;  and  we  will  proceed 


at  once  to  the  human  inhabitants  of  Aus 

tralia. 

It  is  exceedingly  difficult,  not  to  say  im- 
possible, to  treat  of  the  aborigines  of  Aus- 
tralia with  much  accuracy  of  system.  Dif- 
fering as  do  the  tribes  w'ith  which  we  are 
acquainted  in  many  minor  particulars,  they 
all  agree  in  general  characteristics:  and, 
whether  a  native  be  taken  from  the  north  or 
south  of  the  vast  Australian  continent,  there 
is  a  similitude  of  habits  and  a  cast  of  features 
which  point  him  out  at  once  as  an  Australian. 

The  plan  that  will  be  adopted  will  there- 
fore be  to  give  a  general  sketch  of  the  na- 
tives, together  with  an  account  of  those 
habits  in  which  they  agree,  and  then  to 
glance  over  as  much  of  Australia  as  trav- 
ellers have  laid  open  to  us,  and  to  mention 
briefly  the  most  interesting  of  the  manners 
and  customs  which  exist  in  the  several  tribes. 

In"  color  the  Australians  are  quite  black, 
as  dark  indeed  as  the  negro,  but  with  noth- 
ing of  the  negro  character  in  the  face.  The 
forehead  does  not  recede  like  that  of  the 
negro;  and  though  the  nose  is  wide,  the 
mouth  large,  and  the  lips  thick,  there  is  none 
of  that  projection  of  jaw  which  renders  the 
pure  negro  face  so  repulsive.  The  eye  is 
sm.all,  dark,  and,  being  deeply  sunken,  it 
gives  to  the  brows  a  heavy,  overhanging  sort 
of  look.  The  hair  is  by  no  means  close  and 
woolly,  like  that  of  the  negro,  but  is  plenti- 
ful, rather  long,  and  disposed  to  curl,  mostJy 


I 


lesm 


PHYSICAL  CHAKACTERISTICS. 


695 


undulating,  and  sometimes  even  taking  the 
foi-m  of  ringlets.  In  texture  it  is  very  coarse 
and  harsh,  but  cannot  be  described  as  wool. 

The  beard  and  moustache  are  very  thick 
and  full,  and  the  men  take  a  pride  in  these 
ornaments,  sometimes  twisting  the  beard 
into  curious  shapes.  Indeed,  as  a  rule  they 
are  a  hairy  race.  There  is  now  before  me 
a  large  collection  of  photographs  of  native 
Australians,  in  many  of  which  the  men  are 
remarkable  for  the  thickness  of  the  l)eard, 
and  some  of  them  have  their  faces  so  heavily 
bearded  that  scarcely  the  nose  is  perceptible 
among  the  mass  of  hair  that  covers  the 
cheeks  nearly  up  to  the  eyes.  Several  of  the 
elder  men  are  very  remarkable  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  hair,  which  covers  the 
whole  of  the  breast  and  arms  with  a  thick 
coating  of  pile,  and  looks  as  if  they  were 
clothed  with  a  tightly-fitting  fur  garment. 
The  illustration  No.  l,"on  the  698th  page,  will 
give  a  good  idea  of  the  features  of  the  Aus- 
tralian. It  is  exactly  copied  from  plioto- 
graphic  portraits;  and  although  the  subjects 
have  disfigured  themselves  by  iiutting  on 
European  dress,  and  the  woman  has  actually 
combed  her  hair,  the  general  cast  of  the  fea- 
tures is  ^vell  preserved. 

In  stature  the  Australian  is  about  equal  to 
that  of  the  average  Englishman — say  five 
feet  eight  inches,  although  individuals  Jiuch 
below  and  above  this  height  may  be  seen. 
The  bodily  form  of  the  Australian  savages  is 
good,  and  their  limbs  well  made.  There  are 
several  well-known  drawings  of  Australians, 
which  have  been  widely  circulated  on  ac- 
count of  their  grotesqueness,  and  which  have 
been  accepted  as  the  ordinary  form  of  this 
curious  people,  and  they  have  given  the  idea 
that  the  native  Australian  is  distinguished 
by  a  very  large  head,  a  very  small  body,  and 
very  long  and  attenuated  limbs;  in  fact,  that 
he  is  to  the  European  what  the  spider-mon- 
key is  to  the  baboon. 

Such  drawings  are,  however,  only  taken 
from  exceptional  cases,  and  give  no  idea  of 
the  real  contour  of  the  native  Australian. 
Indeed,  Mr.  Pickering,  who  traversed  the 
greater  part  of  the  world  in  search  of  anthro- 
pological knowledge,  writes  in  very  strong 
terms  of  the  beautiful  forms  which  can  be 
seen  among  these  natives.  "  The  general 
form,  though  sometimes  defective,  seemed 
on  the  average  better  than  that  of  the  negro, 
and  I  did  not  find  the  undue  slenderness  of 
limb  which  has  been  commonly  attributed 
to  the  Australians.  Strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, I  would  refer  to  an  Australian  as  the 
finest  model  of  human  proportions  I  have 
ever  met  with,  in  muscular  development 
combining  perfect  symmetry,  activity,  and 
strength;  while  his  head  might  have  com- 
pared with  an  antique  bust  of  a  philosopher." 

Those  of  my  readers  who  happened  to 
see  the  native  Australians  that  came  over 
to  England  as  cricketers  and  athletes  in 
general  must  have  noticed  the  graceful  forms 


for  which  some  of  the  men  were  remarkable, 
while  all  were  possessed  of  great  elegf\nce 
of  limb. 

The  disadvantageous  effect  of  European 
clothing  on  the  dark  races  was  well  shown 
in  these  men,  who  seemed  to  undergo  a  posi- 
tive transformation  when  they  laid  aside 
their  ordinary  clothes  for  a  costume  which 
represented,  as  far  as  possible,  the  light 
and  airy  apparel  of  the  native  Australian. 
Dressed  in  gray,  or  clad  in  the  cricketer's 
costume,  there  was  nothing  remarkable 
about  them,  and  in  fact  they  seemed  to  be 
very  ordinary  persons  indeed.  But  with 
their  clothes  they  threw  of  their  common- 
place look,  and,  attired  only  in  tight  "  flesh- 
ings," dyed  as  nearly  as  possible  the  color  of 
their  black  skins,  with  a  piece  of  fur  wrapped 
round  their  loins  and  a  sort  of  fur  cap  on 
their  heads,  they  walked  with  a  proud^,  elastic 
step  that  contrasted  strangely  with  their  for- 
mer gait. 

It  may  perhaps  be  said  that  this  change  of 
demeanor  was  only  the  natural  result  of  re- 
moving the  heavy  clothing  and  giving  free- 
dom to  the  limbs.  This  was  not  the  case, 
for  several  professional  English  athletes  con- 
tended witli  the  Australians,  and,  when  they 
came  to  run  or  leap,  wore  the  usual  light 
attire  of  the  professional  acrobat.  In  them, 
however,  no  such  improvement  took  place, 
and,  if  anything,  they  looked  better  in  their 
ordinary  dress. 

The  women  are,  as  a  rule,  much  inferior  to 
the  men  in  appearance.  Even  when  young, 
although  they  possess  symmetrical  forms, 
their  general  appearance  is  not  nearly  so 
pleasing  as  that  of  the  young  African  girl, 
and,  when  the  woman  becomes  old,  she  is, 
if  possible,  even  more  hideous  and  hag-like 
than  the  African.  This  deterioi'ation  may 
partly  be  due  to  the  exceedingly  hard  life  led 
by  the  women,  or  "  gins  "  —  in  which  w'ord, 
bj''  the  way,  the  g  is  pronounced  hard  as  in 
"  giddy."  "  That  they  have  to  do  all  the  hard 
work," and  to  carry  all  the  heavy  weights, 
including  the  children,  while  their  husbands 
sit  or  sleep,  or,  if  on  the  march,  burden  them- 
selves with  nothing  more  weighty  than  their 
weapons,  is  to  be  expected,  as  it  is  the  uni- 
versal i)ractice  among  natives.  But  it  is  not 
so  much  the  hard  work  as  the  privation  which 
tells  upon  the  woman,  who  is  treated  with 
the  same  contemptuous  neglect  with  which 
a  savage  treats  his  dog,  and,  while  her  hus- 
band, father,  or  brother,  is  feasting  on  the 
game  which  she  has  cooked,  thinks  herself 
fortunate  if  they  now  and  then  toss  a  nearly 
cleaned  bone  or  a  piece  of  scorched  meat  to 
her. 

Like  most  savages,  the  Australian  natives 
are  adroit  and  daring  thieves,  displaying  an 
amount  of  acuteness  in  carrying  out  their 
designs  which  would  do  honor  to  the  most 
expert  professional  thief  of  London  or  Paris. 
In  his  interesting  work  entitled  "  Savage 
Life  and  Scenes,"  Mr.  G.  F.  Angas  has  re- 


696 


AUSTRALIA. 


lated  several  anecdotes  respecting  this  pro- 
pensity. 

"  Leaving  Rivoli  Baj',  we  fell  in  with  two 
very  droll  "natives,  the  only  ones  who  had 
made  bold  to  approach  our  camp;  both  were 
in  a  state  of  nudity.  One  of  these  fellows 
was  a  perfect  supplejack;  he  danced  and 
capered  about  as  though  he  were  tilled  with 
quicksilver.  We  mounted  them  on  horses, 
from  which  they  were  continually  tumbling 
off,  and  they  travelled  with  us  all  day. 

"When  we  encamped  at  an  old  resting- 
place,  near  Lake  Howden,  they,  by  signs, 
requested  permission  to  remain  by  our  fires, 
which  we  allowed  them  to  do,  and  gave  them 
for  supper  the  head  and  rei'use  of  a  slieep 
that  was  just  killed  and  hung  up  to  a  tree 
near  the  tents.  They  showed  great  surprise 
on  seeing  our  various  utensils  and  articles  of 
cookery.  So  modest  and  well-behaved  did 
these  artful  gentlemen  appear,  that  they 
would  not  touch  the  slightest  article  of  food 
without  first  asking  permission  by  signs:  and 
they  so  far  gained  our  confidence  that  one  of 
the'm  was  adorned  with  a  tin  plate,  suspended 
round  his  neck  by  a  string,  on  whicli  was 
inscribed  '  Good  Native.' 

'■  In  the  dead  of  the  night  we  were  all 
aroused  by  the  unusual  barking  of  the  dogs. 
At  first  it  was  supposed  that  the  wild  dogs 
were  '  rushing  '  the  sheep;  but  as  the  tumult 
increased,  the  Sergeant-Major  un-svrai)iicd 
his  opossum  rug,  and  looked  around  for  his 
hat,  to  go  and  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
turljance.  To  liis  surprise,  he  found  tliat  his 
hat  liad  vanished.  The  hat  of  his  companion, 
who  lay  next  him  near  the  fire,  was  also  no- 
where to  be  found;  and,  casting  his  eyes  to 
the  spot  where  the  sheep  hung  suspended 
from  the  tree,  he  saw  in  a  moment  that 
our  fond  hopes  for  to-morrow's  repast  were 
blighted,  for  the  sheep  too  had  disappeared. 
The  whole  camp  was  roused,  when  it  was 
ascertained  that  forks,  spoons,  and  the  con- 
tents of  the  Governor's  canteen,  pannikins 
and  other  articles,  were  likewise  missing,  and 
that  our  two  remarkably  docile  natives  had 
left  us  under  cover  of  the  night. 

"  A  council  of  war  was  held.  Black  Jimmy 
protested  that  it  was  useless  to  follow  tlieir 
tracks  until  the  morning,  and  that  from  the 
nature  of  the  country  they  had  douljfless 
taken  to  the  swamps,  walking  in  the  water, 
so  that  pursuit  was  in  vain.  ^Ve  had  been 
com])letely  duped  by  these  artful  and  clever 
fellow.s,  who  probably  had  a  large  party  of 
their  colleagues  lying  in  ambush  amid  the  sur- 
rounding swamps,  ready  to  assist  in  carrying 
away  the  stolen  property.  Retaliation  was 
useless;  and  we  contented  ourselves  by 
giving  utterance  to  our  imprecations  and 
commenting  on  the  audacity  and  cunning  of 
the  rogues  until  daybreak." 

Another  instance  of  theft  —  in  this  case 
single-lianded  —  occurred  not  long  before 
the  robbery  which  lias  just  been  recorded. 
While  the  exploring  party  was  on  the  march, 


they  fell  in  witli  a  number  of  natives  who 
were  cooking  their  food. 

"  At  our  approach,  they  flew  down  the  de- 
scent, and  hid  among  tlie  bulrushes;  but  one 
old  woman,  unable  to  escape  as  speedil)^  as 
the  rest,  finding  Ihght  useless,  began  to  chat- 
ter very  loud  and  fast,  pointing  to  her  blind 
eye,  and  lier  lean  and  withered  arms,  as 
objects  of  commiseration.  Damjier  was  given 
to  lier  and  she  continued  in  terror  to  chew  it 
very  fast  without  swallowing  any,  until  she 
was  almost  choked;  when  suddculy  she  got 
hold  of  Gisborne's  handkerchief  and  made  off 
with  it.  With  a  vigorous  lea]i  she  jihmged 
into  the  mud  and  reeds  beneath,  effecting  her 
escape  liy  crawling  into  the  swainj)  and 
joining  her  wild  companions,  to  wliom  she 
doubtless  recounted  her  adventures  that 
night  over  a  disli  of  fried  tadpoles." 

The  dish  of  fried  tadpoles,  to  which  al- 
lusion has  Ijeen  made,  is  cpiite  a  luxury 
among  this  wretched  tribe,  and,  when  the 
exploring  party  pu.shed  on  to  the  spot  where 
the  people  had  been  cooking,  it  was  found 
that  tliey  had  been  engaged  in  roasting  a 
dish  of  water-beetles  over  a  fire. 

It  is  impossible  to  withhold  admiration  for 
the  skill  displayed  by  these  sable  thieves  in 
stealing  the  property  which  tliey  coveted, 
and,  in  excuse  for  them,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  articles  which  were  stolen 
wore  to  the  blacks  of  inestimable  value. 
Food  and  ornaments  are  coveted  by  the  black 
man  as  much  as  wealth  and  titles  by  the 
white  man,  and  both  these  articles  were 
ready  to  hand.  The  temptation  to  which 
these  poor  people  was  exposed  seems  very 
trifling  to  us,  but  we  must  measure  it,  not 
from  our  own  point  of  view,  but  from  theirs. 

The  strange  visitors  who  so  suddenly  ap- 
peared among  them  possessed  alnindanee  of 
the  very  things  which  were  dearest  to  them. 
There  was  a  whole  slieep,  which  would  en- 
able them  to  enjoy  the  greatest  luxury  of 
which  they  could  form  any  notion,  i.  e.  eating 
meat  to  rejiletion;  and  tliere  was  store  of 
glittering  olijects  which  could  be  worn  as 
ornaments,  and  would  dignify  them  forever 
in  the  eyes  of  their  fellows".  The  hajipy 
possessor  of  a  spoon,  a  fork,  or  a  tin  plate, 
which  would  be  hung  round  the  neck  and 
ke])t  liiglily  jiolished,  would  be  exalted  above 
his  companions  like  a  newly  ennobled  man 
among  ourselves,  and  it  .should  not  be  ex- 
pected that  such  an  opportunity,  which  could 
never  again  be  looked  for,  would  be  allowed 
to  pass."  The  temptation  to  them  was  much 
as  would  be  a  title  and  a  fortune  among  our- 
selves, and  there  are  many  civilized  men 
who  have  done  worse  than  the  savage  Aus- 
tralian when  tempted  by  such  a  bait. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  haggard 
apiiearance  of  the  old  woman  who  so  in- 
geniously stole  the  handkerchief,  the  love 
of  finery  overcoming  the  dread  of  the  white 
man  in  "spite  of  lier  age  and  hideous  aspect, 
which  would  only  be  made  more  repulsive 


(1.)  AUSTRALIAN  MAN  AND  WOMAN. 
(See  page  69S.) 


(2.)    WOMEN  AND  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  LOWER  MURRAY  AND  THE  LAKES. 

(See  page  699.) 


CfiOS"! 


ASPECT  OF  THE   OLD   WOMEK 


699 


by  any  attempt  at  ornament.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  imagine  the  depths  of  ugliness 
into  which  an  Australian  \vomau  descends 
after  she  has  passed  the  prime  of  her  life. 
As  we  liave  seen,  the  old  woman  of  Africa 
is  singularly  hideous,  but  she  is  quite  passa- 
ble when  compared  with  her  aged  sister  of 
Australia. 

The  old  Australian  woman  certainly  does 
not  possess  the  projecting  jaws,  the  enor- 
mous mouth,  and  the  sansage-like  li])s  of  the 
African,  but  she  exhibits  a  type  of  hideous- 
ness  peculiarly  her  own.  ller  face  looks 
like  a  piece  of  black  parchment  strained 
tightly  over  a  skull,  and  the  mop-like,  un- 
kempt hair  adds  a  grotesque  element  to  the 
features  which  only  makes  them  still  more 
repulsive.  The  breasts  reach  to  the  waist, 
flat,  pendent,  and  swinging  about  at  every 
movement;  her  body  is  so  shrunken  that 
each  rib  stands  out  boldly,  the  skin  being 
drawn  deeply  in  between  them,  and  the 
limbs  shrivel  up  until  they  look  like  sticks, 
the  elbows  and  knees  projecting  like  knots 
in  a  gnarled  branch. 

Each  succeeding  year  adds  to  the  hideous 
look  of  these  poor  creatures,  because  the 
feebleness  of  increasing  years  renders  them 
less  and  less  useful;  and  accordingly  they  are 
neglected,  ill-ti'eated,  and  contemptuously 
pushed  aside  by  those  who  are  younger 
and  stronger  than  themselves,  snflering  in 
their  turn  the  evils  which  in  their  youth 
they  carelessly  inflicted  on  those  who  were 
older  and  feebler. 

Mr.  Angas  has  among  his  sketches  one 
whii.-h  represents  a  very  old  woman  of  the 
Port  Fairy  tribe.  They  had  built  their 
rude  huts  or  niiam-miams  under  some  gum- 
trees,  and  very  much  disgusted  the  explor- 
ing party  by  their  hideous  appearance  and 
neglected  state.  There  was  one  old  woman 
in  particular,  who  exemi)lilied  strongly  all 
the  characteristics  which  have  just  been 
described  ;  and  so  surpassingly  hideous, 
filthy,  and  repulsive  w-as  she,  that  she 
looked  more  like  one  of  the  demoniacal 
forms  that  Callot  was  so  fond  of  painting 
than  a  veritable  human  creature.  Indeed, 
so  very  disgusting  was  her  appearance,  that 
one  of  the  party  was  made  as  ill  as  if  he 
had  taken  an  emetic. 

Not  wishing  to  shock  mj''  readers  hy  the 
portrait  of  this  wretched  creature,  I  have 
introduced  on  page  preceding,  two  younger 
females  of  the  same  tribe. 

The  remarkable  point  about  this  and  one 
or  two  other  tribes  of  the  same  locality  and 
the  neighborhood,  is  the  circular  mat  which 
is  tied  on  their  backs,  and  which  is  worn 
by  both  sexes.  The  mat  is  made  of  reeds 
twisted  into  ropes,  coiled  round,  and  fas- 
tened together  very  much  as  the  archer's 
targets  of  the  present  day  are  made.  The 
fibres  by  which  the  reed  ropes  are  bound 
together  are  obtained  from  the  chewed  roots 
of  the  bulrush-     The  native  name  for  this 


mat  is  paiiighoont.  One  of  the  women 
appears  in  her  ordinary  home  dress,  i.  e. 
wearing  the  paingkoont  and  her  baby,  over 
whose  little  liody  she  has  thrown  a  piece  of 
kangaroo  skin.  "  The  mat  makes  a  very  good 
cradle  for  the  child,  wlui'.h,  when  awake  and 
disposed  to  be  lively,  puts  its  head  over  the 
mat  and  surveys  the  ])rospect,  but  when 
alarmed  pops  down  and  hides  itself  like  a 
rabbit  disappearing  into  its  burrow.  The 
old  woman,  whose  portrait  is  withheld,  was 
clothed  in  the  paingkoont,  and  wore  no 
other  raiment,  so  that  the  full  hideousness 
of  her  form  was  exposed  to  view. 

The  woman  standing  opposite  is  just  start- 
ing upon  a  journey.  She  is  better  clad  than 
her  companion,  having  beside  the  paing- 
koont a  rude  sort  of  petticoat.  On  her 
back  she  has  slung  the  net  in  which  she 
places  the  roots  which  she  is  supposed  to 
dig  out  of  the  ground,  and,  thrust  through 
the  end  which  ties  it,  she  carries  the  dig- 
ging-stick, or  katta,  which  ser\'es  her  lor  a 
spade.  She  has  in  her  hand  tlie  invariable 
accompaniment  of  a  journey,  —  namely,  the 
fire-stick,  smouldering  amid  dry  grass  be- 
tween two  pieces  of  Isark,  and  always  ready 
to  be  forced  into  a  flame  by  whirling  it 
round  her  head. 

Behind  theni  is  seated  an  old  man,  also 
wearing  the  mat-cloak,  and  having  by  his 
side  one  of  the  beautifully  constructed  na- 
tive baskets.  These  baskets  are  made,  like 
the  mat,  of  green  rushes  or  reeds,  and  are 
plaited  by  the  women.  One  of  these  bas- 
kets is  illustrated  in  an  engraving  on  the 
722d  page.  The  reader  will  doubtless  ob- 
serve that  the  mode  of  plaiting  it  is  almost 
identical  with  that  which  is  emplo^'ed  liy 
the  natives  of  Southern  Africa,  the  rushes 
being  twisted  and  coiled  upon  each  other 
and  Ijound  firmly  together  at  short  intervals 
by  strong  fibrous  threads.  They  are  rather 
variable  in  shape;  some,  which  are  intended 
to  stand  alone,  being  flat-bottomed,  and 
others,  which  are  always  suspended  by  a 
string,  ending  in  a  point. 

In  common  with  other  savage  races, 
the  Australians  are  apt  to  behave  treach- 
erously to  the  white  man  when  they  find 
themselves  able  to  do  so  with  imjiunity. 
This  behavior  is  not  always  the  result  of 
ferocity  or  cruelty,  though  an  Australian 
can  on  occasion  be  as  fierce  and  cruel  as 
any  savage.  Oftentimes  it  is  the  result  of 
fear,  the  black  people  standing  in  awe  of 
the  white  stranger  and  his  deadly  weapons, 
and  availing  themselves  of  their  native  cun- 
ning to  deprive  him  of  his  unfair  advan- 
tages as  soon  as   possible. 

Ignorant  of  the  object  of  travel,  and  hav- 
ing from  infancy  been  accustomed  to  con- 
sider certain  districts  as  the  pro]iertv  of  cer- 
tain tribes,  and  anv  man  who  intruded  into 
the  district  of  another  as  an  enemy,  it  is  but 
natural  that  when  they  see,  especially  for 
the  first  time,  a  man  of  diflerent  color  from 


7U0 


AUSTKALIA. 


themselves  travelling  through  the  country, 
such  strangers  must  necessarily  be  enemies, 
come  for  the  purpose  of  using  against  the 
aborigines  tlic  weapons  whieli  tliey  possess. 
Again,  a  feeling  of  acquisitiveness  has  much 
to  do  with  the  treachery. 

Add  to  their  ideas  of  the  inimical  character 
of  tlie  strangers  the  cupidity  that  must  bo  ex- 
cited by  ilie  sight  of  the  valuable  property 
brought  into  their  country  by  those  whom 
the}'  consider  as  enemies  delivered  into  their 
hand,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  wonder  tliat 
they  should  take  both  the  lives  and  the  prop- 
erty of  tlie  strangers,  and  thus  secure  the 
valued  trophies  of  war  at  the  same  time 
that  they  rid  their  country  of  strange  and 
powerful  enemies,  and  attain  at  onestroke 
an  amount  of  wealth  which  they  could 
not  hope  to  gain  through  the  labors  of  a 
life. 

This  phase  of  their  character  is  well  shown 
by  Mr.  T.  Baines,  in  a  letter  which  he  has 
kindly  allowed  me  to  transfer  to  these  pages. 
He  was  one  of  an  exploring  expedition, 
which  had  also  undertaken  to  convey  a  num- 
ber of  sheep  and  horses.  "Wliile  making 
the  inner  passage  along  the  coast,  we  fell  in 
with  several  canoes,  some  of  very  rude  con- 
struction, being  in  fact  mere  logs  cajialile  of 
carrying  a  couple  of  men,  who,  perhaps  in 
terror  of  the  telescopes  pointed  at  them,  did 
not  approach  us. 

"  Others  were  of  greater  size  and  power, 
being  large  hollowed  logs,  very  straight  and 
narrow,  and  steadied  on  either  side  by  other 
logs,  pointed  at  the  ends,  and  acting  as  out- 
riggers, neatly  enough  attached  by  pegs 
driven  into  them  through  a  framing  of  bam- 
boo. Others  again  were  strictly  double 
canoes,  two  of  the  narrow  vessels  being  con- 
nected bj'a  bamboo  platform  so  as  to  lie  par- 
allel to  each  other  at  some  little  distance 
apart. 

"  They  were  manned  by  crews  of  from  sis 
to  twelve,  or  even  more  in  numlier,  all  tol- 
erably fine  fellows,  perfectly  naked,  with 
shock  heads  of  woolly  hair  and  scanty  beards. 
They  were  ornamented  with  scars  and  raised 
cicatrices  tastefully  cut  on  their  shoulder  and 
elsewhere.  They  were  armed  with  long 
spears,  some  of  them  tipped  with  wood, 
others  with  bone,  and  having  from  one  to 
four  points.  They  also  had  bows  and  ar- 
rows, as  well  as  their  enrions  paddles,  the 
looms  of  wliich  were  barlied  and  pointed,  so 
as  to  be  useful  as  spears.  AV  hen  these  weap- 
ons were  thrown  at  a  fish,  the  owner  always 
plunged  into  the  water  after  his  weapon, so  as 
to  secure  the  fish  the  moment  that  it  was 
struck. 

"  Their  arrival  caused  various  emotions 
among  our  party.  One  gentleman  ruined 
his  revolver  by  hurriedly  trying  to  load  it, 
while  a  little  girl,  so  far  from  being  afraid  of 
them,  traded  with  them  for  almost  every- 
thins;  they  had  in  their  canoes.  Just  as  they 
dropped  astern  after  reaching  us,  the  cap- 


tain's little  daughters  were  being  bathed 
in  a  tub  on  the  main-hatch,  and,  naturally 
enough,  jumped  out  of  their  bath,  and  ran  aft 
wet  and  glistening  in  the  sunlight,  to  hide 
themselves  from  the  strange  black  fellows 
who  were  stretching  themselves  to  look  over 
our  low  bulwarks  at  the  little  naked  white 
girls. 

"  We  bought  spears,  bows,  arrows,  tor- 
toise-shell, &e.,  for  hats,  handkerchiefs,  and 
other  things;  and  they  were  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  white  baby,  which,  at  their 
express  request,  was  held  up  for  them  to 
look  at." 

Up  to  this  point  we  find  the  natives  mild 
and  conciliatory,  but  we  proceed  with  the 
letter,  and  find  an  unexpected  change  in  their 
demeanor. 

"  We  had  here  an  instance  of  the  capri- 
ciousness  of  the  natives.  We  met  about  a 
dozen  on  shore,  and  endeavored  by  all 
friendly  signs  to  induce  them  to  come  to 
terms  with  us.  AVe  showed  Ihein  that  we 
had  no  guns,  but  our  attempts  were  useless. 
They  fell  into  regular  battle  array,  with  their 
long  spears  ready  shipped  on  the  throwing 
sticks,  six  standing  in  front,  and  the  rest 
acting  as  supports  behind.  As  it  was  unsafe 
to  parley  longer,  we  mounted  our  horses, 
and  again  tried  to  make  them  understand 
that  w"e  wished  to  be  on  friendly  terms.  It 
was  all  useless,  and  the  only  thing  that  we 
could  do  was  to  ride  straight  at  tliem.  They 
ran  like  antelopes,  and  gained  the  thick  bush 

where  we  could  not  follow  them.     B 

wanted  to  shoot  one  of  them,  but  I  would  not 
allow  it. 

"  The  prospect  of  killing  and  eating  our 
horses  seemed  to  be  their  great  temptation. 
They  made  constant  war  upon  our  stud  for 
a  fortnight  or  three  weeks,  in  my  camp  at 
Deput  Creek,  and  I  had  to  patrol  the  coun- 
try with  B daily,  to  keep  them  from 

ringing  the  horses  round  with  fire. 

"Tlie  character  of  the  Australian  canoe- 
men  is  variously  spoken  of,  some  reporting 
them  as  good-natured  and  peaceable,  while 
others  say  that  they  are  treacherous  and 
savage.  Both  speak  the  truth  from  their 
own'experience.  A  fellow  artist,  who  gen- 
erally landed  from  a  man-of-war's  b<iat,  with 
the  ship  in  the  offing,  found  them  pe:iceabl9 
enough,  but  poor  Mr.  Strange,  the  natural- 
ist, was  murdered  on  one  of  the  islands. 

"While  we  were  on  board  our  vessels, 
they  were  quite  friendly;  and  even  during 
my"  boat's  voyage  of  750  miles,  while  we 
li.ad  a  dashing  breeze  and  the  boat  well 
under  command,  we  found  the  groups  we 
met  with  civil  enough.  But  when  we  wero 
helplessly  becalmed  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  and  supposed  by  tha 
natives  to  be  the  unarmed  survivors  of  some 
vessel  wrecked  in  Torres  Straits,  we  were 
deliberately  and  treacherously  attacked. 
"  AVe  watched  the  preparations  for  nearly 
'  an  hour  through  the  telescope,  and  refrained 


THE   MAMMALS  OP  AUSTRALIA. 


701 


from  giving  them  the  slightest  ground  even 
to  suspect  that  we  looked  on  them  otherwise 
than  as  friends.  As  soon  as  they  thought 
they  had  us  in  their  power,  they  began  to 
throw  spears  at  us,  so  I  put  a  ride-bullet 
through  the  shoulder  of  the  man  who  tlirew 
at  us,  to  teach  him  the  danger  of  interfering 
with  supiiosed  helpless  boats,  but  did  not  fire 
again.  The  wounded  man  was  led  on  shore 
by  one  of  his  mates,  and  we  were  not  mo- 
lested again. 

"  These  people  are  very  capricious.  They 
have  the  cunning  and  the  strong  passions  of 
men,  but  in  reason  they  are  only  children. 
Life  is  not  held  sacredby  them,  and,  when 
their  thirst  for  blood  is  raised,  they  revel  in 
cruidty." 

These  Australian  canoes,  with  outriggers 
attached,  indicate  a  Polynesian  origin,  as 
indeed  do  the  bows  and  arrows,  which  ^^'ill 
be  fully  described  on  a  future  page.  The 
tobacco  pipes  in  use  in  that  part  of  Aus- 
tralia are  curious.  One  form  consists  of  a 
hollow  tube  as  thick  as  a  man's  arm,  stopped 
at  t!ie  ends  and  having  one  hole  near 
the  bottom  into  which  is  introduced  the 
stem  of  a  pipe,  and  another  hole  near  the 
top  through  which  the  smoke  is  imbibed. 
Their  use  of  the  pipe  is  rather  .singular. 
When  a  party  desires  to  smoke,  the  chief 
man  lights  the  pipe,  places  his  mouth  to  the 
orifice,  and  continually  inhales  until  the 
interior  of  the  hollow  stem  is  filled  with 
smoke.  The  bowl  is  then  removed,  and  the 
aperture  stopped  with  a  plui;  which  is  kept 
in  readiness.  The  first  smoker  closes  with 
his  thuml)  the  hole  through  which  he  has 
been  iml)ibing  the  smoke,  and  passes  the 
pipe  to  his  neighbor,  who  applies  his  lips  to 
the  hole,  fills  his  lungs  with  smoke,  and 
then  passes  the  pipe  to  the  next  man.  In 
this  way,  the  tolxacco  is  made  to  last  as  long 
as  possible,  and  the  greatest  possible  amount 
of  enjoyment  is  got  out  of  the  least  possible 
amount  of  material.  The  exterior  of  the 
stem  is  generally  carved  into  the  simple  pat- 
terns which  are  found  on  nearly  all  Austra- 
lian weapons  and  imijlements. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  the  char- 
acter and  habits  of  the  natives,  we  will  cast 
a  glance  at  the  country  which  they  inhabit, 
and  the  peculiarities  which  have  contributed 
toward  forming  that  character. 

It  is  a  very  strange  country,  as  strange 
to  us  as  England  would  be  to  a  savage 
Australian.  Its  vegetable  and  animal  pro- 
ductions are  most  remarkalile,  and  are  so 
strange  that  when  the  earlier  voyagers 
brought  back  accounts  of  their  travels  they 
were  not  believed;  and  when  they  exhibited 
specimens  of  the  flora  and  fauna,  they  were 
accused  of  manufacturing  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  deception. 

In  the  first  place,  with  a  single  exception, 
the  mammalia  are  all  marsupials,  or  eden- 
tates.   The  solitaxy  exception  is  the  dingo, 


or  native  dog,  an  animal  which  somewhat 
resembles  the  jackal,  but  is  altogether  a 
handsomer  aniiual.  Whether  it  be  indig- 
enous, or  a  mere  variety  of  the  dog  modi- 
fied by  long  residence  in  the  country,  is 
rather  doubtful,  though  the  best  zoologists 
incline  to  the  latter  opinion,  and  say  that 
the  marsupial  type  alone  is  indigenous  to 
this  strange  country.  Of  course  tlie  reader 
is  supposed  to  know  that  the  young  of  a 
marsupial  animal  is  born  at  a  very  early 
age,  and  attains  its  full  development  in 
a  supplementary  pouch  attached  to  the 
mother,  into  which  pouch  the  teats  open. 

The  animal  which  is  most  characteristic 
of  Australia  is  the  kangaroo.  Of  this  sin- 
gular type  some  forty  species  are  known, 
varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  tall  man  to 
that  of  a  mouse.  Some  of  them  are  known 
as  kangaroos,  and  others  as  kangaroo-rats, 
but  the  type  is  the  same  in  all.  As  their 
form  imjdies,  they  are  made  for  leaping  over 
the  ground,  their  enormously  long  legs  and 
massive  development  of  the  hind  quarters 
giving  them  the  requisite  power,  while  their 
long  tails  servo  to  balance  them  as  they  pass 
through  the  air. 

Nearly  all  the  so-called  "  rats "  of  Aus- 
tralia belong  to  the  kangaroo  trilie.  though 
some  are  memljers  of  other  marsupial  fami- 
lies. Here  I  may  mention  that  the  nomen- 
clature of  the  colonists  has  caused  great 
perplexity  and  labor  to  incipient  zoologists. 
They  are  told  in  some  books  that  the  dingo 
is  the  only  Australian  animal  that  is  not  a 
marsupial  or  an  edentate,  and  yet  they  read 
in  books  of  travel  of  the  bear,  the  monkey, 
the  badger,  the  wolf,  the  eat,  the  squirrel, 
the  mole,  and  so  forth.  The  fact  is,  that, 
with  the  natural  looseness  of  diction  com- 
mon to  colonists  all  over  the  world,  the  im- 
migrants have  transferred  to  their  new  coun- 
try the  nomenclature  of  the  old.  To  the 
great  trouble  of  index-searchers,  there  is 
scarcely  a  part  of  the  world  inhabited  by 
our  colonists  where  London,  Oxford,  Boston, 
and  fifty  other  places  are  not  mulfiplied. 
The  first  large  river  they  meet  they  are 
sure  to  call  the  Thames,  and  it  is  therefore 
to  be  expected  that  natural  history  should 
suffer  in  the  same  way  as  geography. 

Thus,  should,  in  the  course  of  this  accoimt 
of  Australia,  the  reader  come  across  a  pas- 
sage quoted  from  some  traveller  in  which 
the  monkey  or  ijear  is  mentioned,  he  must 
remember  that  the  so-called  •'  monkey  "  and 
"bear"  are  identical,  and  that  the  animal 
in  question  is  neither  the  one  nor  the  other, 
but  a  marsupial,  known  to  the  natives  by 
the  name  of  koala,  and,  as  if  to  add  to  the 
confusion  of  names,  some  travellers  call  it 
the  sloth. 

The  so-called  "  badger "  is  the  wombat, 
probably  called  a  hadi^er  because  it  lives  in 
holes  which  it  burrows  in  the  ground.  The 
Australian  "  wolf"  is  another  marsupial, 
belonging  to  the  Dasyures.  and  the  "cat" 


702 


AUSTRALIA. 


belongs  to  the  sanie  group.  The  "  squirrels  " 
are  all  marsupials,  aud  by  rights  are  called 
phalangists,  and  it  is  to  this  group  that  the 
koala  reall}'  belongs.  As  to  the  "  hedgehog,'' 
it  is  the  spiny  ant-eater  or  echidna,  and  the 
"  mole  "  is  the  celebrated  duck-bill  or  orni- 
thorhyuchus. 

With  few  exceptions  these  animals  are 
not  easily  captured,  many  of  them  being 
nocturniU,  anil  hiding  in  burrows  or  hollow 
trees  until  the  shades  of  night  conceal  their 
movements;  while  others  are  so  shy,  active, 
and  watchfid,  that  all  the  craft  of  the  hun- 
ter must  l)e  tried  before  they  can  be  cap- 
tured. Much  the  same  may  be  said  of  the 
birds,  the  chief  of  which,  the  emu,  is  nearly 
as  large  as  an  ostrich,  and  is  much  valued  liy 
the  natives  as  food.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  the  existence  of  these  peculiar  animals 
must  exercise  a  strong  influence  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  natives,  and  must  make  them 
more  active,  war}',  and  quicksighted  than  the 
creatures  ou  which  they  live. 


Possessing,  as  he  does,  the  most  minute 
acquaintance  with  every  vegetable  which 
can  atford  him  food,  and  even  knowing  where 
to  obtain  aplejitiful  supply  of  food  and  water 
in  a  land  where  an  European  could  not  lind 
a  particle  of  anything  eatable,  nor  discover  a 
drop  of  moisture  in  the  dry  and  parched  ex- 
panse, the  Australian  native  places  his  chief 
reliance  on  animal  food,  and  supports  him- 
self almost  entirelj'  on  the  creatures  which 
he  kills.  Ills  appetite  is  very  indiscrinunate ; 
and  although  he  prefers  the  flesh  of  the  kan- 
garoo and  the  pigeon,  he  will  devour  any 
beast,  bird,  reptile,  or  fish,  and  will  also  eat 
a  considerable  number  of  insects.  Conse- 
quently the  life  of  the  Australian  savage  is 
essentially  one  of  warfare,  not  against  his 
fellow-man,  but  against  the  lower  animals, 
and,  as  the  reader  will  see  in  the  course  of 
the  following  pages,  the  primary  oliject  of 
his  weapons"  is  the  hunt,  and  war  only  a 
secondary  use  to  which  they  are  directed. 


CHAPTER  LXX. 


AUSTRALIA—  Continued. 


MAWXER9  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  NATIVES  —  DRESS  AND  ORNAMENTS  OP  NOHTK^KN  AUSTRStiTi  — 
MODE  OF  DRESSING  THE  HAIR^THE  "  DIBBI-DIEEI  " —TATTOOING  AND  CICATltlZIXG  —  T-Af  lEKN 
OF  THE  SCARS  —  SIGNIFICATION  OF  THE  VARIOUS  PATTERNS — POMP  AND  YANlfY  —  THE  NOSE- 
BONE —  NECKLACES  —  THE  GIRDLE  AND  TASSEL  —  TATTOOS  AND  SCAK9  AMONG  THB  WOMEN  — 
THE   TURTLE   SCAR  —  HIGH   SHOULDERS   OF  THE  AUSTRALIANS  —  INDIITERENCE   TO   Uxiiii  —  THEIR 

FUR    MANTLES,     AND     THEIR     USES — THE      SEA-GRASS     MANTLE — FOOD    OF    THE     AiJSIRALIANS 

VEGETABLE  FOOD  —  MODE  OF  PROCURING  ROOTS — THE  BIYU — THE  NARDOO  PLANT  AND  ITS 
USES  —  THE  "  BURKE  AND  "WILLS"  EXPEDITION  —  THE  BULRUSH  ROOT,  ITS  USE  FOR  FOOD  AND 
BOPE  MAKING  —  SUBTERRANEAN  WATER  STORES  —  MOLLUSCS,  AND  MODE  OF  COLLECTING  THEM  — 
HARD  WORK  FOR  THE  WOMEN  —  DIVTNG  FROM  THE  RAFT  —  RELAXATION  WHEN  THEV  RETURN 
HOME  —  COOKING  THE  MOLLUSCS  AND  CRUSTACEA — FISH  CATCHING  WITH  LINE,  NET,  AND  SPEAB 
—  INSECT  FOOD  —  THE  BEE  CATCHERS  —  TREE  AND  EARTH  GRUBS,  AND  MODE  OF  CATCHING 
THEM  —  THE  PILEYAH — THE  DUGONG  —  ITS  LOCALITIES,  AND  MODES  OF  TAKING  AND  COOKING 
IT  —  CAPTURING  AND  COOKING  THE  GREEN  TURTLE  —  CITRIOUS  USE  OF  THE  SUCKING  FISH  — 
TAMING  THE  TURTLE  —  THE  HAWKSBILL  TURTLE,  AND  MODE  OF  CATCHING  IT  —  TURTLE  OIL  AND 
DRIED  FLESH  —  SALE  OF  TORTOISE-SHELL  —  TWO  FORMS  OF  AUSTRALIAN  OVENS  —  COOKING  AND 
BATING  SNAKES  —  CATCHING  THE  SNAKE  ALIVE  —  THE  CLOAK  AND  THE  SHIELD — THB  DUGONG, 
AND  ITS  CAPTURE  —  SMALL  TENACITY  OF  LIFE  —  A  SAVORY  FEAST. 


■We  will  now  proceed  to  the  various  man- 
ners and  customs  of  tlie  Australians,  not 
separatinn;  them  into  the  arl)itrary  and  tluc- 
tuating  distinctions  of  tribes,  but  describina; 
as  hrietly  as  is  consistent  with  justice,  the 
most  interesting  of  their  habits,  and  men- 
tioning those  cases  where  any  particular 
custom  seems  to  be  coutined  to  any  one 
tribe  or  district. 

We  have  in  the  illustration  No.  l,on  ))age 
707,  a  good  example  of  a  native  of  North 
Western  Australia.  The  .sketch  was  kindly 
made  by  Mr.  T.  B.aines.  A  profile  of  the 
man  is  given,  iu  order  to  show  the  peculiar 
contour  of  the  face,  which,  as  the  reader 
may  see,  has  nothing  of  the  negro  character 
about  it;  the  boldly  prominent  nose,  the  full 
beard,  and  the  long  hair  fxstened  up  in  a 
top-knot  being  the  distinguishing  features. 
The  man  carries  iu  his  belt  his  provisions 
for  the  day,  namely,  a  snake  and  one  of  the 
little  kangaroo-rats,  and  having  these  he 
knows  no  care,  though  of  course  he  would 
prefer  larger  game. 

Round  his  neck  may  be  seen  a  string. 
This  supports  an  ornament  which  hangs 
upon  his  breast.  Several  forms  of  this  or- 
nament, which  is  called  iu  the  duplicative 

C7 


Australian  lansuage  a  "dibbi-dibbi,"  are 
employed,  and  there  are  in  my  collection 
two  beautiful  specimens  made  from  the 
shell  of  the  pearl-oyster.  Tlie  ordinary 
dibbi-dibbi  is  fan-shaped,  and  does  not 
depart  very  much  from  the  original  outline 
of  the  shell.  There  is,  however,  one  kind 
of  dibbi-dibbi  which  is  valued  exceedingly, 
and  which  is  shaped  like  a  crescent.  The 
specimen  in  my  possession  is  almost  as 
largo  as  a  cheese  plate,  and  must  have  been 
cut  from  an  enormous  shell,  economy, 
whether  of  material  or  time,  not  being  un- 
derstood by  these  savage.s.  Owing  to  the 
shape  of  the  shell,  it  is  slightly  convex,  and 
was  worn  with  the  concave  side  next  the 
body. 

Not  being  satisfied  with  the  natural 
smooth  jiolish  of  the  nacre,  the  native  hag 
ornamented  the  dibbi-dibbi  with  a  simple 
but  tolerably  etiective  pattern.  Along  the 
margin  of  the  scooped  edge  he  has  l)ored 
two  ]iarallel  rows  of  small  and  shallow  holes 
about  half  an  inch  apart,  and  on  either  side 
of  each  ro^v  he  has  cut  a  narrow  line.  From 
the  outer  line  he  has  drawn  a  series  of  scal- 
loped patterns  made  in  a  similar  fashion; 
and,  simple  as  this  pattern  is,  its  eti'ect  ia 
03) 


704 


AUSTRALIA. 


really  remarkable.  The  man  has  evklently 
bi'guu  a  more  elaborate  pattern  on  the  broad 
surt'aee  of  the  shell,  but  his  mind  seems  to 
have  misgiven  him,  and  he  has  abandoned 
it.  The  cord  by  which  it  is  suspended  round 
the  neck  is  nearly  an  inch  wide,  and  is  made 
of  string  and  a  sort  of  rattan  plaited  to- 
gether. 

On  the  shoulder  of  the  man  may  be  seen 
a  number  of  raised  marks.  These  are  the 
scars  of  wounds  with  which  the  Australians 
are  in  the  haliit  of  adorning  their  bodies, 
and  which  they  sometimes  wear  in  great 
profusion.  The  marks  are  made  by  cutting 
deei)ly  nito  the  skin,  and  filling  the  wounds 
with  clay  and  other  substances,  so  that 
when  the  wound  heals  an  elevated  scar  is 
made.  These  scars  are  made  in  patterns 
which  partly  ditfer  according  to  the  taste  of 
the  individual,  and  partly  signifyiug'the  dis- 
trict to  which  the  tattooed  person  belongs. 
For  example,  the  scars  as  shown  in  the 
illustration  are  the  mark  of  a  Northern 
Australian;  and,  although  he  may  have 
plenty  other  scars  on  his  body  and  limbs, 
these  will  always  appear  on  his  shoulder  as 
the  distinguishing  mark  of  his  tribe. 

In  my  photographs,  which  represent  na- 
tives from  various  parts  of  the  continent, 
these  scars  are  very  prominent,  and  there 
is  not  an  individual  who  does  not  possess 
them.  Some  have  them  running  longitu- 
dinally down  the  upper  arm,  wliile  others 
have  them  alternately  longitudinal  and  trans- 
verse. They  occasionally  appear  on  the 
breast,  and  an  old  man,  remarkable  for  the 
quantity  of  hair  which  covered  his  breast  and 
arms,  has  disposed  them  in  a  fan  shape, 
spreading  from  the  centre  of  the  body  to 
the  arms.  He  has  evidently  sjicnt  a  vast 
amount  of  time  on  this  adornment,  and  suf- 
fered considerable  pain,  as  scars,  although 
not  so  large  as  in  man}'  other  instances,  are 
exceedingly  numerous;  the  man  has  adorned 
his  arms  and  shoulders  with  little  scars  of 
the  same  character  arranged  in  regular 
lines. 

In  some  parts  of  Australia  the  scars  as- 
sume a  much  more  formidable  a]ipearance, 
being  long  and  heavy  ridges.  One  chief, 
who  was  very  jiroud  of  his  adornments, — 
as  well  he  might  be,  seeing  that  their  pos- 
session must  nearly  have  costhim  his  life, — 
was  entirely  covered  from  his  neck  to  his 
knees  with  scars  at  least  an  inch  broad,  set 
closely  together,  and  covering  the  whole  of 
the  body."  The  front  of  theclaest  and  stom- 
ach was  adorned  with  two  rows  of  these 
scars,  each  scar  being  curved,  and  reaching 
from  the  side  to  the  centre  of  the  liody, 
where  they  met.  The  man  was  so  inordi- 
nately proud  of  this  ornament  that  nothing 
could  induce  him  to  wear  clothing  of  any 
kind,  and  he  stalked  about  in  his  grandeur, 
wearing  nothing  but  his  weapons.  The 
photograph  of  this  man  has  a  very  singular 
aspect,   the  light  falling  on    the    polished 


ridge  of  the  scars  h.aving  an  effect  aii  if  he 
were  clad  in  a  suit  of  some  strange  armor. 

By  way  of  adding  to  the  beauty  of  their 
countenances,  they  are  in  the  habit  of  per- 
forating the  septum  of  the  nose,  and  of 
thrusting  through  it  a  piece  of  bone  or  stick, 
the  former  being  preferred  on  account  of  its 
whiteness.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  de- 
scribe the  exceedingly  grotesque  appearance 
presented  by  an  Australian  clandy,  who  has 
his  body  covered  with  scars,  and  his  face 
crossed  by  a  wide  piece  of  lione  some  six 
inches  in  length,  making  his  natur.ally  broad 
nose  wicler,  and  seeming  as  it  were  to  cut  his 
face  in  half.  The  hole  through  which  this 
ornament  is  thrust  is  made  when  a  child  is  a 
fortnight  old. 

As  to  other  ornaments,  they  consist  of  the 
usual  necklaces,  bracelets,  and  anklets  which 
are  common  to  savage  tribes  in  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Some  of  these  necklaces  which 
are  in  my  collection  are  really  pretty,  and 
some  skill  is  shown  in  their  manufacture. 
One  is  made  of  pieces  of  yellow  reed  as  thick 
as  quills  and  almost  an  inch  in  length,  strung 
alternately  with  scarlet  reeds;  another  is 
made  eutii-ely  of  the  same  reeds,  while  a 
third  is,  in  "my  opinion,  the  handsomest, 
though  not  the" most  striking  of  them.  At 
first  sight  it  appears  to  be  made  entirely  of 
the  reeds  already  mentioned,  but  on  a  closer 
examination  it  is  seen  to  be  composed  en- 
tirely of  the  antennre  of  lobsters,  cut  into 
short  lengths  and  strung  together.  To 
the  necklaces  is  attached  a  small  mother-of- 
])earl  dibbi-dibbi  four  inches  long  and  one 
inch  wide,  and  the  pieces  of  lobster  antennoe 
are  so  disposed  that  the  thinner  parts  of  the 
antennro,  taken  from  the  extremities,  come 
next  to  the  dibbi-dibbi  and  liang  on  the 
breast,  while  the  larger  and  thicker  parts, 
taken  from  the  base  of  the  antennw,  come 
on  the  neck.  The  native  basket  in  which 
these  necklaces  were  kept  is  more  than  half 
filled  with  bright  colored  seeds  of  various 
hues,  that  are  evidently  intended  for  the 
manufacture  of  necklaces. 

Girdles  of  finely  twisted  human  hair  are 
often  worn  by  the  men,  and  the  native  who 
is  represented  in  the  engr.aving  No.  1,  oa 
page  707,  is  wearing  one  of  these  girdles. 
Sometimes,  as  in  the  present  instance,  a 
small  tassel  made  of  the  hair  of  a  phalan- 
gist  or  "  flying-squirrel,"  as  it  is  wrongly 
termed,  is  'hung  to  the  front  of  the  girdle, 
by  no  means  as  a  covering,  but  as  an  orna- 
ment. 

The  scars  are  so  highly  valued  that  the 
women  wear  them  nearly  as  profusely  as  the 
men.  In  my  photogr.aphs,  there  are  ])or- 
traits  of  man'v  women  of  all  ages,  not  one  of 
whom  is  without  scars.  They  do  not  wear 
them  so  large  as  the  men,  but  seem  to  be 
more  careful  in  the  regularity  of  the  pat- 
tern. 

Taking  a  series  of  three  worr  .-n,  the  first 
has  three  cuts  on  the  shoulder  showing  her 


THE  TURTLE   SCAR. 


705 


northern  extraction,  and  a  row  of  small  hor- 
izontal and  parallel  scars  along  the  front  of 
the  body  from  the  breast-bone  downward. 
The  second,  in  addition  to  the  shouliler  cuts, 
lias  several  rows  of  scars  extending  from  the 
breast  to  the  collar-bones,  together  with  a 
central  line  as  already  described,  and  some 
similar  rows  of  cuts  on  the  ribs  and  sides. 
The  third  woman,  a  mere  girl  of  fourteen  or 
so,  has  been  very  careful  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  scars,  which  descenil  in  regular  and 
parallel  rows  from  tlie  l3reastdownwar<l,nnd 
then  radiate  fan-wise  in  six  rows  from  the 
breast  upward  to  the  collar  bones. 

Mr.  M'Gillivray,  who  accompanied  II.  M. 
S.  liaUlcsnake  in  her  voyage,  writes  as  fol- 
lows concerning  the  scar  ornaments  and 
their  uses:  —  "The  Torres  Straits  islanders 
are  distinguished  by  a  large  complicated 
oval  scar,  only  slightly  raised,  and  of  neat 
construction.  This,  which  I  have  been  told 
has  some  connection  with  a  turtle,  occupies 
the  right  .shoulder,  and  is  occasionally  re- 
peated on  the  left.  (See  engraving  at  foot 
of  page  722.)  At  Cajie  York,  however,  the 
cicatrices  were  so  varied  that  I  could  not 
connect  any  particular  style  with  an  indi- 
vidual trilie.  At  the  same  time,  something 
like  uniformity  was  noticed  among  the 
Katchialaigas,  nearly  all  of  whom  had,  in 
addition  to" the  horned  breast  mark,  two  or 
three  long  transverse  scars  on  the  chest, 
which  the  other  tribes  did  not  jjossess. 

"  In  the  remaining  people  the  variety  of 
marking  was  such  that  it  appeared  foir  to 
consider  it  as  being  regulated  more  by  indi- 
vidual caprice  than  by  any  fixed  custom. 
Many  had  a  simple  two-horned  mark  on 
each  breast,  and  we  sometimes  saw  upon 
them  a  clumsy  imitation  of  the  elaborate 
shoulder  mark  of  the  islanders." 

Well-shaped  as  are  these  women,  they 
have  one  defect  in  form,  namely,  the  high 
and  square  shoulder,  which  detracts  so  much 
from  fenrinine  beauty,  and  which  is  equally 
conspicuous  in  the  child  of  six,  the  girl  of 
thirteen  or  fourteen,  and  the  old  w'oman. 
The  men  also  exhibit  the  same  defective 
form. 

The  reader  will  have  noticed  the  elaborate 
manner  in  which  the  hair  of  the  Ansti'alian 
savage  is  sometimes  dressed.  The  style  of 
hair-dressing  varies  with  the  locality,  and 
often  with  the  time,  fashion  having  as  abso- 
lute a  reign  among  the  native  Australians, 
and  being  quite  as  capricious,  as  among  our- 
selves. Sometimes  the  hair  is  twisted  up 
into  long  and  narrow  ringlets,  and,  if  the 
savage  should  not  happen  to  have  enough 
hair  for  this  fashion,  he  straightway  makes 
a  wig  in  imitation  of  it.  Now  and  then  the 
head  is  shaved,  except  a  transverse  crest  of 
hair,  and  sometimes  the  natives  will  take  a 
fashion  of  rubbing  red  ochre  and  turtle-fat 
into  their  heads  until  they  are  saturated  with 
the  compound,  and  will'  then  twist  up  the 
hair  into  little  strands. 

35 


The  men  of  this  part  of  Australia  never 
wear  any  dress,  and  the  women  are  often 
equally  indifferent  to  costume.  At  Cape 
York,  however,  they  mostly  wear  an  apol- 
ogy for  a  petticoat,  consisting  of  a  tuft  of 
long  grass  or  split  pandanus  leaves  sus- 
pended to  the  front  of  the  girdle.  On  great 
occasions,  and  especially  in  their  dances, 
they  wear  over  this  a  second  petticoat 
mostly  made  of  some  leaf,  and  having  tue 
ends  woven  into  a  sort  of  waistband.  The 
material  of  the  petticoat  is  generally  pan- 
danus leaf,  but,  whatever  may  be  the  mate- 
rial, the  mode  of  jjlaiting  it  and  the  general 
form  are  the  same  among  all  the  trilies  of 
Torres  Straits.  From  this  useful  leaf,  the 
women  also  make  the  rude  sails  for  their 
canoes,  which  serve  the  double  purpose  of 
sails  and  coverings  under  which  the  natives 
can  sleep  in  wet  weather. 

The  women  have  rather  a  curious  mode  of 
wearing  one  of  their  ornaments.  This  is  a 
vcrv  long  belt,  composed  of  many  strands  of 
plaited  or  twisted  fibre,  and  passed  round 
the  body  in  such  a  manner  that  it  crosses  on 
the  breast  like  the  now  abolished  cross-belts 
of  the  soldier.  It  is  drawn  rather  tight,  and 
may  perhajjs  be  of  some  service  in  support- 
ing the  bosom.  In  neither  case  does  cloth- 
ing seem  to  be  worn  as  a  mode  of  concealing 
any  part  of  the  body,  but  merely  as  a  defence 
against  the  weather  or  as  an  ornament. 
Even  when  dress  is  worn  it  is  of  a  very  slight 
character,  with  one  or  two  exceptions.  These 
exceptions  are  the  fur  cloaks,  with  which  the 
women  sometimes  clothe  themselves,  and  a 
remarkable  garment  which  presently  will  be 
described. 

The  fur  cloaks  are  made  almost  universally 
from  the  skin  of  the  opossum,  and,  as  the 
animal  is  a  small  one,  a  considerable  number 
are  sewed  together  to  make  a  single  robe. 
The  mode  of  manufacture  is  exactly  similar 
to  that  which  was  described  when  treating  of 
the  kaross  of  the  Kaffir  tribes,  the  skins  be- 
ing cut  to  the  proper  shape,  laid  side  by  side, 
and  sewed  laboriously  together  with  threads 
formed  of  the  sinews  of  the  kangaroo's  tail, 
or  often  with  those  which  are  drawn  out  of 
the  tails  of  the  very  creatures  which  furnish 
the  skin. 

Sometimes  a  piece  of  kangaroo  skin  is  used 
for  the  same  purpose,  but  in  neither  case 
does  it  fulfil  the  office  of  a  dress  according  to 
our  ideas.  The  cloak  is  a  very  small  one  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  women,  and  it  is 
worn  by  being  thrown  over  the  back  and 
tied  across  the  chest  by  a  couple  of  thongs, 
so  as  to  leave  the  whole  front  of  the  body  un- 
covered. If  the  garment  in  question  be  the 
skin  of  the  kangaroo,  it  is  slung  over  one 
shoulder,  and  allowed  to  fiill  much  as  it  likes, 
the  only  object  seeming  to  be  that  it  shall 
cover  the  greater  part  of  the  back  and  one 
shoulder.  Occasionally  a  man  wears  a  fur 
cloak,  but  he  seems  to  be  very  indifferent  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  it  hangs  upon  his 


700 


AUSTRALIA. 


body,  sometimes  drapinn;  it  about  his  shoul- 
ders, sometimes  letlins  it  fall  to  his  waist 
and  gatlu'rinii  it  about  bis  loins,  and  some- 
times, especially  if  walking,  boldins;  two  cor- 
ners together  with  liis  left  hand  in  front  of 
his  breast,  while  his  right  hand  grasps  his 
bun<lle  of  weapons. 

Mr.  tViigas  mentions  one  instance  of  a  sin- 
gularly perfect  dress  in  use  among  the  Aus- 
tralians —  the  only  dress  in  fact  that  is  really 
deserving  of  the  name.  It  is  a  large  cloak 
made  from  the  zostera  or  sea  grass,  a  plant 
that  is  remarkable  for  being  the  only  true 
flowering  plant  that  grows  in  the  sea.  It  lias 
very  long  grass-like  blades,  and  is  found  in 
vast  beds,  that  look  in  a  clear  sea  like  lux- 
uriant hay-fields  just  before  mowing. 

The  fibre  of  the  zostera  is  long,  and  won- 
derfully tough,  and  indeed  the  fibre  is  so 
good,  and  the  plant  so  abundant,  that  the 
uses  to  which  it  is  now  put,  such  as  packing 
and  stuffing,  are  far  below  its  capabilities,  and 
it  ought  to  be  brought  into  use  for  purposes 
for  which  a  long  and  strong  fibre  are  needed. 
Some  time  ago,  when  the  supply  of  rags  for 
paper  seemed  to  be  failing,  there  was  an  at- 
tempt made  to  substitute  the  zostera  for  rags ; 
and,  although  it  was  not  a  jicrfectly  success- 
ful experiment,  it  had  at  all  events  the  ele- 
ments of  success  in  it. 

AVith  this  long  grass  the  Australian  native 
occasionally  makes  a  large  cloak,  which  will 
cover  the  whole  body.  It  is  made  by  laying 
the  fibres  side  by  side,  and  lashing  t;liem  to- 
gether at  regular  intervals,  much  as  the  well- 
known  Xew  Zealand  mantle  is  made  from 
the  phormium.  Anxious  to  avoid  trouble, 
the  native  only  fiistens  together  a  sufficient 
quantity  to  make  a  covering  for  his  body  as 
low  as  the  knees,  the  loose  ends  of  the  zostera 
being  left  as  a  kind  of  long  fringe  that  edges 
the  mantle  all  round,  and  really  has  a  ver}' 
graceful  effect. 

The  illustration  Ko.  2,  on  the  next  page, 
shows  one  of  those  curious  mantles,  which 
was  sketched  while  on  the  body  of  the  wearer. 
As  the  manufacture  of  such  a  mantle  in- 
volves much  trouble,  and  the  Australian  na- 
tive has  the  full  savage  hatred  of  labor,  verv 
few  of  these  cloaks  are  to  be  seen.  Indeed, 
nothing  but  a  rather  long  inclement  season 
will  induce  a  native  to  take  the  trouble  of 
making  a  garment  which  he  will  only  use 
for  a  comparatively  short  period,  and  which 
is  rather  troublesome  to  carry  about  when 
not  wanted. 

"We  now  come  to  the  food  of  the  natives. 
As  has  already  been  stated,  they  eat  almost 
anything,  but  tliere  are  certain  kinds  of  food 
which  they  prefer,  and  which  will  be  speciallj' 
mentioned. 

As  to  vegetable  food,  there  are  several 
kinds  of  yams  which  the  more  civilized  tribes 
cultivate  —  the  nearest  approach  to  labor  of 
which  they  can  be  accused.  It  is  almost  ex- 
clusively on  the  islands  that  cultivation  is 


found,  and  Mr.  M'Gillivray  states  that  on  the 
mainland  he  never  saw  an  attempt  at  clear- 
ing the  ground  for  a  garden.  In  the  islands, 
however,  the  natives  manage  after  a  fashion 
to  raise  crops  of  yams. 

When  they  want  to  clear  apiece  of  ground, 
they  strew  the  surface  with  branches,  which 
are  allowed  to  wither  and  dry;  as  soon  as 
they  are  thoroughly  dried,  fire  is  set  to  them, 
and  thus  the  space  is  easily  cleared  from 
vegetation.  The  ground  is  then  pecked  up 
with  a  stick  sharpened  at  the  point  and  hard- 
ened by  fire ;  the  yams  are  cut  up  and  planted, 
and  by  the  side  of  each  hole  a  stick  is  thrust 
into  tiie  ground,  so  as  to  form  a  support  for 
the  plant  when  it  grows  up.  The  natives 
plant  just  before  the  rainy  season.  They 
never  trouble  themselves  to  build  a  fence 
round  the  simple  garden,  neither  do  they 
look  after  the  grov/th  of  the  crops,  knowing 
that  the  rains  which  are  sure  to  fall  will 
bring  their  crops  to  perfection. 

There  are  also  multitudes  of  vegetable  pro- 
ducts on  which  the  natives  feed.  One  of 
them,  which  is  largely  used,  is  called  by  them 
"  biyu. "  It  is  made  from  the  young  and 
tender  shoots  of  the  mangrove  tree.  The 
sprouts,  when  three  or  four  inches  in  length, 
are  laid  upon  heated  stones,  and  covered  with 
bark,  wet  leaves,  and  sand.  After  being 
thoroughly  stewed,  they  are  beaten  between 
two  stones,  and  the  pulp  is  scraped  away 
from  the  filu-es.  It  then  forms  a  slimy  gray 
paste,  and,  although  it  is  largely  eaten,  the 
natives  do  not  seem  to  like  it,  and  only  resort 
to  it  on  a  necessity.  They  contrive,  how- 
ever, to  inipro\-e  its  flavor  by  adding  large 
quantities  of  wild  yams  and  other  vegetable 
products. 

Perhaps  the  most  celebrated  wild  food  of 
the  Australians  is  the  "  nardoo,"  which  has 
become  so  familiar  to  the  British  reader 
since  the  important  ex]iedition  of  Burke  and 
Wills.  The  nardoo  is  the  produce  of  a  cryp- 
togamous  plant  which  grows  in  large  quan- 
ties,  but  is  rather  locab  The  fruit,  is  about 
as  large  as  a  pea,  and  is  cleaned  for  use  by 
being  rubbed  in  small  wooden  troughs.  It 
is  then  pounded  into  a  paste,  and  made  into 
cakes,  like  oatmeal. 

The  nardoo  plant  is  one  of  the  ferns,  and 
those  of  mv  readers  who  are  skilled  in  bot- 
any will  find  it  in  the  genus  Marsilea. 
Like  many  of  the  ferns,  the  plant  presents  a 
strangely  unfernlike  aspect,  consisting  of 
upright '  and  slender  stems,  about  twelve 
inches  liigh,  each  having  on  its  tips  a  small 
quadruple  frond,  closely  resembling  a  flower. 
The  fruit,  or  '•  sporocarp,"  of  the  nardoo  is 
the  part  that  is  eaten;  and  it  is  remarkable 
for  its  powers  of  absorbing  water,  and  so 
increasing  its  size.  Indeed,  when  the  fruit 
is  soaked  in  water,  it  will  in  the  comse  of  a 
single  hour  swell  until  it  is  two  hundred 
tim(>s  its  former  size. 

The  nardoo  is  useful  in  its  way,  and,  when 
mixed  with  more  nutritious  food,  is  a  valu- 


s 

G 

a 


o     33 


a 


O 


O 


||(|(|lMnni|i|i|i|i||||li||ll|il, 


]|Jlllll||i|lllJir 


(707) 


SUBTEKRANEAN  "WATER  STORES. 


709 


able  article  of  diet.  Taken  alone,  however, 
it  has  scarcely  the  slightest  nutritive  powers, 
and  tliough  it  distends  the  stomach,  and  so 
keeps  off  the  gnawing  sense  of  hunger,  it 
gives  no  strength  to  the  system.  Even  when 
eaten  with  flsh,  it  is  of  little  use,  and  re- 
quires either  fat  or  sugar  to  give  it  the  due 
power  of  nourisliment.  Witli  the  wonderful 
brightness  of  spirit  which  Mr.  Wills  managed 
to  keep  up,  even  when  surtering  the  severest 
hardships,  and  feeling  himself  gradually 
dying,  he  gives  in  his  diary  a  curiously  accu- 
rate picture  of  the  effects  of  living  for  a  length 
of  time  on  an  innutritions  substance.  He 
liked  the  nardoo,  and  consumed  considerable 
quantities  of  it,  but  gradually  wasted  away, 
leaving  a  record  in  his  diary  tliat  "  star- 
vation on  nardoo  is  by  no  means  unpleas- 
ant but  for  the  weakness  one  feels,  and  the 
utter  inability  to  rouse  one's  self;  for  as  far 
as  appetite  is  concerned,  it  gives  the  greatest 
satisfaction." 

The  ileath  of  this  fine  young  man  affords 
another  proof  of  the  disaitvantasre  at  which  a 
stranger  to  the  country  is  placed  while  trav- 
ersing a  new  land.  Many  native  tribes  lived 
on  the  route  along  which  the  travellers 
passed,  and,  from  their  knowledge  of  the 
resources  of  the  country,  were  able  to  sup- 
port themselves;  whereas  the  white  travel- 
lers seem  to  have  died  of  starvation  in  the 
^lidst  of  plenty. 

The  chief  vegetable  food,  however,  is  fur- 
bished by  the  bulrush  root,  which  is  to  the 
A.ustralians  who  live  near  rivers  the  staff 
■>f  life.  As  the  task  of  procuring  it  is  a 
very  disagreeable  one,  it  is  handed  over  to 
the  women,  who  have  to  wade  among  the 
reeds  and  half  bury  themselves  in  mud  while 
procuring  the  root. 

It  is  cooked  after  the  usual  Australian 
manner.  A  heap  of  limestones  is  raised, 
and  heated  by  fire.  The  roots  are  then  laid 
on  the  hot  stones,  and  are  covered  with  a 
layer  of  the  same  material.  In  order  to  pro- 
duce a  quantity  of  steam,  a  heaji  of  wet 
grass  is  thrown  on  the  upper  layer  of  stones, 
and  a  mound  of  sand  heaped  over  all. 

As  the  root,  however  well  cooked,  is  very 
fibrous,  the  natives  do  not  swallow  it,  but, 
after  chewing  it  and  extracting  all  the  soft 
parts,  they  reject  the  fibres,  just  as  a  sailor 
throws  aside  his  exhausted  quid;  and  great 
quantities  of  these  little  balls  of  fibre  are  to 
be  found  near  every  encampment.  The 
same  fibre  is  convertible  into  string,  and  is 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  fishing  lines  and 
nets. 

The  singular  knowledge  of  vegetable  life 
possessed  by  the  natives  is  never  displayed 
with  greater  force  than  in  the  power  which 
they  have  of  procuring  water.  In  an  apjiar- 
ently  desert  place,  where  no  signs  of  water 
are  to  be  found,  and  where  not  even  a 
pigeon  can  be  seen  to  wing  its  way  through 
the  air,  as  the  guide  to  the  distant  water 
toward  which  it  is  flying,  the  native  will 


manage  to  supply  himself  with  both  water 
and  food. 

He  looks  out  for  certain  eucalypti  or  gum- 
trees,  which  are  visible  from  a  very  great 
distance,  and  makes  his  way  toward  them. 
Choosing  a  spot  at  three  or  four  yards  from 
the  trunk,  with  his  katta  he  digs  away  at  the 
earth,  so  as  to  expose  the  roots,  tears  them 
out  of  the  ground,  and  proceeds  to  prepare 
them.  Cutting  them  into  pieces  of  a  foot  or 
so  in  length,  he  stands  them  upright  in  the 
bark  vessel  which  an  Australian  mostly  car- 
ries with  him,  and  waits  patiently.  Pres- 
ently a  few  drops  of  water  ooze  from  the 
lower  ends  of  the  roots,  and  in  a  short  time 
water  pours  out  freely,  so  that  an  abundant 
sujiply  of  liquid  is  obtained. 

Should  the  native  be  very  much  parched, 
he  takes  one  of  the  pieces  of  root,  splits  it 
lengthwise,  and  chews  it,  finding  that  it 
gives  as  much  juice  as  a  water-melon.  The 
youngest  and  freshest-looking  trees  are  al- 
ways chosen  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
water,  and  the  softest-looking  roots  selected. 
After  the  water  has  all  been  drained  from 
them,  they  are  pealed,  pounded  between  two 
stones,  and  then  roasted;  so  that  the  euca- 
lyptus supplies  both  food  and  drink. 

As,  however,  as  has  been  stated,  the  chief 
reliance  of  the  natives  is  upon  animal  food 
and  fish,  molluscs,  Crustacea,  reptiles,  and 
insects  form  a  very  considerable  proportion 
of  their  food.  Collecting  the  shell-fish  is  the 
dutv  of  the  women,  chiefly  because  it  is 
really  hard  work,  and  requires  a  great 
auKHUit  of  diving.  Throughout  the  whole 
of  this  vast  continent  this  duty  is  given  to 
the  women;  and  whether  in  the  Gulf  of  Car- 
pentaria, on  the  extreme  north,  or  in  the 
island  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  in  the  ex- 
treme south,  the  same  custom  prevails. 
During  Labillardiere's  voyage  in  search  of 
La  Perouse,  the  travellers  came  upon  a  party 
of  the  natives  of  Van  Diemen's  Land  while 
the  women  were  collecting  shell-fish,  and 
the  author  gives  a  good  description  of  the 
labors  to  which  these  poor  creatures  were 
subjected:  — 

"  About  noon  we  saw  them  prepare  their 
repast.  Hitherto  we  had  but  a  faint  idea  of 
the  pains  the  women  take  to  procure  the 
food  requisite  for  the  subsistence  of  their 
families.  They  took  each  a  basket,  and 
were  followed  by  their  daughters,  who  did 
the  same.  Getting  on  the  rocks  that  pro- 
jected into  the  sea,  they  plunged  from  them 
to  the  bottom  in  search  of  shell-fish.  When 
they  had  been  down  some  time,  we  became 
very  uneasy  on  their  account;  for  where 
they  had  dived  were  seaweeds  of  great  length, 
among  which  we  observed  the  furus  pyrif- 
erus,  and  we  feared  that  they  might  have 
been  entangled  in  these,  so  as  to  be  unable 
to  regain  the  surface. 

"  At  length,  however,  they  appeared,  and 
convinced  us  that  they  were  capable  of  re- 
maining under  water  twice  as  long  as  our 


nu 


AUSTRALIA. 


ablest  divers.  An  instant  was  sufBcient 
for  them  to  take  breatli,  ami  then  they  dived 
again.  This  they  did  I'epeatedly  till  their 
baskets  were  nearly  full.  Most  of  tliein 
were  provided  with  a  little  bit  of  wood,  eut 
into  tlie  shape  of  a  spatula,  and  witli  these 
they  separated  from  beneath  the  rocks,  at 
great  depths,  very  large  sea-ears.  Perhaps 
they  chose  the  biggest,  for  all  they  brought 
were  of  a  great  size. 

"On  seeing  the  large  lobsters  which  they 
had  in  their  baskets,  we  were  afraid  that 
they  must  have  wounded  these  poor  women 
terri))ly  with  their  large  claws;  but  we  soon 
found  that  they  had  taken  the  precaution  to 
kill  them  as  soon  as  they  caught  them. 
They  quitted  the  water  only  to  bring  their 
husbands  the  fruits  of  their  laljor,  and  fre- 
quently returned  almost  immediately  to  their 
diving  till  they  h.ad  procured  a  sufficient  me.al 
for  their  families.  At  other  times  the}- 
stayed  a  little  while  to  warm  themselves, 
with  their  faces  toward  the  fire  on  which 
their  fish  was  roasting,  and  other  litllo  fires 
burning  behind  them,  that  they  might  be 
warmed  on  all  sides  at  once. 

"  It  seemed  as  if  they  were  unwilling  to 
lose  a  moment's  time;  for  while  they  were 
warming  tliemselves,  they  were  employed  in 
roasting  fish,  some  of  which  they  laid  on  the 
coals  with  the  utmost  caution,  though  tliey 
took  little  care  of  the  lolisters,  wliich  they 
threw  anywhere  into  the  fire;  and  when 
they  were  ready  they  divided  the  claws 
among  the  men  and  the  children,  reserving 
the  body  for  themselves,  which  they  some- 
times ate  before  returning  into  tlie  water. 

"  It  gave  us  great  pain  to  see  these  poor 
women  condemned  to  such  severe  toil; 
while,  at  the  same  time,  they  ran  the  hazard 
of  being  devoured  by  sharks,  or  entangled 
among  the  weeds  that  rise  from  the  bottom 
of  the  sea.  We  often  entreated  tlieir  hus- 
bands to  take  a  share  in  their  labor  at  least, 
but  always  in  vain.  They  remained  con- 
stantly near  the  fire,  feasting  on  the  best 
bits,  and  eating  broiled  fucus,  or  fern-roots. 
Occasionally  they  took  the  trouble  to  break 
bottghs  of  trees  into  short  pieces  to  feed  the 
fire,  taking  care  to  choose  the  drycst. 

"  From  "their  manner  of  breaking  them 
we  found  that  their  skulls  must  be  very 
hard;  for,  taking  hold  of  the  sticks  at  each 
end  with  the  hand,  they  broke  them  over 
their  heads,  as  we  do  at  the  knee,  till  they 
broke.  Their  heads  being  constantly  bare, 
and  often  exposed  to  all  weathers  in  this 
high  latitude,  acquire  a  capacity  for  resisting 
such  eftbrls:  besides,  their  hair  forms  a 
cusliion  whicli  diminishes  the  ]iressure,  and 
renders  it  much  less  painful  on  the  summit 
of  the  head  than  auy  other  part  of  the  body. 
Few  of  the  women,  however,  could  have 
done  as  much,  for  some  had  tlieir  hair  cut 
pretty  short,  and  wore  a  string  several  times 
round  the  head;  others  had  only  a  simple 
crown  of  hair.    We  made  the  same  observa- 


tion with  respect  to  several  of  the  children, 
but  none  of  the  men.  These  had  the  back, 
breast,  shoulders,  and  arms  covered  with 
downy  hair." 

Sometimes  a  party  of  women  will  go  out 
on  a  raft  made  of  layers  of  reeds,  pushing 
themselves  along  by  means  of  very  long 
poles.  When  they  arrive  at  a  bed  of  nuis- 
sels,  they  will  slay  there  nearly  all  day  div- 
ing from  the  raft,  with  their  nets  tied  round 
their  necks,  and,  after  remaining  under  water 
for  a  considerable  time,  come  up  with  a 
heavy  load  of  mussels  in  their  nefs. 

They  even  manage  to  cook  upon  this  fragile 
raft.  They  make  a  heap  of  wet  sand  upon 
the  reeds,  put  a  few  stones  on  it,  and  Iniild 
their  fire  on  the  stones,  just  as  if  they  had 
been  on  shore.  After  remaining  luitil  they 
have  procured  a  large  stock  of  mussels,  they 
pole  tliemselves  ashore,  and  in  all  probability 
have  to  spend  several  hours  in  cooking  the 
mussels  for  the  men.  The  mussels  are  usually 
eaten  with  the  liulrush  root. 

There  is  a  sort  of  crayfisli  which  is  found 
in  the  mud-fliits  of  rivers  and  lakes.  These 
are  also  caught  by  the  women,  who  feel  for 
them  in  the  mud  with  their  feet,  and  hold 
them  down  firmly  until  they  can  be  seized 
In'  the  band.  As  soon  as  the  creatures  are 
taken,  the  claws  are  crushed  to  prevent  them 
from  biting,  and  they  are  afterward  roasted, 
while  still  alive,  on  the  embers  of  the  fire. 
Tadpoles  are  favorite  articles  of  diet  with  the 
Australians,  who  fry  them  on  grass. 

The  ordinary  limpet,  mussel,  and  other 
molluscs,  are  largely  eaten  by  the  natives, 
who  scoop  them  out  I)y  means  of  smaller 
shells,  just  as  is  done  by  boys  along  our  own 
coasts  —  a  ]ilan  which  is  very  eflicaeious,  as 
I  can  testify  from  personal  experience. 
Sometimes  they  cook  the  molluscs  bj'  the 
simple  process  of  throwing  them  on  the 
embers,  but  as  a  general  rule  they  eat  them 
ill  a  raw  state,  as  we  eat  oysters. 

Fish  they  catch  in  various  ways.  The 
usual  method  is  by  a  hook  and  line;  the 
former  of  which  is  ingenious!}'  cut  out  of  the 
shell  of  the  hawksliill  turtle.  Two  of  these 
hooks  are  now  before  me,  and  raise  a  feel- 
ing of  wonder  as  to  the  fish  which  could  be 
induced  to  take  sucli  articles  into  its  mouth. 
It  is  flat,  very  clumsily  made,  and  there  is 
no  bar)},  the  point  being  curved  very  much 
inward,  so  as  to  prevent  the  fish  from  slip- 
ping off  the  hook.  In  fact  the  whole  shape 
of  the  hook  is  almost  exactly  identical  with 
that  of  the  hook  which  is  found  throughout 
Polynesia  and  extends  to  New  Zealand. 

The  hook  is  fastened  to  a  long  and  stout 
line,  made  by  chewing  reeds,  stripjiing  them 
into  fibres,  and  rolhng  them  on  the  thighs. 
Two  of  these  strings  are  then  twisted  to- 
gether, and  the  line  is  complete.  My  own 
specimen  of  a  line  is  about  as  thick  as  the  fish- 
ing lines  used  on  our  coasts,  and  it  is  very 
long,  having  a  hook  at  either  end.  The 
hook  is  lashed  to  the  line  by  a  very  firm  but 


BEE  nUNTIl!fG. 


7H 


rather  clumsy  wrapping.      Sometimes  the 
hue  is  made  of  scraped  rattau  fibres. 

Anotlier  mode  of  fishing  is  liy  the  net. 
This  requires  at  least  two  men  to  manage  it. 
The  net  is  many  feet  in  length,  and  about 
four  feet  in  width.  It  is  kept  extended  by  a 
number  of  sticks  placed  a  yard  or  so  apart, 
and  can  then  be  rolled  up  in  a  cylindrical 
package  and  be  taken  to  the  water.  One 
man  then  takes  an  end  of  the  net,  unrolls  it, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  his  comrade  drops 
it  into  the  water.  As  soon  as  the  lower 
edge  of  the  net  touches  the  bottom,  the  men 
wade  toward  the  shore,  drawing  with  them 
the  two  ends  of  the  net  and  all  the  fish  that 
happen  to  be  within  its  range.  As  soon  as 
they  near  the  shore,  they  Ijring  the  two  ends 
of  the  net  to  the  land,  fix  them  there,  and 
are  then  able  to  pick  up  and  throw  ashore 
all  the  iish  that  are  in  the  net.  Some  of  the 
more  active  fish  escape  by  leaping  over  the 
upper  edge  of  the  net,  and  some  of  the  mud- 
loving  and  crafty  wriggle  their  way  under 
the  lower  edge;  "but  there  is  always  a  suth- 
ciency  of  fish  to  reward  the  natives  for  their 
lal)or. 

Like  the  fishing  line,  the  net  is  made  of 
chewed  reeds,  and  the  labor  of  chewing  and 
twisting  the  string  belongs  exclusively  to  the 
women. 

A  third  mode  of  fishing  is  by  employing 
certain  traps  or  baskets,  ingeniously  woven 
of  rattan,  and  made  so  that  the  fish  can  easily 
pass  into  them,  but  cannot  by  any  possibility 
get  out  again.  Sometimes  fish  are  siieared 
in  the  shallow  water,  the  native  wading  in, 
and  with  unerring  aim  transfixing  the  fish 
with  his  spear.  Even  the  children  take  part 
in  this  sport,  and,  though  armed  with  noth- 
ing better  than  a  short  stick,  sharpened  at 
one  end,  contrive  to  secure  their  fish.  With 
tlie  same  stick  they  dig  molluscs  out  of  the 
mud,  and  turn  Crustacea  out  of  their  holes; 
and  when  they  can  do  this,  they  are  supposed 
to  be  able  to  shift  for  themselves,  and  their 
parents  take  no  more  trouble  about  feeding 
them. 

They  are  not  more  fastidious  in  the  cook- 
ing offish  than  of  Crustacea  or  molluscs,  but 
just  throw  them  on  the  Are,  turn  them  once 
or  twice  with  a  stick,  and  when  they  arc 
warmed  through  and  the  outside  scorched, 
they  pick  them  out  of  the  fire,  scrape  off  the 
burnt  scales,  and  eat  them  without  further 
ceremony. 

Insect" food  is  much  used  among  the  Aus- 
tralians. As  might  be  expected,  honey  is 
greatly  valued  by  them,  and  they  displaj' 
great  ingenuity  in  procuring  it.  "When  a 
native  sees  a  bee  about  the  flowers,  and 
wishes  to  find  the  honey,  ho  repairs  to  the 
nearest  pool,  selects  a  spot  where  the  bank 
shelves  very  gradually,  Hes  on  his  face,  fills 
his  mouth  with  water,  and  patiently  awaits 
the  arrival  of  a  bee.  These  insects  require 
a  considerable  amount  of  moisture,  as  every 
one  knows  who  lias  kept  them,  and  the  bee- 


hunter  reckons  on  this  fact  to  procure  him 
the  honey  which  he  desires.  After  a  while 
a  bee  is  sure  to  come  aud  drink,  and  the 
hunter,  hearing  the  insect  api)roaching  him, 
ret.ains  his  position  and  scarcely  breathes,  so 
fearful  is  he  of  alarming  it.  At  last  it  alights, 
and  instantly  the  native  blows  the  water 
from  his  mouth  ovei-  it,  stunning  it  for  the 
moment.  Before  it  can  recover  itself,  he 
seizes  it,  and  by  means  of  a  little  gum  at- 
taches to  it  a  tuft  of  white  down  obtained 
from  one  of  the  trees. 

As  soon  as  it  is  released,  the  insect  fiies 
away  toward  its  nest,  the  white  tuft  serving 
the  double  purpose  of  making  it  more  con- 
spicuous and  retarding  its  flight.  Away 
goes  the  hunter  after  it  at  full  speed,  run- 
ning and  leaping  along  in  a  wonderful  man- 
ner, his  eyes  fixed  on  the  guiding  insect, 
and  making  very  light  of  obstacles.  (See 
illustration  No.  1,  on  the  716th  page.)  Some- 
times a  fallen  tree  will  be  in  his  way,  and  if 
he  can  he  jumps  over  it;  but  at  all  risks  he 
must  get  over  without  delay,  and  so  he 
dashes  at  the  obstacle  with  reclcless  activity. 
Should  he  surmount  it,  well  and  good;  biit 
if,  as  often  happens,  he  should  fall,  he  keeps 
his  eyes  fixed,  as  well  as  he  can,  on  the  bee, 
and  as  soon  as  he  springs  to  his  feet  he 
resumes  the  chase.  Even  if  he  should  lose 
sight  of  it  for  a  moment,  he  dashes  on  in 
the  same  direction,  knowing  that  a  bee 
always  flies  in  a  straight  line  for  its  home; 
and  when  he  nears  it,  the  angry  hum  of  t!ie 
hampered  insect  soon  tells  him  that  he  has 
recovered  the  lost  ground. 

The  reader  will  see  that  this  mode  of 
tracking  the  Isee  to  its  home  is  far  inferior 
to  that  of  the  American  bee-hunters,  and  is 
rather  a  business  of  the  legs  than  of  the 
head.  The  Australian  bee-hunter  waits 
until  a  bee  happens  to  come  to  the  spot 
where  he  lies;  the  American  bee-hunter 
baits  an  attractive  trap,  aud  induces  the 
insect  to  come  to  the  spot  which  he  selects. 
Then  the  Australian  bee-hunter  only  runs 
after  the  single  bee;  whereas  the  American 
bee-hunter  economizes  his  strength  by  em- 
ploying two  bees,  and  saving  his  legs. 

He  puts  honey  on  a  flat  wooden  slab,  hav- 
ing drawn  a  circle  of  white  paint  round  it. 
The  bee  alights  on  the  honey,  and,  after  fill- 
ing its  croij,  crawls  through  "the  white  jiaint 
and  sets  oft"  homeward.  The  hunter  follows 
the  "bee-line"  taken  by  the  insect,  and 
marks  it  by  scoring  or  "blazing"  a  few 
trees.  He  then  removes  his  honeyed  trap 
to  a  spot  at  an  angle  with  his  former  station 
and  repeats  the  process.  There  is  no  need 
for  him  to  race  after  the  flying  bee,  and  to 
run  considerable  risk  of  damaging  himself 
more  or  less  seriously;  he  simply  follows 
out  the  lines  which  the  two  bees  have  taken, 
and,  by  fixing  on  the  point  at  which  they 
meet,  walks  leisurely  up  to  the  nest. 

Having  found  his  bee  nest,  the  Australian 
loses  no  time  in   ascending  to    the    spot. 


712 


AUSTRALIA. 


whether  it  be  a  cleft  in  a  rock,  or,  as  is 
usually  the  case,  a  hole  in  a  tree.  This  lat- 
ter spot  is  much  tavored  by  the  bees,  as  well 
as  by  many  of  the  arboreal  mammals,  of 
which  there  are  so  many  in  Australia.  The 
sudden  and  violent  tempests  which  ra,2;e  in 
that  part  of  the  world  tear  off  the  branches 
of  trees  and  hurl  them  to  the  ground.  Dur- 
ing succeeding  rainy  seasons,  the  wet  lodges 
in  the  broken  branch,  and  by  degrees  rots 
away  the  wood,  which  is  instantly  lilled  with 
the  larvas  of  beetles,  moths,  tlies,  and  other 
insects  that  feed  upon  decaying  wood. 
Thus,  in  a  few  years,  the  hollow  extends 
itself  until  it  burrows  into  the  tree  itself, 
and  sometimes  descends  nearly  from  the  to]) 
to  the  bottom,  thus  forming  an  admirable 
locality  for  the  bees. 

Taking  with  him  a  hatchet,  a  basket,  and 
a  quantity  of  dry  grass  or  leaves,  the  native 
ascends,  lights  the  grass,  and  under  cover  of 
the  smoke  chops  away  the  wood  until  he 
can  get  at  the  combs,  which  he  places  in 
the  basket,  with  which  he  descends.  Should 
he  be  too  poor  to  possess  even  a  basket,  he 
extemporizes  one  by  cutting  away  the  bark 
of  the  ti'ee;  and  should  the  nest  be  a  very 
large  one,  he  is  supplied  by  his  friends  from 
below  with  a  number  of  vessels,  and  passes 
them  down  as  fast  as  they  are  filled. 

Perhaps  some  of  my  readers  may  remark 
that  honey  cannot  be  rightly  considered 
as  insect  food,  and  that  it  ought  to  have 
been  ranked  among  the  vegetable  produc- 
tions. The  Australian,  however,  does  not 
content  himself  with  extracting  the  honey 
from  the  comb,  but  eats  it  precisely  in  the 
state  in  which  it  is  brought  from  the  nest. 
As  the  bees  are  not  forced,  as  amongst  Eng- 
lish bee-masters,  to  keep  their  honey-cells 
distinct  from  those  which  contain  the 
hoard  and  the  "  bee-bread,"  each  comb  con- 
tains indiscriminately  bee-bread,  young  bee- 
grubs,  and  honey,  and  the  Australian  eats 
all  three  with  equal  satisfaction. 

Another  kind  of  insect  food  is  a  grub 
which  inhabits  the  trunks  of  trees,  and  of 
which  the  natives  are  inordinately  fond. 
They  have  a  wonderful  faculty  of  discover- 
ing the  presence  of  this  grub,  and  twist  it 
out  of  its  hole  with  an  odd"  little  instrument 
composed  of  a  hook  fastened  to  the  end  of  a 
slender  twig.  This  implement  is  carried  in 
the  hair  so  as  to  project  over  the  ear,  like 
a  clerk's  pen,  and  for  a  long  time  puzzled 
travellers,  who  thought  it  to  be  merely  an 
ornament,  and  could  not  understand  its 
very  peculiar  shape. 

The  larva  is  the  caterpillar  of  a  moth 
which  is  closely  allied  to  the  goat-moth  of 
oiir  own  country,  and  has  the  same  habit 
of  burrowing  into  the  wood  of  living  trees. 
The  hooked  instrument  which  is  used  for 
drawing  them  out  of  their  holes  is  called 
the  "  pileyah,"  and  is  eniploj^ed  also  for 
hooking  beetles,  grubs,  and  other  insects 
out  of  their  holes  in  the  ground.    When  the 


pileyah  is  used  for  extracting  grubs  from 
the  earth,  the  ground  is  first  loosened  by 
means  of  a  wooden  scoop  that  looks  some- 
thing like  a  hollowed  wadd}'.  The  pileyah 
is  then  tied  to  the  end  of  a  polygonum  twig 
of  sufficient  length,  and  by  such  means  can 
be  introduced  into  the  holes. 

Perhaps  the  most  celebrated  of  the  vari- 
ous insect  banquets  in  which  the  Austra- 
lians delight  is  that  which  is  furnished  by 
the  bugong  moth,  as  the  insect  is  popularly, 
l)ut  wrongly,  called.  Instead  of  belonging 
to  the  moth  tribe,  it  is  one  of  the  butterflies, 
and  belongs  to  the  graceful  family  of  the 
Ileliconidai.  Its  scientific  name  is  Evplwa 
hamula.  The  bugong  is  remarkable  for  Ihe 
fact  that  its  body,  instead  of  being  slender 
like  that  of  most  butterfiies,  is  very  stout, 
and  contains  an  astoni.shing  amount  of  oily 
matter.  The  color  of  the  insect  is  dark 
brown,  with  two  black  sjiots  on  the  u]iper 
wings.  It  is  a  small  insect,  measuring  only 
an  inch  and  a  half  across  the  wings. 

It  is  found  in  the  New  South  Wales  dis- 
ti'ict,  and  inhabits  a  range  of  hills  that  are 
called  from  the  insect  the  Bugong  Moun- 
tains. The  Australians  eat  the  bugong  but- 
terflies just  as  locusts  are  eaten  in  many 
parts  of  the  world,  and,  for  the  short  time 
during  which  the  insect  makes  its  appear- 
ance, feast  inordinately  upon  it,  and  get  quite 
fat.  The  following  account  is  given  by  Mr. 
G.  Bennett:  — 

"  After  riding  over  the  lower  ranges,  we 
arrived  a  short  distance  above  the  base  of 
the  Bugong  Mountain,  tethered  the  horses, 
and  ascended  on  foot,  by  a  steep  and  rugged 
path,  which  led  us  to  the  first  summit  of  the 
mountain:  at  this  place,  called  Ginandery 
by  the  natives,  enormous  masses  of  granite 
rock,  piled  one  upon  another,  and  situated 
on  the  verge  of  a  wooded  precipice,  excited 
our  attention.  An  extensive  and  romantic 
view  was  here  obtained  of  a  distant,  wooded, 
mountainous  country. 

"  This  was  the  first  place  where,  upon  the 
smooth  sides  or  crevices  of  the  granite 
blocks,  the  bugong  moths  congregated  in 
such  incredible  multitudes;  but,  from  the 
blacks  having  recently  been  here,  we  found 
but  few  of  the  insects  remaining.  At  one 
part  of  this  group  of  granite  rocks  were 
two  pools,  apparently  hollowed  naturally 
from  the  solid  stone,  and  filled  with  cool  and 
clear  water;  so,  lighting  a  fire,  we  enjoyed 
a  cup  of  tea  previous  to  recommencing  our 
further  ascent.  On  proceeding  we  found 
the  rise  more  gradual,  liut  unpleasant,  from 
the  number  of  loose  stones  and  branches  of 
trees  strewed  about;  several  of  the  deserted 
bark  huts  of  the  natives  (which  they  had 
temporarily  erected  when  engaged  in  col- 
lecting and  )ireparing  the  bugong)  were 
scattered  around.  Shrubs  and  plants  were 
numerous  as  we  proceeded,  but,  with  few 
exceptions,  did  not  difler  from  those  seen  in 
other  parts  of  the  colony. 


THE  BUGONG. 


713 


''  Xe.ar  a  small  limpid  stream  a  species  of 
Lycopodiitm  grew  so  dense  as  to  form  a 
carpet  over  which  we  were  able  to  walk. 
The  timber  trees  towered  to  so  great  an 
elevation  that  the  prospect  of  the  country 
we  had  anticipated  was  impeded.  At  last 
we  arrived  at  another  peculiar  group  of 
granite  rocks  in  enormous  masses  and  of 
various  forms;  this  place,  similar  to  the  last, 
formed  the  locality  where  the  bugong  moths 
congregate,  and  is  called  '  Warrogong '  by 
the  natives.  The  remains  of  recent  fires 
apprised  us  that  the  aborigines  had  only 
recently  left  the  place  for  another  of  similar 
character  a  few  miles  further  distant. 

"  Our  native  guides  wished  us  to  proceed 
and  join  the  tribe,  but  the  day  had  so  far 
advanced  that  it  was  thought  more  advisa- 
able  to  return,  because  it  was  doubtful,  as 
the  blacks  removed  from  a  place  as  soon  as 
they  had  cleared  it  of  the  insects,  whether 
■we  should  find  them  at  the  next  group,  or 
removed  to  others  still  further  distant. 

"  From  the  result  of  my  observations  it 
appears  that  the  insects  are  only  found  in 
such  multitudes  on  these  insulated  and  pecul- 
iar masses  of  granite,  for  about  the  other 
solitary  granite  rocks,  so  profusely  scattered 
over  the  range,  I  did  not  observe  a  single 
moth,  or  even  the  remains  of  one.  Why 
they  should  be  confined  only  to  these  jiar- 
ticular  places,  or  for  what  purpose  they  thus 
collect  together,  is  not  a  less  curious  than 
interesting  subject  of  inquiry.  Whether  it 
be  for  the  purpose  of  emigrating,  or  any 
other  cause,  our  present  knowledge  cannot 
satisfactorily  answer. 

"  The  bugong  moths,  as  I  have  before 
observed,  collect  on  the  surfaces,  and  also  in 
the  crevices,  of  the  masses  of  granite  in  in- 
credible quantities.  To  procure  them  with 
greater  ficility,  the  natives  make  smothered 
fires  underneath  these  rocks  about  which 
they  are  collected,  and  suffocate  them  with 
smoke,  at  the  same  time  sweeping  them  off 
frequently  in  bushelfuls  at  a  time.  After 
they  have  collected  a  large  quantity,  they 
proceed  to  prepare  them,  which  is  done  in 
the  following  manner. 

"  A  circular  space  is  cleared  upon  the 
ground,  of  a  size  proportioned  to  the  num- 
ber of  insects  to  be  prepared;  on  it  a  fire  is 
lighted  and  kept  burning  until  the  ground  is 
considered  to  be  sufHciently  heated,  when, 
the  fire  being  removed,  and  the  ashes  cleared 
away,  the  moths  are  placed  upon  the  heated 
ground,  and  stirred  about  until  the  down  and 
wings  are  removed  from  them;  they  are  then 
placed  on  pieces  of  bark,  and  ivinnoioed  to 
separate  the  dust  and  wings  mixed  with  the 
bodies;  they  are  then  eaten,  or  placed  into 
a  wooden  vessel  called  '  walbuni,'  or  '  cali- 
bum,'  and  pounded  Ijy  a  piece  of  wood  into 
masses  or  cakes  resembling  lumps  of  fat,  and 
may  be  compared  in  color  and  consistence 
to  dough  made  from  smutty  wheat  mixed 
with  fat. 


"  The  bodies  of  the  moths  are  large  and 
filled  with  a  yellowish  oil,  resembling  in 
taste  a  sweet  nut.  These  masses  (with  which 
the  '  netbuls,'  or  '  talabats,'  of  the  native 
tribes  are  loaded  during  the  season  of  feasting 
upon  the  bugong)  will  not  keep  more  than  a 
week,  and  seldom  even  for  that  time;  but  by 
smoking  they  are  able  to  preserve  them  for 
a  much  longer  period.  The  first  time  this 
diet  is  used  by  the  native  tribes,  violent 
vomiting  and  other  debilitating  effects  are 
produced,  but  after  a  few  days  they  become 
accustomed  to  its  use,  and  then  thrive  and 
fatten  exceedingly  upon  it. 

"  These  insects  are  held  in  such  estima- 
tion among  the  aborigines,  that  they  assem- 
ble from  all  parts  of  the  country  to  collect 
them  from  these  mountains.  It  is  not  only 
the  native  blacks  that  resort  to  the  bugong, 
but  crows  also  congregate  for  the  same  pur- 
)iose.  The  blacks  (that  is,  the  crows  and 
the  aborigines)  do  not  agree  about  their 
respective  shares  :  so  the  stronger  decides 
the  point;  for,  when  the  crows  (called  'ara- 
bul '  by  the  natives)  enter  the  hollows  of 
the  rocks  to  feed  upon  the  insects,  the  na- 
tives stand  at  the  entrance  and  kill  them  as 
they  fly  out;  and  they  afford  them  an  excel- 
lent meal,  being  fat  from  feeding  upon  the 
rich  bugong.  So  eager  are  the  feathered 
blacks  or  arabuls  after  this  food  that  they 
attack  it  even  when  it  is  preparing  by  the 
natives;  but  as  the  aborigines  never  consider 
any  increase  of  food  a  misfortune,  they  lay 
in  wait  for  the  arabuls  with  waddies  or  clubs, 
kill  them  in  great  numbers,  and  use  them  as 
food." 

Eeptiles  form  a  very  considerable  part 
of  an  Australian's  diet,  and  he  di-splaj's  equal 
aptitude  in  capturing  and  cooking  them. 
Turtle  is  an  especial  favorite  with  him,  not 
only  on  account  of  its  size,  and  of  the  quan- 
tity of  meat  which  it  furnishes,  but  on  ac- 
count of  the  oil  which  is  olitained  from  it. 

On  the  coast  of  Australia  several  kinds  of 
turtle  are  found,  the  most  useful  of  which 
are  the  ordinary  green  turtle  and  the  hawks- 
bill.  They  are  caught  either  in  the  water, 
or  by  watching  for  them  when  they  come 
on  shore  for  the  purpose  of  laying  their 
eggs,  and  then  turning  them  on  their  backs 
before  thej'  can  reach  the  sea.  As,  how- 
ever, comparatively  few  venture  on  the 
shore,  the  greater  number  are  taken  in  the 
water.  Along  the  shore  the  natives  have 
regular  watchtowers  or  cairns  made  of  stones 
and  the  bones  of  turtles,  dugongs,  and  otlier 
creatures.  When  the  sentinel  sees  a  turtle 
drifting  along  with  the  tide,  he  gives  the 
alarm,  and  a  boat  puts  out  after  it.  The 
canoe  approaches  from  behind,  and  paddles 
very  cautiously  so  that  the  rejitile  may  not 
hear  it.  As  soon  as  they  come  close  to  it, 
the  chief  hunter,  who  holds  in  his  hand  one 
end  of  a  slight  but  tough  rope,  leaps  on  the 
turtle's  back,  and  clings   to  it  with  both 


ri4 


AUSTRALIA. 


hands  on  its  shonlrlers.  The  startled  rep- 
tile (lashes  oft',  but  before  it  has  got  very  far 
the  lumter  eoutrives  to  upset  it,  and  while 
it  is  struggling  he  slips  the  noose  of  the 
rope  over  one  of  its  flippers.  The  creature 
is  then  comparatively  helpless,  and  is  towed 
ashore  by  the  canoe. 

In  some  districts  the  turtle  is  taken  by 
means  of  a  harpoon,  which  is  identical  in 
principle  with  that  which  is  used  by  the  hip- 
popotamus hunters  of  Africa.  There  is  a 
long  shaft,  into  the  end  of  which  is  loosely 
slijiiied  a  movable  head.  A  rope  is  attached 
to  the  head,  and  a  buoy  to  the  other  end  of 
the  roi>e.  As  soon  as  the  reptile  is  struck, 
the  shaft  is  disengaged,  and  is  picked  up  by 
the  thrower;  while  the  float  serves  as  an 
indication  of  the  turtle's  whereabouts,  and 
enal)les  the  hunters  to  tow  it  toward  the 
shore. 

One  of  the  natives,  named  Gi'om,  told  Mr. 
M'Gillivray  that  they  sometimes  caught  the 
turtle  by  means  of  the  remora,  or  sucking- 
fish.  One  of  these  fish,  round  whose  tail  a 
line  has  been  previously  made  fast,  is  kept 
in  a  vessel  of  water  on  board  the  boat,  and, 
when  a  small  turtle  is  seen,  the  remora  is 
dropped  into  the  sea.  Instinctively  it  makes 
its  way  to  the  turtle,  and  fastens  itself  so 
firmly  to  the  reptile's  back  that  they  are  both 
hauled  to  the  boat's  side  and  lifted  in  by  the 
flshermeu.  Only  small  turtles  can  be  "thus 
taken,  and  there  is  one  species  which  never 
attains  any  great  size  which  is  generally 
captured  in  this  curious  manner. 

The  hawksbill  turtle  is  too  dangerous  an 
antagonist  to  be  chased  in  the  water.  The 
shari)-edged  scales  which  project  from  its 
sides  would  cut  deeply  into  the  hands  of  any 
man  who  tried  to  turn  it;  and  even  the  green 
turtle,  with  its  comparatively  blunt-edged 
shell,  has  been  known  to  inflict  a  severe 
wound  upon  the  leg  of  the  man  who  was 
clinging  to  its  back.  The  native,  therefore, 
is  content  to  watch  it  ashore,  and  by  means 
of  long,  stout  poles,  which  he  introduces 
leverwise  under  its  body,  turns  it  over  with- 
out danger  to  himself. 

When  the  Australians  have  succeeded  in 
turning  a  turtle,  there  are  great  rejoicings, 
as  the  verj'  acme  of  human  felicity  consists, 
according  to  native  ideas,  iu  gorging  until 
the  feasters  can  neither  stand  nor  sit.  They 
may  be  seen  absolutely  rolling  on  the  ground 
in  agony  from  the  inordinate  distension  of 
their  stomachs,  and  yet,  as  soon  as  the  pain 
has  abated,  they  renew  their  feastings. 
Mostly  they  assemble  round  the  turtle,  cook 
it  rudely,  and  devour  it  on  the  spot;  but 
in  Torres  Straits  they  are  more  provident, 
and  dry  the  flesh  in  order  to  supply  them- 
selves with  food  during  their  voyages.  They 
cut  up  the  meat  into  thin  slices,  boil  the 
slices,  and  then  dry  them  in   the  sun. 

During  the  process  of  cooking,  a  consider- 
able amount  of  oil  rises  to  the  surface,  and 
is  skimmed  otT  and  kept  in  vessels  made  of 


bamboo  and  turtles'  bladders.  The  cook, 
however,  has  to  exercise  some  vigilance 
while  performing  his  task,  as  the  natives 
are  so  fond  of  the  oil  that,  unless  they  are 
closely  watched,  they  will  skim  it  off  and 
drink  it  while  in  an  almost  boiling  slate. 
The  boiling  and  subsequent  drying  render 
the  flesh  very  hard,  so  that  it  will  keep  for 
several  weeks;  but  it  cannot  be  eaten  with- 
out a  second  boiling. 

The  shell  of  the  hawksbill  turtle  is  doubly 
valuable  to  the  natives,  who  reserve  a  little 
for  the  manufacture  of  hooks,  and  sell  the 
rest  to  shippers  or  traders,  who  bring  it  to 
Europe,  where  it  is  converted  into  the  "  tor- 
toise-shell" with  which  we  are  so  familiar. 
There  is  in  my  collection  a  beautiful  sjicci- 
men  of  one  of  these  scales  of  tortoise-shell  as 
it  was  purchased  from  the  natives.  It  is 
about  eleven  inches  in  length  and  seven  in 
width,  and  has  a  hole  at  one  end  by  which 
they  string  the  scales  together.  There  are 
the  scars  of  eight  large  limpet  shells  ujion  it, 
showing  the  singular  appearance  which  the 
animal  must  have  presented  when  alive. 

The  cooking  of  turtle  is  a  far  more  impor- 
tant process  than  that  of  boiling  fish,  and  a 
sort  of  oven  is  required  in  order  to  dress  it 
jiroperl}'.  In  principle  the  oven  resemliles 
that  which  is  in  use  in  so  many  parts  of  the 
world,  and  which  has  been  already  described 
when  shewing  how  the  hunters  of  South 
Africa  cook  the  elephant's  foot.  Instead, 
however,  of  digging  a  hole  and  burning 
wood  in  it,  the  Australian  takes  a  number  of 
stones,  each  about  the  size  of  a  man's  fist, 
and  puts  them  into  the  fire.  When  they  are 
heated,  they  are  laid  closely  together,  and 
(he  meat  placed  upon  them.  A  second  layer 
of  heated  stores  is  arranged  upon  the  meat, 
and  a  rim  or  bank  of  tea-tree  bush,  backed 
up  with  sand  or  earth,  is  built  round  this 
primitive  oven.  Grass  and  leaves  are  then 
strewn  plentifully  over  the  stones,  and  are 
held  in  their  places  by  the  circular  bank. 
The  steam  is  thus  retained,  and  so  the  meat 
is  cooked  in  a  very  efl'ectual  manner. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country,  however,  a 
more  elaborate  oven  is  used.  It  consists  of 
a  hole  some  three  feet  in  diameter  and  two 
feet  in  depth,  and  is  heated  in  the  following 
manner:  —  It  is  filled  to  within  six  inches  of 
the  top  with  round  and  hard  stones,  similar 
to  those  which  have  already  been  described, 
and  upon  them  afire  is  built  and  maintained 
for  some  time.  When  the  stones  are  thought 
to  1)0  sufticiently  heated,  the  embers  are 
swept  away,  and  the  food  is  simply  laid  upon 
the  stones  and  allowed  to  remain  "there  until 
thoroughly  cooked. 

This  kind  of  oven  is  found  over  a  large 
range  of  country,  and  Mr.  M'Gillivray  has 
seen  it  throughout  the  shores  of  Toitcs 
Straits,  and  extending  as  fsir  southward  as 
Sandy  Cajie  on  the  eastern  side. 

Although  the  idea  of  snake  eating  is  so  re- 
pugnant to  our  ideas  that  many  persons  can- 


(1.)    BEK  HUNTING. 
(See  page  711.) 


(2.)    COOKING   A  SNAKE, 
(See  page  717.) 


t716i 


COOKIN^G  A  SI^AKE. 


717 


not  eat  eels  because  they  look  like  snakes, 
the  Australian  knows  better,  and  considers  a 
snake  as  one  of  the  greatest  delicacies  which 
the  earth  [>roduces.  And  there  is  certainly 
no  reason  why  we  should  repudiate  the  snake 
as  disgusting  while  we  accept  the  turtle  and 
so  many  of  the  tortoise  kind  as  delicacies,  no 
matter  whether  their  food  be  animal  or  veg- 
etable. Tlie  Australian  knows  that  a  snake 
in  good  condition  ought  to  have  plenty  of 
fat," and  to  be  well  flavored,  and  is  always 
easy  in  his  mind  so  long  as  he  can  catch  one. 

The  process  of  cooking  (see  page  716)  i.s 
exactly  like  that  which  is  employed  with  fish, 
except  that  more  pains  are  taken  about  it,  as 
is  consistent  with  the  superior  character  of 
the  food.  The  fire  being  lighted,  the  native 
squats  in  front  of  it  and  waits  until  the  flame 
and  smoke  have  partly  died  away,  and  then 
carefully  coils  the  snake  on  tlie  embers,  turn- 
ing it  and  recoiling  it  until  all  the  scales  are 
so  scorched  that  they  can  be  rublied  off.  He 
then  allows  it  to  remain  until  it  is  cooked  ac- 
cording to  his  ideas,  and  eats  it  deliberately, 
as  becomes  such  a  dainty,  picking  out  the 
best  parts  for  himself,  and,  if  he  be  in  a  good 
humor,  tossing  the  rest  to  his  wives. 

Snake  hunting  is  carried  on  in  rather  a 
curious  manner.  Killing  a  snake  at  once, 
unless  it  should  be  wanted  for  immediate  con- 
sumption, would  be  extremely  foolish,  as  it 
vi^ould  be  unflt  for  food  before  the  night  had 
passed  away.  Taking  it  alive,  therefore,  is 
the  plan  which  is  adopted  by  the  skilful  hun- 
ter, and  this  he  manages  in  a  very  ingenious 
way. 

Should  he  come  upon  one  of  the  venomous 
serpents,  he  cuts  off  its  retreat,  and  with  his 
spear  or  with  a  forked  stick  he  irritates  it 
with  one  hand,  wliile  in  his  other  he  holds 
the  narrow  wooden  shield.  By  repeated 
blows  he  induces  the  reptile  to  attack  him, 
and  dexterously  receives  the  stroke  on  the 
shield,  flinsing  the  snake  back  by  the  sudden 
repulse.  Time  after  time  the  snake  renews 
the  attack,  and  is  as  often  foiled;  and  at  last 
it  yields  the  battle,  and  lies  on  the  ground 
completely  beaten.  The  hunter  then  presses 
his  forked  stick  on  the  reptile's  neck,  seizes 
it  firmly,  and  holds  it  while  a  net  is  thrown 
over  it  and  it  is  bound  securely  to  his  spear. 
It  is  then  carried  otf,  and  reserved  for  the 
next  day's  banquet. 

Sometimes  the  opossum-skin  cloak  takes 
the  place  of  the  shield,  and  the  snake  is  al- 
lowed to  bite  it. 

The  carpet  snake,  which  sometimes  attains 
the  length  of  ten  or  twelve  feet,  is  favorite 
game  with  the  Australian  native,  as  its  large 
size  furnishes  him  with  an  aliundant  supply 
of  meat,  as  well  as  the  fat  in  which  his  soul 
delights.  This  snake  mostly  lives  in  holes  at 
the  foot  of  the  curious  grass-tree,  of  which 
we  shall  see  several  figures  in  the  course  of 
the  following  pages,  and  in  many  places  it  is 
so  plentiful  that  there  is  scarcely  a  grass-tree 
without  its  snake. 


As  it  would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  probe 
each  hole  in  succession,  the  natives  easily  as- 
certain those  holes  which  are  inhabited  by 
smearing  the  earth  around  them  with  a  kind 
of  white  clay  mixed  with  water,  which  is  as 
soft  as  putty.  On  the  following  day  tliey  can 
easily  see,  "by  the  appearance  of  the  clay, 
when  a  snake  has  entered  or  left  its  hole,  and 
at  once  proceed  to  induce  the  reptile  to  leave 
its  stronghold.  This  is  done  by  putting  on 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  immediately  over  the 
hole  a  bait,  which  the  natives  state  to  be 
houey,  and  waiting  patiently,  often  for  many 
hours,  until  the  serpent  is  attracted  by  the 
bait  and  climbs  the  tree.  As  soon  as  it  is 
clear  of  the  hole,  its  retreat  is  cut  off,  and  the 
result  of  the  ensuing  combat  is  a  certainty. 
The  forked  spear  which  the  native  employs 
is  called  a  bo-bo. 

All  the  tribes  which  live  along  the  eastern 
coast,  especially  those  which  inhabit  the 
northern  part  of  the  country,  are  in  the  habit 
of  capturing  the  dugong.  This  animal  is 
very  fond  ol  a  green,  liranchless,  marine  alga, 
and  ventures  to  the  shore  in  order  to  feed 
upon  it.  The  natives  are  on  the  w'ateh  for 
it,  and,  as  soon  as  a  dugong  is  seen,  a  canoe 
puts  off  after  it. 

Each  canoe  is  furnished  with  paddles  and 
a  harpooner,  who  is  armed  with  a  weapon 
very  similar  to  that  which  is  used  by  the 
turtle  catchers,  except  that  no  buoy  is  re- 
quired. It  is  composed  of  a  shaft  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  length,  light  at  one 
end,  and  heavy  at  the  other.  A  hole  is  made 
at  the  heavy  end,  and  into  the  hole  is  loosely 
fitted  a  kind  of  spear  head  made  of  bone, 
about  four  inches  in  length,  and  covered 
with  barbs.  One  end  of  a  stout  and  long 
rope  is  made  fast  to  this  head,  and  the  other 
is  attached  to  the  canoe. 

As  soon  as  he  is  within  striking  distance, 
the  harpooner  jumps  out  of  the  boat  into  the 
water,  striking  at  the  same  time  with  his 
weapon,  so  as  to  add  to  the  stroke  the  force 
of  his  own  weight.  Disengaging  the  shaft, 
he  returns  to  the  canoe,  leavins;  the  dugong 
attached  to  it  by  the  rope.  The  wounded 
animal  dives  and  tries  to  make  its  way  sea- 
ward. Strange  to  say,  although  the  dugong 
is  a  large  animal,  often  eight  feet  in  length, 
and  very  bulky  in  proportion  to  its  length, 
it  seldom  requires  to  be  struck  a  second  time, 
Ijut  rises  to  the  surfiice  and  dies  in  a  few 
minutes  from  a  wound  occasioned  by  so  ap- 
parently insignificant  a  weapon  as  a  piece  of 
bone  struck  some  three  inches  into  its  body. 
When  it  is  dead,  it  is  towed  ashore,  and 
rolled  up  the  bank  to  some  level  spot,  where 
preparations  are  at  once  made  for  cooking 
and  eating  it. 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  zoology 
are  aware  that  the  dugong  is  formed  much 
after  the  manner  of  the  whale,  and  that  it  is 
covered  first  with  a  tough  skin  and  then 
with  a  layer  of  blubber  over  the  muscles. 
Tliis  structure,  by  the  way,  render"^   ''"•  3uc- 


718 


AUSTKALIA. 


cumbing  to  the  wound  of  the  harpoon  the 
more  surprising.  The  natives  always  cut  it 
up  in  the  same  manner.  The  tail  is  sliced 
much  as  we  carve  a  round  of  beef,  while  the 
body  is  cut  into  thin  slices  as  far  as  the  ribs, 
each  slice  having  its  own  proportion  of  meat, 
blubber,  and  skin.  The  blubber  is  esteemed 
higher  than  any  other  portion  of  the  animal, 
though  even  the  tough  skin  can  be  rendered 
tolerably  palatable  by  careful  cooking. 

Of  all  Australian  animals,  the  kangaroo 
is  most  in  favor,  both  on  account  of  the 
excellent  quality  of  the  flesh,  and  the  quan- 
tity which  a  single  kangaroo  will  furnish. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  reader 
that  with  the  Australian,  as  with  other  sav- 
ages, quantity  is  considered  rather  than  qual- 
ity. A  full  grown  "  booniah  "  kangaroo 
will,  when  standing  upright,  in  its  usual 
attitude  of  defence,  measure  nearly  six  feet 
in  height,  and  is  of  very  considerable  weight. 
And,  when  an  Australian  kills  a  kangaroo, 
he  performs  feats  of  gluttony  to  which  the 
rest  of  the  world  can  scarcely  find  a  parallel, 
and    certainly  not    a   superior.      Give    an 


Australian  a  kangaroo  and  he  will  eat  until 
he  is  nearly  dead  from  repletion;  and  he 
will  go  on  eating,  with  short  intervals  of 
rest,  until  he  has  linished  the  entire  kanga- 
roo. 

Like  other  savage  creatures,  whether  hu- 
man or  otherwise,  he  is  capable  of  bearing 
de])rivation  of  food  to  a  wonderful  extent; 
and  his  patient  endurance  of  starvation, 
when  food  is  not  to  be  obtained,  is  only  to 
be  excelled  by  his  gluttony  when  it  is  plen- 
tiful. This  curious  capacity  for  alternate 
gluttony  and  starvation  is  fostered  by  the 
innately  lazy  disposition  of  the  Australian 
savage,  and  his  utter  disregard  for  the  future. 
The  animal  that  ought  to  serve  him  and  his 
family  for  a  week  is  consumed  in  a  few  liours; 
and,  as  long  as  he  does  not  feel  the  pain  of 
absolute  hunger,  nothing  can  compel  the 
man  to  leave  his  rude  couch  and  go  ofl"  on  a 
hunting  expedition.  But  when  he  does 
make  up  his  mind  to  hunt,  he  has  a  bulldog 
sort  of  tenacity  which  forbids  him  to  relin- 
quish the  chase  until  he  has  been  successful 
in  briugiug  down  his  game. 


CHAPTEK    LXXI. 


AUSTRALIA—  Continued. 


WEAPONS  OP  THE  AIT8TRALIAN3,  THEIR  FORMS  AND  USES  —  THE  CLUB  OR  WADDT,  AND  ITS  VARIOUS 
FORMS  —  USES  OF  THE  WADDY  —  A  DOMESTIC  PANACEA  —  AN  AUSTRALIAN  DUEL  —  THICK  SKULLS 
OF  THE  NATIVES  —  LOVE  OF  THE  NATFVE  FOR  HIS  WADDY  —  THE  BLACK  POLICE  FORCE — THE 
MISSILE  WADDY  — THE  KATTA,  OR  DIGGENO-STICK,  AND  ITS  VARIED  USES  —  HOW  AN  AUSTRALIAN 
DIGS  A  HOLE— THE  STONE  TOMAHAWK  AND  ITS  USE  — THE  ASCENT  OF  TREES— HOW  AN  AU 
8TRALIAN  KNOWS  WHETHER  AN  ANIMAL  IS  IN  A  TREE  —  SMOKING  OUT  THE  PREY  —  THE  BLACK- 
BOY  GUM  —  THE  GRASS-TREE  OF  AUSTRALIA  —  THB  AUSTRALLVN  SAW. 


As  in  tlie  course  of  the  following  pages  all 
the  we.apons  of  the  Australian  will  have  to 
be  mentioned,  we  will  take  the  opportunity 
of  describing  them  at  once,  without  trouliling 
ourselves  as  to  the  peculiar  locality  in  which 
each  modiflcation  is  found. 

We  will  begin  with  the  club,  the  simplest 
of  all  weapons.  Several  examples  of  the 
club  are  to  be  seen  in  the  illustration  enti- 
tled "Australian  Clubs,"  on  the  72-2d  page. 
All  the  figures  are  drawn  from  actual  speci- 
mens, some  belonging  to  my  own  collec- 
tion, some  being  sketched  from  examples 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  others  being 
taken  from  the  fine  collection  of  Colonel 
Lane  Fox. 

The  simplest  form  of  Australian  club  is 
that  which  is  known  l)y  the  name  of"  waddy," 
and  which  is  the  favorite  weapon  of  an  Au- 
stralian savage,  who  never  seems  to  be  happy 
without  a  waddy  in  his  hands,  no  matter 
what  other  weapons  he  may  happen  to 
carry.  One  of  these  waddies  may  be  seen  at 
fig.  4.  and  another  at  fig.  5..  The  latter  is  a 
specimen  in  my  own  collection,  and  affords 
a  very  good  example  of  the  true  Australian 
waddy.  It  is  made  of  the  tough  and  heavy 
wood  of  the  gum-tree,  and  is  really  a  most 
effective  weapon,  well  balanced,  and  bears 
marks  of  long  usage.  The  length  is  two 
feet  eight  inches,  and,  as  the  reader  may  see 
from  the  illustration,  it  is  sharpened  at  the 
point,  so  that  in  close  combat  it  can  be  used 
for  stabbing  as  well  as  for  striking.  It  weighs 
exactly  twenty-one  ounces. 


Four  deep  grooves  run  along  the  waddy, 
from  the  point  to  the  spot  where  it  is 
grasped,  and  seem  to  be  intended  as  edges 
whereby  a  blow  may  cut  through  the  skin 
as  well  as  inflict  a  bruise.  Besides  these 
grooves,  there  are  sundry  carvings  which 
the  native  evidently  has  thought  to  be  orna- 
mental. On  two  of  the  sides  the  pattern  is 
merely  the  double-headed  T  seen  in  the 
illustration,  but  on  the  other  two  sides  the 
pattern  is  varied.  In  every  case  the  top 
figure  is  the  double  T  ;  but  on  one  side  there 
is  first  a  T,  then  a  cross  with  curved  arms, 
then  a  T,  and  then  a  pattern  that  looks 
something  like  a  key,  having  a  bow  at  each 
end.  The  fourth  side  is  evidently  unfinished, 
there  being  only  two  patterns  on  it;  tiie  sec- 
ond, evidently  an  attempt  to  imitate  the  let- 
ter B,  showing  that  the  maker  had  some 
acquaintance  with  civilization. 

With  this  waddy  the  native  is  better  armed 
than  most  men  would  be  with  the  keenest 
sword  that  ever  was  forged,  and  with  it  he 
strikes  and  stabs  with  marvellous  rapidity, 
seeming  to  be  actuated,  when  in  combat,  by 
an  uncontrollable  fury.  He  can  use  it  as  a 
missile  with  deadly  effect;  and  if,  as  is  gen- 
erally the  case,  he  has  several  of  these  wad- 
dies  in  his  hand,  he  will  hurl  one  or  two  of 
them  in  rapid  succession,  and,  while  the 
antagonist  is  still  attempting  to  avoid  the 
flying  weapon,  precipitate  himself  upon  the 
foe,  and  attack  him  with  the  waddy  which 
he  has  reserved  for  hand-to-hand  combat. 

The  waddy  is  the  Australian  panacea  foi 


t719J 


720 


AUSTKALIA. 


domestic  troubles,  and  if  one  of  his  wives 
should  jjresuinu  to  luive  an  opinion  of  her 
own,  or  otlierwise  to  otl'end  lier  dusky  lord, 
a  blow  ou  the  head  from  the  ever-ready 
waddy  settles  the  dispute  at  once  l>y  leaving 
her  .senseless  on  the  ground.  Sometimes 
the  man  strikes  the  offender  on  a  limb,  and 
breaks  it;  but  ho  does  not  do  this  unless  he 
should  be  too  angry  to  ealeulate  that,  by 
breaking  his  slave's  arm  or  leg,  he  deprives 
himself  of  her  services  for  a  period. 

With  the  Australian  man  of  honor  the 
waddy  takes  the  place  which  the  pistol  once 
held  in  England  and  the  United  States,  and 
iij  the  weapon  by  which  disputes  are  settled. 
In  case  two  Australians  of  reputation  should 
fall  out,  one  of  them  challenges  the  other  to 
single  combat,  sending  him  a  derisive  mes- 
sage to  the  effect  that  he  had  better  bring 
his  stoutest  waddj-  with  him,  so  that  he  may 
break  it  on  the  challenger's  bead. 

Thickness  of  skull  —  a  reproach  in  some 
jiarts  of  the  world  —  is  among  the  Austra- 
lians a  matter  of  great  boast,  and  one  Au- 
stralian can  hardly  insult  another  in  more 
contemptuous  words  than  by  comparing  his 
skull  to  an  emu's  egg-shell.  I  have  exam- 
ined several  skulls  of  Australian  natives, 
aud  have  been  much  surprised  Iiy  two 
points:  the  first  is  the  astonishing  thickness 
and  hardness  of  the  bone,  which  seems 
capable  of  resisting  almost  any  blow  that 
could  be  dealt  by  an  ordinary  weapon ;  and 
the  second  is  the  amount  of  injury  which  an 
Australian  skull  can  endure.  Owing  to  the 
thickness  of  the  skull,  the  Australian  puts 
his  head  to  strange  uses,  one  of  the  oddest 
of  which  is  his  custom  of  breaking  sticks 
on  his  head  instead  of  snapping  them  across 
the  knee. 

In  due  time  the  combatants  appear  on 
the  ground,  each  bearing  his  toughest  and 
heaviest  waddy,  and  attended  by  his  friends. 
After  going  through  the  usual  gesticula- 
tions and  abuse  which  always  precede  a 
duel  l)et\veen  savages,  the  men  set  definitely 
to  work. 

The  challenged  individual  takes  bis  waddy, 
and  marches  out  into  the  middle  of  the  space 
left  by  the  spectators.  His  adversary  con- 
fronts him,  but  unarmed,  and  stooping  low, 
with  his  hands  on  his  knees,  he  offers  his 
head  to  the  o]iponent.  The  adversary  exe- 
cutes a  short  dance  of  delight  at  the  blow 
which  he  is  going  to  deal,  aud  then,  after 
taking  careful  aim,  he  raises  his  waddy  high 
in  the  air,  and  brings  it  down  with  all  his 
force  on  the  bead  of  his  foe. 

The  blow  woidd  fell  an  ordinary  ox;  but 
the  skull  of  an  Australian  is  made  of  sterner 
stuff  than  that  of  a  mere  ox,  and  the  man 
accordingly  raises  himself,  rubs  his  head, 
and  holds  out  his  hand  to  his  nearest  friend, 
who  gives  him  the  waddy,  which  he  is  about 
to  use  in  his  turn.  The  challenged  man  now 
takes  his  turn  at  stooping,  while  the  chal- 
lenger does  his  best  to  smash  the  skull  of 


the  antagonist.  Each  man,  however,  knows 
from  long  experience  the  hardest  part  of  his 
own  skull,  and  lakes  care  to  present  it  to  the 
enemy's  blow.  In  this  way  they  continue  to 
exchange  blows  until  one  of  them  fidls  to  the 
ground,  when  the  victory  is  decided  to  re- 
main with  his  antagonist. 

In  consequence  of  the  repeated  injuries  to 
which  the  head  of  a  native  Australian  is 
subjected,  the  skidl  of  a  warrior  presents, 
after  death,  a  most  extraordinary  ajipear- 
ance,  being  covered  with  dents,  fractures, 
and  all  kinds  of  injuries,  any  one  of  which 
would  have  killed  an  European  immediately, 
but  which  seems  to  have  only  caused  tem- 
porary inconvenience  to  the  Australian. 

So  fond  is  the  Australian  of  his  waddy, 
that  even  in  civilized  life  he  cannot  be  in- 
duced to  part  with  it.  Some  of  my  readers 
m.ay  be  aware  that  a  great  numlier  of  cap- 
tives are  now  enrolled  among  the  police, 
and  render  invaluable  ser\'ice  to  the  com- 
munity, especially  against  the  depredations 
of  their  fellow-blacks  whom  they  persecute 
with  a  relentless  vigor  that  seems  rather 
surprising  to  those  who  do  not  know  the 
singular  antipathy  which  invariably  exists 
between  wild  and  tamed  animals,  whether 
human  or  otherwise.  In  fact,  the  Australian 
native  policeman  is  to  the  colonist  what  the 
"  Totty  "  of  South  Africa  is  to  the  Dutch 
and  English  colonists,  what  the  Ghoorka  or 
Sikh  of  India  is  to  the  English  army,  and 
what  the  tamed  elephant  of  Cej'lon  or  India 
is  to  the  hunter. 

These  energetic  "  black  fellows  "  are 
armed  with  the  ordinary  weapons  of  Euro- 
peans, and  are  fully  acquainted  with  their 
use.  But  there  is  not  one  of  them  who 
thinks  himself  properly  armed  imless  he 
has  his  waddy;  and,  Avhen  he  entei's  the 
bush  in  search  of  native  thieves,  he  will  iay 
aside  the  whole  of  his  clothing,  except  the 
cap  which  marks  his  office,  will  carry  his 
gun  with  him,  buckle  his  cartouch-pouch 
round  his  naked  waist,  and  will  take  his 
waddy  as  a  weapon,  without  which  even  the 
gun  would  seem  to  him  an  insufficient 
weapon. 

This  form  of  waddy  (fig.  4),  although  it 
is  often  used  as  a  missile,  is  not  the  one 
which  the  native  prefers  for  that  purpose 
His  throwing  waddy  or  "  wadna,"  is  much 
shorter  and  heavier,  and  very  much  resem- 
bles the  short  missile  club  used  so  effectively 
by  the  Polynesians.  Two  other  forms  of 
\vaddy  are  shown  at  figs.  3  and  5,  the  latter 
of  which  is  generally  known  by  the  name  o' 
"  piccaninny  waddy,"  because  it  is  generally 
smaller  and  lighter  than  the  others,  and  caii 
be  used  by  a  child. 

Nos.  1  and  2  are  also  clubs,  but  are  made 
in  a  different  form,  and  used  in  a  different 
manner.  If  the  reader  will  refer  to  the 
account  of  the  Abyssinian  curved  sword,  or 
shotel,  he  will  see  that  in  general  form  it 
much  resembles  this  club,  the  long  pointed 


MAN  OP  TORRES  STRAIT.    (See  page  705.) 


BASKET.    (See  pag:e  099.) 


(722) 


CLUBS  AND  TOMAHAWKS. 


723 


head  of  each  being  equally  useful  in  strik- 
ing downward  over  a  shield.  This  weapon 
is  not  only  used  iu  combat,  but  is  employed 
in  the  native  dances  to  beat  time  by  repeated 
strokes  on  the  shield. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  many  of  these 
chilis  have  the  ends  of  the  handles  pointed. 
This  formation  is  partly  for  the  purpose  of 
increasing  their  efficiency  as  ott'ensive  weap- 
ons, and  partly  for  another  object.  As  was 
the  case  with  the  warriors  of  the  Iliad,  both 
combatants  will  occasionally  rest,  and  give 
each  other  time  to  breathe,  before  renewing 
the  tight.  During  these  intervals  the  Au- 
stralian combatants  squat  down,  dig  up  the 
earth  with  the  handle  of  the  cluli,  and  rub 
their  hands  with  the  dusty  soil,  iu  order  to 
prevent  the  weapons  from  slipping  out  of 
their   grasp. 

This  club  is  made  in  a  very  ingenious 
way,  the  artificer  taking  advantage  of  some 
gnarled  branch,  and  cutting  it  so  that  the 
grain  of  the  wood  follows  the  curve,  or 
rather  the  angle  of  the  head,  which  adds 
greatly  to  its  strength.  A  club  of  almost 
the  same  shape,  and  cut  similarly  from  the 
angle  of  a  Isranch,  is  used  in  Ife  w  Caledonia, 
and,  Iiut  for  the  great  superiority  of  the 
workmanship,  might  easily  be  mistaken  for 
the  angular  club  of  the  Australian. 

This  particular  form  of  club  has  a  tolera- 
bly wide  range,  and  among  the  tribes  which 
inhal.)it  the  shores  of  Encounter  Bay  is  called 
Marpangye. 

In  many  parts  of  Australia  the  natives 
have  a  curious  weapon  which  much  resem- 
bles a  sword.  It  is  from  three  to  four  feet  in 
length,  is  Hat,  about  three  inches  in  width, 
and  has  the  outer  edge  somewhat  sharpened. 
Being  made  of  the  close-grained  wood  of  the 
gum-tree,  it  is  very  heavy  in  proportion  to 
its  size,  and  in  practised  hands  is  a  most 
formidable  weapon. 

The  Australian  women  carry  an  instru- 
ment which  is  sometimes  thought  to  be  a 
spear,  and  sometimes  a  club,  but  which  in 
the  hands  of  a  woman  is  neither,  though  a 
man  will  sometimes  employ  it  for  either  pur- 
pose. It  is  simply  a  stick  of  variable  length, 
sharpened  at  one  end  and  the  point  hard- 
eneil  by  fire.  It  is  called  by  the  natives  the 
"  katta,"  and  is  popularly  known  by  the  ap- 
propriate name  of  the  digging-stick. 

With  this  stick  the  natives  contrive  to  dig 
up  the  ground  in  a  most  astonishing  man- 
ner, and  an  English  "  navvy,"  with  his  pick, 
spade,  and  barrow,' would  feel  considerably 
surprised  at  the  work  which  is  done  by  the 
naked  black,  who  has  no  tools  except  a 
pointed  stick.  Let,  for  example,  a  navvy 
be  set  to  work  at  the  task  of  digging  out  aii 
echidna  from  its  hole,  and  he  would  find  his 
powers  of  digging  baffled  by  the  burrowing 
capabilities  of  the  animal,  which  would  make 
its  way  through  the  earth  faster  than  could 
the  navvy.  In  order  to  sink  some  six  feet 
deep  into  the  ground,  the  white  man  would 


be  obliged  to  make  a  funnel-shaped  hole  of 
very  large  size,  so  as  to  allow  him  to  work 
in  it,  and  to  give  the  pick  and  spade  free  play 
as  he  Ihrew  out  the  soil. 

The  black  man,  on  the  contrary,  would 
have  no  such  difiiculty,  but  knows  how  to 
sink  a  hole  without  troubling  himself  to  dig 
a  foot  of  needless  soil.  This  he  does  by 
handling  the  katta  precisely  as  the  Bosjes- 
man  handles  his  digging-stick,  i.  e.  by  hold- 
ing it  perpendicularly,  jobbing  the  hardened 
point  into  the  ground,  and  throwing  out  with 
his  hands  the  loosened  earth. 

In  digging  out  one  of  the  bun-owing  ani- 
mals, the  black  hunter  pushes  a  long  and 
flexible  stick  down  the  hole,  draws  it  out, 
measures  along  the  ground  to  the  spot  ex- 
actly above  the  end  of  tlie  burrow,  replaces 
the  stick,  and  digs  down  upon  it.  By  the 
time  that  he  has  reached  it,  the  animal  has 
gone  on  digging,  and  has  sunk  its  burrow 
still  further.  The  stick  is  tlien  pusla-d  into 
the  lengthened  burrow,  and  again  dug  down 
upon;  and  the  process  is  repeated  unlil  the 
tired  animal  can  dig  no  more,  and  is  cai)tured. 
The  katta  also  takes  the  part  of  a  weapon, 
and  can  be  wielded  very  effectively  by  a 
practised  hand,  being  used  either  for  striking 
or  thrusting. 

We  now  come  to  a  curious  instrument 
which  is  often  thought  to  be  a  weapon,  but 
whicli,  although  it  would  answer  such  a  jjur- 
pose  very  well,  is  seldom  used  for  it.  This 
is  the  tomahawk,  or  hammer,  as  it  is  generally 
called.  Three  yarieties  of  the  tomahawk  aro 
given  in  the  ilhistration  "  Tomahawks  "  on 
the  722d  page.  In  all  of  them  the  cutting 
part  is  made  of  stone  and  the  handle  of  wood, 
and  the  head  and  the  handle  are  joined  iu 
several  ditt'erent  ways,  according  to  the  fash- 
ion of  the  locality  in  which  the  instru- 
ment is  made.  The  simplest  plan  is  that 
which  is  shown  in  (ig.  1.  In  this  instrument, 
a  conveniently  shaped  piece  of  stone  has 
been  selected  for  a  head,  and  the  handle  is 
made  of  a  flexible  stick  bent  over  it,  and  the 
two  ends  firmh'  lashed  together,  just  as  the 
English  blacksmith  makes  handles  for  his 
punches  and  cold  chisels.  This  weapon  was 
made  in  New  South  Wales. 

At  flg.  3  is  shown  a  tomahawk  of  a  more 
elaborate  construction.  Plere  the  stone 
head  has  been  lashed  to  the  shaft  by  a  thong, 
which  is  wrapped  over  it  in  a  way  that  ex- 
actly resembles  the  lashing  employed  by  the 
New  Zealander  or  the  Dyak  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  tomahawk  at  fig.  4  is,  how- 
ever, the  best  example  of  the  instrument, 
and  is  taken  from  a  specimen  in  the  British 
Museum.  The  handle  and  head  are  shaped 
much  like  those  of  fig.  3,  but  the  fastening  is 
much  more  elaborate. 

In  the  first  place,  the  head  is  held  to  the 
handle  by  lashings  of  sinews,  which  are 
drawn  from  the  tail  of  the  kangaroo,  and 
always  kept  in  readiness  by  the  Australian 
savage.      The   sinews  are  steeped    in    hot 


724 


AUSTRALIA. 


water,  and  pounded  between  two  stones,  in 
order  to  separate  them  into  tibres;  and, 
wliile  still  wet  and  tolerably  elastic,  they 
are  wrapi)e(l  round  the  stone  and  the  handle. 
Of  course,  as  they  dry,  they  contract  with 
great  force,  and  bind  the  head  and  handle 
together  far  more  securely  than  can  be  done 
with  any  other  material.  Even  raw  hide 
does  not  hold  so  tirmly  as  sinew. 

When  the  sinew  lashing  is  perfectly  dry, 
the  native  takes  a  quantity  of  the  peculiar 
substance  called  "  black-boy  "  wax,  and 
kneads  it  over  the  head  and  the  end  of  the 
handle,  so  as  to  bind  everything  firmly 
together. 

Another  instrument  is  shown  at  fig.  2,  in 
which  the  combination  of  stone  and  vege- 
table is  managed  in  another  way.  The  blade 
is  formed  from  a  piece  of  quartz  about  as 
long  as  a  man's  hand,  which  has  been 
chipped  into  the  form  of  a  spear-head.  The 
handle,  instead  of  being  a  piece  of  wood,  is 
simply  a  number  of  fibres  made  into  a  bun- 
dle. The  base  of  the  stone  head  has  been 
pushed  among  the  loose  ends  of  the  fibres, 
and  then  the  whole  has  been  bound  firmly 
together  by  a  lashing  of  string  made  of 
reeds.  This  is  a  sort  of  dagger;  arid  another 
form  of  the  same  instrument  is  made  by 
simply  sharpening  a  stick  about  eighteen 
inches  in  length,  and  hardening  the  sharp- 
ened end  in  the  fire.  It  is,  in  fiict,  a  miniature 
katta,  but  is  applied  to  a  difl'erent  purpose. 

These  axes  and  daggers  have  been  men- 
tioned together,  because  they  are  used  for  the 
same  purjjose,  namely,  the  ascent  of  trees. 

Active  as  a  monkey,  the  Australian  na- 
tive can  climli  any  tree  that  grows.  Should 
they  be  of  njoderate  size,  he  ascends  them, 
not  by  claspihg  the  trunk  with  his  legs  and 
arms  (the  mode  which  is  generally  used  in 
England),  and  which  is  popularly  called 
"  swarming."  Instead  of  passing  his  legs 
and  arms  round  the  tree-trunk  as  far  as  they 
can  go,  he  applies  the  soles  of  his  feet  to  it 
in  front,  and  presses  a  hand  against  it  on 
either  side,  and  thus  ascends  the  tree  with 
the  rapidity  of  a  squirrel.  This  mode  of 
ascent  is  now  taught  at  every  good  gymna- 
sium in  England,  and  is  far  superior  to  the 
old  fashion,  which  has  the  disadvantage  of 
slowness,  added  to  the  certainty  of  damaging 
the  clothes. 

Those  who  have  seen  our  own  acrobats 
performing  the  feat  called  La  Perche,  in 
■which  one  man  balances  another  on  the  top 
of  a  pole,  or  the  extraordinary  variations  on 
it  performed  by  the  Japanese  jugglers,  who 
balance  poles  and  ladders  on  the  soles  of 
their  feet,  will  be  familiar  with  the  manner 
in  which  one  of  the  performers  runs  up  the 
pole  which  is  balanced  by  his  companion. 
It  is  bj'  this  method  that  the  Australian 
ascends  a  tree  of  moderate  dimensions,  and, 
when  he  is  well  among  the  boughs,  he  trav- 
erses them  witli  perfect  certainty  and  quick- 
ness. 


Trees  which  will  permit  the  man  to  ascend 
after  this  fashion  are,  however,  rather  scarce 
in  the  Australian  forests,  and,  moreover, 
there  is  comparatively  little  inducement  to 
climb  them,  the  hollows  in  which  the  bees 
make  their  nests  and  the  beasts  take  uji  their 
diurnal  abode  being  always  in  the  branch  or 
trunk  of  some  old  and  decaying  tree.  !Some 
of  these  trees  are  so  large  that  their  trunks 
are  veritable  towers  of  wood,  anil  afford  no 
hold  to  the  hands;  yet  they  are  asceniled  by 
the  natives  as  rapidly  as  if  they  were  small 
trees. 

By  dint  of  constant  practice,  the  Austra- 
lian never  passes  a  tree  without  casting  a 
glance  at  the  bark,  and  by  that  one  glance 
he  will  know  whether  he  will  need  to  mount 
it.  The  various  arboreal  animals,  especially 
the  so  called  opossums,  cannot  ascend  the 
tree  without  leaving  marks  of  their  claws  in 
the  bark.  There  is  not  an  old  tree  that  has 
not  its  liark  covered  with  scratches,  but  the 
keen  and  practised  eye  of  the  native  can  in 
a  moment  distingui-sh  between  the  ascend- 
ing and  descending  marks  of  the  animal,  and 
can  also  determine  the  date  at  which  they 
were  made. 

The  difl'erence  between  the  marks  of  an 
ascending  and  descending  animal  is  easy 
enough  to  see  when  it  has  once  been  pointed 
out.  When  an  animal  climbs  a  tiee,  the 
marks  of  its  claws  are  little  more  than  small 
holes,  with  a  slight  scratch  above  each,  look- 
ing something  like  the  conventional  "  tears" 
of  heraldry.  But,  when  it  descends,  it  does 
so  by  a  series  of  slippings  and  catchings,  so 
that  the  claws  leave  long  scratches  behind 
them.  Nearly  all  arboreal  animals,  with  the 
exception  of  the  monkey  tribe,  leave  marks 
of  a  similar  character,  and  the  bear  hunter 
of  North  America  and  the  'jiossum  hunter 
of  Australia  are  guided  by  similar  marks. 

Shoukl  the  native  hunter  see  an  ascend- 
ing mark  of  more  recent  date  thnn  the  other 
scratches,  he  knows  that  somewhere  in  the 
tree  lies  his  intended  pre}'.  Accordingly,  he 
lays  on  the  ground  everything  that  may  im- 
pede him,  and,  going  to  the  tree-trunk,  he 
begins  to  deliver  a  series  of  chopping  blows 
with  his  axe.  These  blows  are  delivered  in 
pairs,  and  to  an  Englishman  present  rather 
a  ludicrous  reminiscence  of  the  postman's 
double  rap.  By  each  of  these  double  blows 
he  chops  a  small  hole  in  the  tree,  and  man- 
ages so  as  to  cut  them  alternately  right  and 
lelt,  and  at  intervals  of  two  feet  or  so. 

Having  cut  these  notches  as  high  as  he 
can  reacii,  he  places  the  great  toe  of  his  left 
foot  in  the  lowermost  hole,  clasps  the  tree 
with  his  left  arm,  and  strikes  the  head  of  the 
tomahawk  into  the  tree  as  high  as  he  can 
re.Tch.  Using  the  tomahawk  as  a  handle  by 
which  ho  can  pull  himself  up,  he  lodges  the 
toe  of  his  right  foot  in  the  second  hole,  and 
is  then  enabled  to  shift  the  toe  of  the  left 
foot  into  the  third  hole.  Here  he  waits  for  a 
moment,  holding  tightlj-  by  both  his  feet  and 


TREE  CLIMBING. 


725 


the  left  hand  and  arm,  while  he  cuts  more 
notches;  and,  by  continuing  the  process,  he 
Boon  readies  the  top  of  the  tree. 

When  he  reaches  the  tirst  branch,  he  looks 
carefully  to  find  the  spot  toward  which  the 
tell-tale  scratches  are  directed,  and,  guided 
by  them  alone,  he  soon  discovers  the  hole  in 
which  the  animal  lies  hidden.  He  tests  the 
dimensions  of  the  hollow  liy  tapping  on  the 
trunk  with  the  axe,  and,  if  it  should  be  of 
moderate  depth,  sets  at  work  to  chop  away 
the  wood,  and  secure  tlie  inmate. 

Should,  however,  the  hollow  be  a  deep 
one,  he  is  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  an- 
other plan.  Bescending  the  tree  by  the 
same  notches  as  those  by  which  he  had 
climbed  it,  he  takes  from  his  bundle  of  be- 
longings a  fire-stick,  i.  e.  a  sort  of  tiuderlike 
wood,  which  keeps  up  a  smouldering  fire, 
like  that  of  the  willow  "  touchwood  "  so  dear 
to  schoolboys.  Wrapping  up  the  fire-stick 
in  a  bundle  of  dry  grass  and  leaves,  he  re- 
ascends  the  tree,  and,  when  he  has  reached 
the  entrance  of  the  burrow,  he  whirls  the 
bundle  round  his  head  until  the  fire  spreads 
through  the  mass,  and  the  grass  bursts  into 
flame. 

As  soon  as  it  is  well  inflamed,  he  pushes 
some  of  the  burning  material  into  the  bur- 
row, so  as  to  fall  upon  the  enclosed  animal, 
and  to  rouse  it  from  the  heavy  sleep  in 
which  it  passes  the  hours  of  daylight.  He 
also  holds  the  rest  of  the  torch  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  burrow,  and  manages  to  direct 
the  smoke  into  it.  Did  he  not  rouse  the 
animal  by  the  burning  leaves,  he  would  run 
a  chance  of  suftbcating  it  in  its  .sleep.  This 
may  seem  to  be  a  very  remote  contingency, 
but  in  fact  it  is  very  likely  to  happen.  I 
have  known  a  cat  to  be  baked  alive  in  an 
oven,  and  yet  not  to  have  awaked  from 
sleep,  as  was  evident  by  the  attitude  in 
which  the  body  of  the  animal  was  found 
curled  up,  with  its  chin  on  its  paws,  and  its 
tail  wrapped  round  its  bod}'.  Yet  the  slum- 
ber of  a  domesticated  cat,  which  can  sleep  as 
often  as  it  likes  in  the  day  or  night,  is  not 
nearly  so  deep  as  that  which  wraiis  in  oliliv- 
ion  the  senses  of  a  wild  animal  that  is  abroad 
all  night,  and  whose  whole  structure  is  in- 
tended for  a  nocturnal  life. 

The  chopping  holes,  and  getting  the  toes 
Into  them,  seems  in  theory  to  be  rather  a 
tedious  business,  but  in  practice  it  is  quite 
the  contrary,  the  native  ascending  almost  as 
quickly  as  if  he  were  climbing  a  ladder.  As 
the  large  trees  are  so  capable  of  containing 
the  animals  on  which  the  Australians  feed, 
there  is  scarcely  one  which  does  not  exhibit 
several  series  of  the  notches  that  denote  the 
track  of  a  native.  Strange  to  say,  the  Au- 
stralian hunters  will  not  avail  themselves  of 
the  notches  that  have  been  made  by  other 
persons,  but  each  man  chops  a  new  series  of 
Jioles  for  himself  every  time  that  he  wants  to 
ascend  a  tree. 

Sometimes  a  man  sees  the  track  of  an 


animal  or  the  indication  of  a  bee's  nest  on  a 
tree  when  he  happens  not  to  have  an  axe  in 
hand.  In  such  a  case  he  is  still  able  to 
ascend  the  tree,  for  he  can  make  use  of  the 
dagger  which  has  been  already  described, 
punching  holes  in  the  bark,  and  pulling  him- 
self up  exactly  as  if  he  had  a  tomahawk,  the 
only  dift'erence  being  that  the  holes  are 
smaller  and  the  work  is  harder. 

When  the  hunter  has  once  found  the 
entrance  of  the  burrow,  the  capture  of  the 
inmate  is  simply  a  matter  of  time,  as  the 
heat  and  smoke  are  sure  to  force  it  into  the 
air,  where  it  has  the  double  disadvantage  of 
being  half-choked  with  smoke  and  being 
blind  with  the  flame  and  the  daylight,  to 
which  its  eyes  are  unaccustomed.  A  blow 
on  the  head  from  the  tomakawk,  or  a  stab 
from  the  dagger,  renders  it  senseless,  when 
it  is  flung  on  the  ground,  and  the  successful 
hunter  proceeds  to  traverse  the  tree  in  case 
some  other  animal  may  be  hidden  in  it. 

The  skill  of  the  natives  in  tree  climb- 
ing is  also  exercised  for  another  purpose 
besides  hunting  for  bees  and  animals.  The 
well-known  calibage-palm  grows  to  a  very 
great  height,  and,  like  other  palms,  never 
grows  quite  straight,  but  has  always  a 
bend  in  the  trunk.  After  the  manner  of 
the  palm-tribe,  it  grows  by  a  succession  of 
buds  from  the  top,  and  this  bud,  popularly 
called  the  "  cabliage,"  is  a  favorite  article 
of  food.  It  has  been  called  the  prince  of 
vegetables,  and  one  enthusiastic  traveller 
declares  that  it  must  have  been  the  am- 
brosia of  the  Olympic  gods.  The  removal 
of  the  bud  causes  the  death  of  the  tree, 
and  for  that  reason  the  vegetable  is  for- 
bidden in  civilized  regions  under  penalty 
of  a  heavy  fine.  The  savage,  however,  who 
has  no  idea  of  care  for  the  morrow,  much 
less  of  looking  forward  to  future  years,  takes 
the  bud  wherever  he  meets  it,  caring  noth- 
ing for  the  death  of  the  useful  tree.  He 
ascends  by  means  of  a  little  wooden  dagger, 
or  warpoo,  or  makes  use  of  the  tomahawk. 
The  quartz  dagger  which  was  shown  in  a 
previous  illustration  would  not  be  used  for 
tree  climbing,  unless  the  owner  could  not 
procure  a  tomahawk  or  warpoo.  Its  chief 
use  is  as  a  weapon,  and  it  can  be  also  em- 
ployed as  a  knife,  by  means  of  which  the 
savage  can  mutilate  a  fallen  enemy,  after 
the  manner  which  will  be  descrilied  when 
we  come  to  treat  of  warfare  in  Australia. 

The  "  black-boy  "  gum,  which  plays  so 
large  a  part  in  the  manufacture  of  Austra- 
lian weapons  and  implements,  is  obtained 
from  the  grass-tree,  popularly  called  the 
'■  black  boy,"  because  at  a  distance  it  may 
easily  be  mistaken  for  a  native,  with  his 
.spear  and  cloak.  It  is  very  tenacious  in  its 
own  country,  liut  when  brought  to  England 
it  becomes  brittle,  and  is  apt  to  break  away 
from  the  weapon  in  fragments,  just  as  does 
a  similar  ])reparation  called  "  kuruiiianni " 
gum,  which  is  made  by  the  natives  of  Gui- 


726 


AUSTRALIA. 


ana.  It  is  quite  black,  and  when  ilry  is 
extremely  hard. 

The  grass-tree  is  one  of  the  characteristic 
plants  of  Australia,  and  partakes  of  the 
strange  individuality  of  that  curious  coun- 
try. The  trunk  is  cylindrical,  and  looks  like 
that  of  a  palm,  while  an  enormous  tuft  of 
long  leaves  starts  from  the  top  and  droops  in 
all  directions,  like  a  gigantic  plume  of  feath- 
ers. The  flower  shoots  up  straight  from  tlie 
centre;  and  the  long  stalk  becomes,  when 
dried,  so  hard,  tough,  and  light,  that  it  is 
made  into  spear  shafts. 

There  is  in  ray  collection  an  Austi'alian 
saw  (illustrated  on  page  722),  in  the  manu- 
facture of  which  the  black-boy  gum  plays 
a  considerable  part.  No  one  would  take  it 
for  a  saw  who  did  not  know  the  implement, 
and  indeed  it  looks  much  more  like  a  rude 
dagger  than  a  saw.  It  is  made  from  a  piece 
of  wood  usually  cut  from  a  branch  of  the 
gum-tree,  and  about  as  thick  as  a  man's 
finger  at  the  thickest  part,  whence  it  tapers 
gradually  to  a  point.  The  average  length 
of  the  saw  is  fourteen  inches,  though  I  have 
seen  them  nearly  two  feet  long. 

Along  the  thicker  end  is  cut  a  groove, 
which  is  intended  to  receive  the  teeth  of 
the  saw.  These  teeth  are  made  from  chips 
of  quartz  or  obsidian,  the  latter  being  pre- 
ferred; and  some  makers,  who  have  been 
brought  in  contact  with  civilization,  have 
taken  to  using  fragments  of  glass  bottles. 
A  number  of  flat  and  sharp-edged  chips  are 
selected  as  nearly  as  possible  of  the  same 


size,  and  being  on  an  average  as  large  as  a 
shilling.  These  the  natives  insert  into  the 
groove  with  their  sharp  edges  uppermost. 
A  quantity  of  black-boy  wax  is  then  warmed 
and  applied  to  them,  the  entire  wood  of  the 
saw  being  enveloped  in  it,  as  well  as  the 
teeth  for  half  their  depth,  so  as  to  hold 
them  firmly  in  their  places.  As  the  chips 
of  stone  are  placed  so  as  to  leave  little 
spaces  between  them,  the  gaps  are  filled 
in  with  this  useful  cement. 

For  Australian  work  this  simple  tool 
seems  to  answer  its  purpose  well  enough. 
Of  course  it  is  very  slow  in  its  operation, 
and  no  great  force  can  be  applied  to  it,  lest 
the  teeth  should  be  broken,  or  twisted  out 
of  the  cement.  The  use  of  this  saw  entails 
great  waste  of  material,  time,  and  labor; 
))ut  as  the  first  two  of  these  articles  are 
not  of  the  least  value  to  the  natives,  and  the 
third  is  of  the  lightest  possible  kind,  the 
tool  works  well  enough  for  its  purpose.  A 
perfect  specimen  of  this  saw  is  not  often 
seen  in  this  country,  as  the  Ijlack-boy  wax 
flakes  off,  and  allows  the  teeth  to  drop  out 
of  their  place.  Even  in  my  own  specimen, 
which  lias  been  carefully  tended,  the  wax 
has  been  chipped  ott"  here  and  there,  while  in 
instruments  that  have  been  knocked  about 
carelessly  scarcel}'  a  tooth  is  left  in  its  place. 
Owing  to  the  pointed  end  of  the  handle, 
the  saw  can  be  used  after  the  fashion  of  a 
dagger,  and  can  be  employed,  like  the  war- 
poo,  for  the  ascent  of  trees. 


CHAPTER   LXXII. 


AU  STRALIA  —  Continued. 


THE  ACrSTBAniAN  SPEAR  AND  ITS  MANT  FORMS  —  THE  THROWING-SPEAR  OB  JAVELDf — A  GROUP  OP 
AUSTRALIAN  SPEARS  —  THE  LIGHTNESS  OF  THE  SHAFT  —  THE  MANY-POINTED  FISH-SPEAIl — 
INGENIOUS  MODE  OF  TIPPING  THE  POINTS  WITH  BONE,  AND  FASTENING  THEM  TO  THE  SHAFT  — 
ELASTICITY  OF  THE  POINTS — DOUBLE  USB  AS  PADDLE  AND  SPEAR  —  AN  ELABORATELY-MADE 
WE,\PON  —  FLINT-HEADED  SPEARS  —  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  AUSTRALIAN  AS  A  THROWER  OP 
MISSILES — THE  CLUE,  THE  STONE,  AND  THE  "  KANGAROO-RAT " — THE  THROW-STICK,  MIDLAH, 
OR  WUMMERAH  —  PRINCIPLE  ON  WHICH  IT  IS  CONSTRUCTED — MODES  OF  QOTVERING  THE  SPEAR 
—  DISTANCE  TO  WHICH  IT  CAN  BE  THROWN  —  THE  UNDERHAND  THROW  —  ACCURACY  OF  AIM  — 
SPEARING  THE  KANGAROO  —  THE  BOW  AND  ARROW  —  STRENGTH  OF  THE  BOW  —  THE  RATTAN 
STRING  AND  INGENIOUS  KNOT  —  CAREFUL  MANUFACTURE  OF  THE  ARROWS  —  PRESUMED  ORIGIN 
OF  THE  WEAPONS  —  THE  BOOMERANG  AND  ITS  VARIOUS  FORMS  —  MODE  OF  THROWING  THE 
WEAPON  —  ITS  PROBABLE  ORIGIN  —  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  BOOMERANG  —  THE  AUSTRALIAN  SHIELD, 
ITS  FORMS  AND  USES — THE   WOODEN   /iND  THE  BARK   SHIELDS. 


We  now  come  to  the  various  forms  of  the 
spears  which  are  used  by  tlie  native  Austra- 
lians. 

The  usual  weapon  is  slight,  and  scarcely 
exceeds  in  diameter  the  assagai  of  Southern 
Africa.  It  is,  however,  considerable  longer, 
the  ordinary  length  being  from  nine  to 
eleven  feet.  As  a  general  rule,  the  spear  is 
constructed  after  a  very  rude  fashion,  and 
the  maker  seems  to  care  but  little  whether 
the  sliaft  be  perfectly  straight,  so  that  the 
weapon  be  tolerably  well  lialanced.  There 
are  several  specimens  of  Australian  spears 
in  my  collection,  one  of  which  (a  weapon 
that  has  evidently  been  a  favorite  one,  as  it 
sliows  marks  of  long  usage)  is  twice  bent, 
the  second  bend  counteracting  the  former, 
and  so  bringing  the  weapon  tolerably 
straight. 

The  butt  of  the  Australian  spear,  like 
that  of  the  South  African  assagai,  is  very 
slight,  the  shaft  tapering  gradually  from  the 
head,  which  is  about  as  large  as  a  man's  fin- 
ger, to  the  butt,  where  it  is  hardly  thicker 
than  an  artist's  pencil.  This,  Ijeing  one  of 
the  common  spears,  is  simply  sharpon(id  at 
the  end,  and  a  few  slight  barbs  cut  in  the 
wood.  I  have,  however,  specimens  in  which 
there  is  almost  every  variety  of  material, 
dimensions,  and  structure  that  can  be  found 
in  Australia. 

Some  of  these  arc  made  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  that  which  has  just  been  described, 
but  difter  from  it  in  having  a  separate  head. 


made  of  hard  and  heavy  wood.  This  is 
deeply  cut  with  barbs;  so  that  the  wea])on 
is  a  more  forniidalile  one  than  that  which  is 
made  simply  from  one  piece  of  wood.  The 
head  of  one  of  these  sjiears  is  shcjwn  at  fig. 
7  in  the  illustration  "  Heads  of  Spears,"  on 
page  731. 

(Several  of  the  spears  are  perfectly  plain, 
being  simply  long  sticks,  pointed  at  the 
larger  end.  These,  however,  have  been 
scraped  very  carefully,  and  seem  to  have 
had  more  pains  bestowed  upon  them  than 
those  with  more  elaborate  heads.  These 
spears  are  about  eight  feet  in  length. 

Then  there  are  other  spears  with  a  varia- 
ble number  of  heads,  and  of  variable  dimen- 
sions. The  commonest  form  of  multiheaded 
spears  has  either  three  or  four  points;  Init 
in  every  other  respect,  except  number,  the 
spear  heads  are  constructed  in  the  same 
manner.  One  of  these  spears,  now  before 
me,  has  a  shaft  about  nine  feet  in  length,  and 
rather  more  than  an  inch  in  diameter  at  the 
thickest  part,  which,  as  is  usual  with  Aus- 
tralian spears,  is  just  below  the  head.  The 
wood  of  which  it  is  made  is  exceedingly 
light  and  ])orous;  but  this  very  quality  has 
unfortunately  made  it  so  acceptable  to  the 
]itilinus  beetles  that  they  have  damagcnl  it 
sadly,  and  rendered  it  so  brittle  that  a  very 
.slight  sliock  would  snap  it.  Indeed,  the 
shaft  of  one  of  them  was  broken  into  three 
pieces  by  a  little  child  stumbling  against  it 
while  coming  down  stairs. 


36 


(727) 


728 


AUSTEALIA. 


The  four  points  Tvhicli  constitute  the  head 
are  cut  from  the  gum-tree,  the  wood  of 
wliich  is  liard  and  durable,  and  can  be 
trimmed  to  a  verj'  sharp  point  witliout  dan- 
ger of  brealvage.  Each  of  them  is  twent}' 
inches  in  length,  and  tliey  are  largest  in  the 
middle,  tapering  sliglitl_y  at  one  end  so  as  to 
permit  of  their  being  fastened  to  the  shaft, 
and  being  scraped  to  a  fine  point  at  the 
other  end. 

On  examination  I  find  tliat  the  large  end 
of  the  shaft  has  been  cut  into  four  grooves, 
in  each  of  which  is  jilaced  the  butt  cud  of 
one  of  the  points,  which  is  fixed  lempm-arily 
by  black-l)oy  gum.  Wedgelike  pegs  have 
then  been  pushed  between  the  points,  so  as 
to  make  them  diverge  properly  fr<im  each 
other,  and,  when  they  have  assumed  the 
proper  position,  the\'  have  been  tightly 
bound  together  with  cord.  A  layer  of  black- 
boy  gum  has  then  been  kneaded  over  the 
string,  so  as  to  keep  all  firmly  together. 

So  much  for  the  mode  of  putting  on  the 
points,  the  end  of  one  of  which  may  be  .seen 
at  fig.  3  in  the  illustration.  My  own  speci- 
men, however,  is  better  made  than  that  from 
which  the  sketch  has  been  taken.  The 
reader  will  perceive  that  there  is  a  barb 
attached  to  the  point,  and  la.shed  in  its  place 
by  string.  In  my  specimen  the  barb  is 
made  of  a  piece  of  bone  about  as  long  as  a 
skewer,  and  sharjily  pointed  at  both  ends. 
In  the  example  shown  in  the  illustration, 
the  liarb  merely  projects  from  the  side  of 
the  point,  whereas  in  my  specimen  the  bone 
answers  the  purpose  both  of  point  and  barlj. 
In  order  to  enable  it  to  take  the  proper 
direction,  the  top  of  the  M'ooden  point  is 
bevelled  off,  and  the  piece  of  bone  lashed  to 
it  by  the  middle,  so  that  one  end  becomes 
the  point  of  the  weapon,  and  the  other  end 
does  duty  for  the  barb.  Wishing  to  see 
how  this  was  done,  I  have  cut  away  part  of 
the  lashings  of  one  of  the  four  points,  and 
have  been  much  struck  with  the  ingenuity 
disjilayed  by  the  maker  in  fastening  the 
bone  to  the  point,  so  as  to  make  it  discharge 
its  double  duty.  The  barbs  are  all  directed 
inward,  so  that,  when  the  native  makes  a 
stroke  at  a  fish,  the  slippery  prey  is  caught 
between  the  barbs,  and  held  there  just  as  is 
an  eel  between  the  prongs  of  the  spear. 
The  elasticity  of  the  four  long  points  causes 
them  to  diverge  when  they  come  ujion  the 
back  of  a  fish,  and  to  contract  tightly  upon 
it,  so  that  the  points  of  the  barbs  are  pressed 
firmly  into  its  sides. 

This  spear  also  stands  the  native  instead 
of  a  ])addle,  and  with  it  he  contrives  to 
guide  his  fragile  bark  with  moderate  speed. 
How  he  manages  to  stand  erect  in  so 
frail  a  vessel,  to  paddle  about,  to  strike  the 
fish,  and,  lastly,  to  haul  the  strugrjling  prey 
aboard,  is  really  a  marvel.  The  last-men- 
tioned feat  is  the  most  wonderful,  as  the  fi.sh 
are  often  of  considerable  size,  and  the  mere 
leverage  of  their  weight  at  the  end  of  a 


ten-foot  spear,  added  to  the  violent  strug- 
gles which  the  wounded  fish  makes,  seems 
sufficient  to  upset  a  far  more  stable  vessel. 

Yet  the  natives  manage  to  pass  hour  after 
hour  without  meeting  with  an  accident,  and 
in  one  of  their  tiny  boats,  which  seem  scarcely 
large  enough  to  hold  a  single  Euro])ean, 
even  though  he  should  be  accustomed  to 
the  narrow  outrigger  skiff,  or  the  com- 
jiaratively  modern  canoe,  two  men  will  be 
perfectly  comfortable,  spearing  and  hauling 
in  their  fish,  and  even  cooking  them  with  a 
fire  made  (ui  an  extemporized  hearth  of  wet 
.sand  and  stones  in  the  middle  of  the  canoe. 

Night  is  the  favorite  time  for  fish  spear- 
ing, and  then  the  sight  of  a  number  of  na- 
tives engaged  in  the  watery  chase  is  a  most 
picturesque  one.  They  carry  torches,  by 
means  of  which  they  see  to  the  bottom  of 
the  wafer,  and  which  have  al.so  the  advan- 
tage of  dazzling  the  fish;  and  the  ett'ect  of 
the  consfanth'  moving  torches,  the  shifting 
glare  on  the  rippled  water,  and  the  dark 
figures  moving  about,  some  searching  for 
fish,  others  striking,  and  others  struggling 
with  the  captured  prey,  is  equally  iiietu- 
resque  and  exciting.  The  torches  which 
they  use  are  made  of  inflammable  bark: 
and  the  whole  scene  is  almost  precisely 
like  that  which  is  witnessed  in  '•  burning 
the  water,''  in  North  America,  or,  to  come 
nearer  home,  "  leistering  "  in  Scotland. 

In  the  daytime  they  cannot  use  the  torch, 
and,  as  the  slightest  breeze  will  cause  a 
ripple  on  the  surface  of  the  water  that  effec- 
tually jirevents  them  from  seeing  the  fish, 
they  have  an  ingenious  plan  of  lying  flat 
across  the  canoe,  with  the  upper  part  of  the 
head  and  the  eyes  immersed  in  the  water, 
and  the  hand  grasping  the  spear  ready  for 
the  stroke.  The  eyes  being  under  the  rip- 
ple, they  can  see  distinctly  enough. 

I  have  often  employed  this  (ilan  when 
desirous  of  watching  the  proceedings  of  sub- 
aquatic  animals.  It  is  very  ett'cctual,  though 
after  a  time  the  attitude  becomes  rather 
fatiguing,  and  those  who  are  not  gymnasts 
enough  to  be  independent  as  to  the  relative 
jiosition  of  their  heads  and  heels  are  apt  to 
find  themselves  giddy  from  the  determina- 
tion of  blood  to  the  head. 

Another  spear,  also  used  for  fi.shing,  and 
wilh  an  claliorate  head,  is  seen  at  fig  8.  la 
this  spear  one  point  is  iron,  and  the  other 
two  are  bone.  The  weajion  is  rcmarkalde 
for  the  manner  in  which  the  shaft  is  allowed 
to  project  among  the  points,  anil  lor  the 
peculiar  mode  in"  which  the  various  parts 
are  lashed  together.  This  specimen  comes 
from  the  Lower  Murray  River. 

There  is  in  my  collection  a  weapon  which 
was  brought  from  Cape  York.  It  is  a  fish- 
ing spear,  and  at  first  sight  greatly  resem- 
bles that  which  has  just  been  described.  It 
is,  however,  of  a  more  elaborate  character, 
and  deserves  a  sejiarate  description.  It  is 
seven  feet  in  length,  and  very  slender,  the 


AUSTRALIAN  AS  A  THROWER  OF  MISSILES. 


729 


thickest  part  of  the  shaft  not  being  more 
than  lialf  an  incli  in  diameter.  It  has  four 
points,  two  of  which  are  iron  and  without 
barbs,  the  iron  being  about  the  thicliness 
of  a  crow-quill,  and  rather  under  three 
inches  in  length.  The  two  bone  points 
are  made  from  the  Hat  tail-lione  of  one  of 
the  rays,  and,  lieing  arranged  with  the  point 
of  the  bone  in  front,  each  of  these  points 
has  a  doulde  row  of  barbs  directed  back- 
ward, one  running  along  each  edge. 

At  fig.  6  of  the  same  illustration  is  seen  a 
very' formidable  variety  of  the  throwiug- 
spear.  Along  each  side  of  the  head  the 
native  warrior  has  cut  a  groove,  and  has 
stuck  in  it  a  number  of  chips  of  flint  or 
quartz,  fastened  in  their  places  by  the  black- 
boy  gum,  just  as  has  been  related  of  the 
saw.  The  workmauship  of  this  specimen 
is,  however,  far  ruder  than  that  of  the  saw, 
the  pieces  of  flint  not  being  the  same  size, 
nor  so  carefully  adjusted.  Indeed,  it  seems 
as  if  the  saw  maker  laid  aside  the  frag- 
ments of  flint  which  he  rejected  for  the 
tool,  anil  altervvard  used  them  in  arming  the 
hea  1  of  his  spear.  One  of  these  weapons 
in  my  collection  is  armed  on  one  side  of  the 
head  only,  along  which  are  arranged  four 
pieces  of  obsidian  having  very  jagged  edges, 
and  l.)eing  kept  in  their  places  by  a  thick 
coating  of  black-boy  gum  extending  to  the 
very  point  of  the  spear. 

At  flgs  i  and  .5  of  the  same  illustration 
are  seen  two  spear  heads  which  remind  the 
observer  of  the  flint  weapons  which  have  of 
late  years  been  so  abundantly  found  in  va- 
rious parts  of  the  world,  and  which  belonged 
to  races  of  men  now  long  extinct.  The 
spear  heads  are  nearly  as  large  as  a  man's 
hand,  and  are  made  of  flint  chipped  care- 
fully into  the  required  shape.  They  are 
flat,  and  the  maker  has  had  sufficient  knowl- 
edge of  the  cleavage  to  enable  him  to  give 
to  each  side  a  sharp  and  tolerably  uniform 
edge.  It  will  be  observed  that  fig.  .5  is  much 
darker  than  flg.  4.  This  distinction  is  not 
accidental,  but  very  well  expresses  the  vari- 
ety in  the  hue  of  the  material  employed, 
some  of  the  spear  heads  being  pale  brown, 
and  some  almost  black.  The  weapons  are, 
in  fact,  nothing  but  elongations  of  the  dagger 
shown  in  flg.  2,  of  the  "  tomahawks,"  on 
jiage  722. 

If  the  reader  will  look  at  figs.  1  and  2  of 
the  illustration,  he  will  see  tfhat  there  are 
two  heads  of  somewhat  similar  construc- 
tion, except  that  one  is  single  and  the  other 
double.  These  spears  were  brought  from 
Port  Essington. 

Specimens  of  each  kind  are  in  my  collec- 
tion. They  are  of  great  size,  one  being 
more  than  thirteen  feet  in  length,  and  the 
other  falling  but  little  short  of  that  measure- 
ment. In  diameter  they  are  as  thick  as  a 
man's  wrist;  and,  however  light  may  be  the 
wood  of  which  they  are  made,  they  are 
exceedingly  weighty,  and  must  be  very  in- 


ferior in  efficiency  to  the  light  throwing- 
spears  which  have  already  been  described. 
Of  course  such  a  weapon  as  that  is  meant  to 
be  used  as  a  pike,  and  not  as  a  missile.  Be- 
sides these,  I  have  another  with  three  heads, 
and  of  nearly  the  same  dimensions  as  the 
two  others. 

In  every  case  the  head  and  the  shaft  are 
of  different  material,  the  one  being  light  and 
porous,  apd  the  other  hard,  compact,  and 
heavv.  Instead  of  being  lashed  together 
with  the  neatness  which  is  exhibited  in  the 
lighter  weapons,  the  head  and  shaft  are 
united  with  a  binding  of  thick  string, 
wrapped  carefully,  but  yet  roughly,  round 
the  weapon,  and  not  being  covered  with  the 
coating  of  black-boy  gum,  which  gives  so 
neat  a  look  to  the  smaller  weapons.  In  the 
three-pomted  spear,  the  maker  has  exer- 
cised his  ingenuity  in  decorating  the  weapon 
with  paint,  the  tips  of  the  points  being 
painted  with  red  and  the  rest  of  the  head 
white,  while  the  lashing  is  also  painted 
red. 

In  his  wild  state  the  Australian  native 
never  likes  to  be  without  a  spear  in  his 
hand,  and,  as  may  be  expected  from  a  man 
whose  subsistence  is  almost  entirely  due  to 
his  skill  in  the  use  of  weapons,  he  is  a  most 
accomplished  spear  thrower.  Indeed,  as  a 
thrower  of  missiles  in  general  the  Australian 
stands  without  a  rival.  Putting  aside  the 
boomerang,  of  which  we  shall  presently 
treat,  the  Australian  can  hurl  a  spear  either 
with  his  hand  or  with  the  '■  throw-stick,"  can 
fling  his  short  club  with  unerring  aim,  and, 
even  should  he  be  deprived  of  these  missiles, 
ho  has  a  singular  faculty  of  throwing  stones. 
Many  a  time,  before  the  character  of  the 
natives  was  known,  has  an  armed  soldier 
been  killed  by  a  totally  unarmed  Australian. 
The  man  has  fired  at  the  native,  who,  by 
dodging  about,  has  prevented  the  enemy 
from  taking  a  correct  aim,  and  then  has 
been  simply  cut  to  pieces  hj  a  shower  of 
stones,  picked  up  and  hurled  with  a  force 
and  precision  that  must  be  seen  to  be  be- 
lieved. AVhen  the  first  Australian  discov- 
erer came  home,  no  one  W(udd  lielieve  that 
any  weajion  could  be  flung  and  then  return 
to  the  thrower,  and  even  at  the  present  day 
it  is  difficult  to  make  some  persons  believe 
in  the  stone-throwing  powers  of  the  Austra- 
lian. To  fling  one  stone  with  perfect  pre- 
cision is  not  so  easy  a  matter  as  it  seems,  but 
the  Australian  will  hurl  one  after  the  other 
with  such  rapidity  that  they  seem  to  be 
])oured  from  some  machine;  and  as  he 
throws  them  he  leaps  from  side  to  side,  so 
as  to  make  the  missiles  converge  from  dif- 
ferent directions  upon  the  unfortunate  ob- 
ject of  his  aim. 

In  order  to  attain  the  wonderful  skill 
which  they  possess  in  avoiding  as  well  as  in 
throwing  spears,  it  is  necessary  that  thev 
should  be  in  constant  practice  from  child- 
hood.    Accordingly,  they  are   fond   of  get- 


730 


AUSTRALIA. 


tiug  up  sham  fights,  armed  with  shield, 
throw-stick,  and  spear,  tlie  latter  weapon 
being  headless,  and  the  end  blunted  b}' 
being  split  and  scraped  into  filaments,  and 
the  busby  filaments  then  turned  back,  until 
they  form  a  soft  fibrous  pad.  Even  with 
this  protection,  the  weapon  is  not  to  be 
despised;  and  if  it  strike  one  of  the  com- 
batants fairly,  it  is  sure  to  knock  him  down; 
and  if  it  should  strike  him  in  the  ribs,  it 
leaves  him  gasping  for  breath.  This  mimic 
spear  goes  by  the  name  of  "  matamoodhi," 
and  is  made  of  various  sizes  according  to  the 
age  and  capabilities  of  the  person  who  uses  it. 
There  is  one  missile  which  is,  I  believe, 
as  peculiar  to  Australia  as  the  boomerang, 
though  it  is  not  so  widely  spread,  nor  of  such 
use  in  \var  or  hunting.  It  is  popularly  ealleil 
the  ''  kangaroo-rat,"  on  account  of  its  pe- 
culiai-  leaping  progression,  and  it  may  be 
familiar  to  those  of  my  readers  who  saw  the 
Australian  cricketers  who  came  over  to 
England  in  the  spring  of  1868.  The  "  kan- 
garoo-rat" is  a  piece  of  hard  wooil  shaped 
like  a  double  cone,  and  havnig  a  long  flexi- 
ble handle  projecting  from  one  of  the  points. 
The  handle  is  about  a  yard  in  length,  and  as 
thick  as  an  artist's  drawing-pencil,  and  at  a 
little  distance  the  weapon  looks  like  a  huge 
tadpole  with  a  much  elongated  tail.  In 
Australia  the  natives  make  the  tail  of  a 
flexible  twig,  but  those  who  have  access  to 
the  resources  of  civilization  have  found  out 
that  whaleljone  is  the  best  substance  for  the 
tail  that  can  be  found. 

When  the  native  throws  the  kangaroo- 
rat,  he  takes  it  by  the  end  of  the  tail  and 
swings  it  backward  and  forward,  so  that  it 
bends  quite  double,  and  at  last  he  gives  a 
sort  of  underhanded  jerk  and  lets  it  fly.  It 
darts  through  the  air  with  a  sharp  and  men- 
acing hiss  hke  the  sound  of  a  rifle  ball,  its 
greatest  height  being  some  seven  or  eight 
feet  from  the  ground.  As  soon  as  it  touclies 
the  earth,  it  springs  up  and  makes  a  succes- 
sion of  leaps,  each  less  than  the  preceding, 
until  it  finally  stops.  In  fact,  it  skims  over 
the  ground  exactly  as  a  flat  stone  skims  over 
the  water  when  boys  are  playing  at  "  ducks 
and  drakes."  The  distance  to  which  tliis 
instrument  can  be  thrown  is  really  astonish- 
ing. I  have  seen  an  Australian  stand  at  one 
side  of  Kennington  Oval,  and  throw  the 
'•kangaroo-rat"  completely  across  it.  Much 
depends  upon  the  angle  at  which  it  first 
takes  the  groiuid.  If  thrown  too  high,  it 
makes  one  or  two  lofty  leaps,  but  traverses 
no  great  distance;  and,  if  it  be  thrown  too 
low,  it  shoots  along  the  ground,  and  is  soon 
brought  u]i  liy  the  excessive  friction.  Wlien 
properly  thrown,  it  looks  just  like  a  living 
animal  leaping  along,  and  those  who  have 
been  accustomed  to  traverse  the  country  say 
that  its  movements  have  a  wonderful  reseni- 
blance  to  the  long  leaps  of  a  kangaroo-rat 
fleeina:  in  .alarm,  with  its  long  tail  trailing  as 
a  balance  behind  it. 


A  somewhat  similarly  shaped  missile  is 
used  in  Fiji,  but  the  Fijian  instrument  has  a 
sUlf  shaft,  and  it  is  propelleil  Ijy  placing  the 
end  of  the  forefinger  against  the  butt,  and 
throwing  it  underhanded.  It  is  only  used  in 
a  game  in  which  the  competitors  try  to  send 
it  skimming  along  the  ground  as  far  as  pos- 
sible. 

To  return  to  our  spears.  It  is  seldom 
that  an  Australian  condescends  to  throw  a 
spear  by  hand,  the  native  always  preferring 
to  use  the  curious  implement 'called  by  the 
aborigines  a  "  wummerah,"  or  "  midlah,"  and 
by  the  colonists  the  "  throw-stick."  The 
theory  of  the  throw-stick  is  simple  enough, 
but  the  pr.actice  is  very  difficult,  and  requires 
a  long  apprenticeship  before  it  can  be  learned 
with  any  certainty. 

The  princiide  of  this  implement  is  that  of 
the  sling;  and  the  throw-stick  is,  in  lact,  a 
sling  made  of  wood  instead  of  cord,  the  spear 
taking  the  place  of  the  stone.  So  completely 
is  the  throw-stick  associated  with  the  spear, 
that  the  native  would  as  soon  think  of  going 
without  his  .spear  as  without  the  instrument 
whereby  he  throws  it.  The  implement  takes 
diti'erent  forms  in  diflerent  localities,  al- 
though the  principle  of  its  construction  is 
the  same  throughout.  In  tlie  illustration 
entitled  "  Throw-sticks,"  on  page  731.  (he 
reader  may  see  every  variety  of  form  \vhich 
the  throw-stick  takes.  He  will  see,  on  in- 
.specting  the  figures,  that  it  consists  of  a  stick 
of  variable  length  and  breadth,  but  always 
having  a  barblike  projection  at  one  end. 
Before  describing  the  manner  in  which  the 
instrument  is  used,  I  will  proceed  to  a  short 
notice  of  the  mode  of  its  construction,  and 
the  various  forms  which  it  takes. 

In  the  first  jilace,  it  is  always  more  or  less 
flattened;  sometimes,  as  in  fig.  3,  being 
almost  leaf-shaped,  and  sometimes,  as  in  fig. 
6,  being  quite  narrow,  and  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  its  length  little  more  than  a 
flattened  stick.  It  is  ahvays  made  of  some 
hard  and  elastic  wood,  and  in  many  cases  it 
is  large  and  heavy  enough  to  be  serviceable  • 
as  a  club  at  close  quarters.  Indeed,  one 
very  good  specimen  in  my  collection,  which 
came  from  the  Swan  River,  was  laljelled, 
when  it  reached  me,  as  an  Indian  club. 
This  form  of  the  throw-stick  is  shown  at 
fig.  3. 

"This  particular  specimen  is  a  trifle  under 
two  feet  in  length,  and  in  the  broadest  part 
it  measures  four  inches  and  a  halt  in  width. 
In  the  centre  it  is  one-sixth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness,  and  diminishes  gradually  to  the 
edges,  which  are  about  as  sharp  as  those  of 
the  wooden  sword  already  mentioned.  Tow- 
ard the  end,  however,  it  becomes  thicker, 
and  at  the  place  where  the  peg  is  placed  it 
is  as  thick  as  in  the  mi<ldle.  Such  a  weapon 
would  be  very  formidable  if  used  as  a  chib^ 
scarcely  less  so,  indeed,  than  the  well-known 
"  merai  "  of  New  Zealand. 


BOOMERANGS.    (See  page  737.) 
(-31) 


THE  THROW- STICK. 


733 


That  it  hns  been  used  for  this  inirposc  is 
evident  from  a  fracture,  which  lias  clearly 
been  caused  by  the  eflect  of  a  severe  blow. 
The  w<3od  is  split  from  one  side  of  the  handle 
half  along  the  weapon,  and  so  it  has  been 
rendered  for  a  time  unserviceable.  Tlic  care- 
ful owner  has,  however,  contrived  to  mend 
the  fracture,  and  has  done  so  in  a  sini:;ularly 
ingenious  manner.  Pie  has  fitted  the  broken 
surfaces  accurately  together,  and  has  then 
bound  them  with  the  kangaroo-tail  sinews 
which  have  already  been  mentioned.  The 
sinews  are  flat,  and  have  been  protected  by 
a  thick  coating  of  black-boy  gum.  Perhaps 
the  reader  may  be  aware  that,  when  catgut 
is  knotted,  the  ends  are  secured  by  scorching 
them,  which  makes  them  swell  into  round 
knobs.  The  sinew  has  the  same  property, 
and  the  native  has  secured  the  ends  pre- 
cisely as  an  English  artisan  would  do. 

The  wood  is  that  of  the  tough,  hard,  wavy- 
grained  sum-tree.  Whether  inconsequence 
of  uiuch  handling  by  greasy  natives,  or 
whether  from  other  causes,  I  do  not  know, 
but  I  cannot  make  a  label  adhere  to  it.  To 
each  of  the  specimens  in  my  collection  is 
attached  a  catalogue  number,  and  though  I 
have  tried  to  affix,  the  laljel  with  i)aste,  gum, 
and  glue,  neither  will  hold  it,  and  in  a  few 
days  the  label  falls  oft"  of  its  own  accord. 
This  specimen  has  been  cut  from  a  tree 
which  has  been  attacked  by  some  boring 
insect,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  a  small 
hole  is  bored  through  it  edgewise,  and  has  a 
very  curious  appearance.  The  hole  looks 
exactly  like  that  of  our  well-known  insect, 
the  great  Sirex. 

The  peculiarly-shaped  handle  is  made 
entirely  of  black-boy  gum,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  a  tendency  to  warp  away  from 
the  wood,  it  is  as  firm  as  on  the  day  when  it 
was  first  made.  The  peg  which  fits  into  the 
butt  of  tlie  spear  is  in  this  case  made  of 
wood,  but  in  many  throw-sticks  it  is  made 
of  bone.  Figs.  1  and  '2  are  examples  of  this 
flattened  form  of  midlah,  and  were  drawn 
from  specimens  in  Southern  Australia.  At 
figs.  4  and  5  may  ho  seen  examples  of  the 
throw-stick  of  Port  Essington,  one  of  which, 
fig.  4,  is  remarkable  for  the  jjeculiarlj'-shaped 
handle.  That  of  fig.  .5  seems  to  be  remark- 
ably inconvenient,  and  almost  to  have  been 
made  for  the  express  purpose  of  preventing 
the  native  from  taking  a  firm  hold  of  the 
weapon.  Fig.  6  is  an  example  of  the  throw- 
stick  of  Queensland,  and,  as  may  easily  be 
seen,  can  be  used  as  a  club,  providetl  that 
it  be  reversed,  and  the  peg  end  used  as  a 
handle. 

There  is  another  form  of  throw-stick  used 
in  Northern  Australia,  an  example  of  which 
maj'  be  seen  at  fig.  0.  It  is  a  full  foot  longer 
than  that  which  came  from  the  Murray,  and 
is  one  of  the  "  flattened  sticks  "  which  have 
been  casually  mentioned.  It  has  a  wooden 
spike  for  the  spear-butt,  and  a  most  remark- 
able   handle.      Two  pieces  of  melon-shell 


have  been  cut  at  rather  long  ovals,  and  have 
been  fixed  diagonally  .across  the  end  of  the 
weapon,  one  on  each  side.  Black-boy  gum 
has  been  profusely  used  in  fixing  these 
pieces,  and  the  whole  of  the  interior  sjjace 
between  the  shells  h.as  been  filled  up  with 
it.  A  diagonal  lashing  of  sinew,  covered 
with  the  same  gum,  passes  over  the  shells, 
and  the  handle  is  strongly  wrapped  with 
the  same  material  for  a  space  of  five  inches. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  see  how  the 
native  throws  the  spear. 

Holding  the  throw-stick  by  the  handle,  so 
that  the  other  end  projects  over  his  shoul- 
der, he  takes  a  spear  in  his  left  hand,  fits  a 
slight  hollow  in  its  butt  to  the  peg  of  the 
midl.ah,  and  then  holds  it  in  its  place  by 
passing  the  forefinger  of  the  right  hand  over 
the  shaft.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  leverage 
is  enormously  increased  l.iy  this  plan,  and 
that  the  force  of  the  arm  is  more  than 
doubled. 

Sometimes,  e.specially  when  hunting,  the 
native  throws  the  spear  without  further 
trouljle,  but  when  he  is  engaged  in  a  fitjht 
he  goes  through  a  series  of  performances 
which  are  rather  ludicrous  to  an  European, 
though  they  are  intended  to  strike  terror 
into  the  native  enemy.  The  spear  is  jerked 
about  violently,  so  that  it  quivers  just  like 
an  Afiican  assagai,  and  while  vibrating 
strongly  it  is  thrown.  There  are  two  ways 
of  quivering  the  spear;  the  one  by  merely 
moving  the  right  hand,  and  the  "other  by 
Seizing  the  shaft  in  the  left  hand,  .and  shak- 
ing it  violently  while  the  butt  rests  against 
the  peg  of  the  throw-stick.  In  any  case  the 
very  fact  of  quivering  the  spear  acts  on  the 
Austrjiliau  warrior  as  it  does  upon  the  Afri- 
can. The  whirring  sound  of  the  vibrating 
weapon  excites  him  to  a  pitch  of  frenzied 
excitement,  and  while  menacing  his  foe  with 
the  trembling  spear,  the  warrior  dances  and 
leaps  and  yells  as  if  he  were  mad  —  and 
indeed  for  the  moment  he  becomes  a  raving 
madman. 

The  distance  to  which  the  spear  can  be 
thrown  is  something  wonderful,  and  its  as- 
pect as  it  passes  through  the  air  is  singu- 
larly beautiful.  It  seems  rather  to  have 
been  shot  from  some  huge  bow,  or  to  be  fur- 
nished with  some  innate  powers  of  flight, 
than  to  have  been  flung  from  a  hunian  arm, 
as  it  performs  its  lofty  course,  undulating 
like  a  thin  black  snake,  and  writhing  its 
graceful  way  through  the  air.  As  it  leaves 
the  throw-stick,  a  slight  clashing  sound  is 
heard,  which  to  the  experienced  ear  tells  its 
story  as  clearly  as  the  menacing  clang  of  an 
archer's  bowstring. 

To  me  tlie  distance  of  its  flight  is  not 
nearly  so  wonderful  as  the  precision  with 
which  it  can  be  aimed.  A  tolerably  long 
tlirow-stick  gives  .so  powerful  a  leverage  that 
the  length  of  range  is  not  so  very  astonish-' 
ing.  But  that  accuracy  of  aim  should  be 
attained  as  well  as  length  of  fiight  is  really 


734 


AUSTRALIA. 


wonderful.  I  have  seen  the  natives,  wlu-n 
engaged  in  moelc  battle,  stand  at  a  distance 
of  eighty  or  ninety  yards,  and  throw  their 
speai-s  with  sueh  certainty  that,  in  four 
throws  out  of  six,  the  antagonist  was 
obliged  to  move  in  order  to  escape  the 
spears. 

Beside  the  powerful  and  lofty  throw,  they 
have  a  way  of  suddenly  flinging  it  under- 
hand, bo  that  it  skims  just  above  the  ground, 
and,  when  it  touches  the  earth,  proceeds 
with  a  .series  of  ricochets  that  must  be  pecul- 
iarly embarrassing  to  a  novice  in  that  kind 
of  warfare. 

The  ]iower  of  the  .spear  is  never  better 
shown  than  in  the  chase  of  the  kangaroo. 
When  a  native  sees  one  of  these  animals 
engaged  in  feeding,  he  goes  off  to  a  little 
distance  where  it  cannot  see  him,  gathers  a 
few  leafy  boughs,  and  ties  them  together  so 
as  to  form  a  screen.  He  then  takes  his 
spears,  throw-stick,  and  waddy,  and  goes  oft' 
in  chase  of  the  kangaroo.  Taking  advantage 
of  every  cover,  he  slips  noiselessly  forward, 
always  taking  care  to  apijroach  the  animal 
against  the  wind,  so  that  it  shall  not  1)6  able 
to  detect  his  presence  by  the  nostrils,  and 
gliding  along  with  studied  avoidance  of 
withered  leaves,  dry  twigs,  and  the  other 
natural  objects  which,  by  their  rustling  and 
snapping,  warn  the  animal  that  danger  is  at 
hand. 

As  long  as  possible,  the  hunter  keeps  under 
the  shelter  of  natural  cover,  but  when  this  is 
impossible,  he  takes  to  his  leafy  screen,  and 
trusts  to  it  for  approaching  within  range. 
Before  quitting  the  trees  or  bush  behind 
which  he  has  been  hiding  himself,  he  takes 
his  spear,  fits  it  to  the  throw-stick,  raises  his 
arm  with  the  spear  ready  poised,  and  never 
moves  that  arm  until  it  delivers  the  spear. 
Holding  the  leafy  screen  in  front  of  him 
with  his  left  hand,  and  disposing  the  second 
spear  and  other  weapons  which  cannot  be 
hidden  so  as  to  look  like  dead  branches  grow- 
ing from  the  bush,  he  glides  carefully  toward 
the  kangaroo,  always  advancing  while  it 
stoops  to  feed,  and  crouching  quietly  behind 
the  screen  whenever  it  raises  itself,  after  the 
fashion  of  kangaroos,  and  surveys  the  sur- 
rounding country. 

At  last  he  comes  within  fair  range,  and 
with  unerring  aim  he  transfixes  tlie  un- 
suspecting kangaroo.  Sometimes  he  comes 
vijion  several  animals,  and  in  that  case  his 
second  .spear  is  rapidly  fixed  in  the  midlah 
and  hurled  at  the  tlying  animals,  and,  should 
he  have  come  to  tolerably  close  quarters,  the 
short  missile  club  is  flung  with  certain  aim. 
Having  thrown  all  the  missiles  which  he 
finds  available,  he  proceeds  to  despatch  the 
wounded  animals  with  his  waddy. 

In  the  illustration  No.  l,on  the73f)thpage, 
the  action  of  the  throw-stick  is  well  shown, 
and  two  scenes  in  the  hunt  are  depicted.  In 
the  foreground  is  a  hunter  who  has  succeeded 
in  getting  tolerably  close  to  the  kangaroos 


by  creeping  toward  them  behind  the  shadow 
of  trees,  and  is  just  poising  liis  spear  for  the 
fatal  throw.  The  reader  will  note  the  curi- 
ous bone  ornament  which  passes  througn 
the  septum  of  the  nose,  and  gives  such  a  curi- 
ous character  to  the  face.  In  the  background 
is  another  hunter,  who  has  been  obliged  to 
have  recourse  to  the  bough  screen,  behind 
which  he  is  hiding  himself  like  the  S(jldiers 
in  "  Alaebeth,"  while  the  unsuspecting  kan- 
garoos are  quii-tly  feeding  within  easy  range. 
One  of  them  has  taken  alarm,  and  is  sitting 
upright  to  look  about  it,  just  as  the  squirrel 
will  do  while  it  is  feeding  on  the  ground. 

The  reader  will  now  see  the  absolute 
necessity  of  an  accurate  aim  in  the  thrower 
—  an  accomplishment  which  to  meie  a  prac- 
tical mystery.  I  can  hurl  the  spear  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  by  means  of  a  throw-stick, 
but  the  aim  is  quite  another  business,  the 
spear  seeming  to  take  an  independent  course 
of  its  own  without  the  least  reference  to  the 
wi.shes  of  the  thrower.  Yet  the  Australian 
is  so  good  a  marksman  that  he  can  make 
good  practice  at  a  man  at  the  distance  of 
eighty  or  ninety  yards,  making  due  allow- 
ance for  the  wind,  and  calculating  the  curve 
described  by  the  spear  with  wonderful  ac- 
curacy; while  at  a  short  distance  his  eye  and 
hand  are  equally  true,  and  he  will  transfix  a 
kangaroo  at  twenty  or  thirty  yards  as  cer- 
tainly as  it  could  be  .shot  by  an  experienced 
rilleman. 

In  some  parts  of  Australia  the  natives  use 
the  bow  and  arrow;  but  the  employment  of 
such  weapons  seems  to  belong  chiefly  to  tlie 
inhabitants  of  the  extreme  north.  There 
are  in  my  collection  specimens  of  bows  and 
arrows  brought  from  Cape  York,  which  in 
their  way  are  really  admiralde  weapons,  and 
would  do  credit  to  the  archers  of  Polynesia. 
The  bow  is  more  than  six  feet  long,  and  is 
made  from  the  male,  i.  e.  the  solid  bamboo. 
It  is  very  stitt'  and  a  jiowerful  as  well  as  a 
practised  arm  is  needed  to  bend  it  properly. 

Like  the  spear  shaft,  this  bow  is  greatly 
suf)ject  to  being  worm-eaten.  My  own  speci- 
men is  so  honeycombed  by  these  tiny  borers 
that  when  it  arrived  a  little  heap  of  yellow 
powder  fell  to  the  ground  wherever  the  bow 
was  set,  and,  if  it  were  sharply  struck,  a 
cloud  of  the  same  powder  came  from  it. 
Fortunately,  the  same  looseness  of  texture 
which  enabled  the  beetle  to  make  such  havoc 
served  also  to  conduct  the  poisoned  sjiirit 
which  I  injected  into  the  holes;  and  now  the 
ravages  have  ceased,  and  not  the  most  vora- 
cious insect  in  existence  can  touch  the  wea- 
pon. The  string  is  very  simply  made,  being 
nothing  but  a  piece  of  "rattan  split  to  ihe  re- 
quired tbickne-ss.  Perhaps  the  most  ingen- 
ious part  of  this  bow  is  the  manner  m  which 
the  loop  is  made.  Although  imaccjuainted 
with  the  simple  yet  eftective  bowstring  knot, 
which  is  so  well  known  to  our  archers,  and 
which  Would  not  suit  the  stitt' and  harsh  rat- 
tauj  'J-.e  native  has  invented  a  knot  which  is 


THE   BOW  AND  ARROWS. 


735 


quite  as  efBcacious,  .infl  is  managed  on  the 
same  principle  of  taldng  several  tarns,  with 
the  cord  round  itself  just  below  the  loop.  In 
order  to  give  the  rattan  the  needful  flexibility 
it  has  been  beaten  so  as  to  separate  it  into 
fibres  and  break  up  the  hard,  flinty  coating 
which  surrounds  it,  and  these  tilires  have 
then  been  twisted  round  and  round  into  a 
sort  of  rude  cord,  guarded  at  the  end  with  a 
wrapping  of  the  same  matrrial  in  order  to 
preserve  it  from  unravelling. 

The  arrows  are  suitable  to  the  bow.  They 
are  variable  in  length,  but  all  are  much 
longer  than  those  which  the  English  bow- 
men were  accustomed  to  use,  and,  instead  of 
being  a  "  cloth  yard  "  in  length,  the  shortest 
measures  three  feet  seven  inches  in  length, 
while  the  longest  is  four  feet  eight  inches 
from  butt  to  point.  They  are  without  a 
vestige  of  feathering,  and  have  no  nock,  so 
that  the  native  archer  is  obliged  to  hold  the 
arrow  against  the  string  with  his  (humh  and 
finger,  and  cannot  draw  the  bow  with  the 
fore  and  middle  flnger,  as  all  good  English 
archers  have  done  ever  since  the  bow  was 
known. 

The  shafts  of  the  arrows  are  made  of  reed, 
and  they  are  all  headed  with  long  spikes  of 
some  dark  and  heavy  woo<l,  which  enable 
them  to  fly  properly.  Some  of  the  heads  are 
plain,  rounded  spikes,  but  other.s  are  elabo- 
rately barbed.  One,  for  example,  has  a  sin- 
gle row  of  six  barbs,  each  an  inch  in  length, 
and  another  has  one  double  barb,  like  that 
of  the  •'  broad  arrow  "  of  England.  Another 
has,  instead  of  a  barb,  a  smooth  bulb,  ending 
gradually  in  a  spike,  and  serving  no  possible 
purpose,  except  perhaps  that  of  ornament. 
Another  has  two  of  these  bulbs;  and  another, 
the  longest  of  them  all,  has  a  slight  bulb,  and 
then  an  attempt  at  carving.  Tlie  pattern  is 
of  the  very  simplest  character,  but  it  is  the 
only  piece  of  carving  on  all  the  weapons. 
The  same  arrow  is  remarkable  for  having 
the  point  covered  for  some  two  inches  with 
a  sort  of  varnish,  looking  exactly  like  red 
sealing-wax,  while  a  band  of  the  same  ma- 
terial encircles  the  head  about  six  inches 
nearer  the  shaft.  The  sailor  who  brought 
the  weapons  over  told  me  that  this  red  var- 
nish was  poison,  but  I  doul)t  exceedingly 
whether  it  is  anything  hut  ornament. 

The  end  of  the  reed  into  which  the  head 
is  inserted  is  guarded  by  a  wrapping  of 
rattan  fibre,  covered  with  a  sort  of  dark  var- 
nish, which,  however,  is  not  the  black-boy 
gum  that  is  so  plentifully  used  in  the  manu- 
fecture  of  other  weapons.  In  one  instance 
the  place  of  the  wrapping  is  taken  by  an 
inch  or  so  of  plaiting,  wrought  so  beauti- 
fully with  the  outside  of  the  rattan  cut  into 
flat  strips  scarcely  wider  than  ordinary 
twine,  that  it  betrays  the  Polyni'sian  origin 
of  the  weajions,  and  confirms  me  in  tlie 
belief  that  the  l)ow  and  arrow  are  not  in- 
digenous to  Australia,  but  have  only  been 
imported  froni  New  Guinea,  and  have  not 


made  their  way  inland.  The  natives  of 
Northern  Australia  have  also  evidently  l)or- 
rowed  much  from  Polynesia,  as  we  shall  see 
in  the  course  of  this  narrative. 

The  bow  is  usually  about  six  feet  in 
length,  though  one  in  my  possession  is 
somewhat  longer.  Owing  to  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  l)ow  and  arrows,  a  full  equip- 
ment of  them  is  very  weighty,  and,  together 
^vith  the  other  weapons  which  an  Austra- 
lian thinks  it  his  duty  to  carry,  must  be  no 
slight  burden  to  the  warrior. 

Ferocity  of  countenance  is  very  charac- 
teristic of  the  race,  and,  as  we  shall  see 
when  we  come  to  the  canoes  and  their  occu- 
pants, the  people  are  very  crafty:  mild  and 
complaisant  wdion  they  think  themselves 
overmatched,  insolent  and  menacing  when 
they  fancy  themselves  superior,  and  tolera- 
l)ly  sure  to  commit  murder  if  they  think 
they  can  do  so  with  impunity.  The  only 
mode  of  dealing  with  these  people  is  the 
safe  one  to  adopt  with  all  savages:  i.  e. 
never  trust  them,  and  never  cheat  them. 

We  now  come  to  that  most  wonderful  of 
all  weapons,  the  boomerang.  This  is  essen- 
tially the  national  weapon  of  Australia,  and 
is  found  throughout  the  West  country.  As 
far  as  is  known,  it  is  peculiar  to  Australia, 
and,  though  curious  missiles  are  found  in 
other  parts  of  the  world,  there  is  none  wdiich 
can  be  compared  with  the  boomerang. 

On  one  of  the  old  Egyptian  monuments 
there  is  a  figure  of  a  bird-catcher  in  a  caiioe. 
He  is  assisted  by  a  cat  whom  he  has  taught 
to  catch  prey  for  him,  and,  as  the  birds  fly 
out  of  the  reeds  among  which  he  is  pushing 
his  canoe,  he  is  hurling  at  them  a  curved 
missile  which  some  persons  have  thought  to 
be  the  Ijoomerang.  I  cannot,  however,  see 
that  there  is  the  slightest  reason  for  such  a 
su])]50sition. 

No  weapon  in  the  least  like  the  boome- 
rang is  at  present  found  in  any  part  of 
Africa,  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  no 
example  of  a  really  efficient  weapon  having 
entirely  disappeared  from  a  whole  continent. 
The  harpoon  with  which  the  Egyptians  of 
old  killeil  the  hippopotamus  is  used  at  the 
present  day  without  the  least  alteration;  the 
net  is  used  for  catching  fish  in  the  same 
manner;  the  spear  and  shield  of  the  Egyji- 
tian  infantry  were  identical  in  shape  with 
those  of  the  Kanemboo  soldier,  a  portrait  of 
whom  may  be  seen  on  jiago  612;  the  bow 
and  arrow  still  survive;  and  even  the  whi]) 
with  which  the  Egyptian  task  masters  beat 
their  Jewish  servants  is  the  "  khoorliash " 
with  which  the  Nubian  of  the  present  day 
beats  his  slave. 

In  all  probability,  the  curved  weapon 
which  the  bird-catcher  holds  in  his  hand, 
and  which  he  is  about  to  threw,  is  nothing 
more  than  a  short  chd),  analogous  to  the 
knob-kerry  of  the  Kaffir,  and  having  no 
returning  power.  Varying  slightly  in  .some 
of  its  details,  the  boomerang  is  identical  in 


r35 


AUSTKALIA. 


principle  wherever  it  is  made.  It  is  a  flat- 
tish  curvcil  piece  of  wood,  various  examples 
of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  illustration  on 
the  Tolst  pa;2;e;  and  neither  by  its  shape 
nor  material  does  it  give  the  least  idea  of  its 
wondcrfid  powers. 

The  material  of  which  the  boomerang  (or 
bonimcreng,  as  the  word  is  sometimes  ren- 
dered) is  m.ade  is  almost  invariably  that  of 
the  gum-tree,  which  is  he.avy,  hard,  and 
tough,  .and  is  able  to  sust.ain  a  tolcr.ably 
severe  shock  without  breaking.  It  is  sliglitly 
convex  on  the  upper  surface,  and  flat  below, 
and  is  always  thickest  in  the  middle,  being 
scraped  awaj'  toward  the  edges,  which  are 
moderately  sharp,  especially'  the  outer  edge. 
It  is  used  as  a  missile,  and  it  is  one  of  the 
strangest  weapons  that  ever  was  invented. 

In  "the  old  fairy  tales,  with  which  we  are 
more  or  less  acquainted,  one  of  the  strange 
gifts  which  is  presented  by  the  fairy  to  the 
iiero  is  often  a  weapon  of  some  wonderful 
])ower.  Thus  we  have  the  sword  of  sharp- 
ness, which  cut  through  every  thing  at 
'which  it  was  aimed,  and  the  coat  of  mail, 
which  no  weapon  would  pierce.  It  is  a  pity, 
by  the  way,  that  the  sword  and  the  coat 
never  seem  to  have  been  tried  against  each 
other.  Then  there  are  arrows  (in  more 
modern  tales  modified  into  bullets)  that 
alwavs  struck  their  mark,  and  so  on.  And 
in  oiie  of  the  highest  flights  of  fairy  lore  we 
road  of  arrows  that  always  returned  of  their 
own  accord  to  the  archer. 

In  Australia,  however,  we  have,  as  an 
actual  fact,  a  missile  that  can  be  thrown  to 
a  considerable  distance,  and  which  always 
returns  to  the  thrower.  By  a  jieculiar  mode 
of  hurling  it  the  weapon  circles  through  the 
air,  and  then  describes  a  circular  course, 
falling  liy  the  side  of  or  behind  the  man 
who  threw  it.  The  mode  of  throwing  is 
very  simple  in  theory,  and  very  difficult  in 
practice.  The  weapon  is  grasped  l\y  the 
handle,  which  is  usually  marked  by  a  num- 
ber of  cross  cuts,  so  as  to  give  a  firm  hold, 
and  the  flat  side  is  kept  downward.  Then, 
with  a  quick  and  sharp  fling,  the  boomerang 
is  hurled,  the  hand  at  the  same  time  being 
drawn  back,  so  as  to  make  the  weapon 
revolve  with  extreme  rapidity.  A  billiard- 
player  will  understand  the  sort  of  move- 
ment when  told  that  it  is  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple as  the  "  screw-back  "  stroke  at  billiards. 
The  weapon  must  be  flung  with  great  force, 
or  it  will  not  perform  its  evolutions  pro^ierly. 

If  the  reader  would  like  to  practice  throw- 
ing the  boomerang,  let  me  recommend  him, 
in  the  first  place,  to  procure  a  genuine 
weapon,  and  not  an  English  imitation  there- 
of, such  as  is  generally  sold  at  the  toy-shops. 
He  should  then  go  alone  into  a  lai-ge  field, 
where  the  ground  is  tolerably  soft  and  there 
are  no  large  stones  about,  and  then  stand 
facing  the  wind.  Having  gr.asped  it  as 
described,  lie  should  mark  with  his  eye  a 
spot  on  the  ground  at  the  distance  of  forty 


yards  or  so,  and  hurl  the  boomerang  at  it. 
Should  he  throw  it  rightly,  the  weapon  will 
at  first  look  as  if  it  were  going  to  strike  the 
ground;  but,  instead  of  doing  so,  it  will 
shoot  otf  at  a  greater  or  less  angle,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances,  and  will  rise  high  into 
the  air,  circling  round  with  gradually  dinun- 
isliing  force,  until  it  falls  to  the  grdund. 
Should  sutticient  force  have  been  imiiarted 
to  it,  the  boomerang  will  fall  some  eight  or 
ten  yards  behind  the  thrower. 

It  is  necessary  that  the  thrower  should  be 
alone,  or  at  least  have  only  an  instructor 
with  him,  when  he  practises  this  art,  as  the 
boomerang  will,  in  inexperienced  hands, 
lake  all  kinds  of  strange  courses,  and  will, 
in  all  probability,  swerve  from  its  line,  and 
strike  one  of  the  spectators;  and  the  force 
with  which  a  boomerang  can  strike  is  almost 
incredible.  I  have  seen  a  dog  killed  on  the 
spot,  its  body  being  nearly  cut  in  two  by  the 
boomerang  as  it  fell;  and  I  once  .saw  a  Ju-ass 
spur  struck  clean  otf  the  heel  of  an  incau- 
tious spectator,  who  ran  across  the  path  of 
the  weapon. 

It  is  necessary  that  he  choose  a  soft  as  well 
as  spacious  field,  as  the  boomerang  has  a  spe- 
cial knack  of  selecting  the  hardest  spots  on 
which  to  fall,  and  if  it  can  find  a  large  stone 
is  sure  to  strike  it,  and  so  break  itself  to 
jiieces.  And  if  there  are  trees  in  the  way, 
it  will  get  among  the  boughs,  perhaps  smash 
itself,  certainly  damage  itself,  and  probably 
stick  among  "the  branches.  The  learner 
should  throw  also  against  the  wind,  as,  if 
the  lioomerang  is  thrown  with  the  wind,  it 
does  not  think  of  coming  back  again,  but 
sails  on  as  if  it  never  meant  to  stoji,  and  is 
sure  to  reach  a  wonderful  distance  before  it 
tails. 

Nearlj'  thirty  years  ago,  I  lost  a  boome- 
rang by  this  very  error.  In  company  with 
some  of  mv  schoolfellows,  I  was  throwing  the 
weapon  for  their  amusement,  when  one  of 
them  snatched  it  up,  turned  round,  and 
threw  it  with  all  his  force  in  the  direction 
of  the  wind.  The  distance  to  which  (he 
weapon  travelled  I  am  afraid  to  mention, 
lest  it  should  not  be  believed.  The  ground 
in  that  neighborhood  is  composed  of  suc- 
cessive undulations  of  hill  and  vale,  and  ^ve 
saw  the  boomerang  cross  two  of  the  \alleys, 
and  at  last  disappear  into  a  grove  of  lime- 
trees  that  edged  the  churchyard. 

In  vain  we  sought  for  the  weapon,  and  it 
was  not  found  until  four  years  afterward, 
when  a  idumlier,  who  had  been  sent  to  re- 
pair the  roof  of  the  church,  found  it  stick- 
ing in  the  leads.  So  it  had  first  traversed 
that  extraordinary  distance,  had  then  cut 
clean  through  the  foliage  of  a  lime-tree, 
and  lastly  had  sufficient''force  to  stick  into 
the  leaden  roofing  of  a  church.  The  bi>onie- 
rang  was  brought  down  half  decayed,  and 
wrenched  out  "of  its  proper  form  by  the 
shock. 

Should  the  reader  wish  to  learn  the  usa 


THE  BOOMERANG. 


737 


of  the  weajion,  he  should  watch  a  native 
throw  it.  The  attitude  of  the  man  as  he 
hurls  the  boomorani^  is  siusularly  itracefal. 
Holding  three  or  four  of  tlie  weapons  in  liis 
left  hand,  he  draws  out  one  at  random  with 
his  right,  while  his  eyes  are  fixed  on  the 
object  which  he  desires  to  hit,  or  the  spot 
to  wliich  the  weapon  has  to  travel.  Bal- 
ancing the  boomerang  for  a  moment  in  his 
hand,  lie  suddenly  steps  a  pace  or  two  for- 
ward, and  with  a  quick,  sharp,  almost  angry 
stroke,  launches  his  weapon  into  the  air. 

Should  he  desire  to  bring  the  boomerang 
back  again,  he  has  two  modes  of  throwing. 
In  the  one  mode,  he  flings  it  high  in  the  air, 
into  which  it  mounts  to  a  wonderful  height, 
circling  the  while  with  a  bold,  vigorous  sweep, 
that  reminds  the  observer  of  the  grand 
flight  of  the  eagle  or  the  buzzard.  It  flies 
on  until  it  has  reached  a  spot  behind  the 
thrower,  when  all  life  seems  suddenly  to 
die  out  of  it;  it  collapses,  so  to  speak,  like 
a  bird  sliot  on  the  wing,  topples  over  and 
over,  and  f;ills  to  the  ground. 

There  is  another  mode  of  throwing  the 
returning  boomerang  which  is  even  more 
remarkable.  The  thrower,  instead  of  aim- 
ing high  in  the  air,  niarks  out  a  s|)ot  on  the 
ground  some  thirty  or  forty  yards  in  ad- 
vance, and  hurls  the  boomerang  at  it.  The 
weapon  strikes  the  ground,  and,  instead  of 
being  smashed  to  pieces,  as  might  be  thought 
from  the  violence  of  the  stroke,  it  springs 
from  the  ground  Antreus-likc,  seeming  to 
attain  new  vigor  by  its  contact  with"  the 
earth.  It  flies  up  as  if  it  had  been  shot 
from  the  ground  lay  a  catapult;  and,  taking 
a  comparatively  low  elevation,  performs  the 
most  curious  evolutions,  whirling  so  rapidly 
that  it  looks  like  a  semi-transparent  disc 
with  an  opaque  centre,  and  directing  its 
course  in  an  erratic  manner  that  is  very 
alarming  to  those  wlio  are  unaccustomed 
to  it.  I  have  seen  it  execute  all  its  mau'eu- 
vres  within  seven  or  eight  feet  from  the 
ground,  hissing  as  it  passeil  tlirough  the  air 
with  a  strangely  menacing  sound,  and,  when 
it  finally  came  to  the  ground,  leaping  along 
as  if  it  were  a  living  creature. 

We  will  now  examine  the  various  shajies 
of  boomerangs,  as  seen  in  the  illustration 
on  the  731st  page.  Some  of  the  specimens 
are  taken  from  the  British  Museum,  some 
from  the  collection  of  Colonel  Lane  Fox, 
some  from  ray  own,  and  the  rest  are  draivn 
by  Mr.  Angas  from  s|ieciniens  obtained  in 
the  country.  I  have  had  them  brought  to- 
gether, so  that  the  reader  may  see  how  the 
boomerang  has  been  gradually  modified  out 
of  the  club. 

At  fig.  4  is  the  short  pointed  stick  which 
may  eitlier  answer  the  purpose  of  a  minia- 
ture club,  a  dagger,  or  an  instrument  to  lie 
used  in  the  ascent  of  trees.  Just  belo.ii'  it 
is  a  club  or  waddy,  with  a  rounded  head, 
and  at  fig.  C  the  head  has  been  developed 
into  a  point,  and  rather  flattened.     If  the 


reader  will  refer  to  figs.  6  and  7,  he  will 
see  two  clubs  which  are  remarkable  for 
having  not  only  the  knob,  but  the  whole  of 
the  handle  flattened,  and  the  curve  of  the 
head  extended  to  the  handle. 

The  transition  fi'om  this  club  to  the  boome- 
rang is  simple  enough,  and,  indeed,  we  have 
an  example  (fig.  1)  of  a  weapon  which  looks 
like  an  ordinary  boomerang,  but  is  in  fact 
a  club,  and  is  used  for  haud-to-h.and  combat. 

These  figures  show  pretty  clearly  the  ]iro- 
gressive  structure  of  the  boomerang.  The 
flattened  clubs  were  probably  made  from 
necessity,  the  native  not  being  able  to  find  a 
suitable  piece  of  wood,  and  taking  the  best 
that  he  could  get.  If  then,  one  of  these 
clubs  were,  on"  the  spur  of  the  moment, 
hurled  at  an  object,  the  superior  value  which 
this  flatness  conferred  upon  it  as  a  missile 
would  be  evident  as  well  as  the  curved 
course  which  it  would  take  through  the  air. 
The  native,  ever  quick  to  note  anything 
which  might  increase  the  power  of  his 
weapons,  would  be  sure  to  notice  this  latter 
peculiarity,  and  to  perceive  the  valuable 
uses  to  which  it  could  be  turned.  He  would 
therefore  try  various  forms  of  flattened  mis- 
siles, until  lie  at  last  reached  the  true  boom- 
erang. 

The  strangest  point  about  the  boomerang 
is,  that  the  curve  is  not  uniform,  and,  in  fact, 
scarcely  any  two  specimens  have  precisely 
the  same  curve.  Some  have  the  curve  so 
sharp  that  it  almost  deserves  the  name  of 
angle,  for  an  example  of  which  see  fig.  8; 
others,  as  in  fig.  9,  have  the  curve  very 
slight;  while  others,  as  in  fig.  2,  have  a  ten- 
dency to  a  double  curve,  and  there  is  a  spec- 
imen in  the  British  Museum  in  which  the 
double  curve  is  very  lioldly  marked.  The 
best  and  typical  form  of  l)oomerang  is,  how- 
ever, that  which  is  shown  at  fig.  3.  The  spec- 
imen which  is  there  rejiresenled  was  made 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Darling. 

The  natives  can  do  almost  anything  with 
the  boomerang,  and  the  circuitous  course 
which  it  adopts  is  rendered  its  most  useful 
characteristic.  Many  a  hunter  has  wished 
that  he  only  ]iossessed  that  invalualile 
weapon,  a  gun  which  woidd  shoot  round  a 
corner,  and  just  such  a  weapon  does  the 
Australian  find  in  his  boomerang.  If,  for 
example,  he  should  see  a  kangaroo  in  such  a 
position  that  he  cannot  come  within  the 
range  of  a  spear  without  showing  himself 
and  alarming  the  animal,  or  say,  for  ex- 
amide,  that  it  is  sheltered  from  a  direct 
att;ick  by  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  he  will  steal  as 
near  as  he  can  without  disturbing  the  ani- 
mal, and  then  will  throw  his  boonun-ang  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  circles  round  the 
tree,  and  strikes  the  animal  at  which  it  is 
aimed. 

That  such  precision  should  be  olitained 
with  so  curious  a  weaiion  seems  rather  re- 
markable, but  thi.ise  of  my  readers  who  are 
accustomed   to  play  at   bowls  will    call   to 


738 


AUSTRALIA. 


mind  the  enormous  power  which  is  given  to 
them  ))y  the  "  bias,"  or  weighted  side  of  the 
bowl,  and  the  bold  curves  whicli  tliey  can 
force  tlic  missile  to  execute,  when  they  wish 
to  send  llie  bowl  round  a  number  of  obsta- 
cles which  are  in  its  way.  The  boomerang 
is  used  as  a  sort  of  aerial  bowl,  with  the 
advantage  that  the  expert  thrower  is  able 
to  alter  the  bias  at  will,  and  to  make  the 
weapon  describe  almost  any  curve  that  he 
chooses. 

It  is  even  said  that,  in  case  there  should 
be  obstacles  which  jn-event  the  Ijoomerang 
from  passing  round  the  tree,  the  native  has 
the  power  of  throwing  it  so  that  it  strikes 
the  ground  in  front  of  the  tree,  and  then,  l)y 
the  force  of  the  throw,  leaps  over  the  top  of 
the  branches,  and  descends  upon  the  object 
at  which  it  is  thrown. 

On  page  739  is  shown  a  scene  on  the  river 
Murray,  in  which  the  natives  are  drawn  as 
they  appear  when  catching  the  shag,  a  spe- 
cies of  cormorant,  whichis  tbund  there  in 
great  numbers.  They  capture  these  l.)irds 
in  various  ways,  sometimes  by  climlung  at 
night  the  trees  on  which  they  roost,  and 
seizing  them,  getting  severely  bitten,  bv  the 
way,  on  their  naked  limbs  and  bodies.  They 
liavc  also  a  very  ingenious  mode  of  ])lant- 
ing  sticks  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  so  that 
they  project  above  the  surface,  and  foi-m 
convenient  resting-places  for  the  birds. 
I'atigued  with  diving,  the  cormorants  are 
sure  to  perch  upon  them ;  and  as  they  are  doz- 
ing while  digesting  their  meal  of  flsh,  the 
native  swims  gently  up,  and  suddenly  catches 
them  by  the  wings,  and  drags  them  under 
water.  He  always  breaks  the  neck  of  the 
bird  at  once. 

They  are  so  wonderfully  skilful  in  the 
water,  that  when  pelicans  are  swimming 
unsuspectingly  on  the  surface,  the  natives 
approach  silently,  dive  under  them,  seize 
the  liii'ds  by  the  legs,  jerk  them  under  water, 
and  l.ireak  iiotli  the  wings  and  legs  so  rapidly 
that  the  unfortunate  birds  have  no  chance  of 
escape. 

Sometimes,  as  shown  in  the  illustration, 
the  natives  use  their  boomerangs  and  clubs, 
knock  the  birds  olT  the  branches  on  which 
they  are  roosting,  and  secure  them  before 
they  have  recovered  from  the  stunning  blow 
of  the  weapon.  When  approaching  cormo- 
rants and  other  aquatic  birds,  the  native  has 
a  very  ingenious  jilan  of  disguising  himself. 
lie  gathers  a  bunch  of  weeds,  ties  it  on  his 
head,  and  slips  quietly  into  the  water,  keep- 
ing his  whole  body  immersed,  and  only  al- 
lowing the  artificial  covering  to  be  seen. 
The  bird  being  quite  accustomed  to  see 
patches  of  weeds  floating  along  the  water, 
takes  no  notice  of  so  familiar  an  object,  and 
so  allows  the  disguised  man  to  come  within 
easy  reach. 

To  return  to  the  boomeransr.  The  reader 
may  readily  have  imagined  that  the  manu- 
lacture  of  so  remarkable  an  implement  is 


not  a  very  easy  one.  The  various  points 
which  constitute  the  excellence  of  a  boome- 
rang are  so  light  that  there  is  scarcely  an 
European  who  can  see  them,  especially  as 
the  shape,  size,  and  weight  of  the  weapon 
differ  so  much  according  to  the  locality 
in  which  it  was  made.  The  native,  wheii 
employed  in  making  a  boomerang,  often 
spends  many  days  over  it,  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  the  very  imperfect  tools  which  he 
possesses,  but  by  rea.son  of  the  minute  care 
which  is  required  in  the  manufacture  of  a 
good  weapon. 

Day  after  day  he  may  be  seen  with  the 
boomerang  in  his  hand,  chipping  at  it  slowly 
and  circumspectly,  and  becoming  more  and 
more  careful  as  it  approaches  completion. 
When  he  has  settled  the  curve,  and  nearly 
flattened  it  to  its  proper  thickness,  he 
scarcely  makes  three  or  four  strokes  without 
balancing  the  weapon  in  his  hand,  looking 
carefully  along  the  edges,  and  making  move- 
ments as  if  he  were  about  to  throw  it.  The 
last  few  chips  seem  to  exercise  a  wonderful 
effect  on  the  powers  of  the  weapon,  and 
about  them  the  native  is  exceedingly  fastid- 
ious. 

Yet,  with  all  this  care,  the  weapon  is  a 
very  rough  one,  and  the  marks  of  the  fiint 
axe  are  left  without  even  an  altem])t  to 
smooth  them.  In  a  well-used  boomerang 
the  projecting  edges  of  the  grooves  made  liy 
various  cuts  and  chips  become  quite  pol- 
ished by  friction,  while  the  sunken  portion 
is  left  rough.  In  one  fine  specimen  in  my 
possession  the  manufacturer  has  taken  a 
curious  advantage  of  these  grooves.  Be- 
sides marking  the  handle  end  by  covering  it 
with  cross-scorings  as  has  already  been  de- 
scribed, he  has  filled  the  grooves  with  the 
red  ochre  of  which  the  Australian  is  so  fond, 
and  for  some  eight  inches  the  remains  of 
the  red  paint  are  visible  in  almost  every 
groove. 

So  delicate  is  the  operation  of  boomerang 
making,  that  some  men,  natives  though  they 
be.  cannot  turn  out  a  really  good  weajion, 
while  others  are  ci'lebrafed  for  their  skill, 
and  can  dis))Osc  of  their  weapons  as  fast  as 
they  make  them.  One  of  the  native  •'  kings "' 
was  a  well-known  boomerang  maker,  and  bis 
weapons  were  widely  distributed  among  the 
natives,  who  knew  his  handiwork  as  an  artist 
knows  the  touch  of  a  celebrated  painter.  To 
this  skill,  and  the  comparative  wealth  which 
its  exercise  brought  him,  the  king  in  ques- 
tion owed  the  principal  part  of  his  author- 
ity. 

A  fair  idea  of  the  size  and  weight  of  the 
boomerang  may  be  gained  by  the  measure- 
ments of  the  weapon  which  has  just  been 
mentioned.  It  is  two  feet  nine  inches  long 
when  measured  with  the  curve,  and  two  feet 
si»-inches  from  tip  to  tip.  It  is  exactly  two 
inches  in  width,  only  narrowing  at  the  ti])s, 
and  its  weight  is  exactly  eleven  ounces. 
This,  by  the  way,  is  a  war  boomerang,  and  is 


(3.)    CATCHING  THE  CUiniOUANT.    (See  page  738.) 
(739) 


AUSTRALIAN  SHIELDS. 


741 


shaiied  like  that  wliich  is  shown  in  "  Boome- 
rangs "  on  page  731,  flg.  3.  Another  speci- 
men, which  is  of  about  tlie  same  weight,  is 
shaped  like  that  of  flg.  8.  It  measures  two 
feet  five  inches  along  the  curve,  two  feet 
one  inch  from  tip  to  tip,  and  is  three  inches 
in  width  in  tlio  middle,  diminishing  gradu- 
ally toward  the  tips. 

In  order  to  enable  tliem  to  ward  off  these 
various  missiles,  the  natives  are  armed  with 
a  shield,  which  varies  exceedingly  iu  shape 
and  dimensions,  and,  indeed,  in  some  places 
is  so  unlike  a  shield,  and  apparently  so  in- 
adequate to  the  office  of  protecting  the  body, 
that  when  strangers  come  to  visit  my  collec- 
tion I  often  have  much  difficulty  in  persuad- 
ing them  that  such  strange-looking  objects 
can  by  any  possibility  be  shields.  As  there 
is  so  great  a  variety  in  the  shields,  I  have 
collected  together  a  number  of  examples, 
which,  I  believe,  comprise  every  form  of 
shiekl  used  throughout  Australia.  Two  of 
them  are  from  specimens  in  my  own  collec- 
tion, several  from  that  of  Colonel  L.ane  Fox, 
others  are  drawn  from  examples  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  the  rest  wore  sketched 
by  Mr.  Angas  in  the  course  of  his  travels 
through  Australia. 

As  a  general  fact,  the  shield  is  very  solid 
and  heavy,  and  in  some  cases  looks  much 
more  like  a  club  with  which  a  man  can  be 
knocked  down,  than  a  shield  whereby  he  can 
be  saved  from  a  blow,  several  of  them  hav- 
ing sharp  edges  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
flicting injury. 

If  the  reader  will  look  at  the  row  of  shields 
on  page  742,  he  will  see  that  figs.  2  and  3  ex- 
hibit two  views  of  the  same  shield.  This  is 
one  of  the  commonest  forms  of  the  weapon, 
and  is  found  throughout  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  Western  Australia.  It  is  cut  out  of 
a  soli<l  piece  of  the  ever  useful  gum-tree,  and 
is  in  consequence  very  hard  and  very  heavy. 
As  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  illustra- 
tion, the  form  of  the  shield  is  somewhat 
triangular,  the  face  which  forms  the  front  of 
the  weapon  being  slightly  rounded,  and  the 
handle  being  formed  by  cutting  through  the 
edge  on  which  the  other  two  faces  converge. 
The  handle  is  very  small,  and  could  scarcely 
be  used  by  an  ordinary  European,  though  it 
is  amply  wide  enough  for  the  small  and  deli- 
cate looking  hand  of  the  Australian  native. 
My  own  is  a  small  hand,  but  is  yet  too  large 
to  hold  the  Australian  shield  comfortably. 

The  reader  will  see  that  by  this  mode  of 
forming  the  handle  the  wrist  has  great  play, 
and  can  turn  the  shield  from  side  to  side 
with  the  slightest  movement  of  the  hand. 
This  faculty  is  very  useful,  especially  when 
the  instrument  is  used  for  warding  off  the 
spear  or  the  club,  weapons  which  need  only 
to  be  just  turned  aside  in  order  to  guide 
them  away  from  the  body. 

One  of  these  shields  in  my  own  collection 
Is  a  very  fine  example  of  the  instrument,  and 


its  dimensions  will  serve  to  guide  the  reader 
as  to  the  usual  form,  size,  and  weight  of  an 
Australian  shield.  It  measures  exactly  two 
feet  seven  inches  in  length, and  is  five  inches 
wide  at  the  middle,  which  is  the  broadest 
part.  The  width  of  the  hole  which  receives 
the  hand  is  three  inches  and  throe-eighths, 
and  the  weight  of  the  shield  is  rather  more 
than  three  pounds. 

The  extraordinary  weight  of  the  shield  is 
needed  in  order  to  enable  it  to  resist  the 
shock  of  the  boomerang,  the  force  of  which 
may  be  estimated  by  its  weight,  eleven 
ounces,  multi|)lied  by  the  force  with  which 
it  is  hurled.  This  terrible  weapon  cannot  be 
merely  turned  aside,  like  the  spear  or  the 
waddy,  and  often  seems  to  receive  an  addi- 
tional impulse  from  striking  auy  object,  as 
the  reader  may  see  by  reference  to  page  737, 
in  which  the  mode  of  throwing  the  boome- 
rang is  described.  A  boomerang  must  be 
stopped,  and  not  merely  parried,  and  more- 
over, if  it  fie  not  stopped  properly,  it  twists 
round  the  sliield,  and  with  one  of  its  revolv- 
ing ends  inflicts  a  wound  on  the  careless 
warrior. 

Even  if  it  be  met  with  the  shield  and 
stopped,  it  is  apt  to  break,  and  the  two 
halves  to  converge  upon  the  body.  The 
very  fragments  of  the  boomerang  seem  able 
to  inflict  almost  as  much  injury  as  the  entire 
weapon;  and,  in  one  of  the  skirmishes  to 
which  the  natives  are  so  addicted,  a  man 
was  seen  to  fall  to  the  ground  with  his  body 
cut  completely  open  by  a  broken  boomerang. 

It  is  in  warding  off  the  boomerang,  there- 
fore, that  the  chief  skill  of  the  Australian  is 
shown.  When  he  sees  the  weapon  is  pursu- 
ing a  course  which  will  firing  it  to  him,  he 
steps  forward  so  as  to  meet  it;  and,  as  the 
boomerang  clashes  against  the  shield,  he 
gives  the  latter  a  rapid  turn  with  the  wrist. 
If  this  manceuvre  be  properly  executed,  the 
boomerang  breaks  to  pieces,  and  the  frag- 
ments are  struck  apart  by  the  movement  of 
the  shield. 

Perhaps  some  of  my  readers  may  remem- 
ber that  "  Dick-a-dick,"  the  very  popular 
member  of  the  Australian  cricketers  who 
came  to  England  in  18(38,  among  other  ex- 
hibitions of  his  quickne.ss  of  eye  and  hand, 
allowed  himself  to  be  pelted  with  cricket 
balls,  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  yards,  having 
nothing  whei'ewith  to  protect  himself  but 
the  shield  and  the  leowal,  or  angular  club, 
the  former  being  used  to  shield  the  body, 
and  the  latter  to  guard  the  legs.  The  force 
aud  accuracy  with  which  a  practised  crick- 
eter can  tlirow  the  ball  are  familiar  to  all 
Englishmen,  and  it  was  really  wonderful  to 
see  a  man,  with  no  clothes  but  a  skin-tight 
elastic  dress,  with  a  piece  of  wood  five  inches 
wide  in  his  left  hand,  and  a  club  in  his 
right,  quietly  stand  against  a  positive  rain 
of  cricket-balls  as  long  as  any  one  liked  to 
throw  at  him,  and  come  out  of  the  ordeal 
unscathed. 


742 


AUSTRALIA. 


Not  the  least  surprising  part  of  the  per- 
formauce  was  the  coohiess  with  whicli  he 
treated  tlie  wliole  aft'aii-,  and  the  almost  in- 
stinetive  knowledge  that  he  seemed  to  pos- 
sess respecting  the  precise  destination  of 
each  hall.  If  a  ball  went  straight  at  his 
body  or  head,  it  was  met  and  blocked  bj^  the 
shield;  if  it  were  hurled  at  his  legs,  the  club 
knocked  it  aside.  As  to  those  which  were 
sure  not  to  hit  him.  he  treated  them  with 
contemptuous  inditl'erence,  just  moving  his 
head  a  little  on  one  side  to  allow  the  ball  to 
pass,  which  absolutely  ruffled  his  hair  as  it 
shot  ljy.  or  lifting  one  arm  to  allow  a  ball  to 
pass  between  the  limb  and  his  body,  or.  it*  it 
were  aimed  but  an  inch  wide  of  him,  taking 
no  notice  of  it  whatever.  The  shield  which 
he  used  with  such  skill  was  the  same  kind 
as  that  which  has  just  been  described,  and 
was  probably  selected  because  its  weight 
enabled  it  to  Idock  the  balls  without  the 
hand  that  held  it  feeling   the  shock. 

To  all  appearances,  the  natives  expend 
much  more  labor  upon  the  shield  than  upon 
the  boomerang,  the  real  reason,  however, 
being  that  much  ornament  would  injure  the 
boomerang,  but  can  have  no  injurious  effect 


grooves,  and  each  groove  has  been  filled 
with  red  ochre.  The  space  between  is  tilled 
in  with  a  doulile  zigzag  pattern,  and  the 
elfect  of  all  these  Hues,  simjile  as  they  are, 
is  perfectly  artistic  and  consistent. 

The  pattern,  by  the  way,  is  one  that  seems 
common  to  all  savage  races  of  men,  wher- 
ever they  may  be  found,  and  is  to  be  seen 
on  weapons  made  by  the  ancient  races  now 
long  passed  away,  among  the  Kaftir  tribes  of 
South  Africa,  the  cannibal  tribes  of  Central 
AVestern  xVfrica,  the  inhabitants  of  the  vari- 
ous Polynesian  islands,  the  savages  of  the 
extreme  north  and  extreme  south  of  Amer- 
ica, and  the  natives  of  the  great  continent 
of  Australia, 

At  flg.  7  of  the  accompanying  illustration 
may  be  seen  a  shield  made  of  solid  wood,  in 
which  the  triangular  form  has  been  devel- 
oped in  a  very  curious  manner  into  a  quad- 
rangular shape.  The  h.andle  is  made  in  the 
same  manner  as  that  of  the  former  shield, 
/.  e.  by  cutting  tli  rough  two  of  the  faces  of 
the  triangle,  while  the  front  of  the  shield, 
instead  of  being  a  tolerably  round  face, 
is  flattened  out  into  a  sharp  edge.  It  is 
scarcely  possible  to  imagine  any  instrument 


SHIELDS. 


upon  the  shield.  By  reference  to  the  illus- 
tration, the  reader  will  see  that  the  face  of 
the  shield  is  covered  with  ornament,  which, 
simple  in  principle,  is  elaborate  in  detail. 

There  is  a  specimen  in  my  collection 
vchich  is  ornamented  to  a  very  great  extent 
on  its  face,  the  sides  and  the"  handle  being 
perfectly  plain.  It  has  a  number  of  lines 
drawn  transversely  in  bands,  whicli,  how- 
ever, are  seven  instead  of  five  in  number. 
Each    band  is  composed  of   tlu-ee   zigzag 


that  looks  less  like  a  shield  than  does  this 
curious  weapon,  which  seems  to  have  been 
made  for  the  express  purpose  of  presenting 
as  small  a  surface  as  possible  to  the  enemy. 

The  fact  is,  however,  that  the  Southern 
Australian  who  uses  these  shields  has  not 
to  defend  himself  against  arrows,  from 
which  a  man  can  only  "be  defended  oy  con- 
cealing his  body  behind  shelter  which  is 
proof  against  them:  he  has  only  to  guard 
against  the  spear  and  boomerang,  and  occa- 


THE  MULABAKKA   SHIELD. 


743 


sionnlly  tlie  missile  flub,  all  which  weapons 
he  cau  turn  aside  with  the  narrow  shield 
that  has  been  described. 

One  of  these  shields  in  my  collection  is 
two  feet  seven  inches  in  lenijth,  rather  more 
than  six  incites  in  width,  and  barely  three 
inches  thick  in  the  middle.  Its  weight  is 
Just  two  pounds.  Such  a  weapon  seems 
much  more  like  a  club  than  a  shield,  and, 
indeed,  if  held  by  one  end,  its  sharp  edge 
might  he  used  with  great  ett'eet  upon  the 
head  of  an  enemy.  Like  most  Australian 
shields,  it  is  covered  with  a  pattern  of  the 
same  character  as  that  which  has  already 
been  mentioned,  and  it  has  been  so  thor- 
oughly painted  with  ochre  that  it  is  of  a 
reddish  mahogany  color,  and  the  real  hue 
of  the  wood  can  only  he  seen  by  scraping 
off  some  of  the  stained  surface.  The  name 
for  this  kind  of  shield  is  tamarang,  and  it  is 
much  used  in  dances,  in  which  it  is  struck 
at  rcgidar  intervals  with  the  waddy. 

In  the  British  Museum  is  a  shield  which 
is  much  more  solid  than  either  of  those 
which  have  been  described.  The  manufac- 
turer evidently  found  the  labor  of  chipping 
the  wood  too  much  for  him,  and  accordingly 
made  much  use  of  lire,  forming  his  shield 
by  alternate  charring  and  scraping.  The 
handle  is  rather  curiously  made  by  cutting 
two  deep  holes  side  by  side  in  the  back  of 
'  the  shield,  the  piece  of  wood  between  them 
being  rounded  into  a  handle.   As  is  the  case 


with  most  of  the  shields,  tlie  handle  is  a 
very  small  one.  The  face  of  the  shield  is 
much  wider  than  either  of  those  which 
have  been  noticed,  and  is  very  slightly 
rounded.  It  is  ornamented  with  carved 
grooves,  but  rough  usage  has  obliterated 
most  of  them,  and  the  whole  implement 
is  as  rough  and  unsightly  an  article  as  can 
well  be  imagined,  in  spite  of  the  labor 
which   has  been   bestowed  upon   it. 

We  now  come  to  another  class  of  shield, 
made  of  bark,  and  going  by  the  title  of  Mul- 
aliakka.  Shields  in  general  are  called  by  the 
name  of  Hielemau.  Some  of  these  bark 
shields  are  of  considerable  size,  and  are  so 
wide  in  the  middle  that,  when  the  owner 
crouches  behind  them,  they  protect  the 
greater  part  of  his  body.  As  the  compara- 
tively thin  material  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed prevents  the  handle  from  Ijeing  made 
by  cutting  into  the  shield  itself,  the  native  is 
obliged  to  make  the  handle  separately,  and 
fasten  it  to  the  shield  by  various  methods. 

The  commonest  mode  of  fixing  the  handle 
to  a  Mulal)akka  shield  is  seen  at  tigs.  4  .and 
5,  on  page  742,  which  exhibit  the  frcmt  and 
profile  views  of  the  same  shield.  Another 
Mulabakka  is  shown  at  fig.  0.  The  faces  of 
all  the  Mulabakka  shields  are  covered  with 
ornamented  patterns,  mostly  on  the  usual 
zigzag  principle,  but  some  liaving  a  pattern 
in  which  curves  form  the  chief  ekment. 


CHAPTER  LXXm. 


AVSTBALIA— Continued. 


REAL  ■n-AR  TJJTKNOWIf  TO  THE  AUSTRALIANS  —  FEUDS  AND  THE  CAUSES  OP  THE3I — A  SAVAGE  TOURNA- 
MENT—  VENGEANCE  FOR  DEATH  —  THE  TROPHY  OF  VICTORY  —  AUSTRALIAN  VENDETTA  —  FIRE- 
SIGNALS —  DEATH  OF  TARMEENIA  —  ORDEAL  OF  BATTLE  —  CANNIBALISM  AS  AN  ADJUNCT  OF  WAR 
—  DANCES  OF  THE  ABORIGINES  —  THE  KCKI  DANCE  AND  ITS  STRANGE  ACCOMPANIMENTS  —  THE 
PALTI  DANCE — THE  COXCLUDING  FIGURE  —  DANCE  OF  THE  PARNKALLA  TRIBE  —  ORDINARY  COR- 
ROBBOREES — THE  ICANGAROO  DANCE  —  TASMANIAN  DANCE. 


The  mention  of  these  various  weapons  nat- 
urally' leads  us  to  warfare ;  and  that  they  are 
intended  for  that  purpose  the  existence  of 
the  shields  is  a  proof.  Olfeusive  weapons, 
such  as  the  spear  and  the  club,  may  be 
used  merely  for  killinj^  game;  but  the  shield 
can  only  be  employed  to  defend  the  body 
from  the  weapons  ot  an  enemy 

War,  however,  as  we  understand  the  word, 
is  unknown  among  the  Australians  They 
have  not  the  intellect  nor  the  organization 
for  it,  and  so  we  have  the  curious  fact  of 
skilled  warriors  who  never  saw  a  battle.  No 
single  tribe  is  large  enough  to  take  one  side 
in  a  real  battle;  and,  even  supposing  it  to 
possess  sufficient  numbers,  tliere  is  no  spirit 
of  discipline  by  means  of  which  a  force  could 
be  gathered,  kept  together,  or  directed,  even 
if  it  were  assembled" 

Yet,  though  real  war  is  unknown,  the 
Australian  natives  are  continually  fighting, 
and  almost  every  tribe  is  at  feucl  with  its 
neighbor.  The  cause  of  quarrel  with  them 
is  almost  invarialily  the  possession  of  some 
territory.  By  a  sort  of  tacit  arrangement, 
the  various  tribes  have  settled  themselves 
in  certain  districts;  and,  although  they  are 
great  wanderers,  yet  they  consider  them- 
selves the  rightfulowners  of  their  own  dis- 
trict. 

It  mostly  happens,  however,  that  members 
of  one  trilje  trespass  on  the  district  of  another, 
especially  if  it  be  one  in  which  game  of  any 
kind  is  plentiful.     And  sometimes,  when  a 


tribe  has  gone  off  on  a  travelling  expedition, 
another  tribe  will  settle  themselves  in  the 
vacated  district;  so  that,  when  the  rightful 
owners  of  the  soil  return,  there  is  sure  to 
be  a  quarrel.  The  matter  is  usually  settled 
by  a  skirmish,  which  bears  some  resemblance 
to  the  vieh'e  of  ancient  chivalry,  and  is  con- 
ducted according  to  well-understood  regula- 
tions. 

The  aggrieved  tribe  sends  a  challenge  to 
the  ofl'enders,  the  challenger  in  question 
bearing  a  bunch  of  emu's  feathers  tied  on 
the  toji  of  a  spear.  At  daybreak  next  morn- 
ing the  warriors  arraj'  themselves  for  battle, 
painting  their  bodies  in  various  colors,  so  as 
to  make  themselves  look  as  nuu-h  like  de- 
mons, and  as  much  unlike  men.  as  possible, 
laying  aside  all  clothing,  and  arranging  their 
various  weapons  for  the  fight. 

Having  placed  themselves  in  liattle  array, 
at  some  little  distance  from  each  other,  the 
opposite  sides  begin  to  revile  each  other  in 
quite  a  Homeric  manner,  taunting  their  an- 
tagonists with  cowardice  and  want  of  skill 
in  their  weapons,  and  boasting  of  the  great 
deeds  which  they  are  about  fo  do.  AVhen, 
by  means  of  interposing  these  taunts  with 
shouts  and  yells,  dancing  from  one  foot  to 
the  other,  quivering  and  poising  their  spears, 
and  other  mechanical  modes  of  exciting 
themselves,  they  have  worked  themselves 
up  to  the  requisite  pitch  of  fury,  they  begin 
to  throw  tbe  spears,  and  the  combat  becomes 
general.     Confused  as  it  appears,  it  is,  how- 


(744) 


FEUDS  AKD  THEIR  CAUSES. 


743 


ever,  arranged  with  a  sort  of  order.  Each 
warrior  selects  his  antagonist;  so  that  the 
figlit  is,  in  tact,  a  series  of  duels  rather  than 
a  battle,  and  the  whole  business  bears  a  curi- 
ous resemblance  to  the  mode  of  fighting  in 
the  ancient  days  of  Tro,y. 

Generally  tlie  combatants  stand  in  rather 
scattered  lines,  or,  as  we  should  say,  in 
wide  skirmishing  order.  The  gestures  with 
which  they  try  "to  irritate  their  opponents 
are  very  curious,  and  often  grotesque;  the 
chief  object  being  apparently  to  induce  the 
antagonist  to  throw  the  first  spear.  Some- 
times thev  stand  with  their  feet  very  widely 
apart,  and  their  knees  straight,  after  the 
manner  which  will  be  seen  in  the  illustra- 
tions of  the  native  dances.  While  so  stand- 
ing, they  communicate  a  peculiar  quivering 
movement  to  the  legs,  and  pretend  to  oti'er 
themselves  as  fair  marks.  Sometimes  they 
turn  their  backs  on  their  adversary,  and 
challenge  him  to  throw  at  them;  or  they 
drop  on  a  hand  and  knee  for  the  same  pur- 
pose. 

Mr.  M'Gillivray  remarked  that  two  spear- 
men never  threw  at  the  same  combatant; 
but,  even  with  this  advantage,  the  skill  of 
the  warrior  is  amply  tested,  and  it  is  surpris 
ing  to  see  how,  by  the  mere  inflection  of 
the  body,  or  the  lifting  a  leg  or  arm,  they 
avoid  a  spear  which  otherwise  must  have 
wounded  them.  AVhile  the  tight  is  going 
on,  the  women  and  children  remain  in  the 
bush,  watching  the  combat,  and  uttering  a 
sort  of  wailing  chant,  rising  and  falling  in 
regular  cadence. 

Sometimes  the  fight  is  a  vei'y  bloody  one, 
though  the  general  rule  is,  that  when  one 
man  is  killed  the  liattle  ceases,  the  tribe  to 
which  the  dead  man  belonged  being  consid- 
ered as  having  been  worsted.  It  might  be 
thought  that  a  battle  conducted  on  such 
principles  would  be  of  very  short  duration; 
but  the  Australian  warriors  are  so  skilful  in 
warding  off  the  weapons  of  their  antago- 
nists that  they  often  fight  for  a  considerable 
time  before  a  man  is  killed.  It  must  be 
remembered,  too,  that  the  Australian  natives 
can  endure,  without  seeming  to  be  much  the 
worse  for  them,  wounds  which  would  kill  an 
European  at  once.  In  such  a  skirmish, 
however,  much  blood  is  spilt,  even  though 
only  one  man  be  actually  killed,  for  the 
barbed  spears  and  sharp-edged  boomerangs 
inflict  terrible  wounds,  and  often  cripple  the 
Wounded  man  for  life. 

Other  causes  beside  the  quarrel  for  terri- 
tory may  originate  a  feu<l  between  two 
tribes.  One  of  these  cases  is  a  very  curious 
one.  A  woman  had  been  bitten  liy  a  snake ; 
but,  as  no  blood  flowed  from  the  wound,  it 
was  thought  that  the  snake  was  not  a  veno- 
mous one,  and  that  there  was  no  danger. 
However,  the  woman  died  in  a  few  hours, 
and  her  death  was  the  signal  for  a  desperate 
war  between  two  tribes.  There  seems  to 
be  but  little  connection  between  the  two 


events,  but  according  to  Australian  ideas 
the  feud  was  a  justifiable  one. 

The  natives  of  the  part  of  Australia 
where  this  event  occurred  have  a  curious 
idea  concerning  death.  Should  any  one  die 
without  apparent  cause,  they  think  that 
the  death  is  caused  by  a  great  bird  called 
marralya,  which  comes  secretly  to  the  sick 
person,  seizes  him  round  the  waist  in  his 
claws,  and  squeezes  him  to  death.  Now  the 
marralya  is  not  a  real  bird,  but  a  magical 
one,  being  always  a  man  belonging  to  a 
hostile  tribe,  wlio  assumes  the  sliajie  of  the 
bird,  and  so  finds  an  opportunity  of  doing 
an  injury  to  the  tribe  with  which  he  is  at 
feud.  Having  made  up  his  mind  that  the 
snake  which  bit  the  woman  was  not  a  veno- 
mous one,  her  husband  could  not  of  course 
be  expected  to  change  his  opinion,  and  so  it 
was  agreed  upon  that  one  of  a  neighboring 
tribe  with  wliom  they  were  at  feud  must 
have  become  a  marralya,  and  killed  the 
woman.  The  usual  challenge  was  the  con- 
sequence, and  from  it  came  a  series  of 
bloody  fights. 

Like  most  savage  nations,  the  Australians 
mutilate  their  fallen  enemies.  Instead, 
however,  of  cutting  off  tlie  scalp,  or  other 
trophy,  they  open  the  body,  tear  out  the  fat 
about  the  kidneys,  and  rub  it  over  their  own 
bodies.  So  general  -is  this  custom,  that  to 
"  take  fat  "  is  a  common  paraphrase  for  kill- 
ing an  enemy;  and  when  two  antagonists 
are  opposed  to  each  other,  each  is  sure  to 
boast  that  his  antagonist  shall  furnish  fat 
for  him.  As  far  as  can  be  learned,  they 
have  an  idea  that  this  practice  endues  the 
victor  with  the  courage  of  the  slain  man  in 
addition  to  his  own;  and,  as  a  reputation  for 
being  a  warrior  of  prowess  is  the  only  dis- 
tinction that  a  native  Australian  can  achieve, 
it  may  be  imagined  that  he  is  exceedingly 
anxious  to  secure  such  an  aid  to  ambition. 

Not  from  deliberate  cruelty,  but  from  the 
utter  thoughtlessness  and  disregard  of  in- 
flicting pain  which  characterizes  all  savages, 
the  victorious  warrior  does  not  trouble  him- 
self to  wait  for  the  death  of  his  enemy  before 
taking  his  strange  war  trophy.  Should  the 
man  be  entirely  disabled  it  is  enough  for 
the  Australian,  who  turns  him  on  his  back, 
ojiens  his  liody  with  the  quartz  knife  which 
has  already  been  descrilied,  tears  out  the 
coveted  prize,  and  ridis  himself  with  it  until 
his  whole  body  and  limbs  shine  as  if  they 
were  burnished  Oftentimes  it  has  happened 
that  a  ^vounded  man  has  been  thus  treated, 
and  has  lieen  doomed  to  see  his  conqueror 
adorn  himself  before  his  eyes.  Putting 
aside  any  previous  injury,  such  a  wound  as 
this  is  necessarily  mortal;  but  a  man  has 
been  known  to  live  for  more  than  three 
days  after  receiving  the  injury,  so  wonder- 
fully strong  is  the  Australian  constitution. 

Sometimes  these  feuds  spread  very  widely, 
and  last  for  a  verj'  long  time.  Before  the 
declaration    of    war,    the    opposing    tribca 


746 


AUSTRALIA. 


refrain  from  attacking  each  other,  but,  after 
that  declaration  is  once  made,  the  greatest 
secrecy  is  often  observed,  and  tlie  warrior  is 
vahied  the  highest  who  contrives  to  l^ill  liis 
euemj'  without  exposing  liimself  to  danger. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  sort  of  wild  cliivalr}- 
about  tlie  Australians,  mingled  with  much 
that  is  savage  and  revolting.  A  rcmarkalile 
instance  of  these  traits  is  recorded  by  Mr. 
M'Gillivray. 

An  old  man  had  gone  on  a  short  expedi- 
tion in  his  canoe,  while  the  men  of  his  tribe 
were  engaged  in  catching  turtle.  He  ^^•as 
watched  by  a  party  Ijelonging  to  a  hostile 
tribe,  who  followed  and  speared  him.  Leav- 
ing their  spears  in  the  body  to  indicate  their 
identity,  they  returned  to  shore,  and  made  a 
great  fire  by  way  of  a  challenge.  Seeing 
the  signal,  and  knowing  that  a  column  of 
thick  smoke  is  almost  always  meant  as  a 
challenge,  the  men  left  their  turtling,  and, 
on  finding  that  the  old  man  was  missing, 
instituted  a  search  after  him.  As  soon  as 
tliey  discovered  the  body  they  liglited 
another  fire  to  signify  tlieir  acceptance  of 
tlie  challenge,  and  a  part}-  of  them  started 
off  the  same  evening  in  order  to  inflict 
reprisals  on  the  enemy. 

Tliey  soon  came  ujjon  some  natives  who 
belonged  to  the  inimical  tribe,  but  who  liad 
not  l)een  concerned  in  the  mui'dor,  and 
mauaged  to  kill  the  whole  party,  consisting 
of  four  men,  a  woman,  and  a  girl.  They  cut 
off  the  lieads  of  their  victims,  and  returned 
witli  great  exultation,  shouting  and  blowing 
conch-shells  to  announce  their  victory. 

The  lieads  were  then  cooked  in  an  oven, 
and  tlie  eyes  scooped  out  and  eaten,  together 
with  portions  of  the  cheeks.  Only  those 
wdio  had  lieen  of  the  war-party  were  allowed 
to  partake  of  tliis  liorrible  feast.  When  it 
was  over  tlie  victors  began  a  dance,  in 
which  they  worked  themselves  into  a  per- 
fect frenzy,  kicking  the  skulls  over  the 
ground,  and  indulging  in  all  kinds  of  hide- 
ous antics.  Afterward  the  skulls  were  hung 
up  on  two  cross  sticks  near  the  camp,  and 
allowed  to  remain  there  undisturbed. 

Fire,  by  the  way,  is  very  largely  used  in 
making  signals,  wliich  are  understood  all 
over  the  continent.  A  large  fire,  sending 
up  a  great  column  of  smoke,  is,  as  has 
already  been  mentioned,  almost  invariablj^ 
a  sign"  of  defiance,  and  it  is  sometimes  kin- 
dled daily  until  it  is  answered  by  another. 
If  a  man  wishes  to  denote  that  he  is  in  want 
of  assistance,  he  lights  a  small  fire,  and,  as 
soon  as  it  sends  up  its  little  column  of 
smoke,  he  extinguislies  it  suddenly  by 
throwing  earth  on  it.  This  is  repeated  until 
the  required  assistance  arrives. 

Some  years  ago,  when  the  character  and 
habits  of  the  natives  were  not  known  so 
well  as  they  are  now,  many  of  the  settlers 
were  murdered  by  the  natives,  simply 
through  their  system  of  fire-signalling. 
One  or  two  natives,  generally  old  men  or 


women,  as  causing  least  susjiicion,  and 
being  entirely  unarmed,  would  ajiiiroach 
the  farm  or  camp,  and  hang  about  it  for 
some  days,  asking  for  food,  and  cooking  it 
at  their  own  little  fires. 

The  white  men  had  no  idea  that  ever}' 
fire  that  was  lighted  was  a  signal  tliat  was 
perfectly  well  understood  by  a  force  of 
armed  men  that  was  hovering  about  them 
under  cover  of  the  woods,  nor  that  the  little 
liutfs  of  smoke  which  occasionally  arose  in 
the  distance  were  answers  to  the  signals 
made  by  their  treacherous  guests.  A\'hen 
the  spies  thought  that  their  hosts  were 
lulled  into  security,  they  made  the  battle- 
signal,  and  lirought  do\vn  the  whole  force 
upon  the  unsuspecting  whites. 

The  Australians  are  wonderfully  clever 
actors.  How  well  they  can  act  honesty  and 
practise  theft  has  already  been  mentioned. 
They  have  also  a  way  of  appearing  to  be 
unarmed,  and  yet  having  weapons  ready  to 
hand.  They  will  come  out  of  the  bush,  with 
green  boughs  in  their  hands  as  signs  of  peace, 
advance  for  some  distance,  and  ostenta- 
tiously throw  down  their  spears  and  other 
wea])ons.  They  then  advance  again,  ajipa- 
rently  unarmed,  but  each  man  trailing  a 
spear  along  the  ground  Viy  means  of  his  toes. 
As  soon  as  they  are  within  spear  range, 
they  pick  up  their  weapons  with  their 
toes,  which  arc  nearly  as  flexible  and  useful 
as  fingers,  hurl  them,  and  then  retreat  to 
the  spot  where  they  had  grounded  their 
weapons. 

The  Australians  have  a  tenacious  memory 
for  injuries,  and  never  lose  a  chance  of 
reprisal.  In  1849,  some  men  belonging  to 
the  Badulega  tribe  had  been  spending  two 
months  on  "a  friendly  visit  to  the  natives  of 
Miiralug.  One  of  their  hosts  had  married 
an  Itiilega  woman,  and  two  of  the  brothers 
were  staying  with  her.  The  Badulegas 
happened  to  remember  that  several  years 
before  one  of  their  own  tribe  had  been 
insulted  by  an  It;ilega.  So  they  killed  the 
woman,  aiid  tried  to  kill  her  brothers  also, 
Init  only  succeeded  in  murdering  one  of 
them.  They  started  at  once  for  their  home, 
taking  the  heads  as  proof  of  their  victory, 
and  thought  that  they  had  done  a  great  and 
praiseworthy  action. 

A  similaraftair  took  place  among  some  of 
the  tribes  of  Port  Essington.  A  Monobar 
native  had  been  captured  when  thieving, 
and  was  imprisoned.  He  attempted  to 
escape,  and  in  so  doing  was  shot  by  the  sen- 
tinel on  duty.  By  rights  his  family  ought  to 
have  executed  reprisals  on  a  white  man;  but 
they  did  not  venture  on  such  a  step,  and 
accordingly  picked  out  a  native  who  was  on 
good  terms  with  the  white  man,  and  killed 
him.  The  friends  of  the  murdered  man 
immediately  answered  by  killing  a  Mon- 
obar, and  so  the  feud  went  on.  In  each 
case  the  victim  was  murdered  while  sleep- 
ing, a  number  of  natives  quietly  surrounding 


THE  AUSTRALIAN  VEI^DETTA. 


747 


him,  and,  after  spearing  him,  beating  him 
witli  their  waddies  into  a  shapeless  mass. 

Should  the  cause  of  the  feud  be  the  unex- 
plained death  of  a  man  or  woman,  the  duty 
of  vengeance  belongs  to  the  most  formidable 
male  warrior  of  the  family.  On  such  occa- 
sions he  will  solemnly  accept  the  office, 
adorn  himself  with  the  red  war-paint,  select 
his  best  weapons,  and  jiromise  pul)licly  not 
to  return  until  he  has  killed  a  male  of  the 
inimical  trilie.  IIow  pertinaciously  the  Au- 
stralian will  adhere  to  his  bloody  purjiose 
mav  be  seen  from  an  anecdote  related  by  Mr. 
Ll.ivd. 

He  was  startled  one  night  by  the  furi- 
ous barking  of  his  dogs.  On  taking  a  lan- 
tern he  found  lying  on  the  ground  an  old 
black  named  Tarmeenia,  covered  with 
wounds  indicted  by  spears,  and  boomerangs, 
and  waddies.  He  told  his  story  in  the 
strange  broken  English  used  by  the  natives. 
The  gist  of  the  story  was,  that  he  ami  his 
son  were  living  in  a  hut.  and  the  son  had 
gone  out  to  snare  a  bird  for  bis  father,  who 
was  ill.  Presently  a  "  bungilcarney  coolie," 
i.  e.  an  enemy  from  anolber  tribe,  entered 
the  hut  and  demanded,  "  Why  did  your  son 
kill  my  wife?  I  shall  kill  his  fixther." 
Whereupon  he  drove  his  spear  into  the  old 
man's  side,  and  was  beating  him  to  death, 
when  he  was  disturbed  by  the  return  of  his 
son.  The  young  man,  a  singularly  power- 
ful native,  knowing  that  his  father  would  be 
certainly  murdered  outright  if  he  remained 
in  the  hut,  actually  carried  him  more  than 
four  miles  to  Mr.'  Lloyd's  house,  put  him 
down  in  the  yard,  and  left  him. 

A  hut  was  at  once  erected  close  to  the 
house,  and  Tarmeenia  was  installed  and 
attended  to.  He  was  very  grateful,  but  ivas 
uneasy  in  his  mind,  begging  that  the  con- 
stal.ile"  might  visit  his  hut  in  his  nightly 
rounds,  "  'cos  same  bungilcarney  coolie  cum 
agin,  and  dis  time  too  much  kill  'im 
Tarmeenia."  The  alarm  of  the  old  man 
seemed  rather  absurd,  considering  the  posi- 
tion of  the  hut,  but  it  was  fully  justified. 
About  three  weeks  after  Tai'meenia  had  been 
placed  in  the  hut,  Mr.  Lloyd  was  aroused  at 
daylireak  Ijy  a  servant,  who  said  that  the  old 
black  fellow  had  been  burned  to  death. 
Dead  he  certainly  was,  and  on  examining 
the  body  two  fresh  wounds  were  seen,  one  by 
a  spear  just  over  the  heart,  and  the  other 
a  deep  cut  in  the  loins,  through  which  the 
"bungilcarney"  had  torn  the  trophy  of  war. 

Occasionally  a  man  who  has  offended 
against  some  native  law  has  to  engage  in 
a  kind  of  a  mimic  warfare,  but  without  the 
advantage  of  having  weapons.  Mr.  Lloyd 
mentions  a  curious  example  of  such  an 
ordeal. 

"The  only  instance  I  ever  witnessed  of 
corporeal  punishment  being  inflicted — -evi- 
dently, too,  by  some  legal  process  —  was 
upon  the  person  of  a  fine  sleek  young  black, 
who,  having  finished  his  morning's  repast, 
37 


rose  in  a  dignified  manner,  and,  casting  his 
rug  from  his  shoulders,  strode  with  Mohi- 
can stoicism  to  the  appointed  si)Ot,  divested 
of  his  shield,  waddy,  or  other  means  of  de- 
fence. Nor,  when  ouce  placed,  did  he  utter 
one  word,  or  move  a  muscle  of  his  graceful 
and  well-moulded  person,  but  with  folded 
arms  and  deliant  attitude  awaited  the  fatal 
ordeal. 

"  A  few  minutes  only  elapsed  when  t«'o 
equallj'  agile  savages,  each  armed  with  two 
spears  and  a  boomerang,  marched  wilh 
stately  gait  to  within  sixty  yards  of  the  cul- 
prit. One  weapon  after  another  was  hurled 
at  the  victim  savage,  with  ajiparently  fatal 
precision,  but  his  quick  eye  and  wonderful 
activity  set  them  all  at  defiance,  with  the 
exception  of  the  very  last  cast  of  a  boome- 
rang, which,  taking  an  unusual  course,  sev- 
ered a  piece  of  flesh  from  the  shoulder- 
blade,  equal  in  size  to  a  crown-piece,  as  if 
sliced  with  a  razor,  and  thus  finished  the 
affair." 

The  lex  taUonis  forms  part  of  the  Austra- 
lian traditional  law,  and  is  sometimes  exer- 
cised after  a  rather  ludicrous  fashion.  A 
young  man  had  committed  some  light  of- 
fence, and  was  severely  beaten  by  two 
natives,  who  broke  his  arm  with  a  club,  and 
laid  his  head  open  with  a  fishing  spear. 
Considerable  confusion  took  place. and  at  last 
the  elders  decided  that  the  punishment  was 
much  in  excess  of  the  offence,  anil  that,  when 
the  W'Ounded  man  recovered,  the  two  assail- 
ants were  to  offer  their  heads  to  him,  so  that 
he  might  strike  them  a  certain  number  of 
blows  with  his  wadd}'. 

In  the  ilescription  of  the  intertribal  feuds, 
it  has  been  mentioned  that  the  men  who 
assisted  in  killing  the  victims  of  reprisal  par- 
took of  the  eyes  and  cheeks  of  the  murdered 
person.  This  leads  us  to  examine  the  ques- 
tion of  cannibalism,  inasmuch  as  some  trav- 
ellers have  asserted  that  the  Australians  are 
cannibals  and  others  denying  such  a  pro- 
pensity as  strongly. 

That  the  ficsh  of  human  beings  is  eaten 
by  the  Australians  is  an  undeniable  fact; 
but  it  must  be  remarked  that  such  an  act  is 
often  intended  as  a  ceremonial,  and  not 
merely  as  a  means  of  allaying  hunger  or 
gratifying  the  palate.  It  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  some  tribes  who  live  along  vhe 
Murray  River  have  been  known  to  kill  and 
eat  children,  mixing  their  flesh  with  that  of 
the  dog.  This,  however,  only  occurs  in  sea- 
sons of  great  scarcity ;  and  that  the  event  was 
exceptional  and  not  customary,  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  a  man  was  pointed  out  as 
having  killed  his  children  for  food.  Now  it 
is  i)lain,  that,  if  cannibalism  was  the  custom, 
such  a  man  would  not  be  sufiicientlv  con- 
spicuous to  be  specially  mentioned.  'These 
tribes  h.ave  a  horrible  custom  of  killing  little 
lioys  for  the  sake  of  their  fat,  with  which 
tliey  bait  fish-hooks. 

Another  example  of  cannibalism  is  de- 


748 


AUSTEALIA. 


scribed  by  Mr.  Angas  as  occurring  in  New 
South  Wales.  A  lad  hail  died,  and  his  body 
was  taken  by  se\'eral  young  men,  who  pro- 
ceeded to  the  following  remarkable  cere- 
monies. They  began  by  removing  the  skin, 
together  with  the  head,  rolling  it  round  a 
stake,  and  drying  it  over  the  fire.  While 
this  was  being  done,  the  parents,  who  had 
been  uttering  loud  lamentations,  took  the 
fiesh  from  the  legs,  cooked,  and  ate  it.  The 
remainder  of  the  body  was  distributed  among 
the  friends  of  the  deceased,  who  cari'ied  away 
their  portions  on  the  points  of  their  .spears; 
and  the  skin  and  bones  were  kept  by  the 
parents,  and  always  carried  about  in  their 
wallets. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  mention  of 
the  weapons  and  mode  of  fighting  should 
lead  lis  naturally  to  the  dances  of  the  Au- 
stralians. Such,  however,  is  the  case;  for  in 
most  of  their  dances  weapons  of  some  sort 
are  introduced.  The  first  which  will  be  men- 
tioned is  the  Kiiri  dance,  which  was  de- 
scribed to  Mr.  Angas  by  a  friend  who  had 
frequently  seen  it,  and  is  illustrated  on  tlie 
next  page.  This  dance  is  performed  by  the 
natives  of  the  Adelaide  district.  It  seems 
to  have  one  point  in  common  with  the 
cotillon  of  Europe,  namely,  that  it  can  be 
varied,  shortened,  or  lengthened,  according 
to  the  caprice  of  the  players;  so  that  if  a  spec- 
tator see  the  Kuri  dance  performed  six  or 
seven  times,  ho  will  never  see  the  move- 
ments repeated  in  the  same  order.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  describes  a  single  Kuri  dance, 
and  from  it  the  reader  may  form  his  impres- 
sions of  its  general  character  :  — 

"  But  first  the  dramatis  personm  must  be 
introduced,  and  particularly  described.  The 
jK'rformers  were  divided  into  five  distinct 
classes,  the  greater  body  comprising  about 
twenty-five  young  men,  including  five  or  six 
boys,  painted  and  decorated  as  follows:  in 
nudity,  except  the  yoodna,  which  is  made 
expressly  for  the  occasion,  with  bunches  of 
giun-leaves  tied  round  the  legs  just  above 
the  knee,  which,  as  they  stamped  about, 
made  a  loud  switching  noise.  In  their 
liands  they  held  a  knita  or  wirri,  and  some 
a  few  gum-leaves.  The  former  were  held  at 
arm's  length,  and  struck  alternately  with 
their  legs  as  they  stamped.  They  were 
jiainted,  from  each  shoulder  down  to  the 
bills,  with  five  or  six  white  stripes,  rising 
from  the  lireast;  their  faces  also,  with  white 
perpendicular  lines,  making  the  most  hide- 
ous appearance.     These  were  the  dancers. 

"  Next  came  two  groups  of  women,  about 
five  or  six  in  number,  standing  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  dancers,  merely  taking  the 
part  of  supernumeraries;  they  were  not 
painted,  but  had  leaves  in  their  hands, 
which  they  shook,  and  kept  beating  time 
with  their  feet  during  the  whole  perform- 
ance, but  never  moved  from  the  spot  where 
they  stood. 


"Next  followed  two  remarkable  charac- 
ters, painted  and  decorated  like  the  dancers, 
but  with  the  addition  of  the  palycrtatta  — 
a  singular  ornament  made  of  two  pieces  of 
stick  put  crosswise,  and  bound  together  by 
the  »M()(f/)i«,  in  a  sjireading  manner,  having 
at  the  extremities  feathers  opened,  so  as  to 
set  it  oft"  to  the  best  advantage.  One  had 
the  palyertatia  stick  sideways  upon  his 
head,  while  the  other,  in  the  "most  wizard- 
like manner,  kept  waving  it  to  and  fro  lie- 
fore  him,  coi-responding  with  the  action  of 
his  head  and  legs. 

"  Then  followed  a  performer  distinguished 
liy  a  long  spear,  from  the  top  of  whicli  a 
bunch  of  feathers  hung  suspended,  and  all 
down  the  spear  the  nuingna  was  wound;  he 
held  the  knonteroo  (sjiear  and  feathers)  with 
both  hands  behind  his  back,  but  occasion- 
ally altered  the  position,  and  waved  it  to 
the  right  and  left  over  the  dancers.  And 
last  came  the  singers — two  elderly  nu'U  in 
their  usual  habiliments;  their  musical  in- 
struments were  the  kaita  and  icii-ri,  on 
which  they  managed  to  beat  a  double  note; 
their  song  was  one  unvaried,  gabbling  tone. 

"The  night  was  mild;  the  new  moon 
shone  with  a  faint  light,  casting  a  dejith 
of  shade  over  the  earth,  which  gave  a  som- 
tire  appearance  to  the  surrounding  scene 
that  highly  conduced  to  enhance  the  eft"ect 
of  the  approaching  play.  In  the  distance, 
a  black  mass  could  be  discerned  under  the 
gum-trees,  whence  occasionally  a  shout  and 
a  bur.st  of  flame  arose.  These  were  the 
performers  dressing  for  the  dance,  and  na 
one  approached  them  while  thus  occupied. 

"  Two  men,  closely  wrapped  in  their  ojios- 
sum-skins,  noiselessly  aiiproached  one  of 
the  ^^il•lies,  where  the. Kuri  was  to  be  per- 
formed, and  commenced  clearing  a  space 
for  the  singei's;  this  done,  they  went  back 
to  the  singers,  but  soon  after  returned, 
sat  down,  and  began  a  peculiar  harsh  and 
monotonous  tune,  keeping  time  with  a  katta 
and  a  ivirri  by  rattling  them  together. 
All  the  natives  of  the  ditlerent  u-urlies 
flocked  round  the  singers,  and  sat  down 
in  the  form  of  a  horse-shoe,  two  or  three 
rows  deep. 

"  By  this  time  the  dancers  had  moved  in 
a  compact  body  to  within  a  .short  distance  of 
the  spectators;  after  standing  for  a  few 
minutes  in  perfect  silence,  they  answered 
the  singers  by  a  singular  deep  shout  simiil- 
taneoiLsly:  twice  this  was  done,  and  then 
the  man' with  the  koontcroo  stepped  out,  his 
body  leaning  forward,  and  commenced  with 
a  regular  stamp;  the  two  men  with  the jxth/cr- 
tattnx  followed,  stamping  with  great  regul.ar- 
ity,  the  rest  joinina:  in:  the  regular  and  alter- 
nate stamp,  the  waving  of  the  palyertatia  tn 
and  fro,  with  the  loud  switching  noise  of 
the  gum  leaves,  formed  a  scene  highly  char- 
acteristic of  the  Australian  natives.  In  this 
style  they  approached  the  singers,  the  spec- 
tators every  now  and  then  shouting  forth 


(2.)   PALTI   DANCE,  OK  COKROBOHEE.    (Sec  page  75.>.) 
(749) 


DIFFERENT  DANCES. 


751 


their  applause.  For  some  time  they  kept 
stainpin.u;in  a  body  before  the  singers,  which 
had  an  admirable  eftect,  and  did  great  credit 
to  tlieir  dancing  attainments;  then  one  by 
one  they  turned  round,  and  danced  tlieir 
way  back  to  the  place  they  first  started 
from,  and  sat  down.  The  palyertatUt  and 
koonteroo  men  were  the  last  who  left,  and 
as  these  three  singular  beings  stamped  their 
way  to  the  other  dancers  they  made  a  very 
odd  appearance. 

"The  singing  continued  for  a  short  time, 
and  then  pipes  were  lighted;  shouts  of  ap- 
plause ensued,  and  boisterous  conversation 
followed.  After  resting  about  ten  minutes, 
the  singers  commenced  again;  and  soon  after 
the  dancers  huddled  together,  and  responded 
to  the  call  liy  the  peculiar  shout  already  men- 
tioned, and  then  performed  the  same  feat 
over  again  —  with  this  variation,  that  the 
palyertiitta  men  brought  up  the  rear,  instead 
of  leading  the  way.  Four  separate  times 
these  ]iarts  of  the  play  were  jierformed  with 
the  usual  effect;  then  followed  the  conclud- 
ing one,  as  follows:  after  tramping  up  to  the 
singers,  the  man  witli  the  koonteroo  com- 
menced a  part  which  called  forth  unbounded 
applause;  with  his  head  and  body  inclined 
on  one  side,  his  spear  and  feathers  behind 
his  back,  standing  on  the  left  leg,  he  beat 
time  with  the  riglit  foot,  twitching  his  body 
and  eye,  and  stam))ing  with  the  greatest 
precision;  he  remained  a  few  minutes  in 
this  position,  and  then  suddenly  turned 
round,  stood  on  his  right  leg,  and  did  the 
same  once  with  his  left  foot. 

"  In  the  mean  while  the  two  men  with  the 
mystic /)r(i//er?f/»rt  kept  waving  their  instru- 
ments to  and  fro,  corresponding  with  the 
motions  of  their  lieads  and  legs,  and  the 
silent  trampers  performed  tiieir  part  equally 
>vell.  The  koonteroo  man  now  sud<lenly 
otopped,  and,  planting  his  spear  in  the 
ground,  stood  in  a  stooping  position  behind 
it;  two  dancers  stepped  up,  went  through 
the  same  manii?uvre  as  the  preceding  party 
with  ^vonderful  regularity,  and  then  gave  a 
final  stamp,  turned  round,  and  grasped  the 
spear  in  a  stooping  position,  and  so  on  with 
all  the  rest,  until  every  dancer  was  brought 
to  the  spear,  so  forming  a  circular  body. 

"  The  pali/ertntta  men  now  performed  the 
same  movement  on  each  side  of  this  l)ody, 
accomjianied  with  the  perpetual  motion  of  the 
head,  leg,  and  arm,  an<l  then  went  round  and 
round,  and  finally  gave  the  arrival  stamp, 
thrust  in  their  arm,  and  grasped  the  spear: 
at  the  same  time  all  sunk  on  their  knees  and 
began  to  move  away  in  a  mass  from  the 
singers,  with  a  sort  of  grunting  noise,  while 
their  bodies  leaned  and  tossed  to  and  fro; 
when  they  had  got  about  ten  or  twelve  yards 
they  ceased,  and,  giving  one  long  semi-grunt 
or  groan  (after  the  manner  of  the  red  kan- 
garoo, as  they  say),  dispersed. 

"During  the  whole  perfoi-mance,  the  sing- 
ing went  on  in  one  continued  strain,  and, 


after  the  last  act  of  the  performers,  the  rat- 
tling accomiianiment  of  the  singing  ceased, 
the  strain  (lied  gradually  away,  and  shouts 
and  acclamations  rent  the  air." 

There  arc  many  other  dances  among  the 
Australians.  There  is,  for  example,  the 
Frog-dance.  The  performers  paint  them- 
selves after  the  usual  grotesque  manner,  taka 
their  wirris  in  their  hands,  beat  them  to- 
gether, and  then  squat  dowu  and  jump  alter 
each  other  in  circles,  imitating  the  move- 
ments of  the  frog.  Then  there  is  the  emu- 
dance,  in  which  all  the  gestures  consist  of 
imitation  of  emu-hunting,  the  man  who 
enacts  the  part  of  the  bird  imitating  its  voice. 

In  some  parts  of  Australia  they  have  the 
can(ie  dance,  one  of  the  most  graceful  of 
these  performances. 

Both  men  and  women  take  ]iart  in  this 
dance,  painting  their  bodies  with  white  and 
red  ochre,  and  each  furnislied  with  a  stick 
which  represents  the  paddle.  They  liegiu 
to  dance  by  stationing  themselves  in  two 
lines,  but  with  the  stick  across  their  backs 
and  held  by  the  arms,  while  they  move  their 
feet  alternately  to  the  tune  of  the  song  with 
which  the  dance  is  accompanied.  At  a 
given  signal  they  all  lu-ing  the  sticks  to  the 
front,  and  hold  them  as  they  do  paddles, 
swaying  themselves  in  regular  time  as  if 
they  were  paddling  in  one  of  their  light 
canoes. 

Another  dance,  the  object  of  which  is  not 
very  certain,  is  a  great  favorite  with  the 
Moorundi  natives.  The  men,  having  pre- 
viously decorated  their  bodies  with  stripes 
of  red  ochre,  stand  in  a  line,  while  the 
women  are  collected  in  a  group  and  beat 
time  together.  The  dance  consists  in  stamji- 
ing  simultaneously  with  the  left  foot,  and 
shaking  the  fingers  of  the  extended  arms. 
This  dance  is  called  Pedeku. 

There  is  a  rather  curious  dance,  or  move- 
ment, with  which  they  often  conclude  the 
performance  of  the  evening.  They  sit  cross- 
legged  round  their  fire,  beating  time  with 
their  spears  and  wirris.  Suddenly  they  alf 
stretch  out  their  arms  as  if  pointing  tc.  some 
distant  object,  rolling  their  eyes  fearfull /  is 
they  do  so,  and  finish  by  leaping  on  theii 
feet  with  a  simultaneous  yell  that  echoes  for 
miles  through  the  forest. 

In  his  splendid  work  on  South  Australia, 
Mr.  Angas  describes  a  rather  curious  dance 
perfin'med  by  the  Parnkalla  trilje,  in  which 
both  sexes  take  part.  Each  man  carries  a 
belt  made  either  of  human  hair  or  opossimi 
fur,  holding  one  end  in  each  hand,  and  keep- 
ing the  belt  tightly  strained.  There  is  a 
slight  variation  in  the  mode  of  performing 
this  dance,  but  the  usual  plan  is  for  all  the 
men  to  sit  down,  while  a  woman  takes  her 
place  in  the  middle.  One  of  the  men  then 
dances  up  to  her,  jumjiing  from  side  to  side, 
and  swaying  his  arms  in  harmony  with  his 
movements.  The  woman  begins  jumping  as 
her  partner  approaches,  and  then  they  dance 


752 


AUSTRALIA. 


back  again,  ■when  then'  place  is  taken  by  a 
fresh  couple. 

Some  persons  have  supposed  that  this 
(lance  is  a  reliijious  ceremony,  because  it  is 
usually  held  on  clear  moonlijjht  evenings. 
Sometimes,  however,  it  is  pertbrnied  during 
the  day-time. 

The  commonest  native  dance,  or  "  corrob- 
boree,"  is  that  which  is  known  as  the  Palti, 
and  which  is  represented  on  the  74",)th  page. 
It  is  always  danced  by  night,  the  fitful  blaze 
of  the  iire  being  thought  necessary  to  bring 
out  all  its  beauties. 

Before  beginning  this  dance,  the  perform- 
ers preparethemselves  by  decorating  their 
bodies  in  some  grotesque  style  with  white 
aud  scarlet  paints,  which  contrast  boldly  with 
the  shining  black  of  their  skins.  The  favor- 
ite pattern  is  the  skeleton,  each  ril)  being 
marked  liy  a  broad  stripe  of  white  paint,  and 
a  similar  stripe  running  down  the  breast  and 
along  the  legs  and  arms.  The  face  is  painted 
in  a  similar  fiishion.  The  effect  produced 
by  this  strange  pattern  is  a  most  startling 
one.  Illuminated  only  by  the  light  of  the  fire, 
the  black  bodies  and  limbs  are  scarcely  vi.s- 
ible  against  the  dark  background,  so  that,  as 
the  performers  pass  backward  and  forward 
in  the  movements  of  the  dance,  they  look 
exactly  like  a  number  of  skeletons  endued 
■witli  life  by  magic  powers. 

This  eflect  is^  increased  by  the  curious 
quivering  of  the  legs,  whichare  planted  firmly 
on  the  ground,  but  to  which  the  dancers  are 
able  to  impart  a  rapid  viln-at<u-y  movement 
from  the  knees  upward.  The  icin-iti,  or 
clubs,  are  held  in  the  hands,  as  seen  in  the 
illustration,  and  at  certain  intervals  they  are 
brought  over  the  head,  and  clashed  violently 
together.  The  Palti,  as  well  as  the  Kuri 
dance  is  conducted  by  a  leader,  who  gives  the 
word  of  command  for  the  different  move- 
ments. Some  of  the  dancers  increase  their 
odd  appearance  by  making  a  fillet  from  the 
front  teeth  of  the  kangaroo,  and  tying  it 
round  their  foreheads. 

Once  in  a  year,  the  natives  of  some  districts 
have  a  very  grand  dance,  called  the  "cob- 
bongo  corrbbboree,"  or  great  mystery  dance. 
This  dance  is  performed  by  the  natives  of  the 
far  interior.  An  admirable  account  of  this 
dance  was  published  in  the  Illustrated  Lon- 
don Kews  of  Octol.ier  3,  18G3,  and  is  here 
given.  "The  time  selected  for  this  great 
event  is  every  twelfth  moon,  and  during  her 
declination.  "For  several  days  previous  a 
number  of  tribes  whose  territories  adjoin  one 
another  congregate  at  a  particular  spot, 
characterized  byan  immense  mound  of  earth 
covered  with  ashes  (known  amongst  the 
white  inhabitants  as  'a  black's  oven')  and 
surrounded  by  plenty  of '  coura way '  or  water 
holes.  To  this  place  they  bring  numbers  of 
kaucaroos,  '  possums,  emus,  and  wild  ducks, 
and  a  large  quantity  of  wild  lioney,  together 
witli  the  grass  from  the  seeds  of  which  they 
make  a  sort  of  bread. 


"Upon  the  evening  on  which  the  'cor- 
robl)(u-ee '  is  celebrated,  a  number  of  old 
men  (one  from  each  tribe),  called  by  the 
natives  '  wammaroogo,'  signifying  medicine 
men  or  charm  men,  repair  to  the  top  of  the 
mound,  where,  after  lighting  a  fire,  they 
walk  round  it,  muttering  sentences  and 
throwing  into  it  portions  of  old  charms 
whieli  th.ey  have  worn  round  their  necks 
for  the  past  twelve  months.  This  is  con- 
tinued for  about  half  an  hour,  wlien  they 
descend,  each  carryinsr  a  fire-stick,  which 
he  places  at  the  outskirts  of  the  camp,  and 
which  is  supposed  to  prevent  evil  siiirits 
approaching.  As  soon  as  this  is  over,  du- 
ring which  a  most  profound  silence  is  ob- 
served by  all,  the  men  of  the  tribe  prepare 
their  toilet  for  the  '  corrobboree,'  daubing 
themselves  over  with  chalk,  red  ochre,  and 
fat. 

"  While  the  men  are  thus  engaged,  the 
gentler  sex  are  busy  arranging  themselves 
in  a  long  line,  and  in  a  sitting  posture,  with 
rugs  made  of  'possum  skins  doubled  round 
their  legs,  and  a  small  stick  called  '  nulla- 
nullJi '  in  each  hand.  A  fire  is  lighted  in 
front  of  them,  and  tended  by  one  of  the  old 
charmers.  As  the  men  are  ready,  they  seat 
themselves  cross-legged  like  tailors,  and  in 
regular  '  serried  file,'  at  the  opposite  side  of 
the  fire  to  the  women,  while  one  of  the  medi- 
cine men  takes  up  his  position  on  the  top  of 
the  mound  to  watch  the  rising  of  the  moon, 
which  is  the  signal  I'or  '  corrobboree.'  All  is 
now  still;  nothing  disturbs  the  silence  save 
the  occasional  jaldier  of  a  woman  or  child, 
and  even  that,  after  a  few  minutes,  is  bushed. 
The  blaze  of  the  fire  throws  a  fitful  light 
along  the  battalion-like  front  of  the  black 
phalanx,  and  the  hideous  faces,  daul)ed  with 
paint  and  smeared  with  grease,  show  out  at 
such  a  moment  to  anything  but  advantage. 

"  As  soon  as  the  old  gentleman  who  has 
been  '  taking  the  lunar'  announces  the  ad- 
vent of  thatplanet,  which  seems  to  exercise 
as  great  an  influence  over  the  actions  of 
these  people  as  over  many  of  those  amongst 
ourselves,  the  '  corrobboree '  commences. 
The  women  beat  the  little  sticks  together, 
keeping  time  to  a  peculiar  monotonous  air, 
and  repeating  the  words,  the  burden  of 
which  when  translated  may  be  — 

"'Tlie  Ivangaroo  is  swift,  but  swifter  is  Xgoyullo- 
maii ; 
Tlie  snake   is   cunning,   bnt  more   cunning  is 
Ngoyullomau,'  &c., 

each  woman  using  the  name  of  her  husband 
or  favorite  in  the'tribe.  The  men  sjn-ing  to 
their  feet  with  a  yell  that  rings  through  the 
forest,  and,  brandishing  tlieir  spears,  boome- 
rangs, &e.,  commence  their  dance,  flinging 
theinselves  into  all  sorts  of  attitudes,  howl- 
ina;,  laughing,  grinning,  and  singing;  and 
this  they  continue  till  sheer  exhaustion  com- 
pels them  to  desist,  after  which  they  roast 
aud  eat  the  product  of  the  chase,  gathered 


THE   GREAT  COEKOBBOKEE. 


753 


for  the  occasion,  and  then  drop  off  to  sleep 
one  by  one." 

The  reader  will  see  that  this  great  mystery 
"  corrobboree  "  combines  several  of  the  pe- 
culiar movements  which  are  to  be  found  in 
the  various  dances  that  have  already  been 
described. 

A  dance  of  somewhat  similar  character 
used  to  be  celebrated  by  the  Tasmanians  at 
the  occasion  of  each  full  moon,  as  is  described 
by  Mr.  G-.  T.  Lloyd.  The  various  tribes  as- 
sembled at  some  try  sting-place;  and  while 
the  women  prepared  the  tire,  and  fenced  off 
a  space  for  the  dance,  the  men  retired  to 
adorn  themselves  with  paint,  and  to  fasten 
bunches  of  bu.shy  twigs  to  their  ankles, 
wrists,  and  waists. 

The  women  being  seated  at  the  end  of 
this  space,  one  of  the  oldest  among  them 
strode  forward,  calling  by  name  one  of  the 
performers,  reviling  him  as  a  coward,  and 
challenging  him  to  appear  and  answer  her 
charge.  The  warrior  was  not  long  in  his 
response,  and,  bounding  into  the  circle 
through  the  fire,  he  proclaimed  his  deeds  of 
daring  in  war  and  in  the  hunt.  At  every 
pause  he  made,  his  female  admirers  took  u]} 
his  praises,  vaunting  his  actions  in  a  sort  of 
chant,  which  they  accomjianied  by  extem- 
porized drums  formed  of  rolled  kangaroo 
skins. 

Suddenly,  upon 'some  inspiring  allegretto 
movement  of  the  thumping  band,  thirty  or 
forty  grim  savages  would  bound  successively 
through  the  furious  tlames  into  the  sacred 
arena,  looking  like  veritable  demons  on 
a  special  visit  to  terra  firma,  and,  after 
thoroughly  exhausting  themselves  by  leap- 
ing in  imitation  of  the  kangaroo  around  and 
through  the  tire,  they  vanished  in  an  instant. 
These  were  as  rapidly  succeeded  by  their 
lovely  gins,  who,  at  a  given  signal  trom  the 
beldame  speaker,  rose  en  mnti^e,  and  ranging 
themselves  round  the  fresh-plied  flames  in  a 
state  unadorned  and  genuine  as  imported 
into  the  world,  contorted  their  arms,  legs, 
and  bodies  into  attitudes  that  would  shame 
first-class  acrobats.  The  grand  point,  how- 
ever, with  each  of  the  well-greased  beauties 
was  to  scream  down  her  sable  sister. 

This  dance,  as  well  as  other  native  cus- 
toms, has  departed,  together  with  the  abo- 
rigines, from  the  island,  and  the  native 
Tasmanians  are  now  practically  extinct. 
There  is  before  me  a  photogra])h  of  the 
three  remaining  survivors  of  these  tribes, 
which  some  sixty  years  ago  numbered  be- 
tween six  and  seven  thousand.  That  they 
should  have  so  rapidly  perished  under  the 
influence  of  the  white  man  is  explained  from 
the  fact  that  their  island  is  but  limited  in 
extent,  and  that  they  are  altogether  inferior 
to  the  aborigines  of  the  continent.  They 
are  small  in  stature,  the  men  averaging  only 
five  feet  three  inches  in  height,  and  they  are 
Very  ill-favored  in  countenance,  the  line 
from  the  nose  to  the  corners  of  the  mouth 


being  very  deej)  and  much  curved,  so  as  to 
enclose  the  mouth  in  a  pair  of  parentheses. 
The  hair  is  cut  very  closely.  This  is  done 
by  means  of  two  sharp-edged  fragments  of 
flint,  broken  glass  being  preferred  since 
Europeans  settled  in  the  country.  Cutting 
the  hair  is  necessarily  a  tedious  ceremony, 
only  ten  or  twelve  hairs  being  severed  at  a 
time,  and  upwards  of  three  hours  being  con- 
sumed in  trimming  a  head  tit  for  a  dance. 
Shaving  is  conducted  after  the  same  man- 
ner. 

The  general  habits  of  the  Tasmanian  na- 
tives agree  with  those  of  the  continent.  The 
mode  of  climbing  trees,  however,  is  a  curious 
mixture  of  the  Australian  and  Polynesian 
custom.  When  the  native  discovers  the 
marks  of  an  opossum  on  the  bark,  he  jilucks 
a  quantity  of  wire  grass,  and  rapidly  lays  it 
up  in  a  three-stranded  plait,  with  which  he 
encircles  the  tree  and  his  own  waist.  By 
means  of  a  single  chop  of  the  tomahawk  he 
makes  a  slight  notch  in  the  bark,  into  which 
he  puts  his"  great  toe,  raises  himself  by  it, 
and  simultaneously  jerks  the  grass  band'  up 
the  trunk  of  the  tree.  Notch  after  notch  is 
thus  made,  and  the  native  ascends  with  in- 
credible rapidity,  the  notches  never  being 
less  than  three  feet  six  inches  apart. 

Often,  the  opossum,  alarmed  at  the  sound 
of  the  tomahawk,  leaves  its  nest,  and  runs 
along  some  bare  bough,  projecting  horizon- 
tally from  eighty  to  a,  hundred  feet  above 
the  ground.  The  native  walks  along  the 
bough  upright  and  firm  as  if  tlie  tree  were 
his  native  lilace,  and  shakes  the  animal  into 
the  midst  of  his  companions  who  are  assem- 
bled under  the  tree. 

The  natives  never,  in  their  wild  state,  wear 
clothes  of  any  kind.  They  manufacture 
cloaks  of  opossum  and  kangaroo  skins,  but 
only  in  defence  against  cold.  They  are  won- 
dertul  hunters,  and  have  been  successfully 
employed  by  the  colonists  in  tracing  sheep 
that  had  strayed,  or  the  footsteps  of  the  thief 
who  had  stolen  them.  The  slightest  scratch 
tell  its  tale  to  these  quick-eyed  people,  who 
know  at  once  the  very  time  at  which  the 
impression  was  made,  and,  having  once 
seen  it,  start  oft'  at  a  quick  pace,  and  are 
certain  to  overtake  the  fugitive. 

The  untimely  end  of  the  aboriginal  Tas- 
manians is  greatly  to  be  attributed  to  the 
conduct  of  a  well-known  chief,  called  Mos- 
quito. He  was  a  native  of  Sydney,  and,  hav- 
ing been  convicted  of  several  murders,  was, 
by  a  mistaken  act  of  lenity,  transported  to 
Tasmania,  when  he  made  acquaintance  with 
the  Oyster  Bay  tribe.  Being  mnch  taller 
and  stronger  than  the  natives,  he  was  unan- 
imously elected  chief,  and  took  the  connnand. 
His  reign  was  most  disastrous  for  the  Tas- 
manians. He  ruled  them  with  a  rod  of  iron, 
punishing  the  slightest  disobedience  with  a 
blow  of  his  tomahawk,  not  caring  in  the  least 
whether  the  culprit  were  killed  or  not.  He 
organized   a  series  of   depredations  on  the 


754 


AUSTEALIA. 


property  of  the  colonists,  and  was  peculiarly 
celebrated  for  his  skill  in  stealing  potatoes, 
teaeliina;  his  followers  to  abstraet  them  from 
the  ridges,  and  to  rearrange  the  ground  so 
as  to  look  as  if  it  had  never  been  disturbed, 
and  to  obliterate  all  traces  of  their  footmarks 
with  lioughs. 

Under  the  influence  of  such  a  leader,  the 
natives  became  murderers  as  well  as  thieves, 
so  that  the  lives  of  the  colonists  were  always 
in  peril.  It  was  therefore  necessar}'  to  take 
some  decided  measures  with  them;  and  after 
sundry  unsuccessful  expeditions,  the  natives 
at  last  submitted  themselves,  and  the  whole 
of  them,  numljering  then  (1837)  scarcely  more 
than  three  hundred,  were  removed  to  Flin- 
der's  Island,  where  a  number  of  comfortalde 
stone  cottages  were  built  for  them,  intinitely 
superior  to  the  rude  bough  huts  or  miam- 
miams  of  their  own  construction.  They 
were  liberally  supplied  with  food,  clothing, 
and  other  necessaries,  as  well  as  luxuries, 


and  the  Government  even  appointed  a  res- 
ident surgeon  to  attend  them  when  ill.  All 
this  care  was,  however,  useless.  Contact 
with  civilization  produced  its  usual  fruits, 
and  in  1801  the  native  Tasmanians  were  only 
thirteen  in  numlier.  Ten  have  since  died, 
and  it  is  not  likely  that  the  three  who  sur- 
vived in  1867  will  perpetuate  their  race. 

That  the  singularly  rajiid  decadence  of  the 
Tasmanians  was  partly  caused  by  the  con- 
duct of  the  shepherds,  and  other  rough  and 
uneducated  men  in  the  service  of  the  colo- 
nists, cannot  be  denied.  But  the  white  of- 
fenders were  comparatively  few,  and  quite 
unable  themselves  to  efl'ect  such  a  change  in 
so  short  a  time.  For  the  real  cause  we  must 
look  to  the  strange  Init  unvariable  laws  of 
progres.sion.  Whenever  a  higher  race  occu- 
pies the  same  grounds  as  a  lower,  the  latter 
perishes,  and,  whether  in  animate  or  inani- 
mate nature,  the  new  world  is  always  built 
on  the  ruins  of  the  old. 


CHAPTER  LXXiy. 


AUSTRALIA  —  Continued. 


DOMESTIC    LIFE. 


MAERIAOE  —  PUSCHASE  AND  EXCHANGE  OF  WIVES — A  KOUOH  WOOING  —  TREATirENT  OF  THE  WTV^ES  — 
A  BRUTAL  HUSBAND  —  NARROW  ESCAPE  —  A  FAITHFUL  COJrPANION  —  AUSTRALIAN  JIOTHERS — 
TREATMENT  OF  THE  NEW-BORN  INFANT  —  PRACTICE  OF  INFANTICIDE  —  THE  MOTHER  AND  HER 
DEAD  CHILD. 


We  will  now  proceed  to  the  domestic  life  of 
the  native  Australian,  if,  indeed,  their  mode 
of  existence  deserves  such  a  name,  and  will 
begin  with  marriage  customs. 

Betr<ithal  takes  place  at  a  very  early  age, 
the  girl  being  often  promised  in  marriage 
when  she  is  a  mere  child,  her  future  husband 
being  perhaps  an  old  man  with  two  or  three 
wives  and  a  uumlier  of  children.  Of  course 
the  girl  is  purchased  from  her  father,  the 
jirice  varying  according  to  the  means  of  the 
husband.  Articles  of  European  make  are 
now  exceedingly  valued;  and  as  a  rule,  a 
knife,  a  glass  bottle,  or  some  such  article,  is 
considered  as  a  fair  price  for  a  wife. 

Exchange  is  often  practised,  so  that  a 
young  man  who  hajipeus  to  have  a  sister  to 
spare  will  look  out  for  some  man  who  has  a 
daughter  unbetrothed,  and  will  effect  an  ami- 
cable exchange  with  him,  so  that  a  man  who 
possesses  sisters  by  his  father's  death  is  as 
sure  of  a  corresponding  number  of  wives  as 
if  he  had  the  means  wherewith  to  buy  them. 

Until  her  intended  husband  takes  her  to 
wife,  the  betrothed  girl  lives  with  her  parents, 
and  during  this  interval  she  is  not  watched 
with  the  strictness  which  is  generally  exer- 
cised toward  betrothed  girls  of  savages.  On 
the  contrary,  she  is  tacitly  allowed  to  have 
as  many  lovers  as  she  chooses,  provided  that 
a  conventional  amount  of  secrecy  be  ob- 
served, and  her  husband,  when  he  marries 
her,  makes  no  complaint.  After  marriage, 
however,  the  case  is  altered,  and,  if  a  former 
lover  were  to  attempt  a  continuance  of  the 


acquaintance,  the  hu.sband  would  avenge 
himself  by  visiting  both  parties  with  the  se- 
verest punishment.  There  is  no  ceremony 
about  marriage,  the  girl  being  simply  taken 
to  the  hut  of  her  husband,  and  thenceforth 
considered  as  his  wife. 

In  some  parts  of  Australia,  when  a  young 
man  takes  a  fancy  to  a  girl  he  obtains  her 
after  a  rather  curious  fashion,  which  seems  a 
very  odd  mode  of  showing  affection.  Watch- 
ing his  opportunity  when  the  girl  has  strayed 
apart  from  her  friends,  he  stuns  her  with  a 
l)low  on  the  head  from  his  waddy,  carries 
her  off,  and  so  makes  her  his  wife.  The 
father  of  the  girl  is  naturally  offended  at  the 
loss  of  his  daughter,  and  complains  to  the 
elders.  The  result  is  almost  invariably  that 
the  gallant  offender  is  sentenced  to  stand  the 
ordeal  of  spear  and  boomerang.  Furnished 
with  only  his  narrr)w  shield,  he  stands  still, 
while  the  aggrieved  father  and  other  relatives 
hiu'l  a  certain  number  of  spears  and  boome- 
rangs at  him.  It  is  very  seldom  that  he 
allows  himself  to  be  touched,  but,  when 
the  stipulated  numlier  of  throws  has  been 
made,  he  is  considered  as  having  expiated 
his  otfence,  whether  he  be  hit  or  not. 

Polygamy  is  of  course  practised,  Imt  to 
no  very  great  extent.  Still,  although  a 
man  may  never  have  more  than  two  or 
three  wives  at  a  time,  he  has  often  married 
a  considerable  number,  either  discarding 
them,  when  they  arc  too  old  to  please  his 
taste,  or  perhaps  killing  them  in  a  tit  of 
anger.    The  last  is  no  uncommon  mode  of 


(755) 


756 


AUSTRALIA. 


getting  rid  of  a  wife,  and  no  one  seems  to 
lliink  that  her  husband  has  aeted  cruelly. 
Indeed,  the  genuine  native  would  not  be 
able  to  comprehend  the  possibility  of  being 
cruel  to  his  wife,  inasmuch  as  he  recognizes 
in  her  no  right  to  kind  treatment.  She  is 
as  much  his  chattel  as  his  spear  or  hut,  and 
he  would  no  more  think  himself  cruel  in 
beating  his  wife  to  death  than  in  breaking 
the  one  or  burning  the  other. 

Since  white  men  came  to  settle  in  the 
country  the  natives  have  learned  to  consider 
them  as  beings  of  another  sphere,  very 
powerful,  but  unfortunately  possessed  with 
some  unaccountable  prejudices.  Finding, 
therefore,  that  breaking  a  wife's  limb  with  a 
clulj,  piercing  her  with  a  spear,  or  any  other 
mode  of  expressing  dissatisfaction,  shocked 
the  iirejudices  of  the  white  men,  they  ceased 
to  mention  such  practices,  though  they  did 
not  discontinue  them. 

Quite  recently,  a  native  servant  was  late 
in  keeping  his  appointment  with  his  mas- 
ter, and,  on  inquiry,  it  was  elicited  that  he 
liad  just  quarrelled  with  one  of  his  wives, 
and  had  speared  her  through  the  body.  On 
being  rebuked  by  his  master  he  turned  off 
the  matter  with  a  laugh,  merely  remarking 
that  white  men  had  only  one  wife,  whereas 
he  had  two,  and  did  not  mind  losing  one 
until  he  could  buy  another. 

Considering  and  treating  the  women  as 
mere  articles  of  property,  the  men  naturally 
repose  no  confidence  in  them,  and  never 
condescend  to  make  them  acquainted  with 
their  plans.  If  they  intend  to  make  an 
attack  upon  another  tribe,  or  to  organize 
an  expedition  for  robbery,  they  carefully 
conceal  it  from  the  weaker  sex,  thinking 
that  such  inferior  animals  cannot  keep  se- 
crets, and  might  betray  them  to  the  objects 
of  the  intended  attack. 

The  utter  contempt  which  is  felt  by  the 
native  Australians  tor  their  women  is  well 
illustrated  by  an  adventure  which  occurred 
after  a  dance  which  had  been  got  up  for  the 
benefit  of  the  white  men,  on  the  under- 
standing that  a  certain  amount  of  biscuit 
should  be  given  to  the  dancers.  When  tlie 
performance  was  over,  the  biscuit  was  in- 
judiciously handed  to  a  woman  for  distribu- 
tion. A  misunderstanding  at  once  took 
place.  The  men,  although  they  would  not 
hesitate  to  take  away  the  biscuit  by  force, 
would  not  condescend  to  ask  a  woman  for 
it,  and  therefore  considered  that  the  prom- 
ised payment  had  not  been  ma<le  to  them. 
Some  of  them,  after  muttering  their  discon- 
tent, slipped  away  for  their  spears  and  throw 
ing-sticks,  and  the  whole  place  was  in  a  tur- 
moil. 

Fortunately,  in  order  to  amuse  the  na- 
tives, the  white  visitors,  who  had  never 
thought  of  the  offence  that  they  had  given, 
sent  up  a  few  rockets,  which  frightened  the 
people  for  a  time,  and  then  burned  a  blue 
light.    As  the    brilliant    rays   pierced  the 


dark  recesses  of  the  forest,  they  disclosed 
numbers  of  armed  men  among  the  trees, 
some  alone  and  others  in  groups,  but  all 
evidently  watching  the  movements  of  the 
visitors  whose  conduct  had  so  deeply  in- 
sulted them.  A  friendly  native  saw  "their 
danger  at  once,  and  hurried  them  otf  to 
their  boats,  saying  that  spears  W'ould  soon 
be  thrown. 

There  was  much  excuse  to  be  found  for 
them.  They  had  been  subjected  to  one  of 
the  grossest  insults  that  warriors  could  re- 
ceive. To  them,  women  were  little  better 
than  dogs,  and,  if  there  were  any  food,  the 
warriors  first  satisfied  their  own  hunger, 
and  then  threw  to  the  women  any  frag- 
ments that  might  be  left.  Therefo.-e",  that  a 
woman  —  a  mere  household  chattel  —  should 
be  deputed  to  distril)ute  food  to  warriors 
was  a  gross,  intolerable,  and,  as  tdey  natu- 
rally tliought,  intentional  insult.  It  was 
equivalent  to  degrading  them  from  their 
rank  as  men  and  warriors,  and  making 
them  even  of  less  .account  than  women. 
No  wonder,  then,  that  their  anger  w'as 
roused,  and  the  only  matter  of  surprise  is 
that  an  attack  was  not  immediately  made. 
Australian  warriors  have  their  own  ideas  of 
chivalry,  and,  like  the  knights  of  old,  feel 
themselves  bound  to  resent  the  smallest 
aspersion  cast  upon  their  honor. 

Mr.  M'Gillivray,  who  narrates  this  anec- 
dote makes  a  few  remarks  which  are  most 
valuable,  as  showing  the  errors  which  are 
too  often  committed  when  dealing  with  sav- 
ages, not  only  those  of  Australia,  but  of 
other  countries. 

"  I  have  alluded  to  this  occurrence,  trivial 
as  it  may  appear,  not  without  an  object.  It 
serves  as  an  illustration  of  the  jiolicy  of 
respecting  the  known  customs  of  the  Au- 
stralian race,  even  in  apparently  trifling  mat- 
ters, at  least  during  the  early  period  of 
intercourse  with  a  tribe,  and  shows  how 
a  little  want  of  judgment  in  the  director  of 
our  party  caused  the  most  friendly  inten- 
tions to  lie  misunderstood,  and  might  have 
led  to  fatal  results. 

"  I  must  confess  that  I  should  have  con- 
sidered any  injury  sustained  on  our  side  to 
have  been  most  richly  merited.  Moreover, 
I  am  convinced  that  some  at  least  of  the 
collisions  which  have  taken  place  in  Au- 
stralia between  the  first  European  visitors 
and  the  natives  of  any  given  district  have 
originated  in  causes  of  oftence  brought  on 
by  "the  indiscretion  of  one  or  more  of  the 
party,  and  revenged  on  others  who  were 
innocent." 

Mr.  McGillivray  then  proceeds  to  mention 
the  well-known  case  of  the  night  attack  on 
Mr.  Leichhardt's  expedition.  For  no  ap- 
p.arent  reason,  a  violent  assault  was  made 
on  the  camp,  and  !Mr.  Gilbert  was  killed. 
The  reason  of  this  attack  did  not  transpire 
until  long  afterward,  when  a  native  at- 
tached  t--    the    expedition   divulged,  in  a 


mrANTICIDE. 


757 


state  of  intoxication,  the  fact  that  he  and 
a  fellow-countryman  had  grossly  insulted  a 
native  woman. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  brutal  treatment,  the 
women  often  show  a  depth  of  affectionate 
feeling  which  raises  them  far  above  the 
brutal  savages  that  enslave  them.  One  re- 
markable iu.stance  of  this  feeling  is  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Bennett.  She  had  formed 
an  attachment  to  an  escaped  convict,  who 
became  a  bushranger,  and  enabled  him,  by 
her  industry  and  courage,  to  prolong  the 
always  jirecarious  life  of  a  bushranger  be- 
yond the  ordinary  limits. 

The  chief  dangers  that  beset  these  ruf- 
fians are  the  necessity  for  procuring  food, 
and  the  watch  which  is  alwaj's  kept  by  the 
police.  Her  native  skill  enabled  her  to  sup- 
ply him  with  food,  and,  while  he  was  lying 
concealed,  she  used  to  fish,  limit,  dig  roots, 
and  then  to  cook  them  for  him.  Her  native 
quickness  of  eye  and  ear  enabled  her  to 
detect  the  approach  of  the  police,  and,  by 
the  instinctive  cunning  with  which  these 
blacks  are  gifted,  she  repeatedly  threw  the 
pursuers  off  the  scent.  lie  was  utterly  un- 
worthy of  the  affection  which  she  bestowed 
on  him,  and  used  to  beat  her  unmercifully, 
but,  undeterred  by  his  cruelty,  she  never 
flagged  in  her  exertions  for  his  welfare; 
and  on  one  occasion,  while  he  was  actually 
engaged  iu  ill-treating  her,  the  police  came 
upon  his  place  of  refuge,  and  must  have 
captured  him,  had  she  not  again  misled 
them,  and  sent  them  to  a  spot  far  from  the 
place  where  he  was  hidden.  At  last,  he 
ventured  out  too  boldly,  during  her  acci- 
dental absence,  was  captured,  tried  and 
hanged.  But  up  to  the  last  this  faithful 
creature  never  deserted  him,  and,  even 
when  lie  was  imprisoned,  she  tried  to  fol- 
low him,  but  was  reclaimed  by  her  tribe. 

When  a  native  woman  is  about  to  become 
a  mother  she  retires  into  the  bush,  some- 
times alone,  but  generally  accompanied  by 
a  female  friend,  and,  owing  to  the  strong 
constitution  of  these  women,  seldom  re- 
mains in  her  retirement  more  than  a  day 
or  so.  Among  the  natives  of  Victoria,  the 
ceremony  attending  the  birth  of  a  child  is 
rather  curious,  and  is  amusingly  described 
by  Mr.  Lloyd:  "  While  upon  the  subject  of 
the  Australian  aborigines,  I  must  not  omit 
to  describe  the  very  original  modus  operandi 
of  the  indigenous  smje  fonme. 

"  The  unhappy  lootira  (native  woman) 
retired  with  her  wise  woman  into  some  lone 
secluded  dell,  abounding  with  light  sea-sand. 
A  fire  was  kindled,  and  the  wretched  niiam- 
niiam  speedily  constructed.  Then  came  the 
slender  repast,  comprising  a  spare  morsel  of 
kangaroo  or  other  meat,  supplied  with  a 
sjiaring  hand  by  her  stoical  coolie  (male  na- 
tive), grilled,  and  graced  with  the  tendrils 
of  green  opiate  cow- thistles,  or  the  succulent 
roots  of  the  bulbous  leaf  '  mernong.' 

"  The  sable  attendant  soon  entered  upon 


her  interesting  duties.  One  of  the  first  was, 
to  light  a  second  fire  over  a  quantity  of  jire- 
pared  sand,  that  had  been  carefully  divested 
of  all  filjrous  roots,  pebbles,  or  coarser  mat- 
ter. The  burning  coals  and  faggots  were 
removed  from  thence,  upon  some  nice  cal- 
culation as  to  the  period  of  the  unfortunate 
little  nigger's  arrival.  When  the  miniature 
representative  of  his  sable  father  beheld  the 
light  of  day,  a  hole  was  scratched  in  the 
heated  sand,  and  the  wee  russet-brown  thing 
safely  deposited  therein,  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect nudity,  and  buried  to  the  very  chin,  so 
effectually  covered  up  as  to  render  any 
objectionalilo  movement  on  his  or  her  part 
utterly  impossible. 

"  So  far  as  any  infantine  ebullitions  of 
feeling  are  concerned,  the  learned  sages 
femmes  appeared  to  have  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge as  to  the  world-wide  method  of  treat- 
ing the  mewling  and  puking  importunities 
of  unreasoning  nurslings.  They  knew  well 
that  a  two-hours'  sojourn  in  the  desert  sand, 
warm  as  it  might  be,  would  do  much  to  cool 
the  new  comer,  and  temper  it  into  compli- 
ance. At  the  expiration  of  that  time,  hav- 
ing acquired  so  much  knowledge  of  earthly 
troubles,  the  well-ljaked  juvenile  was  con- 
sidered to  be  thoroughly  done,  and  there- 
upon introduced  to  his  delighted  loobra 
mamma." 

Following  the  custom  of  many  savage  na- 
tions, the  Australians  too  often  destroy  theil 
children  iu  their  first  infancy.  Among  the 
Muralug  tribes  the  practice  is  very  common. 
It  has  aheady  been  mentioned  that  the  girls 
live  very  unrestrainedly  before  marriage, 
and  the  result  is,  that  a  young  woman  will 
sometimes  have  several  cliildren  before  her 
marriage.  As  a  general  rule,  these  children 
are  at  once  killed,  unless  the  father  be  desir- 
ous of  preserving  them.  This,  however,  is 
seldom  the  case,  and  he  usually  gives  the 
order  "  Marana  teio,"  i.  e.  Throw  it  into  the 
hole,  when  the  poor  little  thing  is  at  once 
buried  alive.  Even  those  children  which 
are  born  after  marriage  are  not  always  pre- 
served. In  the  first  place,  a  woman  will 
scarcely  ever  take  charge  of  more  than 
three  children,  and  many  a  female  child  is 
destroyed  where  a  male  would  be  allowed  to 
live. 

All  children  who  have  any  bodily  defect 
are  .sure  to  be  killed,  and,  as  a  general  rule, 
half-caste  children  are  seldom  allowed  to  live. 
The  mothers  are  usually  ashamed  to  acknowl- 
edge these  murders,  Init  in  one  case  the 
unnatural  parent  openly  avowed  the  deed, 
saying  that  the  infant  was  like  a  waragul, 
i.  c.  the  native  dog  or  dinijo.  The  fact  was  that 
its  father  was  a  sailor  who  had  fiery  red  hair, 
and  his  offspring  partook  of  the  same  rufous 
complexion.  Of  course  there  are  excep- 
tions to  the  rule,  one  of  which  may  be 
found  in  the  case  of  the  poor  woman  who 
was  so  faithful  to  her  convict  mate.  She 
had  a  male  child,  which  was  brought  up  by 


758 


AUSTRALIA. 


the  tribe  to  which  she  belonged,  and  they 
Were  so  fond  of  him  that  the'V  refused  to 
give  Iiim  up  when  some  benevolent  persons 
tried  to  ol)tain  possession  of  him  in  order  to 
educate  him  in  civilization. 

If,  however,  the  child  is  allowed  to  hve, 
the  Australian  mother  is  a  very  affectionate 
one,  tending  her  ollspring  with  the  greatest 
care,  and  in  her  own  wild  way  being  as  lov- 
ing a  parent  as  can  be  found  in  any  part  of 
the  world.  The  engraving  No.  2,  on  the 
faext  page,  illustrates  this  devotion  of  Au- 
stralian niothers  to  their  children. 

In  nothing  is  this  atlection  better  shown 
Wian  in  the  case  of  a  child's  death.  Al- 
though she  might  have  consigned  it  when 
an  infant  to  a  living  grave  without  a  pang 
of  remorse,  yet,  when"  it  dies  after  having 
been  nurtured  by  her,  she  exbibits  a  steady 
sorrow  that  exhibits  the  depth  of  aftectiou 
with  which  she  regarded  the  child.  When 
it  dies,  she  swathes  the  body  in  many  wrap- 
pers, plaoes  it  in  her  net-bulj'or  native  wallet, 


and  carries  it  about  with  her  as  if  it  were 
alive.  She  never  parts  with  it  for  a  mo- 
ment. AVhen  she  eats  she  offers  food  to  the 
dead  corpse,  as  if  it  were  still  alive,  and 
when  she  lies  down  to  sleep,  she  lays  her 
head  upon  the  wallet,  which  serves  her  as  a 
pillow.  The  progress  of  decay  has  no  effect 
u]5on  her,  and  though  the  body  becomes  so 
offensive  that  no  one  can  come  near  her, 
she  seems  unconscious  of  it,  and  never 
dreams  of  abandoning  the  (h-eadful  burden. 
In  process  of  time  nothing  is  left  but  the 
mere  bones,  but  even  these  are  tended  in 
the  same  loving  manner,  and  even  after  the 
lapse  of  years  "the  mother  has  been  known 
to  bear,  in  addition  to  her  other  bur- 
dens, the  remains  of  her  dead  child.  Even 
when  the  child  has  been  from  six  to  seven 
vears  old  she  will  treat  it  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and,  with  tins  burden  on  her  back,  will 
continue  to  discharge  her  heavy  domestic 
duties. 


(1.)   AN    AUSTRALIAN    FEASl.    iS.v  page  763.) 


(2.)    AUSTRALIAN  MOTHERS. 
(See  page  758.) 


(759) 


CHAPTER  •  LXXY. 


AUSTRALIA—  Continued. 


TEOM  CHILDHOOD  TO  MANHOOD. 


AUSTRALL4N  CHILDREN  —  CEREMONIES  ATTENDANT  ON  BECOMING  jrEN  —  ADjnBSTOlT  TO  THE  RANK  OP 
HUNTER — CEREMONY  OF  THE  KANGAROO  —  THE  KORADJEES  AND  THEIR  DUTIES — ItNOCKING 
OUT  THE  TOOTH — TRIAL  BY  ENDURANCE  —  TEST  OF  DETERMINATION  —  THE  MAGIC  CRYSTAL  — 
THE  FINAL  FEAST  —  INITL4TI0N  AJIONG  THE  MOORUNDI  AND  PARNKALLA  TRIBE  —  THE  WITARNA, 
AND  ITS  DREADED  SOUND  —  THE  WHISPERERS — TAKING  THE  SECOND  DEGREE  —  THE  APRON  AND 
HEAD-NET — THE  THIRD  AND  LAST  CEREMONY — ENDURANCE  OF  PAIN  —  A  NAUO  MAN  —  STORY  OP 
GI'OM  —  MAKING  KOTAIGA  OR  BROTHERHOOD. 


Atjstraxian  children,  while  they  remain 
children,  and  as  such  are  under  the  domin- 
ion of  their  mothers,  are  rather  eugasing 
little  creatures.  They  cannot  be  called 
pretty,  partly  owing  to  the  total  neglect,  or 
I'ather  ignorance,  of  personal  cleanliness,  and 
partly  on  account  of  the  diet  witli  which 
they  are  fed.  Their  eyes  are  soft,  and  pos- 
sess the  half-wistful,  half-wild  expression 
that  so  peculiarly  distinguishes  the  young 
savage.  But  they  are  never  washed  except 
by  accident,  tlieir  profuse  black  hair  wan- 
ders in  unkempt  masses  over  their  heads, 
and  their  stomachs  protrude  exactly  like 
those  of  the  young  African  savage. 

In  process  of  time  they  lose  all  these 
characteristics.  The  wistful  expression  dies 
out  of  their  eyes,  while  the  restless,  suspi- 
cious glance  of  the  savage  takes  its  place. 
They  become  quarrelsome,  headstrong,  and 
insubordinate,  and,  after  exbibiting  these 
qualifications  for  a  higher  rank  in  life,  they 
become  candidates  for  admission  into  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  manhood.  Among 
civilized  nations,  attaining  legal  majority  is 
a  simple  process  enough,  merely  consisting 
of  waiting  until  the  candidate  is  old  enough; 
but  with  many  savage  nations,  and  specially 
with  the  Australiaiis,  the  process  of  becom- 
ing men  is  a  long,  intricate,  and  singularly 
painful  series  of  ceremonies. 

These  rites  vary  according  to  the  localitj' 
in  which  they  are  celebrated,  but  they  all 

(7 


agree  in  one  point,  namely,  —  in  causing 
very  severe  pain  to  the  initiates,  and  testing 
to  the  utmost  their  endurance  of  pain.  As 
liiaiiy  of  these  rites  are  almost  identical  in 
different  tribes,  I  shall  not  repeat  any  of 
them,  but  only  mention  those  points  in 
which  the  ceremonies  differ  from  each 
other. 

One  of  these  customs,  which  seems  to 
belong  to  almost  every  variety  of  savage 
life,  namely,  the  loss  of  certain  teeth,  flour- 
ishes among  the  Australians.  The  mode  of 
extracting  the  teeth  is  simple  enough.  The 
men  who  conduct  the  ceremony  pretend  to 
be  very  ill,  swoon,  and  writhe  on  the  ground, 
and  are  treated  after  the  usual  method  of 
healing  the  sick,  i.  e.  their  friends  make  a 
great  howling  and  shouting,  dance  round 
them,  and  hit  them  on  the  back,  until  each 
sick  man  produces  a  piece  of  sharp  bone. 

This  ceremony  being  intended  to  give  the 
initiates  power  'over  the  various  animals,  a 
series  of  appropriate  ceremonies  are  per- 
formed. On  the  morning  after  the  sharp 
bones  have  been  mysteriously  produced,  the 
Koradjees,  or  operators,  dress  themselves 
up  with  bits  of  fur  and  other  decorations, 
which  are  conventionally  accepted  as  repre- 
senting the  dingo,  or  native  dog.  The 
wooden  sword,  which  is  thrust  into  a  belt, 
sticks  up  over  the  back,  and  takes  the  place 
of  the  tail.  The  boys  are  then  made  to  sit 
on  the  ground,  while    the  koradjees    run 

Ci) 


762 


AUSTEALIA. 


rouiul  and  rniind  them  on  all  fours,  thus 
representing  dogs,  and  giving  the  lads  to 
understand  that  the  succeeding  ceremony- 
will  give  them  power  over  dogs.  In  token 
of  this  power,  each  time  that  they  pass  the 
boys  they  throw  sand  and  dust  over  them. 

Here  it  must  be  remarked  that  the  Au- 
stralian natives  are  great  dog-lanciers,  the 
dog  Ijeing  to  them  what  the  pig  is  to  the 
Sandwich  Islanders.  There  is  scarcely  a 
lad  who  does  not  possess  at  least  one  dog, 
and  many  have  several,  of  wliich  they  take 
charge  from  earliest  puppyhood,  and  which 
accompany  their  masters  wherever  they  go. 
Besides  their  value  as  companions,  these 
dogs  are  useful  for  another  reason.  They 
are  a  safeguard  against  famine;  tor  when  a 
man  is  in  danger  of  starving,  he  is  sure  to 
rescue  himself  l)y  killing  and  cooking  his 
faithful  dog.  The  animal  has  never  cost 
him  any  trouble.  It  forages  for  itself  as  it 
best  can,  and  alwaj's  adheres  to  its  owner, 
and  is  always  at  hand  when  wanted.  The 
object,  therefore,  of  the  first  jxirt  of  the  cer- 
emony is  to  intimate  to  the  lads  that  they 
are  not  onl}'  to  have  dominion  over  the 
dogs,  l)ut  that  they  ought  to  possess  its 
excellent  qualities. 

The  next  part  of  the  ceremony  is  intended 
to  give  them  power  over  the  kangaroos. 

Accordingly,  a  stout  native  now  appears 
on  the  scene,  bearing  on  his  shoulders  the 
rude  efhgy  of  a  kangaroo,  made  of  grass; 
and  after  him  walks  another  man  with  a 
load  of  brushwood.  The  men  move  with 
measured  steps,  in  time  to  the  strokes  of 
clubs  upon  shields,  wherewith  the  specta- 
tors accompany  the  songs  which  they  sing. 
At  the  end  of  the  dance,  the  men  lay  their 
burdens  at  the  feet  of  the  j'oulhs,  the  grass 
effigy  signifying  the  kangaroo,  and  the 
brushwood  being  accepted  as  a  sign  of  its 
haunts. 

The  koi'adjees  now  take  upon  themselves 
the  character  of  the  kangaroo,  as  they  for- 
merly personated  tlie  dog.  They  make  long 
ropes  of  grass  in  imitation  of  the  kangaroo's 
tail,  and  fasten  them  at  the  back  of  their 
girdles.  They  then  imitate  the  various 
movements  of  the  kangaroo,  such  as  leap- 
ing, feeding,  rising  on  their  feet  and  looking 
about  them,  or  lying  down  en  their  sides 
and  scratching  themselves,  as  kangaroos  do 
when  basking  in  the  sun.  As  they  go 
through  these  performances,  several  men 
enact  the  part  of  hunters,  and  follow  them 
with  their  spears,  pretending  to  steal  upon 
them  unobserved,  and  so  to  kill  them. 

After  a  few  more  ceremonies,  the  men  lie 
on  the  ground,  and  the  boys  are  led  over 
their  prostrate  bodies,  the  men  groaning 
and  writhing,  and  pretending  to  sutler  horri- 
ble agony  from  the  contact  with  uninitiates. 
At  last  the  boys  are  drawn  up  in  a  row,  and 
opposite  to  them  stands  the  principal  korad- 
jee,  holding  his  shield  and  waddy,  with 
which    he    keeps   up    a   series  of  regular 


strokes,  the  whole  party  poising  their  spears 
at  him,  and  at  every  third  stroke  touching 
his  shield. 

The  operators  now  proceed  to  the  actual 
removal  of  the  tooth.  The  initiates  are 
placed  on  the  shoulders  of  men  seated  on 
the  ground,  and  the  operator  then  lances 
the  gums  freely  with  the  sharp  bone.  One 
end  of  a  wummerah,  or  throw-stick,  is  next 
placed  on  the  tooth,  and  a  sharp  blow  is 
struck  with  the  stone,  knocking  out  the 
tooth,  and  often  a  juece  of  gum  also  if  the 
lancing  has  not  Ijeen  properly  done. 

Among  another  trilie,  the  initiate  is  seated 
opposite  a  tree.  A  stick  is  then  placed 
against  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  with  its  other 
end  resting  on  the  tooth.  The  ojjerator 
suddenly  pushes  the  lad's  head  forward, 
when,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  tooth  comes 
out.  The  blood  is  allowed  to  flow  over  the 
spot,  and,  as  it  is  a  sign  of  manhood,  is 
never  washed  ofi". 

The  tooth  being  finally  extracted,  the  boy 
is  led  to  a  distance,  and  his  friends  press  the 
wounded  gum  togetiier,  and  dress  him  in 
the  emblems  of  his  rank  as  a  man.  The 
opossum  fur  belt,  or  kumeel,  is  fastened 
round  his  waist,  and  in  it  is  thrust  the 
wooden  sword,  which  he,  as  a  warrior,  is 
now  expected  to  use.  A  bandage  is  tied 
round  his  forehead,  in  which  are  stuck  a 
number  of  grass-tree  leaves;  his  left  hand 
is  placed  over  his  mouth,  and  for  the  rest  of 
the  day  he  is  not  allowed  to  cat. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  there  is  a 
curious  addition  to  the  mere  loss  of  the 
tooth.  The  warriors  stand  over  the  lad, 
exhorting  him  to  patience,  and  threat^-ning 
him  with  instant  death  if  he  should  llinch, 
cry  out,  or  show  any  signs  of  pain.  The 
operators  then  deliberately  cut  long  gashes 
all  down  his  back,  and  others  upo'n  his 
shoulders.  Should  he  groan,  or  display  any 
symptoms  of  sufi'ering,  the  operators  give 
three  long  and  piercing  j-ells,  as  a  sign  that 
the  youth  is  unworthy  to  be  a  warrior.  The 
women  are  sunnnoned,  and  the  recreant  is 
handed  over  to  them,  ever  after  to  be  ranked 
with  the  women,  and  share  in  their  menial 
and  despised  tasks. 

Even  after  passing  the  bodilj'  ordeal,  he 
has  to  undergo  a  mental  trial.  '  There  is  a 
certain  mysterious  piece  of  crystal  to  which 
various  magic  jiowers  are  attributed,  and 
which  is  only  allowed  to  be  seen  by  men, 
who  wear  it  in  their  hair,  tied  up  in  a  little 
packet.  This  crystal,  and  the  use  to  which 
it  is  put,  will  be  described  when  we  come  to 
treat  of  medicine  among  the  Anslralians. 

The  youth  having  been  formallj-  admitted 
as  a  huntsman,  another  ring  is  formed 
round  him,  in  order  to  see  whether  his  firm- 
ness of  mind  corresponds  with  his  endurance 
of  body.  Into  the  hands  of  the  maimed  and 
bleeding  candidate  the  mysterious  crystal  is 
placed.  As  soon  as  he  has  taken  it,  the  old 
men  endeavor  by  all  their  arts  to  persuade 


COMING  or  AGE. 


763 


him  to  give,  it  up  again.  Sliould  he  be  weak- 
minded  enougli  to  yield,  he  is  rejected  as  a 
warrior;  and  not  until  he  has  successfully 
resisted  all  their  threats  and  cajoleries  is  he 
finally  admitted  into  the  rank  of  men. 

The  ceremony  being  over,  a  piercing  yell 
is  set  up  as  a  signal  for  the  women  to  return 
to  the  camp,  and  the  newly-admitted  man 
follows  them,  accompanied  by  their  friends, 
all  chanting  a  song  of  joy,  called  the  korinda 
hraia.  They  then  separate  to  their  respec- 
tive fires,  where  they  hold  great  feastings 
and  rejoicings  (see  engraving  No.  1,  page 
759);  and  the  ceremonies  are  concluded 
with  the  dances  in  which  the  Australians  so 
much  delight. 

As  may  be  gathered  from  the  account  of 
these  ceremonies,  the  lad  who  is  admitted 
into  the  society  of  hunters  thinks  very  much 
of  himself,  and  addresses  himself  to  the 
largest  game  of  Australia;  namely,  the  emu 
and  the  dingo.  When  he  has  succeeded  in 
killing  either  of  these  creatures,  he  makes 
a  trophjr,  which  he  carries  about  for  some 
time,  as  a  proof  that  he  is  doing  credit  to  his 
profession.  This  trophy  consists  of  a  stick, 
a  yard  or  so  in  length,  to  one  end  of  which 
is  tied  the  tail  of  the  first  dingo  he  kills,  or 
a  huge  tuft  of  feathers  from  the  first  emu. 
These  trophies  he  displays  everywhere,  and 
is  as  proud  of  them  as  an  English  lad  of  his 
first  brush,  or  of  his  first  pheasant's  tail. 

Among  the  Moorundi  natives,  who  live  on 
the  great  Murray  River,  another  ceremony  is 
practised.  When  the  lads  are  about  sixteen 
years  old,  and  liegin  to  grow  the  beard  and 
moustache  which  become  so  luxuriant  in 
their  after-life,  preparations  are  quietly 
made  by  sending  for  some  men  from  a 
friendly  tribe,  who  are  called,  from  their 
otflce,  the  wceawos,  or  pluekers.  When  they 
have  arrived,  the  lads  who  have  been  se- 
lected are  suddenly  pounced  u])on  by  some 
one  of  their  own  trilie,  and  conducted  to  the 
place  of  initiation,  which  is  marked  by  two 
spears  set  in  the  ground,  inclining  to  each 
other,  and  being  decorated  with  bunches  of 
emu  feathers.  They  are  then  smeared  over 
with  red  ochre  and  grease,  and  the  women 
flock  round  them,  crying  bitterly,  and  cut- 
ting their  own  legs  with  mussel-shells,  until 
they  iullict  horrible  gashes,  and  cause  the 
blood  to  flow  aliundantly.  In  fact,  a  stranger 
would  think  that  the  women,  and  not  the 
lads,  were  the  initiates. 

The  boys  lie  down,  with  their  heads  to  the 
spears,  surrounded  by  their  anxious  friends, 
who  watch  them  attentively  to  see  if  they 
display  any  indications  of  flinching  from 
pain.  The  weearoos  now  advance,  and 
pluck  off  every  hair  from  their  bodies,  thus 
causing  a  long  and  irritating  torture.  When 
they  have  endured  this  process,  green 
branches  are  produced,  and  fastened  to 
the  bodies  nf  the  lads,  one  being  worn  as  an 
apron,  and  the  others  under  the  arms.  Two 
kangaroo  teeth  are   then  fastened  in   the 


hair,  and  the  young  men,  as  they  are  now 
termed,  are  entitled  to  wear  a  bunch  of  emu 
feathers  in  their  hair. 

With  another  tribe  there  is  a  curious 
variation.  The  initiate  is  brought  to  the 
selected  spot  by  an  old  man,  and  laid  on  his 
back  in  the  midst  of  five  fires,  each  fire  con- 
sisting of  three  pieces  of  wood  laid  across 
each  other  so  as  to  form  a  triangle.  An 
opossum-skin  bag  is  laid  on  his  face,  and  the 
various  operations  are  then  performed. 

Among  the  Parnkallas,  and  other  western 
tribes,  there  are  no  less  than  three  distinct 
ceremonies  before  the  boys  are  acknowl- 
edged as  men. 

The  first  ceremony  is  a  very  simple  one. 
When  the  boys  are  twelve  or  fifteen  years 
old,  they  are  carried  away  from  the  women, 
and  are  blindfolded.  The  operators  then 
begin  to  shout  the  words  "  Herri,  herri " 
with  the  full  force  of  their  lungs,  swinging 
at  the  same  time  the  mysterious  instrument 
called  the  witarna. 

This  mysterious  implement  is  a  small 
shuttle-shaped  piece  of  wood,  covered  with 
carved  ornaments,  and  being  suspended,  by 
a  hole  cut  at  one  end,  from  a  string  made  of 
plaited  human  hair.  When  swung  rapidly 
in  the  air,  it  makes  a  loud  humming  or 
booming  sound.  The  witarna  is  kept  by  the 
old  men  of  the  tribe,  and  is  invested  with, 
sundry  and  somewhat  contradictory  attri- 
butes. Its  sound  is  supposed  to  drive  away 
evil  spirits,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  very- 
injurious  to  women  and  children,  no  unini- 
tiated being  allowed  to  hear  it.  Conse^ 
quently  the  women  are  horribly  afraid  of  it, 
and  take  care  to  remove  themselves  and 
their  children  so  far  from  the  place  of  initia- 
tion that  there  is  no  chance  of  being  reached 
by  the  dreaded  sound. 

When  the  witarna  has  been  duly  swung, 
and  the  blindfolded  boys  have  for  the  first 
time  heard  its  booming  sound,  the  operators 
advance,  and  blacken  itlie  faces  of  the  boys, 
ordering  them  at  the  same  time  to  cease 
from  using  their  natural  voices,  and  not  to 
speak  above  a  whisper  luitil  they  are  re- 
leased from  their  bondage.  They  remain 
whisperers  for  several  months,  and,  when 
they  resume  their  voices,  assume  the  title  of 
warrara. 

They  remain  in  the  condition  of  warrara 
for  at  least  two,  and  sometimes  three  years, 
when  they  undergo  a  ceremony  resembling 
the  circumcision  of  the  .lews.  Their  hair  is 
tied  in  a  bunch  on  the  top  of  the  head,  is  not 
allowed  to  be  cut,  and  is  secured  by  a  net. 

The  net  used  for  this  purpose  is  made  out 
of  the  tendons  drawn  from  the  tails  of  kan- 
garoos. When  they  kill  one  of  these  ani- 
mals, the  natives  always  reserve  the  tendons, 
dry  them  carefully  in  the  sun,  and  keep 
them  in  reserve  for  the  many  uses  to  Avhich 
they  are  put.  The  sinews  taken  from  the 
leg  of  the  emu  are  dried  and  prepared  in  the 
same  manner.  In  order  to  convert  the  sinew 


764 


AUSTRALIA. 


into  tliread,  two  of  the  fibres  are  taken  and 
rolled  upon  tin;  thigh,  just  as  is  done  with 
the  fibre  of  the  l.udrush  root.  A  thread  of 
many  j'ards  long  is  thus  spun,  and  is  formed 
into  a  net  with  meshes  made  exactly  after 
tlie  European  fashion.  Sometimes  it  is  left 
plain,  but  usually  it  is  colored  with  red  ocln-e, 
or  white  with  pipe-clay,  according  to  the 
taste  of  tlie  wearer.  Tliese  tendons,  by  the 
way,  are  valued  by  the  wliite  colonists,  wlio 
use  them  chiefly  for  whip-lashes,  and  say 
that  the  tendon  is  more  durable  than  anj' 
other  material. 

The  initiates  of  the  second  degree  are 
also  distinguished  liy  wearing  a  bell-shaped 
apron,  made  of  opossum  fur  spun  together, 
and  called  "  mal)birringe."  This  is  worn 
until  the  third  and  last  ceremony.  The 
j'oung  men  are  now  distinguislied  by  the 
name  of  Partnapas,  and  are  permitted  to 
marry,  though  they  are  not  as  yet  considered 
as  belonging  to  the  caste,  if  we"  may  so  call  it, 
of  warriors. 

Even  now,  the  young  men  liave  not  suf- 
fered sutiicient  pain  to  take  their  full  rank, 
and  in  course  of  time  a  ceremony  takes 
place  in  which  they  become,  so  to  sjjcak,  dif- 
ferent beings,  and  cliange,  not  only  their 
appearance,  but  their  names.  Up  "to  this 
time,  they  have  borne  the  names  given  to 
tliem  by  "their  motliers  in  childhood,  names 
wliicli  are  always  of  a  trivial  character,  and 
which  are  mostly  numerical.  For  example, 
if  the  first  child  be  a  boy,  it  is  called  Peri 
(i-  e.  Primus);  if  a  girl,  Kartanya  (i.  e. 
Prima).  The  second  "boy  is  Wari"  (or  Se- 
cundus),  the  second  girl  Waruyau,  and  so 
on.  Sometimes  tlic  name  is  taken  from  the 
place  where  the  child  was  born,  or  from 
some  accidental  circumstance,  such  as  the 
appearance  of  a  bird  or  insect,  or  the  falling 
of  a  shower  of  rain.  But,  wlien  the  youth 
becomes  a  man,  lie  puts  away  this  childish 
name,  and  chooses  another  for  himself, 
which  marks  him  out  as  a  man  and  a  A\'ar- 
rior.  The  process  of  converting  a  lad  into 
a  man  is  admirably  told  by  Mr.  G.  F. 
Angas :  — 

"  In  the  third  and  last  ceremony  the  .young 
men  are  stjded  WUi/alkanye,  when  the  most 
important  rites  take  place.  Each  individual 
lias  a  sponsor  chosen  for  liim,  who  is  laid  on 
liis  back  upon  another  man's  lap,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  operators,  who  enjoin  him 
to  discharge  his  duties  aright.  The  young 
men  are  then  led  a\vaj'  from  the  camp,  and 
blindfolded;  the  women  lamenting  and  cry- 
ing, and  pretending  to  object  to  their  re- 
moval. 

"They  are  taken  to  a  retired  spot,  laid 
upon  their  stomachs,  and  entirely  covered 
over  with  kangaroo  skins;  tlie  men  uttering 
the  most  dismal  wail  imaginable,  at  inter- 
vals of  from  three  to  tiveniinutes.  After 
lying  thus  for  some  time,  the  lads  are  raised, 
and,  whilst  still  blindfolded,  two  men  throw 
green  boughs  at  them,  while  the  others  stand 


in  a  semicircle  around,  making  a  noise  with 
their  icirris  and  voices  combined,  which  is 
so  horrible  that  the  wild  dogs  swell  the  hid- 
eous chorus  with  their  bowlings.  Suddenly 
one  of  the  party  drops  a  bough,  others  fol- 
low; and  a  platform  of  boughs  is  made,  on 
which  tlie  lads  are  laid  out.  The  sjionsors 
then  turn  to  and  sharpen  their  pieces  of 
quartz,  choosing  a  new  name  for  each  lad, 
which  is  retained  by  him  during  life.  These 
names  all  end  either  in  alla^  ilti,  or  «/Ja. 
Previous  to  this  day  they  liave  borne  tlis 
names  of  their  birth-places,  &c.;  which  is 
always  the  case  amongst  the  women,  who 
never  change  them  afterward.  The  spon- 
sors now  open  the  veins  of  their  own  arms, 
and,  raising  the  lads,  open  their  mouths,  and 
make  them  swallow  the  first  quantity  of 
blood. 

"The  lads  are  then  placed  on  their  liands 
and  knees,  and  the  blood  caused  to  run  over 
their  backs,  so  as  to  form  one  coagulated 
mass;  and  when  this  is  sufticiently  cohesive, 
one  man  marks  the  places  for  the  tattooing 
by  removing  the  blood  with  his  thumb  nail. 
The  sponsor  now  commences  with  his 
quartz,  forming  a  deep  incision  in  tlie  nape 
of  the  neck,  and  then  cutting  broad  gashes 
ti'om  the  shoulder  to  the  liiji  down  each 
side,  about  an  inch  apart.  These  gashes 
are  pulled  ojieu  by  the  fingers  as  fiir  as  pos- 
sible; the  men  all  the  while  repeating  very 
rapidly,  in  a  low  voice,  the  following  incan- 
tation :  — 

"  'Kanya,  marra,  marra, 
Kano,  mai-ra,  marra, 
Pilbirri,  marra,  marra.' 

When  tlie  cutting  is  over,  two  men  take  the 
wltarnas,  and  swing  them  rapidly  round 
their  lieads,  advancing  all  the  time  toward 
the  young  men.  The  whole  body  of  opera- 
tors now  draw  round  them,  singing  and 
beating  their  wirris,  and,  as  they  reach  the 
the  lads,  each  man  puts  the  string  of  the 
xoitarna  over  the  neck  of  every  lad  in  suc- 
cession. A  bunch  of  green  leaves  is  tied 
round  the  waist,  aboA'e  which  is  a  girdle 
of  human  hair;  a  tight  string  is  fastened 
round  each  arm  just  above  the  ell:)ow,  with 
another  about  the  neck,  which  descends 
down  the  back,  and  is  fixed  to  the  girdle 
of  hair;  and  their  faces  and  the  upper  jiart  of 
their  bodies,  as  far  as  the  waist,  are  black- 
ened with  charcoal. 

"  The  ceremony  concludes  by  the  men  all 
clustering  round  the  initiated  ones,  enjoin- 
ing them  again  to  whisper  for  some  months, 
and  bestowing  upon  them  their  advice  as 
regards  hunting,  fighting  and  contempt  of 
pain.  All  these  ceremonies  are  carefully 
kept  from  the  sight  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren; who,  when  the}'  hear  the  sound  of  the 
nntama,  hide  their  heads,  and  exhibit  every 
outward  sign  of  tei-ror." 

The  illuistratiou  No.  1,  on  page  7G5,is  given 
in  order  to  show  the  curious  appearance 


.^iiiiriiii 


(765) 


MAKING  KOTAIGA. 


767 


which  is  sometimes  presented  by  the  men 
whea  tliey  have  successfully  passed  through 
their  various  ordeals.  The  name  of  the  man 
was  Mintalta,  and  he  belonged  to  the  Nauo 
tribe,  which  lives  near  Coffin's  Bay.  In  his 
hand  he  holds  the  waddy,  and,  l)y  way  of 
ajjron,  he  wears  a  buncli  of  emu  feathers. 
Across  his  breast  are  seen  the  bold  ridges 
which  mark  his  rank  as  a  man,  ami  others 
are  seen  upon  his  arms.  His  beard  is  gath- 
ered into  a  long  pointed  tuft,  and  decorated 
with  a  little  bunch  of  white  cockatoo  feathers 
at  the  tip.  In  his  hair  he  wears  two  curious 
ornaments.  These  are  not  feather  plumes, 
as  they  seem  to  be  in  the  illustration,  but 
are  simply  slender  sticks  of  white  wood, 
scraped  so  as  to  let  the  shavings  adhere  ijy 
one  end.  Indeed,  they  are  made  exactly  like 
tlaose  little  wooden  brooms  that  are  some- 
times hawked  by  German  girls  about  the 
streets,  or,  to  use  a  more  familiar  simile,  like 
the  curly-branched  trees  in  childi-en's  toy- 
boxes. 

Many  of  the  particulars  which  have  been 
and  will  be  related  of  the  domestic  life  of  the 
Australians  were  obtained  in  a  very  curious 
manner.  In  the  autumn  of  1849  some  per- 
sons belonging  to  H.M.S.  Rattlesnake  were 
out  shooting,  when  they  came  across  a  na- 
tive woman,  or  gin,  dressed  rather  better  than 
the  generality  of  native  women,  as  she  wore 
a  narrow  apron  of  leaves.  To  their  astonish- 
ment, the  supposed  gin  addressed  them  in 
English,  saying  that  she  was  a  white  woman, 
and  desired  their  help.  They  immediately 
furnished  her  with  some  clothing,  and 
brought  her  on  board  the  Rattlesnake,  where 
she  contrived  to  make  known  her  sad  story. 
Her  name  was  Thomson,  and  she  was  the 
widow  of  the  owner  of  a  small  vessel.  Cruis- 
ing one  day  in  search  of  a  wreck,  the  pilot 
missed  his  way,  a  gale  of  wind  came  on,  and 
the  vessel  was  dashed  on  a  reef  on  the  East- 
ern Prince  of  Wales  Island.  The  men  tried 
to  swim  on  shore  through  the  surf,  but  were 
drowned,  while  the  woman  was  saved  by  a 
party  of  natives,  who  came  on  board  the 
wreck  after  the  gale  had  subsided,  and  took 
her  a.shore. 

JThe  tril)e  into  whose  hands  she  had  fallen 
was  the  Kowrarega,  which  inhabits  Mura- 
lug,  on  the  Western  Prince  of  AVales  Island. 
Wlien  she  got  ashore,  one  of  the  principal 
men,  who  fully  held  the  pojiular  idea  that 
the  white  men  are  tlie  ghosts  of  dead  na- 
tives, recognized  in  Mrs.  Thomson  a  daugh- 
ter named  Gi'om,  who  had  long  ago  died. 
He  accordingly  took  her  home  as  his  daugh- 
ter, she  was  acknowledged  by  the  tribe  as 
one  of  themselves,  and  was  forced  to  become 
the  wife  of  one  of  the  natives,  called  Bo- 
roto. 

For  nearly  five  years  she  was  kept  pris- 
oner by  the  blacks,  and,  although  she  could 
see  many  English  ships  pass  within  a  few 
miles,  she  was  so  closely  watched  that  escape 
was  hopeless.    At  last,  when  the  smoke  sig- 


nals told  the  tribe  that  another  Tessel  was 
approachiug,  Gi"6m  cleverly  worked  on  the 
cupidit}'  of  the  aborigines,  and  persuaded 
them  to  take  her  to  the  mainland,  promising 
them  to  procure  plenty  of  axes,  knives,  to- 
bacco, and  other  things  which  an  Australian 
savage  values  above  all  things,  and  saying 
that  she  had  lived  so  long  with  the  natives 
that  she  could  not  think  of  leaving  them. 
When  she  was  safely  lodged  on  board,  many 
of  her  friends  came  to  see  her,  bringing 
presents  of  tish  and  turtle,  but  always  ex- 
pecting an  equivalent.  Boroto  was  one  of 
(iie  visitors,  and  in  vain  tried  to  persuade 
her  to  return.  When  she  definitely  refused, 
he  became  very  angry,  and  left  the  ship  in  a 
passion,  declaring  that,  if  he  or  any  of 
his  friends  could  catch  her  ashore,  they 
would  take  otT  her  head  and  carry  it  to  Mu- 
ralug.  Xot  feeling  the  least  doubt  that  the 
threat  would  be  fulfilled,  she  never  ventured 
on  shore  near  those  parts  of  the  coast  which 
the  Kowraregas  seemed  likely  to  visit. 

Being  a  woman  of  no  education,  she  had 
in  the  course  of  her  sojourn  among  the  na- 
tives almost  forgotten  how  to  express  her- 
self in  her  native  tongue,  and  for  some  time 
mixed  Kowrarega  words  and  phrases  with 
English  in  a  very  curious  manner.  A  vast 
amount  of  valuable  information  was  ob- 
tained from  her,  but,  when  she  was  restored 
to  civilization,  she  forgot  the  language  and 
customs  of  savage  life  with  singular  rapid- 
ity, her  untrained  mind  being  unable  to 
comprehend  the  mutual  relationsliip  of  ideas, 
and  utterly  incapable  of  generalization. 

From  her  was  learned  the  curious  but 
dreadful  fact  that  many  of  the  really  unpro- 
voked assaults  on  ships'  crews  while  unsus- 
pectingly visiting  the  shore  were  instigated 
by  white  men,  who  had  degraded  tliem- 
selves  into  companionship  with  native  tribes, 
and,  by  reason  of  their  superior  knowledge, 
had  gained  a  supremacy  over  them.  One  of 
these  men  had  lived  with  the  Badu  tribe 
many  years,  and,  having  heard  of  a  white 
woman  among  the  Kowraregas,  visited  Mu- 
ralug,  and  tried  to  induce  Gi'om  to  leave 
Boroto  and  share  his  fortunes.  Who  he 
was  is  not  known.  He  goes  by  the  name  oi 
Wini,  and  is  supposed  to  be  an  escaped  con- 
vict, who  rejiels  the  visits  of  English  ships, 
lest  he  .should  be  captured  and  sent  back  to 
jn-ison.  By  means  of  his  instigations,  the 
Badu  people  became  so  violently  ojiposed  to 
all  white  men  that  any  European  who  vis- 
ited that  part  of  the  country  would  do  so  at 
the  imminent  hazard  of  his  life. 

Among  many  of  these  tribes,  there  is  a 
custom  which  is  common  also  to  many  sav- 
ages in  all  parts  of  the  world.  This  is  the 
custom  of  making  "  kotaiga,"  or  brother- 
hood, with  strangers.  When  Euroi)eans 
visit  their  districts,  and  behave  as  they 
ought  to  do,  the  natives  generally  unite 
tliemselves  in  Ironds  of  fellowship  with  the 
strangers,  each  selecting  one  of  them  as 


768 


AUSTRALIA. 


his  kotaifia.  The  new  relations  are  then 
considered  as  having  mutual  responsibili- 
ties, each  being  bound  to  forward  tlie  wel- 
fare of  the  other. 

The  memory  of  the  natives  is  wonderful, 
and,  even  if  a  ship  does  not  repeat  a  visit 
initil  after  a  lapse  of  several  years,  no  sooner 
does  she  arrive  than  the  natives  swarm  on 
board,  and  at  once  pick  out  their  kotaigas. 
They  bring  presents  to  their  guests  while 
ou  board;  they  accompany  them  Joyfully  to 
the  shore:  they  carry  their  bags  and  haver- 
sacks for  them;  they  take  them  on  hunting, 


shooting,  and  fishing  excursions,  point  out 
the  game,  retrieve  it,  no  matter  -where  it 
may  have  fallen,  and  carry  it  home  on  their 
shoulders  rejoicing.  Of  course  tliey  expect 
biscuit  and  tol)acco  in  return  for  their  kind 
offices,  but  the  wages  are  very  cheaj),  and  their 
services  are  simply  invaluable.  The  rescue 
of  Mr.  McGillivray  and  his  party  from  the 
threatened  attack  of  the  natives  was  owing 
to  the  fact  that  one  of  them,  the  friendly 
native  who  gave  him  warning,  and  saw  him 
and  his  party  safely  ofl'  in  their  boats,  was 
his  kotaiga,  and  bound  in  honor  to  save  him. 


p:^')J^Mi>  ,!'■■  < 


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J)  JM^ 


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i::myjym>y:D  ^ 


